What Jesus Looked Like

The Physical Appearance of Jesus Christ

The Bible talks a lot about Jesus, where he grew up, the places where he ministered, and the things that he said and did. But there is no description in the Bible whatsoever regarding his physical appearance, and we have no idea what color his hair was, how long his hair was, what color his eyes were, how tall he was, and how much he weighed.

The Old Testament prophets made many predictions about Jesus, which were astonishingly accurate. The place of his birth, his gentle and loving character, the truth and majesty in his words, his mighty miracles, and his willingness to lay down his life, yet there was nothing in the Old Testament that mentioned anything about the Messiah's appearance and what he would look like, other than the fact that Isaiah said that his outer appearance would not be anything that would make us attracted to him:

Isaiah 53:2 says: "he has no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him."

We can also assume that he had a beard because the prophet Isaiah said that his beard would be plucked.

Isaiah 50:6 says: "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting."

We also know from the prophets that Jesus would be a Jew, descended from the line of King David, yet it does not say whether he would be a dark-skinned Jew or a light-skinned Jew. Jewish tradition teaches that those of the house of David bore a light complexion. This is because of the Scripture in 1 Samuel 17:42 which says, "And when Goliath the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he despised him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance." The Greek Septuagint translating the Hebrew word "ruddy" uses a Greek word that seems to mean red-headed and rosy-cheeked.

History and archaeology also give to us nothing regarding the appearance of Jesus, and the myriads of paintings about Jesus have all been based on imagination, speculation and unproven sources. There have also been many fraudulent attempts to provide a true likeness of Jesus which seem very believable and have gathered much attention, and much wealth, but have been proven to be forgeries.

We have to conclude that not having a likeness of the man Jesus was the intention of God, and it is still the intention of God today. The Bible says that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God".

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"
- Romans 10:17