A Godly Appearance

“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2). The immortal, the invisible, the only God (I Tim 1:17), veiled in human flesh had none of the characteristics of royalty or divinity in his appearance. This was the invisible God taking on human form and he did not even take the time to give himself a gorgeous body! He gave Saul handsomeness and stature (1 Sam 9:1). He gave David handsomeness, beautiful eyes and ruddiness (1 Sam 16:12). He gave Stephen the face of an angel (Acts 6:15). However, the creator of man and physical human beauty would not even take on human beauty. How condemned we must be in our pursuit of physical beauty. How shameful our assessing value and worth of humans based on their physical appearance. The only God was not handsome or beautiful according to Isaiah’s prophecy. Are we going to challenge this biblical truth and deny his “homely” appearance as it is given to us in Scripture?

Upon meditation and contemplation, this should not surprise us. God knew and still knows our deference to the outward appearance. God knew that we focus on what is on the outside of the cup and not what is inside the cup. God knew we would be looking for and expecting a physical specimen of humanity to bear the Messiah, the Son of God. Because he knew, that we would always focus on the wrong thing, he chose to come in a “homely” body, one that had “no form or majesty that we should” notice Him. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). It was our first and best clue as to what to expect.

Because Jesus came with no special appearance, His appearance itself is a sign, a flag, reminding us and drawing us back to what is important in God’s mind, the attitude of the heart (Luke 6:45). In Jesus’ physical life on this earth it was his heart, a heart given over completely to obedience, that made Jesus special, not his appearance. It is neither our Easter costume, nor our going to Church on Friday and Sunday that will be what God measures, those are all outward appearances. The only thing that God will measure us by this week is the attitude of our hearts. With this humbling and convicting truth upon our minds, let us resolve to spend more time this Holy week dressing-up our hearts instead of our bodies.