Jesus was born of a Jewish mother, was raised in the Jewish culture of the time and must have looked like the people of the times. Not one of his associates ever wrote down a word describing his personal appearance or anything that would have set him apart physically from everyone else. Any picture or likeness of Him is the product of man's imagination. However, there is one debated reference in Isaiah, chapter 53 that deserves consideration. Many feel Isaiah 53:2 gives a physical description of Jesus as the Suffering Messiah to come. It reads, "...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." NIV
Scholars argue whether the chapter is a prophecy regarding the coming Messiah or a prophecy of the terrible suffering the Jews would undergo in their future. Whatever conclusion you come to, it does seem to fit that Jesus' appearance would intentionally be one that did not attract people because of His physical attributes. Probably, Jesus was not ten feet tall and the most handsome man in all of Israel. Such an idea would be contrary to a principle God laid down in 1 Samuel 16:7 when God explained how He chose David to be king, "...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." If there was any attractiveness of Jesus, it would be the attractiveness of His character and His Spiritual presence.
Also there was the false belief that the Old Testament had a prohibition against the creation of images. This restricted the making of either pictures or statues. However, the Old Testament did not oppose art. God commanded Moses to make a serpent of brass, and Solomon's temple was decorated with all kinds of beautiful art handiwork. Probably because of the early Christian's misunderstanding of image making, we find no trace of an artistic depiction of Christ prior to the time of King Constantine (died 337 A.D.) Instead, Jesus was symbolically portrayed as a shepherd, a lamb, a fisher, or most often as the symbol of a fish. The anagram Ichthys (fish) is discussed in chapter 29.
The earliest known picture of Christ is found in the catacombs as part of the picture portraying the resurrection of Lazarus. Dated to the middle of the 2nd century, Jesus is represented in a Roman type tunic, beardless, with short hair and large eyes. This is the oldest representation preserved anywhere. The location is called the Cappella Greca (Greek Chapel)
In the earliest known Christian house-church at Doura Europus on the upper Euphrates there is a painting of Jesus dating to about 240 A.D. In the painting, Christ, a beardless young man is dressed in a tunic.
There is also as description of the physical appearance of Christ in a letter of Publius Lentullus, "President of the People of Jerusalem"(no such office existed) who supposedly wrote a letter to the Roman Senate discussing Jesus. This letter is not authentic and can be traced no earlier than the fourth century, however, it had an important effect on pictures that have been painted of Christ. The letter says, "His hair is of the color of wine, and golden at the root; straight, and without lustre, but from the level of the ears curling and glossy, and divided down the centre after the fashion of the Nazarenes. His eyes are blue, and extremely brilliant..."

Please note the reference above, "after the fashion of the Nazarenes" is looked upon as a misstatement that should read "Nazarites." By definition a Nazarite was a person from among the Jews who took strict religious vows such as to neither to cut his
hair or to drink wine.
Why a Nazarite Vow?
John the Baptist was a Nazarite. This meant in special dedication to God, he would abstain from all grape products, leave his hair uncut and refrain from approaching any dead body (see Numbers 6:2-5). Jesus grew up in a small town called Nazareth. Inhabitants of Nazareth were referred to negatively as being Nazarenes. Jesus was a Nazarene but not a Nazarite. Some commentators have mistakenly said Jesus was a Nazarite, but in Luke 7:34 we read otherwise, "The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" The point is, artists, sculptures and painters have represented Jesus as looking like a Nazarite. Having long hair parted in the middle and a beard. The problem is, Greeks and Romans of that era had short hair and clean shaven faces. Reference is given above to the representation of Jesus in the Catacombs "Capella Greca." Also there are the words of the Apostle Paul, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" 1 Corinthians 11:14.
What did Jesus look like? No one knows. The best definition I have seen is displayed on the walls of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. There displayed are mosaics of Jesus as seen through the eyes of peoples from all over the earth. Jesus is black, brown, yellow, red and white. As you walk through this gallery you realize again that His strong spiritual presence and unsurpassed magnetic beauty of character far exceed any physical appearance we may imagine Him to have. The Bible says because of His message of hope for the hopeless, multitudes followed him and forsook everything to be His disciples. The same man and His message still attracts millions today.

Marvin Hunt 1999

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

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