Articles
Seeing Jesus
Introduction
Many artists have depicted what they believe Jesus physically looked like. To my knowledge there is no definite drawing from any artist who actually got to be with Jesus. Therefore we are left to wonder what the face of our Savior actually looked like. The scriptures do reveal a few things about Him.
Other versions actually render hair as beard. Thus we know that Jesus did indeed have a beard at least during the time of his crucifixion as most artists depict.
Here we read that Jesus did not have the most beautiful appearance of anyone in the world. One might expect that God in the flesh would choose to manifest himself as the strongest, fairest human ever. However, He did not.
Here we see Jesus grew. I think in part this refers to His physical body. The verse also mentions that He grew in spirit.
It is possible that Jesus took the Nazarite vow at least at some points in time. We have NO WAY of knowing this for sure but it is a possibility. For instance, Paul took the vow (Acts 18:18). If Jesus took the vow there would have been points in time where His hair would be rather long as some artists depict. However, after the vow was completed His hair would be cut and would be short for at least certain periods of time. Again, the Bible student is only left to wonder what Jesus actually looked like.
In reality, we don't even know what skin color he had. It was common for people in that region to be fairly dark.
Again, the bottom line is we do not know. And more importantly, it does not matter in the least.
Here's an interesting account that shows the folly of even caring or knowing what Jesus actually looked like.
John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
John 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
John 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
John 20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
John 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
John 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
John 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
John 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
John 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
John 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
John 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
John 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Note that even one who had literally seen Jesus couldn't recognize Him after His resurrection. As is the case today, she only knew Jesus by His words.
Luke 24:14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
Luke 24:15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
Luke 24:16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
The above verse shows another example of people not recognizing Jesus after His resurrection.
Once again we're reminded, we know Him by HIS VOICE, not His looks.
We are more interested in SEEING JESUS as far as His life and purpose are concerned. We can correct many misconceptions people have by looking at people in the Bible who had the same false beliefs.
Herod
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Bible students know that Herod actually wished to kill the child. Herod viewed Jesus as a political threat. This is because he did not understand the nature of Jesus' kingdom and throne. It was not of a physical nature. Therefore Jesus was not a political threat in the least to Herod
Triumphal Entry
Mat 21:2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
Mat 21:3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
Mat 21:4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Mat 21:6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
Mat 21:7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
Mat 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strowed them in the way.
Mat 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Mat 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
Mat 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
If you're like me you have read this in the past and thought how wonderful it was that Jesus finally got the recognition He deserved. Here they were worshipping the man who was going to die for their sins. However, it turns out these were not worshipping Jesus because he would take away their sins. I'm convinced they thought he was going to be an earthly king who sat on David's throne and got them out from under Roman rule. They were applauding because they thought Jesus was going to go into town and show the rulers "a thing or two". This is because they like Herod, did not understand the nature of Jesus' kingdom.
The 5000
John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
John 6:3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
John 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
John 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
John 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Notice that these people didn't understand Jesus kingdom either. Instead of letting Him travel on to establish His spiritual kingdom, they were going to force Him to set on the throne of their earthly kingdom. This refutes some false doctrine today. Many say that Jesus was so rejected by the people that He could not establish His kingdom. Rather, the Bible shows us that several times many thronged behind Jesus to help Him set up a kingdom. He made it clear that His kingdom was not going to be on this earth and refused to be set up on the throne of an earthly kingdom.
His Own People
Mat 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mat 13:56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
Mat 13:57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Even people who had known Jesus from His youth didn't understand His purpose. Instead of accepting the fact that He was from God, they refused to believe that the lowly carpenter's son could have any value in society. They refused to believe on Him.
Apostles
Mark 10:36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
Mark 10:37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
Mark 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mark 10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
Mark 10:40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
Here we see some of the apostles didn't understand Jesus purpose. They just couldn't wait to sit at positions of honor in His earthly kingdom. They wanted to sit right by His throne. Jesus let them know that they "had a lot of things to learn" about His purpose in the world.
I want you to notice in the next few verses that the apostles actually had "special knowledge" and insight from the Lord. Yet even with this knowledge they still misunderstood many things.
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Mat 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Mat 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luke 22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
With a little logic we can learn something here. The Spirit came upon Apostles in Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost Peter spoke of both the Jew and Gentile receiving the blessings of God.
Yet years later when he deals with Cornelius (Acts 10) it is the first time that he actually realizes the gospel is for all. Even with a special "portion" of the Holy Spirit, Peter still didn't fully understand the design of Jesus' kingdom.
God the Father
Maybe even God the Father doesn't fully understand Jesus. Remember Jesus is our intercessor because He can better understand our temptations having himself been a man. I pose to you that God cannot relate to that side of Jesus since He never had the experience of being God in the flesh. Even the Father can't totally relate to the rejection, sorrow and such that our Savior bore.
Seeing Him Today
Many people still don't understand Jesus and have the same misconceptions that those revealed above had. Some still think He will have an earthly kingdom. Some still dwell on what He might have looked like physically. Some think He is all loving and would never punish anyone no matter what sins they might have in their life. Others think that He is such a loving person that He'll not care whether we actually stick to the pattern He left for the church. They think even if we don't stick to the traditions handed down to us by the apostles, He'll over look it.
Conclusion
I hope that you can walk away remembering two main points!
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Premillenialism still blinds some to the true kingdom. This is the doctrine that Jesus will return to establish an earthly kingdom. The kingdom is the church and it already exists.
- If Jesus wanted an earthly kingdom He had plenty of opportunities to establish it. Some would have even taken Him by force and made Him king, but He refused.
Jesus is already sitting on His throne, crowned with glory, holding his sceptre. HIS KINGDOM (THE CHURCH) EXISTS. It shall stand forever.
