Jesus

"What was Jesus like? This is a question that occupies the minds of many who have wandered in the past. It is certain that opinions will never be unanimous on this question. Each person's own image of Jesus is often quite contrary to the doctrines and traditions of Christianity. The painter or sculptor imagines Christ in a very different light from the laborer. They all see Him as wonderful and try to strip Him of as much of the earthly and the human as possible. The other day (1894) our daily newspaper published a letter of Lentulus to the Roman Senate, in which he describes Jesus with remarkable fidelity. The part of the letter concerning Jesus reads. "His name is Jesus Christ. The people consider him a prophet, his disciples consider him the Son of God. He raises the dead and heals the sick. He is a tall man, but all his parts are very regular. His countenance is stern and has a wonderful effect on everyone; he is to be feared, but also to be loved involuntarily. His light straw wine-colored hair covers his head smoothly up to his ears, and from there and around his neck it falls in thick, shining curls over his shoulders. He has a clear high forehead, and an extremely delicate complexion, with only a faint blush. His features are fair and pleasing, his nose and mouth impeccable. His mustache and beard are of the same color as his hair and are as thick. His eyes are blue and bright. When she scolds someone, her words ring with great power, when she teaches, her voice is soft and gentle. His features reflect courage and dignity. No one has ever seen him laugh or cry. Everything he says is clever and meaningful, and not a word is superfluous. He is perhaps the most beautiful man on earth." My note: The letter is undoubtedly a fabrication, for Jesus could not have been a well-fed and indoor man. His face must have been transformed when he spoke, if it was not beautiful, it became beautiful. All the face-masking and face-pleasing arts in the world cannot make a face so beautiful as the soul that dwells in it. The face is transparent. The soul shines through it. The face of the noble soul bewitches man. It is ethereal. We feel that: that man is not a slave to the interests of the earthly. He is above them. It is in our spiritual instinct that the inferior should yield to the noble."