Have you ever wondered what Jesus might have looked like? Have you ever questioned the accuracy of the paintings of Jesus? Jesus is usually depicted as a light-skinned, long-haired man, wearing shabby cream robes with blue eyes. This image could be seen anywhere! However, this image that we all know is wrong and has been proven to be an inaccurate depiction of Jesus. A historian and professor in Christian Origin named Joan Taylor collected various information and proof that Jesus does not look like what we think of him.
Have You Ever Wondered What Jesus Looked Like? Let’s Find Out
Why Do Historical Painters Portray Him Like This?
Have you wondered how Jesus’s image was created? Was it because someone close to him passed down an illustration of him? It was the opposite as the people who were close to Him barely made any description about how he looked like because they did not have the time to do so. It may even be intentional to avoid idolatry. Because there weren’t any depiction of Jesus, the painters created an image of Jesus in their ideas by making Him look similar to Roman gods.
Why Do Historical Painters Portray Him Like This
Out Of This World Accessories
In present times, a lot of historians are studying Jesus’ era. They are researching for information and facts about the people whose lives were mentioned in the Bible. According to these historians, they found out that in the majority of the images that we know of Jesus, He could be seen wearing accessories that were not around during His time. Jesus was often described to be an ordinary man, a total opposite of images of Him depicted as someone wearing jewelry as He sits on a royal chair.
Out Of This World Accessories
What Is Written In The Bible?
How do you think would religious people around the world react if they are confronted about how Jesus looked like? The Messiah’s real and accurate appearance has been a long-running debate for some religious people. A lot of them would provide proofs to say that they are right, while some argued based on what can be seen in the Bible. John Taylor’s study described Jesus as a simple man, which is what a lot of people are also saying.
What Is Written In The Bible?
Unclear Explanations
Jesus’s appearance has been a topic of debate for various experts, historians, religious groups, and anyone interested in the topic. However, despite all of that, there is still a large gap for resources that are relevant to the discussion. Painters may have made various images of The Messiah in their ideas. Still, they are influenced by their cultural settings and beliefs, with even some of them using their style to make symbols that correspond to their art.
Unclear Explanations
The Good Shepherd
There are a lot of depictions of Jesus that have been around for centuries, all of which have their unique interpretation of how The Messiah may have looked like. A simple search on the internet would present you with a plethora of versions of what Jesus may have looked like. In one of the said pictures, you can see The Messiah shown in grassland with a bunch of sheep, making Him look like a good shepherd, conveying the idea that the Lord is our leader and we’re sheep.
The Good Shepherd
The Picture Is In The Stone
Can you remember the different portrayals of Jesus? You can search online to have a general idea, but it is highly unlikely for you not to be able to think of more than one depiction. There have been lots of portrayals of The Messiah that have been used and accepted widely. In one instance, the depiction of him as a bearded Caucasian was widely accepted. However, the most famous depiction of Jesus would probably be the long-haired, bearded, and wearing cream-colored robe version, which is commonly used up until now.
The Picture Is In The Stone
Connecting Images
Different historical painters wanted to make an image of Jesus based on what they know about Him. Having a detailed description of Him may have helped a lot, but it is impossible to find any description of His physical appearance even if you look at the Bible. Leading historical painters to paint Jesus based on earlier portrayals of Him, eventually leading to the creation of the common image of Jesus that we now know of.
Connecting Images
An Improved Image And Feature
Jesus became widely known after His death. Even today, He has been used as the subject for thousands of painters. Still, sources say that any knowledge about His appearance is nowhere to be found. How we “see” Him is solely based on the minds of earlier painters, which is where the next generation of painters would base their paintings and improve upon it. They would start by picturing how the image will look when finished, then use their image of Jesus.
An Improved Image And Feature
Original Work Of Art
Have you heard about Greek Mythology and their gods? How about Zeus? In case you didn’t know, Zeus was compared to the image of Jesus. Being depicted as someone with long hair is bearded and wears a white robe, which made him look similar to known depictions of Jesus. This is amazing for the image helps us remember him whenever he is mentioned in stories about the Greek myth, which is a great job for the painters for making their different masterpieces but made us feel the same.
Original Work Of Art
It’s Not The Same
It seemed like Zeus was very popular during those times. Based on his image and his figure’s complication, it can be quite amazing to see how the image of Zeus was made. If you look closely at portrayals of Zeus during Roman Emperor Augustus’ reign, you may see some similarities between their appearances. You can even say that the Roman Emperor Augustus barely even looks like himself in his images.
It’s Not The Same
Somehow The Same With Zeus
Are you aware of how the Roman Emperor Augustus looked like? If yes, then you may say that he looked a bit like another person. Why? During his time, people were more interested in complicated things. This is why Emperor Augustus instructed his sculptor to add several details that would depict him as what he wanted to look like, which was Zeus. His actual appearance was said to be a short-haired, clean-shaven man. Far from what he looked like on his sculpture.
Somehow The Same With Zeus
The Last Supper
There have been lots of depictions of Jesus that are popular across different countries and beliefs, with the most known depiction being the Last Supper. The Last Supper is a painting that showed Jesus having dinner with the 12 disciples. According to Joan Taylor’s study, she said that she had collected evidence that Jesus will never sit on a throne-like He was portrayed in the painting as this was not the life that the Messiah was living during His time.
The Last Supper
The Modern Look
These days, a lot of artists have made improvements on the depictions of Jesus. It was found out that a lot of the original works portraying The Messiah have been altered, which is why a lot of historians have been looking more into the paintings. Due to most of the paintings having a lot of variations but with the same baseline, it led a lot of us to believe that this is how Jesus looked like. According to historians, artists improved their art with each iteration, thus the different portrayals.
The Modern Look
The Perfect Image
A lot of paintings about Jesus have been made for thousands of years. Can you imagine how many images of Jesus have been made already? After numerous studies, we have an educated guess as to how Jesus may have looked like. But still, the image of the long-haired, bearded man wearing white robes will be ingrained in our minds. According to historian Joan Taylor, some portrayal of Jesus shows Him having a halo so that people would see Him as holy.
The Perfect Image
Mighty Features
Can you see some similarities between some superheroes aside from being powerful? Historical painters showed Jesus as a holy being, and if there is one similar feature, you can see from depictions of Jesus and the Greek gods would be the hair. Is it safe to say that in their time, long hair meant power? The similarity of features that can be seen from both Jesus and the Greek gods may signify how powerful they are.
Mighty Features
Is He Just An Ordinary Human Being?
Is it just a “normal” being like us? This question boggled the minds of almost everyone for a long time since His appearance has been questioned for so many times. Some scholars have collected proofs stating that the Messiah looked like the way that we have known him. If so, then His features would probably a lot more natural than how the people painted Him back then. These two cents made people think if He is either the Savior or just a normal human being.
Is He Just An Ordinary Human Being
An Evidence Of What He Really Looked Like
What do you think would pose as the best evidence to determine how The Messiah looked like? Hundreds of years ago, lots of evidence and proofs were collected that proves the accuracy of the shroud of Turin is Jesus’s burial shroud. They also said that they have proof of having a clear image of Jesus’s body. Other artifacts were also discovered at the same site, which may help determine Jesus’s actual appearance.
An Evidence Of What He Really Looked Like
Some Philosophers Question The Evidence
One major subject of argument would be “The Shroud of Turin.” A lot of people argue about its accuracy. It is believed that the shroud was used to cover Jesus’s body, and was found to have a fainted image of a bearded man with bloodstains in spots where Jesus was wounded. Despite these points, an American historian still questioned the accuracy of the said relic. He stated that the shroud was nothing more than a scam to fool people and make money out of it.
Some Philosophers Question The Evidence
What Does He Really Look Like?
During medieval times, different illustrations of Jesus were made. Everyone accepted all of these depictions as no one had any idea as to what Jesus may have looked like. Nowadays, we have a lot of research instruments available to help people in knowing the facts of history. For example, Joan and her team collected various relics and studied the remnants of Jesus’s burial site. They used what they found to determine how The Messiah looked like.
What Does He Really Look Like?
They Have Different Fashion Statement
Joan and her team were determined to find out how Jesus looked like during His time here on earth. They even gathered various information about the clothing of the people during Jesus’s time. As it turns out, cloaks were common to everyone in that era, even the royalties, and the clergies. In the Bible, it was mentioned that John the Baptist had worn various types of clothing while there wasn’t any information about Jesus.
They Have Different Fashion Statement
What Is He Wearing?
If you are determined to know about something, you never stop until you discover something, no matter if it is a small detail or a huge discovery. After years of countless work, Joan’s team finally got their big break as their hard work finally paid off. They found accurate descriptions of how people clothed during Jesus’s time after reading scrolls and illustrations that were made during Jesus’s era in ancient Egypt.
What Is He Wearing?
The Tunics Are Not Long
After a lot of studies, Joan and her team found evidence and believed that normal people during Jesus’ time were wearing a tunic. If you are unaware, a Tunic is a piece of loose body garment starting from the neck and ending just above the knee, which can be seen in a lot of illustrations. They wear this for them to be able to move freely and faster for their work.
The Tunics Are Not Long
Only Upper-Class Can Wear Full-Length Robes
Joan and her team also found out that not only were Tunics the common clothing for the commoners, they also found out that it was the higher-ups of the society that we’re wearing a full-length robe. Wearing a full-length robe indicated that you did not have to work during those times. According to Joan, Jesus did not wear clothing that is similar to the upper-class as He was described to be a simple and modest man.
Only Upper Class Can Wear Full-Length Robes
The Color Is Dull
The team finally concluded that Jesus did not wear any fancy clothing, robes, nor cloaks during His time. Thanks to the study of Joan’s team, they learned that Jesus was wearing what everyone else wore at the time, a tunic. Now, another question is still unanswered regarding his clothing. What was the color of His clothing? Regular men back then only wore plain wool as it was impossible to make any clothing with the color white. However, Jesus was said to be wearing white and shiny clothing after his resurrection.
The Color Is Dull
Decorative Elements
You can see a plethora of portrayals of Jesus scattered all over the world. Still, when Joan’s team discovered the scrolls and illustrations, an additional feature of Jesus’s image became known. It was shown that the Messiah was wearing a bluish cape or veil wrapped over, which opened up another question no one has the answer to yet. Some believe that the color of his robe has an underlying meaning, but still, no one knew the answer to this. Some believe that the color did not mean anything at all.
Decorative Elements
Not A Traditional Mantle
Have you watched any videos that portrayed Jesus’s life, including his crucifixion? There are a lot of films that tried to show how The Messiah’s crucifixion went like, such as Passion of the Christ, Son of Gods, and many more. It can be seen in those depictions that Jesus wore a short tunic and a cape, as it was believed that robes were not only a regular/traditional mantle but rather a prayer mantle.
Not A Traditional Mantle
Not One But Two
Having discoveries regarding Jesus’s time is certainly amazing. The study made by historians helped educate people about the facts of what happened. They discovered a lot of things during their study of learning how the Messiah looked like. They also found out that Jesus had two mantles, not just one. In the Bible, it was said that Jesus removed His scarf to bathe a devotee’s feet while someone wore it as they prayed.
Not One But Two
What Shoes Is He Wearing?
The historian also learned what kind of footwear did Jesus use during those times. They found evidence that told where the Messiah lived during His time here. In the said area, they found fabric pieces that turned out to be proof of what Jesus may have worn to protect His feet then. After a lot of studies, they found out that Jesus was wearing a form of sandals to protect His feet.
What Shoes Is He Wearing
Outward Features
After all the discoveries that Joan and her team found out through the scrolls, all of us here still want to know how The Messiah looked like. This is something that all of us don’t want to miss out on, this is history, and we have to know about it. There is currently an existing proof on the mummified remains that they discovered in the place where The Messiah was known to be living at. The two remains carried the facial qualities of a Grecian and an Egyptian.
Outward Features
Similar Features
Known illustrations and improved portrayals of Jesus helped us understand His facial features. Thanks to the efforts of the team of historians, they helped give us evidence and more accurate information regarding the Messiah. They also concluded that the mummified remnants that they found lived and died at the same time as Jesus. Those remnants were considered evidence to prove the accuracy in the similarities of the Messiah’s features to them.
Similar Features
Preserved Pieces Of Evidence
There are lots of evidence waiting to be examined, which could help contribute to the study of how Jesus looked like in His era, and there is no doubt that these would vastly help the investigation. The evidence we are talking about could be found in a beautiful old structure in the ancient synagogue where people used to worship. They also found pieces of preserved evidence that can also help in identifying The Messiah.
Preserved Pieces Of Evidence
Remains Of Moses
After the new pieces were studied and analyzed, the team determined that the details they found alongside the other preserved pieces were actually not from the Messiah but were Moses’s remains. The supposed answer to everyone’s question immediately went downhill after discovering that the said remains are not from Jesus. Now, they need even more studies to conduct and evidence to find to answer the questions that are required in order to be answered.
Remains Of Moses
Same As What Moses Is Wearing
The evidence that was found in an ancient synagogue was concluded to be owned by Moses during the era of Jesus. The female historian, Joan, made a statement that the image of illustration of Moses was likely the same as the other ordinary men during that time. This statement was followed by the conclusion that Jesus had similarities to Moses and that the tunic and cape that Jesus wore during his time is comparable to what Moses was wearing in the illustration. Well, that makes sense. Doesn’t it?
Same As What Moses Is Wearing
They Have Different Hairstyle
A lot of people questioned Joan’s statement about Moses having similar qualities with the Messiah as Moses looked a bit different when talking about their facial features. It was said that Moses had shorter hair and a clean-shaven face. Moses’s remnants that they found in the ancient synagogue were different from what we know of Moses. This is far different from the image of the Messiah, which is illustrated to have long hair and beard.
They Have Different Hairstyle
Thanks to the Intricate Painters
Joan Taylor finally came up with several conclusions based on the examination of various relics and evidence. According to her, historical painters were correct about their depictions of Jesus having a long beard, as she realized that Jesus travelled place to place for a long time, which explains the growth of facial hair, for they do not possess anything to clean-shave their faces while traveling. She also believes that this may also be the explanation as to why Moses is also depicted with a large beard in other paintings.
Thanks To The Intricate Painters