Jesus Christ of Nazareth is one of the most famous characters in the Bible. Not only was he the Son of God, but he claimed to be God himself. True to his word, he did remarkable things and even forgave sins. In short, Jesus had qualities that only God possessed. But what modern-day Christians wonder is what he looked like, his physical performance. Christians are curious to know if he looked like us because we know that Jesus was fully God and man. Common questions about Jesus’ appearance are his height, weight, and eye color. What color of eyes did Jesus have?
The gospel books, which are the books that account in detail about Jesus’ time on earth, mention nothing about the color of Jesus’ eyes. However, some scholars believe that Jesus has brown eyes because the Bible depicts him as an average human. In the book of Revelation, John describes the eyes of Jesus as “flames of fire.”
So, do the gospel books in the New Testament describe the appearance of Jesus? What do religious scholars believe Jesus looked like? How does Revelation describe Jesus’ appearance? Stick around to get more information and answers to these questions and more.
Do the Gospel books in the New Testament describe Jesus’ appearance?
The gospel books in the New Testament do not describe the appearance of Jesus Christ. The closest description of Jesus you can get in the Bible is in two prophetic books. The first book is Isaiah 53:2, “For he shall grow up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; he has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him.”
Isaiah 52:14 goes ahead and says, “Just as many were astonished at you, my people, and so his appearance was marred more than any man and his form more than the sons of men.” Therefore, there is nowhere in the Bible where the height or the color of Jesus’ eyes was mentioned. The closest the book of Isaiah gets to describe the appearance of Jesus is that he was an average-looking person who would be arrested, harassed, and eventually crucified.
From the book of Isaiah, we can see that Jesus was an averagely-looking person. Therefore, there is a high possibility that because he had a human body on earth, he had normal brown eyes like anyone else.
Additionally, Christ’s appearance was described in the book of Revelation. John describes the eyes of Jesus in Revelation 1:14-16 as a blazing fire. Revelation says that his head was white like wool, and his feet were glowing. However, it is keen to note that this description is not of Jesus’ earthly body, as the vision John had happened in heaven. Additionally, the book of Daniel 10:6 also emphasizes the same appearance and notes that the eyes of Jesus appeared like flaming torches.
What do religious scholars believe Jesus looked like?
If you do a quick search about the appearance of Jesus on the internet, the results will be a white person who is tall and with a beard and blondish hair. However, that is not the true appearance of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as the Bible gives no detailed description of his appearance.
Joan Taylor, a bible scholar, notes that Jesus did not look anything close to a modern man. What the gospel books provide to us about Jesus is his place of birth and how he grew up, nothing about his appearance is accounted for. So, bible scholars draw Jesus’ appearance based on different factors and non-biblical evidence.
According to the research made by Joan Taylor, Jesus was of average height. Taylor concluded this by looking at the skeleton remains of the males that existed during the times of Jesus. He also concluded that the possibility that Jesus was of a lighter tone was higher because, during the days of Jesus, there was an interaction between the people of Europe and those of Judea.
Other people conclude about the appearance of Jesus by looking at the Shroud of Turin. This is an ancient piece of cloth believed to be of Jesus Christ from the cross. From evidence from this cloth, some people conclude that Jesus was tall. However, these conclusions have no biblical proof, and no one can say if the piece of cloth was indeed Jesus.
Generally, the appearance of Jesus is a debate that will not end till we see him in heaven. For Jesus’ eyes, some scholars note that they are blue, while others argue that he had brown eyes. Those who argue that Jesus had blue eyes have little to no proof to support their argument.
However, those who say that Jesus had brown eyes hold on to the fact that he was fully God and fully man. Meaning, on earth, he had eyes like just any other human being, brown eyes. They also support their argument with the book of Isaiah 53, which notes that Jesus looked like any other ordinary human being. However, those who had a vision of him in heaven, like John and Daniel, describe his eyes as “blazing fire.”
Some scholars portray Jesus as a perfect, good-looking man who is tall. This can be drawn from the famous movie of Jesus that portrays Jesus as a white man with an attractive physical appearance. However, some theologians note that Jesus looked nothing close to that because the book of Isaiah notes that he was an average-looking person. That means that he cannot be that tall.
How does Revelation book describe Jesus’ appearance?
As mentioned above, John notes like the eyes of Jesus appeared like a “flame of fire.” He notes that the face of Jesus Chris is as bright as the sun, and his feet glow like bronze in a furnace. John even says that Jesus had a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. In the book of Revelation 1:12-18, John notes that Jesus had hair that appeared white as snow, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
John also emphasizes the appearance of Jesus’ eyes in the book of Revelation 19:11-12, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it called Faithful and true, and in righteousness, he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written which no one knows except himself.”
Through John’s visions, theologians conclude that Jesus had a different body in heaven from what we had on earth. They back this with Paul’s teachings that our earthly bodies are different from our heavenly bodies. Additionally, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, they first failed to recognize him but later did because of the scars he had from his crucifixion.
Reference
Vision: Jesus’ Eye Color and Sackcloth
What was the color of Jesus’ eyes?
7 Bible verses about Jesus’ Eyes
As a devout Christian, I have always been passionate about the Christian faith. This inspired me to pursue a degree in Religious studies and a Masters in Theology in college. I have also been privileged to teach 4 Christian courses in a college and university. Since I am dedicated to spreading the word of God, I am actively involved in the Church. Additionally, I share his word online and cover diverse topics on the Christian faith through my platform. You can read more about me on the about us page.
