Real face of Jesus

Real face of Jesus

“Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening; This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.”

Mother Teresa

Surely Jesus has felt the weight of the world building up throughout his human life, well before the ministry. In that scorching desert, near the dead sea, where in the wilderness there are no sounds but the wind. A place some called a hell of the world, or the end of the world.

There, He watched how wretched this world is. He felt the pain of those in poverty, with diseases, afflictions, tragedies. He walked among these people.

“Christ did not die for the good and beautiful. It is easy enough to die for the good and beautiful; the hard thing is to die for the miserable and corrupt.”

Shūsaku Endō

His face and especially eyes, must have reflected this. The suffering and compassion, not just own suffering, but something so deep that we cannot understand.

The suffering of all who accept him, of all to come…

So, his face, it must have reflected this.

“Not yet 50…”

Two meanings to this line.

One, is that he is wise beyond the years, but also an indication of age, that in his thirties he looks older than that. The weight of the world. The universe.

There have been many portrayals of how Jesus looked. From the earliest images found, where he is depicted as a beardless man carrying a lamb, to earliest orthodoxy, where he has a long face, mustache, beard, hair waving down on the sides, noble and strong, all the way to depictions of our age, such as Dali’s painting.

Akiane created a fascinating painting as a child of what she said was a vision of Jesus’s face.

Shroud of Turin is the most incredible finding on this subject. Where the height also would match the proper idea. For Jesus had to be taller to have the crowds listen to him better, such was part of the culture. The Shroud has been studied by hundreds of scholars for hundreds of years, dividing opinions. Now, with newest dating technology, it’s been identified that shroud’s true age is indeed around 2000 years old. A.I. has recreated the face of Jesus based on the Shroud, it’s the main photo of this article.

However, outside of curiosity and historical interest, should it really matter for a Christian?

What can we know for sure about the face of Jesus?

What is most important?

It is the face that has spoken greatest wisdom unto us.

It is the face that apostles found so much courage in that they sacrificed their lives to spread the good Word.

It is the face that taught us true kindness, love and forgiveness.

It is the face of real justice and honor.

It is the face that absorbed the sins.

It is the face that wept when all the world’s pain poured upon Jesus in the garden.

It is the face that endured tortures beyond our imagination, yet, after all of it, it rose up, looking illuminated and bright.

And the apostles wept.

And we weep…

The face of our Lord. It is personal to each of us, as he loves each of us in different ways.

If you are Japanese, Ukrainian, Nigerian, it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you look, or what you imagine the face of Jesus to be like. The most important thing is to know what Jesus gave you and your faith for him, and your works for him.

“Look at His adorable face. Look at His glazed and sunken eyes. Look at His wounds. Look Jesus in the Face. There, you will see how He loves us.”

Therese of Lisieux