Is the "Jesus" of Popular Culture Distracting Us from the Real Jesus?

bob121 said:

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For many of us, our first picture of Jesus came from a movie, a children's book, or a painting. It's the image of a soft-spoken man with long, flowing brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and often, a serene, almost otherworldly gaze. But is this familiar image a help or a hindrance to our faith? Does the "popular culture Jesus" distract us from the historical and biblical Jesus?

The Bible itself is notably silent on Jesus's physical appearance. We're given no description of his height, build, hair color, or eye color. The closest thing we get to a physical description is found in Isaiah 53:2, which prophecies that the Messiah would have "no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

This prophecy suggests an ordinary, unremarkable man. And this makes sense—if he were incredibly handsome or physically distinct, it would have been hard for him to move anonymously through crowds, and Judas wouldn't have needed to point him out to the Roman guards.

This leads to a few key questions for our discussion:

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?
• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?
• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

Let's discuss this together, grounding our answers in what Scripture tells us, not in what we've seen in art or on screen.

Click to expand...

Interesting subject! Of course we all think that Jesus just wanted to feel sorry for all the people who are less attractive. But I don't think it's that at all.

God would not have made people less attractive if that was central in importance. The truth appears to be that there is not one but many facets of things of great significance in people.

As carnal, lustful people who are notoriously jealous of what others have, we tend to think the "rich and the beautiful" are the most favored elements God has given people. Or, perhaps it's IQ?

But I don't think it's any of these things. The bodies we have now may not even resemble what we will be like in our resurrrection bodies. These elements are critical to God getting out information about who He is and what He has.

There are many dimensions, high and low, to who God is. And we simply have to enter into certain spaces to see who He is in a more complete picture. We are simply made to be instruments to get this message out.

So, Jesus is simply indifferent to many of the elements that are important for our own ego or interest. If we met Jesus up close, I don't think we would have one thought about his beauty of the lack thereof. We would be amazed by the radiance of his word, as it expresses the Father in every way. His appearance would simply be designed to facilitate this expression of perfect Deity in every way.

I think images of Jesus can indeed get in the way of our view of who Jesus is. Certainly, a corrupt or political image of Jesus would be distracting. I was turned off about how "religious" pics of Jesus were in my youth. But they never took me away from him if they were simply designed to give us an object to think about him and who he was and is.

In my period of backsliding in my adolescence pics did a lot to bring me back to Jesus. They were likely not accurate in terms of what he really looked like. But the images did the job, and had an evangelical appeal in them.

bob121 said:

View attachment 367995
For many of us, our first picture of Jesus came from a movie, a children's book, or a painting. It's the image of a soft-spoken man with long, flowing brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and often, a serene, almost otherworldly gaze. But is this familiar image a help or a hindrance to our faith? Does the "popular culture Jesus" distract us from the historical and biblical Jesus?

The Bible itself is notably silent on Jesus's physical appearance. We're given no description of his height, build, hair color, or eye color. The closest thing we get to a physical description is found in Isaiah 53:2, which prophecies that the Messiah would have "no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

This prophecy suggests an ordinary, unremarkable man. And this makes sense—if he were incredibly handsome or physically distinct, it would have been hard for him to move anonymously through crowds, and Judas wouldn't have needed to point him out to the Roman guards.

This leads to a few key questions for our discussion:

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?
• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?
• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

Let's discuss this together, grounding our answers in what Scripture tells us, not in what we've seen in art or on screen.

Click to expand...

Jesus was a semitic man. He probably would have looked ordinary, with had dark hair, a dark complexion, and dark eyes. It really doesn’t matter since the writers of the NT did not see that we had a description of him.

There was.one of those scientific shows that demonstrates how to recreate facial structure from a skull, and so they wanted to recreate what Jesus might have looked like from a skull found in Jerusalem from the right time period.

It was nothing that I imagined, doing my best to keep in mind we knew nothing about him but the characteristics Hentenza mention his post, yet I wanted to see that otherworldly gaze, that peace I have come to associate with God. I acknowledged that the physical features could very well belong to Jesus, but they could not replicate his countenance.

I think it is good that we don’t know because it would be too much of a distraction.

bob121 said:

View attachment 367995
For many of us, our first picture of Jesus came from a movie, a children's book, or a painting. It's the image of a soft-spoken man with long, flowing brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and often, a serene, almost otherworldly gaze. But is this familiar image a help or a hindrance to our faith? Does the "popular culture Jesus" distract us from the historical and biblical Jesus?

The Bible itself is notably silent on Jesus's physical appearance. We're given no description of his height, build, hair color, or eye color. The closest thing we get to a physical description is found in Isaiah 53:2, which prophecies that the Messiah would have "no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

This prophecy suggests an ordinary, unremarkable man. And this makes sense—if he were incredibly handsome or physically distinct, it would have been hard for him to move anonymously through crowds, and Judas wouldn't have needed to point him out to the Roman guards.

This leads to a few key questions for our discussion:

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?
• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?
• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

Let's discuss this together, grounding our answers in what Scripture tells us, not in what we've seen in art or on screen.

Click to expand...

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?

I think the bible doesn't include a physical description of Jesus because it wasn't typical of the literature of the time.

• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?

pictures of Jesus can make him seem more handleable, The truth is he cannot be handled. Jesus is God; God cannot be handled.

• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

If by the Word you mean the bible, then I would say that the bible can give you some knowledge of Jesus but I do not believe it'll give you the complete "picture". Without a knowledge of creation and a good grasp of history and the testimony of those who were alive, when Jesus was alive, and the work of The Holy Spirit, you won't form a complete picture of Jesus.

The iconography of ancient times, the paintings of the mediaeval era and modern media's video depictions of Jesus all serve useful purposes. They are especially instructive for teaching the gospel to children and illiterate adults, and they're also very useful for fully literate adults, who wish to illustrate something about the life of Jesus for others.

I do not believe it is a problem for those who draw such pictures or paint the paintings or make the videos to present Jesus as one of us - and when the 'us' varies from black to brown to white to yellow, or any other genetic or other characteristic that is common to some group of humans, it is right and fitting. Christians should never fall again into the heresy of iconoclasm. Yet we need to be careful not to make our images into objects of adoration and worship or to shape from them, objects to ridicule or harm others. That being said, I think I've covered all the bases I wish to cover.

bob121 said:

View attachment 367995
For many of us, our first picture of Jesus came from a movie, a children's book, or a painting. It's the image of a soft-spoken man with long, flowing brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and often, a serene, almost otherworldly gaze. But is this familiar image a help or a hindrance to our faith? Does the "popular culture Jesus" distract us from the historical and biblical Jesus?

The Bible itself is notably silent on Jesus's physical appearance. We're given no description of his height, build, hair color, or eye color. The closest thing we get to a physical description is found in Isaiah 53:2, which prophecies that the Messiah would have "no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

This prophecy suggests an ordinary, unremarkable man. And this makes sense—if he were incredibly handsome or physically distinct, it would have been hard for him to move anonymously through crowds, and Judas wouldn't have needed to point him out to the Roman guards.

This leads to a few key questions for our discussion:

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?
• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?
• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

Let's discuss this together, grounding our answers in what Scripture tells us, not in what we've seen in art or on screen.

Click to expand...

None of Jesus' physical attributes are necessary to believe in Jesus for God's free gift of Eternal Life. The Bible list Jesus' signs (miracles0 he did, so you may believe in Jesus for Eternal Life, God's free gift.

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

bob121 said:

View attachment 367995
For many of us, our first picture of Jesus came from a movie, a children's book, or a painting. It's the image of a soft-spoken man with long, flowing brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and often, a serene, almost otherworldly gaze. But is this familiar image a help or a hindrance to our faith? Does the "popular culture Jesus" distract us from the historical and biblical Jesus?

The Bible itself is notably silent on Jesus's physical appearance. We're given no description of his height, build, hair color, or eye color. The closest thing we get to a physical description is found in Isaiah 53:2, which prophecies that the Messiah would have "no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

This prophecy suggests an ordinary, unremarkable man. And this makes sense—if he were incredibly handsome or physically distinct, it would have been hard for him to move anonymously through crowds, and Judas wouldn't have needed to point him out to the Roman guards.

This leads to a few key questions for our discussion:

• Why do you think God chose not to provide a physical description of Jesus in the Bible?

Click to expand...

Actually, we do: Is. 53: 2…He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Jesus was very approachable.

bob121 said:

• How does the popular, idealized image of Jesus (often European in appearance) affect our understanding of his humanity and divinity?

Click to expand...

Are we equating Jesus to our earthly heroes?

bob121 said:

• Does our focus on a specific visual representation of Jesus get in the way of our faith, which should be based on what we know of Him through the Word?

Click to expand...

We are fans and not mentees.

bob121 said:

Let's discuss this together, grounding our answers in what Scripture tells us, not in what we've seen in art or on screen.

Click to expand...