The Face of Jesus (Destination: Bethlehem, Day 12)

In 1st Peter 1, the writer is talking about rejoicing in the spiritual riches that God has given to us
through the presence of Jesus. He states:
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

Even though we have not seen Jesus physically and walked with Him in the flesh, yet there is much that we can know about Him; in fact, we are called to walk with Him in the Spirit.  The pages of the Old Testament teach us much about the nature of the Messiah, and we read prophecy after prophecy that He fulfilled.  The angel appeared to Mary and told her some important information about the child that she was bearing.  In the New Testament, we read about the earthly ministry of Jesus, and then about the implications of His death, burial, and resurrection.  We can not only know about Jesus, but the really good news is that we can truly know Him as we read and study His Word, and as we communicate with Him daily, as we speak to Him and He speaks to us.   Plus, we can see and acknowledge how He shows up in our lives.

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Today, on day 12 of our Christmas Advent-ure, entitled , "Destination: Bethlehem," we pay a visit to the city of Nazareth - actually, we'll spend today and tomorrow there and meet the earthly parents of Jesus.  First of all, there's a young woman named Mary who encountered a heavenly visitation and
and a powerful message. The angel Gabriel came to hear, and we read in Luke chapter 1:
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Even before you can read about the coming of Jesus to earth, we can learn so much about Him and His purpose for coming into the world.  We can read about and know our Savior as we spend time in the Word and in fellowship with Him.  The season of Advent can help us to develop a clearer picture of who Jesus is and who He is to us.

Speaking of pictures of Jesus, did you catch this news recently?  The Daily Mail is reporting that a retired medical artist by the name of Dr. Richard Neave has developed a portrait that shows that Jesus may have had a wide face, dark eyes, a bushy beard and short curly hair, as well as a tanned complexion.  He did this recreation by studying Semite skulls using modern-day forensic techniques.

Those features would likely have been typical of Middle Eastern Jews in the Galilee area of northern Israel.

Dr. Neave stressed the portrait is that of an adult man living at the same time and place as Jesus, but some experts say his depiction is still likely far more accurate than paintings by the great masters. The story, citing a report from Popular Mechanics, stated that Neave, who is formerly from the University of Manchester, used a technique called forensic anthropology as well as fragments of information from the Bible, to create the portrait that may resemble Jesus.

The method?  Dr. Neave and his team X-rayed three Semite skulls from the time, previously found by Israeli archaeologists.  Then, they then used computerized tomography to create ‘slices’ of the skulls to uncover details that make up their structure.

They used specialist programs to calculate important measurements and work out how the muscles and skin should look. From that data, the experts built a digital 3D reconstruction of a face, before creating a cast of the skull and adding layers of clay to match the thickness of facial tissues calculated by the program.  Features including the eyes, lips and nose were then estimated to follow the shape of the underlying muscles predicted by the shape of the skulls. 

They also studied artwork from before the Bible was written to hypothesize that Jesus had dark eyes and likely had a beard, in keeping with Jewish traditions at the time.  And, based on Paul's admonition against long hair, the researchers concluded that the hair of Jesus was short, with tight curls.

Well, this demonstration by this team of experts can certainly provoke thought, but I would hope that it could also stimulate discussion about who Jesus really is - beyond physical appearance, to the spiritual reality of the Savior.  That reality was expressed, in part, to Mary as she experienced the visitation of the angel Gabriel. She was told that her child was the Son of the Most High, a King whose kingdom would never come to an end.   Later, in the same chapter, we read the thoughts that Mary expressed as she contemplated the significance of her soon-to-be-born child.

In Luke 2, following the visitation of the shepherds, we read that Mary treasured the events surrounding Jesus' birth in her heart.

So, as we think together about a "picture" of Jesus, I think that we can reflect on who Jesus is to each of us.  Who is Jesus to you?   We know that He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of humanity, the Savior of the world, the Messiah.  Out of the Father's great love, He sent His Son to earth that we might come to know Him, to enjoy a relationship with Him.  Jesus calls us to obedience, to follow in His ways, and He gives us the capacity to walk in His truth.  

There's another aspect of the concept of a "picture" of Jesus, what He looks like...if we want people to see Jesus, then we can show Him to others.  Not in the strict physical sense, as these forensic researchers have attempted to portray, but in our actions and attitudes - which of course, are also visible manifestations of the risen Christ.  If Jesus lives in us, then we have the ability to reflect His nature.  If we believe that the world needs to see Jesus - and it does - then because of the presence of the indwelling Christ, we can show them.   Our face becomes, in a sense, the face of Jesus.