What Did Jesus Really Look Like? - "YOU PREPARED A BODY FOR ME"

Those are words that Jesus uttered a prayer apparently at the time of his baptism.  (Hebrews 10:5; Matthew 3:13-17)  What did that body look like?  Some 30 years earlier, the angel Gabriel had revealed to Mary:  "You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, . . . God's Son."  (Luke 1:31, 35)  Thus, Jesus was a perfect man, as was Adam his creation.  (Luke 3:38; 1 Corinthians 15:45) Jesus must have been a well-formed man, and he probably had features similar to those of his Jewish mother, Mary.  

Jesus wore a beard, as was customary among the Jews in contrast to Romans.   Such beards were a symbol of dignity and respectability;  they were not long and unkempt.  Jesus undoubtedly attended to or trimmed his beard and had his hair neatly clipped.  Only those set aside as Nazirites, such as Samson did not cut their hair. -Numbers 6:5; Judges 13:5. 

For the better part of 30 years, Jesus was a carpenter, working without the benefit of modern tools.  (Mark 6:3)  He, therefore, must have a sturdy build.  Early in his ministry, he single-handedly  "Drove all those with the sheep and cattle out of the temple, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables."  (John 2:14-17)  It takes a strong and powerful man to perform that feat. Jesus used the body that God prepared for him to fulfill his God-given commission:  "I must also  declare the good news of the Kingdom of God to other cities, because for this I was sent.  (Luke 4:43) It took extraordinary stamina to travel throughout Palestine on foot and declare this message.

Next time: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? - "COME TO ME, . . . AND I WILL REFRESH YOU"

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