If the skin is wrinkle free, they are probably young. If the eyes are not wide open, they are likely weary. If the mouth seldom raises at the corners, sadness is nearby. If the nose is shaped like a lightening bolt, there has been some trauma--maybe even several traumas. If the hair is matted, cleanliness is not a priority or not a possibility. If the skin is fair, that speaks to one possible ethnicity; if dark, another.
How do you imagine the face of Jesus? I'll go first, but I'd love to read your comments.
First, I don't think His skin was wrinkle free. In fact, I think there were two places where wrinkles developed deeply: his forehead and his eyes. You may have already figured out why. Certainly when He prayed for His followers--including us--His brow would furrow from intensity. And doubtless His eyes had crow's feet from the thousands of times He smiled and laughed.
I envision His mouth as usually closed. I am convinced that the greatest listener in the history of our planet was our Savior. Of course when He spoke, it was with the perfect question or complete authority. I don't mean authority like a politician or police officer, but as someone who knew truth, how it could set people free, and with great hope that the listener would discover that freedom. Perhaps like the great evangelist, Billy Graham.
His nose would have been distinctively middle Eastern, larger than mine. But no deviation in His septum. The Bible teaches that Jesus never had a broken bone, so while His nose would've been big, it wouldn't have been crooked.
I wonder about the length of His hair. Back in the day, when mine was long and curly (down to my shoulders!), I took pride in imagining Jesus' would have been similar. But really, I think other than having dark hair, it would've been coarse. (No such thing as leave-in conditioner back then.) He was a working, traveling man. Surely it wasn't slicked back, so he'd appear in any way "polished." He was a normal guy. His hair probably looked like pretty much every other carpenter's.
His skin would be darker than mine, even when I'm tan, but lighter than T. D. Jakes. I picture the olive skin of our mediterranean friends. Skin that is rich in color. Skin worn but not rough. Skin tender but not soft.
And finally, His eyes. I can't even begin to find words to describe how I envision the eyes of Jesus. Full of compassion, no doubt. Full of every Godly emotion. But mostly when I see the eyes of Jesus, I see searching eyes. They are looking around every corner, up every tree, along the sidelines of every crowd. They search for one more. The lost. The marginalized. The hopeless. Those eyes just can't wait to peer into the eyes of another person who yearns to be healed, forgiven, restored.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about those eyes is that they have never stopped looking. Still they seek those who are lost.
Do we? When we stop looking at His face in worship, I fear we stop looking at the world the way Jesus did. And does.
Now...your turn. How do you imagine His face?
