Images of Christ

What shall we say regarding the paintings and statues that depict our Lord Jesus Christ? While one may acknowledge their artistic merit, we must speak honestly and humbly: such images are the imaginative renderings of artists and sculptors. They are not faithful representations of our Saviour.

What does Holy Scripture reveal on this matter? As Christians, we affirm with joy that in the incarnation, the eternal Son of God took on human flesh. He walked among his contemporaries—seen, touched, and heard by them. This, however, is not our present experience.

Yet the Bible does offer us a glimpse, however veiled, into the appearance of the Messiah during his passion: “His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance... He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Is. 52:14; 53:2) – a sorrowful image that speaks to the depth of what our Lord endured for the redemption of his people.

It is no wonder, then, that the Church longs for her Beloved. She loves him, and lives in anticipation of his return. Until that day, she waits in faith. What the Apostle Peter once wrote to the early believers continues to echo through the ages: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Pt. 1:8). As the Apostle Paul also reminds us, we “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Some may respond, “But I see no harm in images of Christ. I feel they help me to understand him and worship him more deeply.”

Dear friend, consider carefully what you are saying. How is it that you are at ease with an image that is not true to him? What can such portrayals truly teach you, if not falsehood? Can genuine worship arise from what is not real? And why, when the Word of God says, “you do not now see him,” do you persist in seeking to behold him through what is merely a human creation?

To all who sincerely desire Christ, I offer this exhortation: lay aside these images. Let us, instead, turn daily to the Word of God. In the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reveals the glory of Christ—not outwardly, but through the truth that sanctifies the heart. As we meditate upon the Word, we are drawn nearer to him and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, even as we await his appearing in glory. "We know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn. 3:2).