(Souce Black History):
Many people of African descent believe that Jesus Christ was a Black man, but the truth is that his physical appearance while on earth is not described in the Bible, a collection of ancient manuscripts cherished by billions of Christians around the world.
It is true that the Bible book of Revelation compares his hair to wool and his feet to “burnished bronze.” However, this is a prophetic description of Jesus while in heaven and Christianity teaches that fleshly elements do not exist in heaven. Therefore, many Christians have concluded that the description of Jesus’ hair and feet uses symbolic language to illustrate his qualities after his heavenly resurrection, not to describe his physical appearance when he was on earth.
According to an article published by JW Library, “Jesus was a Jew and likely inherited common Semitic physical traits from his mother. It is unlikely that his features were especially distinctive. In fact, on one occasion he was able to travel in secret from Galilee to Jerusalem without being recognized. And he apparently did not stand out even among his closest disciples. Recall that Judas Iscariot had to identify Jesus to the armed crowd that arrested him.”
The article also reports that it is very unlikely that Jesus’ hair was long, and that Jesus wore a beard. He also followed Jewish law, which prohibited adult males from ‘disfiguring the edges of their beard.
In addition, Jesus had to have been physically robust because he traveled many miles during his ministry, once overturned the tables of money changers in his Father’s temple, and even once drove out livestock with a whip.
Also, because people of all types approached Jesus, it can reasonably be assumed that his facial expressions reflected kindness and compassion. Even children felt at ease in his presence.
