Keeping up appearances?

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2b (NIV)

There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. Isaiah 53:2b (The Message)

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Have you ever wondered why the New Testament nowhere tells us what Jesus looked like? We have four Gospels, and sometimes they overlap and repeat one another; but never do they find space to satisfy our curiosity… Was he tall or short? Slender or stocky? Good-looking or ordinary?

Untold numbers of paintings of him have been done; films and plays about him have been made. Until comparatively recently they have tended to portray him as tall and impressive in build, and very likely with flowing hair and a European complexion; more recently (and, I suspect, more accurately), he has appeared as swarthy and clearly middle-eastern.

But the fact is that we just don’t know; it’s all guess-work, and based, one can’t help but wonder, on religious sentimentality, even superstition.

The nearest we get in the Bible as a whole is Isaiah 53, where the prophet devotes just half a verse to the appearance of the mysterious figure whom he calls “the servant of the Lord”, and whom the early church quickly identified as the Messiah sent by God. I like the way The Message translates this: there is nothing about him “to cause us to take a second look”. Pass him in the street and he could be any man of similar age.

You may find these comments unsettling, possibly even slightly blasphemous. But facts need to be faced up to, and they really aren’t open to dispute. When we say that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine (apart from sin) we really do mean it; so let’s get used to the idea!

Where is this taking us? To a very simple observation: that our modern obsession with physical appearance is totally misguided. I read a newspaper article not long ago which calculated the staggering sums of money spent per year, especially in the western word, on grooming products and cosmetic procedures; not to mention, of course, the amount of time devoted to prettifying ourselves in accordance with the expectations of modern, supposedly “civilised”, society. (We don’t hear much about the sin of vanity these days, do we?)

There are times when the Bible speaks to us most clearly by saying precisely – nothing. And this surely is such a time. By its silence about physical appearance, the Bible is shouting to us “Listen, it just doesn’t matter! Drop it! Don’t go with the crowd! You’re just wasting time and money which could be so much better spent”.

What matters about each of us is the inner you and me. The word of the prophet Samuel concerning the boy-king David puts it perfectly: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).

So… if the Lord isn’t bothered about the outward appearance, why should we be? There surely is no answer to that question. (True, the same passage describes David as “glowing with health” and of “a fine appearance and handsome features”, but that is to stress the contrast between his youthfulness and his bigger brothers’ comparative maturity.)

Let’s dismiss two possible misunderstandings…

First, this isn’t about health. To look after our bodies is part of Christian discipleship – they are, after all, temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), so over-eating and over-drinking, plus any other forms of indulgence - things treated so casually by so many people - are simply forbidden. Is this something we have ever taken seriously?

Second, nor is it to suggest that we should go around looking like a lot of scruffs and weirdos. No: there is nothing wrong with looking after our appearance within reason – but each of us has the personal responsibility of deciding where reason begins and ends for us individually. Is this something we have ever taken seriously?

Perhaps now is the time to do just that. It may be that little change will be called for, but, well, who knows? For some of us, we may even find some relief in realising that we really don’t have to keep up with what’s expected of us by a materialistic and godless society.

Is it time to snap our fingers at such expectations? We’re going a bit grey? Who cares! Not God. We’re getting a bit wrinkled? Who cares! Not God. Our bodies aren’t quite as “beach-ready” as they used to be? Who cares! Not God.

And how much valuable time might be freed up for prayer, or evangelism, or service for others? Even more, how much precious money might be freed up for charitable giving?

The Bible tells us that a day is coming when we will have brand-new bodies – resurrection bodies – which fit us for eternal life in all its fulness. When that day comes, any curiosity about Jesus’ bodily appearance will be fully satisfied. Why? Because “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). That’s why!

Father, please deliver me from a false need to satisfy the expectations of a corrupt and shallow society. Help me to make it my truest ambition to be like Jesus in every respect. Amen.