Minister’s Corner: The rugged face of Christ

By: DR. BRIAN DORE’
Member of the Ville Platte
Ministerial Alliance

Many artists have painted portraits of Christ depicting Him with fair hair and blue eyes. We must remember He was Jewish, and He worked hard as a carpenter learning the trade from Joseph. I don’t believe He was fair or handsome for that matter. There are some suggestions in the Bible that He was not. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53:2 KJV, “...he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is not beauty that we should desire him.” He may not have been one of the “beautiful” people. We don’t really know. I don’t believe there was anything in His features to set Him apart from the rest of the people in His day, but there is more to a face than mere looks. There are features in that face. I believe Jesus’ features were rugged. I believe it because He lived a great deal of time outdoors. Remember He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay His head,” Matthew 8:20 KJV. Yes, I believe the face of Jesus was a rugged face that had deep lines made by suffering. The word of God tells us in Hebrews 4:15 KJV, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Every wrinkle, every line was an expression of the love and concern Jesus had for us, still has for us.
He loved humanity enough to leave the glory and splendor of Heaven to come and show us the Father’s love. He cared enough about every human being to be willing to suffer the indignities of taking on human form. The Bible tells us He even wept over Jerusalem for their hardness of heart. His face was the face of every man. It was rugged and wrinkled with concern for His creation, and aren’t you glad today it was? Aren’t you glad we have a Savior who loved us to the point of sacrificing His own life for you and me? What a wonderful, expressive, rugged face of Christ!