#69 White Jesus

Let's talk about this guy:

That's white Jesus. Of all the portrayals of Jesus that I've seen in my life, probably at least 95% of them have the skin color you see above. My daughter Lanie received a wonderful Nativity set for Christmas. She loves it, and I love it. It reminds us that Jesus, the Son of God, was born as a weak, poor baby who had to be laid in a manger because that's the best space His parents could find for Him. But the baby Jesus figure in this Nativity set is shockingly white.

Here's the thing: Jesus wasn't white. The Bible is unflinchingly clear that Jesus was Jewish. His mother Mary and her ancestors lived in modern-day Israel and Palestine (with stints in modern-day Egypt and Iraq). Based on what we know of people native to those regions, Jesus' skin would have been an olive or brown color. He probably would've looked more like this:

It's important for us to remember that Jesus was Jewish. Otherwise pretty much the whole Old Testament (and large portions of the New Testament) won't make sense. Jesus was born to fulfill the promises that God had made to the Jewish people. The magi were correct to say that Jesus was born king of the Jews.

So Jesus was Jewish. But it's also true that the work God did through the Jewish people and especially through Jesus is for all humanity, people of every skin color and ethnicity. Jesus lived in a specific time and place, but He came to be the Savior of the whole world throughout history. So white Jesus isn't totally bad. White Jesus can help white people better understand that Jesus is human like they are and that Jesus came to save them. But if we're going to depict Jesus as a European, we can't stop there. We also need Sioux Jesus and Indian Jesus and Korean Jesus and Sudanese Jesus. We should depict Jesus in every skin tone. If our churches are going to have artwork of Jesus, it would be best to have a wide variety of portrayals of Jesus to remind us that He doesn't belong to any specific race or nation or ethnicity. Jesus is for everyone; Christian artwork should help us remember that.

Grace and peace,
BMH