When someone says the name “Jesus” what comes to your mind? Do you recall his character or something about His love and sacrifice for you? Maybe a specific story in the Bible that had an impact on you? Or do you see a person in your mind like Jim Caviezel from The Passion or Jonathan Roumie from The Chosen?
When I think about the earthly image of Jesus, I wonder whether our Hollywood Jesus has become a type of graven image, or different Jesus, in our minds, or whether He is portrayed correctly. My goal in this post is not to question whether or not movies and shows that have Jesus in them get all the theology and facts right, or whether or not you should watch them. But I do want to challenge our thinking about the ways that Jesus is portrayed. Hollywood gets it wrong. Even The Passion and The Chosen miss one of the biggest key things about Jesus that we see in Isaiah 53:2. “There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.”
Why is this point so important and is it splitting hairs? Let’s think of it from a few different angles.
Why Jesus came
Jesus didn’t come to take on some attractive human form and wow people with good looks. If that was the reason He truly came to this earth, the story of the Bible would look very different. There would probably be no account of Him dying, we wouldn’t hear anywhere in the Bible of the need for a Savior to rescue us from our sinful state.
Because these things are recorded for us, we can safely say that there was no reason for Him to take on some human form that was majestic or beautiful. He had bigger things He was here to accomplish! And, we are clearly told in Isaiah that there was nothing beautiful or majestic about Him, nothing attracted others to Him.
Think about how much more this emphasizes the miracles and things He was saying to people during His time on earth! It made it that much more powerful and incredible because people either believed that His power came from somewhere that was not earthly, or they couldn’t believe where it came from because they judged him based on His appearance, personality, and family of origin.
I also wonder if Jesus would have had a charismatic personality that drew people to Him. This again would have pointed people to something other than the Gospel message and truth about Himself that He was proclaiming. I haven’t been able to put a finger on why people make Jesus in the movies and shows to have supermodel looks and be a charismatic person; someone who says things at a certain slow cadence with a deep sultry voice that commands people to listen. It’s not the Jesus we see in the Bible. “Nothing attracted us to him.” And it wasn’t because this got left out of the Bible. There are many places where it clearly talks about people who stood out in their appearance or were physically striking people.
1 Samuel 16:7 says, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
“Give Us A King” and A Charismatic Jesus
“If we operate only from our natural giftings we will rob the cross of its power. Sometimes your charisma can take you further than your character can keep you.”
Chris Harper, CEO of BetterMan
In 1 Samuel 8 the leaders of Israel told Samuel, “you are now old…give us a king to judge us like all the other nations.” So we can see that the people wanted a physical king over the rule of Jesus. They were comparing themselves to other nations. They wanted something they could tangibly see and experience. They went from being slaves in Egypt to desiring to submit to another kind of slavery (8:17). It’s important to note the difference between what they were asking and what they would receive. They wanted someone to lead them just like the other nations were being “led,” even though they already were being led by God.
1 Timothy lays out qualifications for elders, and only one of the attributes listed speaks to abilities: the ability to teach. All the rest speak to a person’s character. Too often, we see leaders whose ability to teach outweighs personal growth in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Charisma and character are not the same. Samuel warned Israel of this. But Israel wanted a king.
I think the reason we often want a “king” instead of King Jesus is because a physical “king” is an image we can look at and worship over God who can’t be made into an image. Instead of making the selection of leaders about their character and making it about their charisma, we miss the true Jesus. And when we see something like how Jesus is portrayed in TV and movies, I think that plays into how we pick leaders. If Jesus is as charismatic as a Hollywood actor, surely we must find leaders who can command such a presence when they speak and lead? But just like Samuel warned the Israelites, true influence is not gained by commanding others. Godly influence comes from shepherding, sacrifice, humility, and loving others. This is the upside down kingdom of God.
Conclusion
Creating this image of a charismatic Jesus gives us a version of Jesus that is winsome but it creates a Jesus that feels unapproachable and impersonal.
Again, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t watch things that portray Jesus. My challenge for us is to think about whether or not our beliefs about Jesus are based on His own words in the Bible, or what we see portrayed in society.
I think the fact that Isaiah mentions this about Jesus makes His miracles, His words to others, and His earthly ministry so much more powerful. People didn’t respond to Him because He was good looking or charismatic. When they believed, it was in faith, in the message that He was who He said He was! So as you spend time in the word and in prayer this week, let’s remember the forgettable Jesus and the power of who He was. Let’s relish in the awe of a God who loves us enough to take on human form. A form that was not beautiful, majestic, or attractive. Yet He came to rescue us from the penalty of sin so that we can spend eternity with Him. He chose the ugliness of the cross so that we can stand before Him as beautiful and righteous by His sacrifice and shed blood.
