• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lifestyle
Greg Barnett as Jesus Christ in HISTORY's Jesus His Life

Who Is Going to Cast an Ugly Jesus?

March 8, 2019
black women group

‘Righteous and Ratchet’ Black Women of Faith Embraced on Jemele Hill’s ‘Sanctified’ Podcast

January 23, 2023
Martin Luther King Jr. Photo

How the Distortion of MLK’s Words Enables More, Not Less, Racial Division Within American Society

January 14, 2023
Shirley Chisholm book

Historian Connects Shirley Chisholm’s Life and Politics in New Biography

January 14, 2023
red apple fruit on four pyle books

Is White Supremacy a Bug or a Feature of Classical Christian Education?

January 14, 2023
bible gun Brazil

God and Guns Often Go Together In US History — This Course Examines Why

January 14, 2023
black news site

Kansas City Police Dismissed a Black News Site’s Reports of Missing Women. Then One Showed Up.

January 14, 2023
text

‘Thank You’ and a Look Back as We Look Forward to the New Year

December 31, 2022
Anthea Butler, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, and Jemar Tisby

Free eBook: Conversations on White Evangelical Racism and Christian Nationalism (Subscribers)

December 10, 2022
will smith in emancipation movie

News With Nicola: Is Will Smith’s Emancipation Movie Based on a True Story?

December 2, 2022
Pastor E. Dewey Smith’s House of Hope Atlanta Sues Over Alleged Black Church Scheme

Pastor E. Dewey Smith’s House of Hope Atlanta Sues Over Alleged Black Church Scheme

November 28, 2022
Bishop Jerome Stokes is seen in this 2020 YouTube screengrab.

Baltimore Pastor Bishop Jerome Stokes Attacked With Hammer During Sunday Service

November 28, 2022
Jonathan Majors stars as Jesse L. Brown in the movie Devotion

‘Devotion’ Movie Celebrates Successes and Sacrifices of Navy’s First Black Fighter Pilot

November 21, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
Faithfully Magazine
  • About
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Inspiration
  • Subscribe
  • Shop Faithfully
No Result
View All Result
Faithfully Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Inspiration

Who Is Going to Cast an Ugly Jesus?

by Nicola A. Menzie
March 8, 2019
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Greg Barnett as Jesus Christ in HISTORY's Jesus His Life

Greg Barnett as Jesus Christ in HISTORY’S “Jesus: His Life.” (Photo: José Sarmento Matos/History)

ShareTweetPin It

I’d love to say it’s just secular Hollywood that has an obsession with portraying Jesus Christ as a tall, strapping, handsome dude. But when Christians cast the man who would play their Savior, he too looks like he’s just stepped out of a hair salon…in Europe. What if Jesus the Christ and Son of God is short, bald, and physically unattractive? We’ve been challenging misconceptions and misrepresentations about his ethnic appearance, but are we prepared to embrace an ugly Jesus?

RELATED POSTS

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ & the Absurdity of Love as Resistance

The Gospels Give Birth to Poetry (‘God Speaks Through Wombs’ Excerpt)

100 Proverbs That Teach Us How to Speak, Listen, and Respectfully Disagree

Of course, what Jesus looks like doesn’t matter…right? Maybe. If we’re honest about how we picture him in our mind when reading Scripture or contemplating his life, or lamenting his suffering during the crucifixion, we’d likely have to admit that the Jesus we imagine looks strikingly like the White images we’ve grown used to seeing in popular culture. Or maybe he’s Black in our mind, or has Chinese features. But is he ever ugly?

I recently tweeted: “If we think Isaiah 53:2 references Christ, then he looks nothing like Saul (tall), David (fair complexion), or Absalom (handsome). #Oogly”

The identity of God’s “servant” in Isaiah 53 (introduced in Isaiah 52:13) is debated but it’s interesting nonetheless to wonder if this “suffering messiah” could be describing Jesus of Nazareth:

“He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him” (NET).

Other translations suggest: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (NIV); “He wasn’t some handsome king. Nothing about the way he looked made him attractive to us” (CEV); “…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (ESV).

If Isaiah 53:2 is talking about Jesus, it certainly seems as if the prophet was saying the Son of God was nothing much to look at, from the people’s perspective.

Consider King Saul, who the people heaped their hopes on based on his physical appearance, which the Bible gives us in detail: “… Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else” (1 Samuel 9:2, NIV).

The same goes for Israel’s second king, David: “… He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features” (1 Samuel 16:12, NIV); “…he was … glowing with health and handsome” (1 Samuel 17:42, NIV).

And David’s son who made himself king briefly: “In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him” (2 Samuel 14:25, NIV).

Dr. Joan Taylor, a professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at Kings College in London, writes in her book What Did Jesus Look Like? that evidence suggests Jesus looked nothing like the popular Westernized images we’re used to seeing.

Continue reading at Medium.com.


Help Keep Christian Media Diverse

In addition to partnering with advertisers, maintaining a subscription program, and exploring paid live events, we rely on the generosity of readers who see value in our work and in our mission. We invite you to join us, and keep walking with us, in our mission. Every amount, big or small, empowers us to stay the course. Here are a few ways you can join us:
  • Give via PayPal
  • Place an Ad
We are grateful for your support. Thank you!

Share This Post

Share via

Share This Post

  • Digg
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
More
  • Report
ShareTweetPin It
Tags: EntertainmentFilmInspirationJesusOpinionTV
Nicola A. Menzie

Nicola A. Menzie

Nicola A. Menzie a religion reporter whose bylines have appeared on the websites of the Religion News Service, The Christian Post, CBS News and Vibe magazine. Nicola is the Managing Editor at faithfullymagazine.com. You can find her on Twitter @namenzie. Email: nicola.menzie (at) faithfullymagazine.com.

Related Posts

Everything Everywhere All At Once. (A24 Films)

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ & the Absurdity of Love as Resistance

by Joe George
April 23, 2022
0

...

God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God's Unexpected Coming

The Gospels Give Birth to Poetry (‘God Speaks Through Wombs’ Excerpt)

by Drew Jackson
September 5, 2021
0

...

two women talk

100 Proverbs That Teach Us How to Speak, Listen, and Respectfully Disagree

by FM Editors
January 29, 2021
0

...

Rapper J Cole and a hanging tree

J. Cole’s ‘Javari,’ the Cross, and the Lynching Tree

by Stephen Adubato
December 15, 2020
0

...

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Jesus and John the Baptist

Are Jesus and John the Baptist Cousins or Related in Anyway?

June 2, 2019
paige and christopher hilken family

Paige Hilken, Wife of North Coast Church Pastor Christopher Hilken, Dies by Suicide

August 2, 2021
stream movies laptop

Free Christian Movies: How and Where to Watch Free Christian Movies Online

March 15, 2021
White Christian Dean and Faculty Pose as Gangsters in Controversial Photo

White Christian Dean and Faculty Pose as Gangsters in Controversial Photo

16
study on evangelical churches finds some apply race tests on people of color seeking to belong

White Evangelical Churches Use ‘Race Tests’ on People of Color, Study Claims

3
depression

Why African Christians Should Rethink Depression

3
black women group

‘Righteous and Ratchet’ Black Women of Faith Embraced on Jemele Hill’s ‘Sanctified’ Podcast

January 23, 2023
Martin Luther King Jr. Photo

How the Distortion of MLK’s Words Enables More, Not Less, Racial Division Within American Society

January 14, 2023
Shirley Chisholm book

Historian Connects Shirley Chisholm’s Life and Politics in New Biography

January 14, 2023

Get the Newsletter

Loading

Listen to Exclusive Q&As on Faithfully Podcast

Faithfully Podcast · Faithfully Podcast Select
Advertisement
Advertisement
Mosaic Coffee
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Do Good. Obey God. Stay Woke.

Copyright © 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC. This website participates in affiliate programs.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Inspiration
  • Subscribe
  • Shop Faithfully

Copyright © 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC. This website participates in affiliate programs.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Share via

Share This Post

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Copy Link
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Flipboard
  • SMS

Add New Playlist

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

Send this to a friend