What did Jesus look like (with facts and arguments)? I'm tired of just opinions about what he looks like.

 Certainly! Let’s delve into what we know about the physical appearance of Jesus, based on historical and biblical evidence:

1. Biblical Clues:

   • The Bible provides few direct details about Jesus’s physical appearance. Most of our knowledge comes from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
   • Jesus was a Jewish man born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth during the first century.
   • The Bible doesn’t describe him in any remarkable way, suggesting that he didn’t stand out physically.
   • When Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, he had to point Jesus out to the soldiers among the disciples, implying that they all looked similar¹.

2. Revelation 1:14-15:

   • Some scholars turn to this passage for clues. It describes Jesus’s hair as “white as white wool, white as snow,” and his feet as “like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace.”
   • These descriptions hint at a darker skin tone and woolly hair texture.
   • Robert Cargill, a professor of classics and religious studies, suggests that if we consider what we know about Jesus, he would have looked like a Jewish Galilean¹.

3. Early Artistic Representations:

   • Some of the earliest known artistic depictions of Jesus date to the mid-third century A.D., more than two centuries after his death.
   • These paintings show Jesus as the Good Shepherd, a young, short-haired, beardless man with a lamb around his shoulders.
   • Another early portrait discovered in southern Israel portrays Jesus with shorter, curly hair, a common depiction in the eastern Byzantine empire¹.

4. Later European Depictions:

   • Over time, artistic representations of Jesus evolved. He is often depicted as somewhat European:
     • Nut-brown or blond hair, light brown or blue eyes.
     • Long face, nose, hair, and beard.
     • Long tunic with wide baggy sleeves and a large mantle.
   • However, these images are interpretations and not exact reconstructions of Jesus’s appearance².

In summary, while we lack precise details, historical evidence suggests that Jesus likely resembled a typical Jewish man of his time, with a darker complexion and woolly hair. Remember that these interpretations are subject to artistic and cultural influences. 🌟🙏