Answers

By   •   August 1, 2008   •   Topics:

Q:

What do you think Jesus looked like? I know we don't really know for sure, but some of the paintings I've seen make Him look meek and kind of like a sissy, and I don't think that's accurate, do you?


A:

No, I don’t think those images are accurate — not at all. We don’t know what Jesus looked like, because no one painted His portrait or sketched His image while He was alive — but I have no doubt that He was physically strong and courageous.

On one occasion, for example, Jesus took a whip and forcefully expelled from the Temple the merchants who were cynically using it to make money — which hardly sounds like the work of a meek and mild sissy! (You can read about this in John 2:13-17). Remember also that Jesus was able to speak to vast open-air crowds — something requiring great physical strength. His intense schedule — with thousands of people flocking around him almost every day — also was physically demanding.

More than that, Jesus knew His enemies were waiting for an opportunity to kill Him — and yet He did not waver or shrink back from the task God had given Him to do. In spite of the danger, He would not be diverted from His calling: “My food … is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34).

Don’t let some popular image or picture of Jesus mislead you. Instead, see Jesus in your heart as He really is: the Son of God, sent from heaven to die on the cross for our sins. He confronted the devil and all his works — and the devil lost, for Christ is stronger than Satan. Because of His faithfulness, we now have the hope of eternal life. Is your faith and trust in Him?