They come in Threes...

[9:1] And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” [The Transfiguration] [2] And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, [3] and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. [5] And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” [6] For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. [7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” [8] And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. [9] And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. [10] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. [11] And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” [12] And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? [13] But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” (Mark 9:1-13 ESV) Also see Matthew 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36 for their writings on the Transfiguration.

Jesus said that some of them listening to Him would not taste death until after they see the kingdom of God?  Well, three of them got to see the kingdom very shortly thereafter, and yes, before they died. Peter, James and John were witnesses to the Transfiguration. They saw Jesus in His glory, along with two of His kingdom, Moses and Elijah. Then in verse 11, the disciples want to know why the scribes say that Elijah must come before God's people are taken up to heaven? This question comes from these Old Testament verses, [4] “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. [5] “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. [6] And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:4-6 ESV) Jesus tells them that Elijah HAS already come again, and Luke explains this here, [16] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, [17] and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16; Luke 1:17 ESV) Jesus and Luke are talking about John the Baptist, being in the spirit and power of Elijah come back to earth to prepare the way for Jesus as Messiah. After the verses noted above from Malachi in the Old Testament, there is a 400 year silence from God, and then the New Testament begins with Matthew.  Awesome!!

After studying this, my mind wanders back to the appearance of three to Abraham, in an earlier Bible study that I did: http://boundaryhomestead.blogspot.com/2010/12/abraham-saw-three.html.

I'm sitting here, scratching my head in wonder...what do you think?

What did Jesus look like?

Above is the image of Jesus that I grew up with. My Mom's picture of Jesus was hung on her living room wall (and now it hangs on mine), impressed into my mind from a very young age. The portrait is known as The Head of Christ or The Sallman Head. It was painted by an American artist, Warner Sallman, who gave Jesus long flowing-light colored hair, a light complexion, and blue eyes. Although it is a calming, soothing portrait, I don't think this is how Jesus looked.

Some people believe the Shroud of Turin (above) is the image of Christ mysteriously imposed onto His burial shroud. It will never be verified that this is the actual shroud, nor does carbon dating of the material equate to the time-period of Jesus. The man shown in the image has long, shoulder length hair. His forehead is scarred from the crown of thorns worn at crucifixion, and blood drippings are left from the wounds.

The Christ Pantocrator icon of St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai is most certainly based on the Shroud of Turin.

These overlays of the Shroud with the Christ Pantocrator affirm the depiction of what the artist thinks the man on the Shroud looked like in life. This is the Eastern Orthodox Christian view of Christ.


I believe Jesus looked closer to this portrait by Rembrandt, but he probably would've wore more close cropped hair (Rembrandt was a student of Caravaggio's works, see the 'Doubting Thomas' Jesus below this portrait, they are very similar in looks):

or, by far my favorite, maybe like Caravaggio's 'Doubting Thomas' Jesus, with the Jewish curls on the side of his head:

or maybe just like this:

Jesus was Jewish and of middle-eastern descent. He grew up in rugged territory and walked under the hot sun everywhere he went. He was a carpenter by trade, he worked hard, and he probably had a sturdy physique due to that line of work. Since he was middle-eastern it is a good bet that he would have had darker skin and most likely dark, curly hair. He probably did not have long hair, as Paul the Apostle writes, [14] Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, [15] but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. (1 Corinthians 11:14-15 ESV) The prophet Isaiah said this about Jesus, the Messiah to come, he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2 ESV) So, Jesus was an ordinary looking, every day Jewish guy...as far as looks go. It was His character that was Divinely wonderful, it was His very being and essence that shined. When a person looked at Him, what did they see? Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:6-7 ESV)

No one knows what Jesus physically looked like when he was on the earth. There is little reference to his looks in the Bible. The beauty of Jesus is his Word and Hope, one passage being, [16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19] And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21] But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:16-21 ESV)

He came into this world to testify to the Truth, John 18:37. What hope have you? Self is not the answer...I know the broken self.

Go Steelers!!!

That was a bad luck wish.  Actually, I want the Pack to win!