Many people have their own picture of what Jesus looks like. In Western culture, he is often shown as a light-skinned man with long hair and a beard, dressed in a light-colored robe with long sleeves.
His face is so well-known that some folks say they spot him on food items like pancakes and toast. There was even a guy in New York who claimed, “I Found Jesus in My Chicken Tikka Masala.”
According to forensic experts, earlier interpretations of Jesus–in food, your mind, or in famous paintings–are likely wrong.
Many paintings and drawings of Jesus have been made over the years, but no one really knows what he looked like for sure.
The image of Jesus that we often think of comes from famous artworks, like Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” from 1498, Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” from 1541, and El Greco’s “Christ Carrying the Cross” from 1540.
These artworks, along with how Jesus is shown in movies and TV shows, usually depict him as a man with long hair, often blue eyes, and wearing a robe that shows his feet in sandals.
But there is nothing written in the New Testament offering evidence to his physical appearance, nor are there skeletal or other remains allowing a DNA analysis.
His real appearance has remained a mystery but now, experts believe they created a more accurate representation of the Son of God.
AI-created Jesus
A Dutch photographer and digital artist used cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to produce a “historically accurate” image of Jesus.
Bas Uterwijk, who is really good at making pictures with algorithms, shared that he used a special computer program called a neural network. This program learned from tons of photos and paintings of people’s faces. He said, “I looked at different cultural images of Jesus from the Byzantine and Renaissance periods, like Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting ‘Salvator Mundi’ and the Turin Shroud. I adjusted the features to make the face look more like a believable Middle-Eastern person.”
My Jesus portrait is going pretty viral on Twitter at the moment, without me being tagged so for everyone interested…Posted by Bas Uterwijk on Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Uterwijk said he “felt it lacked any historical accuracy,” so he “changed the hair and beard to a more credible length and style for the time and region,” and “brought in elements found in some Fayum mummy portraits, pushing the renaissance art to the background.”
He added, “The result is an artistic impression of how this man could have looked, more than it is a scientific search for an exact likeness.”
Forensic reconstruction
British forensic experts and Israeli archaeologists worked together to create a 3D image of Jesus Christ’s face. They did this by studying Semite skulls and using modern forensic techniques.
Dr. Richard Neave, who wrote the book “Making Faces: Using Forensic and Archaeological Evidence,” is known for his amazing facial reconstructions. He has also worked on the faces of historical figures like King Phillip II of Macedonia, who was the father of Alexander the Great, and King Midas.
Neave, a retired medical artist and expert in facial reconstruction, led the team that used forensic anthropology to recreate Jesus’s face, which surprised many people.
The resulting images suggest that Jesus may have had a broad face, dark eyes, short dark hair, a thick beard, and tanned skin. These characteristics are typical of Galilean Semites from his time, matching a description found in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, which mentions that Jesus looked a lot like his disciples.
Neave, formerly from the University of Manchester, emphasized that the recreation is of an adult man living at the same time and place as Jesus, but some experts say the depiction is far more accurate than the famous masterpieces.
Analyzing data
The process requires a deep dive into cultural and archaeological information, using methods that are a lot like those used in criminal investigations.
The team took X-rays of three Semite skulls that were discovered earlier by Israeli archaeologists, all from the same era. They then used computerized tomography to create visual “slices” of the skulls, which showed important details about their structure.
After running programs to figure out the density of muscles and skin, the experts created a digital 3D model of a face. They also made a cast of the skull and added clay to it to match the thickness of the facial tissues that the program had calculated.
Finally, they added features like the eyes, lips, and nose, following the expected shape of the skulls.
Unwavering FAITH.Unconditional LOVE.Eternal LIFE. “Jesus” (by Akiane Kramarik, 2017)Happy Easter everyone✨https://akiane.comPosted by Akiane Kramarik on Sunday, April 4, 2021
What the skull analysis couldn’t do was reveal his eye color or hair style.
The team continued to explore artwork from the first century that was found at archaeological sites, which was created before the Bible was written. They came up with the idea that Jesus probably had dark eyes and, following Jewish customs of that time, he most likely had a beard.
To figure out what his hairstyle might have been, the experts looked at the Bible and concluded that Jesus probably had short hair with tight curls, which is different from how he is usually shown in pictures.
There’s also a passage written by Paul in the Bible that says, “If a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,” which helped the team decide that Jesus had shorter hair.
This idea is quite different from the long-haired image seen in the Shroud of Turin, which appeared in 1354 and is thought by some to show Christ after he was wrapped in a cloth following his crucifixion.
To estimate Jesus’ height and weight, the team studied the skeletal remains of Semite men to find out the average size of a Jewish man in Galilee. They discovered that Jesus was likely a smaller man, around 5-foot-1 and weighing about 110 pounds.
And, because he mostly worked outside as a carpenter until he was 30, experts also hypothesize that he was tanned and had larger muscles than traditional Western arts suggests.
Replying to the story posted on Facebook, people commented with a resounding, “Amen!”
Interestingly, the new depictions are closer to the “Prince of Peace,” that was painted by Akiane Kramarik when she was only eight. Akiane said she saw the image of Jesus in her dreams and now the painting is priceless and known internationally.
Without question, the recent findings may upset some devout followers, specifically those who look for his popular image in food.
“When I put my fork down it moved a little bit of sauce around the eyes. I didn’t think anything of it, but that actually turned it into Jesus,” said Jeff Jordyn, 52, who in 2022 was eating some chicken tikka masala when suddenly he saw the face of Christ in his curry. Comparing the image in the curry to how Christ is famously portrayed in historical illustrations, Jordyn added, “This is the only time I’ve had someone appear in my food. I’m not real big on divine intervention.”
New York man sees Jesus in his curry https://t.co/cxzI3Fplsz pic.twitter.com/0bOAHCAeQI
— New York Post (@nypost) November 1, 2022
Perhaps now people will start looking for a Jesus with different physical characteristics.
Science and technology offers incredible insights into our past and it’s interesting to see what the experts did in recreating an image of Jesus.
What do you think of this story?
Please share and let’s hear what others say about Jesus’ new look!