There are no physical descriptions of Jesus in the New Testament, so we don’t know what he looked like. The only one we have was written hundreds of years before he was born when Isaiah said of the Messiah, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2b, NIV).
Nevertheless, when Jesus walked the earth during his ministry, there was something about him that attracted people to him. When he invited people to follow him, they either followed him and became his disciples or walked away in deep grief because they could not, as in the case of the rich young man who declined the invitation to follow Jesus because he loved his wealth more than he loved the Messiah (Matthew 19:16-21).
So, why did people follow Jesus? While his miracles certainly attracted attention, that alone does not explain his magnetism, for there are many magicians in the world who attract attention but not people who follow them. I think people followed him because of his beauty, not his physical beauty, of course, but the beauty of his soul.
He demonstrated perfectly what it means to be an authentic and beautiful human being. He was playful in his character, often teasing his disciples like he did after the resurrection, when the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing (John 21:1-12).
He could have shouted, “It is I, the risen Lord. Come thou unto me.” Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and said to them, “Catch anything?” “No?” “Then why don’t you try tossing the net on the other side of the boat?” It was a nonchalant way of saying, “Hey, guys, your friend who rose from the dead is here, why don’t you come ashore and see me?”
When they caught a net-breaking, almost boat-sinking load, they knew exactly who the stranger on the shore was. Peter put on his clothes, jumped in the water and swam to shore, where he undoubtedly gave Jesus the wettest, sloppiest hug of his life. Jesus did not need the fish, but he did need the love and joy of his followers. He was beautiful.
Even though Jesus could be playful, he was also fiercely intentional. When he saw the religious elite keeping people from God, he overturned their money-changing tables in the Jerusalem temple and drove out the livestock with a whip (John 2:13-17).
When the Pharisees kept people away from God with their unrelenting legalism, he called them whitewashed tombs, lovely on the outside, but full of death and uncleanness on the inside (Matthew 23:27).
Jesus was beautiful. On one occasion, he held children on his knee and loved them (Luke 18:15-17), and on another occasion he confronted Pontius Pilate with truth while Pilate held the power of life and death in his hands (John 18:37-38).
Jesus was beautiful. As the Son of God, he humbled himself to be born a human being, lived among us without pretense, and subjected himself to a torturous death on a cross, even though he will someday come on the clouds as the exalted King of the universe and judge everyone on earth, the living and the dead.
He was beautiful. He was generous without reserve, like the time he made 180 gallons of wine at a wedding feast to keep the bride and groom from being embarrassed (John 2:1-11) and the time he fed thousands of families from a single boy’s lunchbox (John 6:1-14).
He could be disruptively honest with people like he was with Martha when he said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). He was not rude, but he was pointedly honest with people who needed to hear truth.
He was beautiful. He was scandalously free to break the rules of society and religious practice and heal on the Sabbath or touch a leper who desperately needed to be touched, even though he, Jesus, would be defiled (Matthew 8:1-3). He cared so much more about people than doing proper, socially approved things.
He was beautiful. He was cunning when it came to dealing with people in power in order to accomplish his mission. He was as shrewd as a snake with his enemies, while continuing to be as innocent as a dove.
He was beautiful.
Jesus will only be beautiful to you, however, if you discover and accept his love for you. You will not experience the beauty of his life unless you become one of his disciples. He will only be another historical figure, interesting personality, or good teacher if you do not discover his love.
You need Jesus like you need oxygen and water. He is more important than the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the water you drink. Drink his wine, and you will walk in his love and discover his true beauty.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
