The Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus is the Son of God, “who was born of Mary the Virgin, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, on the third day rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, sittith on the right hand of the Father, from which he cometh to judge the living and the dead.”
It is believed that Jesus was born around 4 B.C.E., probably in March or April, and was put to death April 4, 33 C.E. Most people assume the story of Jesus is well documented biblically and historically. This may or may not be true, based on what one is willing to believe.
From a biblical perspective, many Bible scholars have doubts about who the authors of the New Testament books were and when the books (or letters) were written. Most scholars agree that Mark was the first of the Gospels written, and was followed by Matthew, Luke and John. The later writers most likely used the book of Mark and added the stories of Jesus’ birth. Since the beginning of Christianity, there have been controversies about which books should be canonized (accepted as truly God-inspired Christian literature) and which ones to declare heresy. In fact, the books of Peter, James, Jude, Hebrews and Revelation were all heavily disputed by some early Christians.
Some of the Apostles of Jesus (the 12 men trained and commissioned by Jesus personally) doubted the authenticity of Paul’s conversion and his authority as an apostle, an issue still debated. There are many Christian ministers today who reject his authority. These and other matters produce some difficulty in developing historical certainty regarding the life of Jesus, and cause complications in developing religious doctrines for Christians to live by.
From a historical perspective, there is no widely accepted evidence from the time Jesus lived to verify that he ever existed. The Bible and non-canonical documents that support the existence of Jesus are often dismissed by critics as subjective Christian propaganda and myth. They were all written years after the time Jesus is believed to have lived. The lack of evidence current to the time of Jesus does not mean that he never existed. It may mean that the Christian writers developed a better understanding of the ministry and personal history of Jesus after the time of his death and resurrection.
There also exists non-Christian references to the existence of Jesus. The 1st century Roman historian Tacitus reported that a man called Christus was executed under Tiberius and Pontius Pilate. The report about Jesus by Josephus is given in his The Antiquities of the Jews, though not preserved in its original form.
Gerald Massey rejects these sources as “forgeries” and argues that the lack of “contemporary testimony or recognition” is due to the biblical Jesus being a mythical figure based on a 1st century B.C.E. man named Jehoshua ben Pandira, as recorded in the Talmud. Jehoshua (or Yehoshua) is the original Aramaic for the more popular Greek version of the name “Jesus.” The Talmud reports that Jehoshua was trained in Egypt, performed many miracles and was put to death as a sorcerer.
It took many years for the biblical image of Jesus to crystalize. The nature of Christ was still being disputed by church leaders well into the 5th century B.C.E. and the development of the many different Christian denominations resulted from varying interpretations.
The acknowledgment of Jesus as “Christ” is the most important element of the Christian religion. The title “Christ” is derived from the Greek term Christos, which means the anointed. It is equivalent to the Hebrew mashiackh, from which the word “messiah” is derived. There is also a belief that the term “Christ” has some affinity to the Egyptian term karast, which refers to the mummification process of embalming a corpse, perfuming it and standing it upright. The common Hebrew concept of anointing involved the belief that a person anointed with certain oils gained superior or supernatural powers. According to J.A. Rogers, “Christ” comes from the Indian term Krishna or Chrishna, meaning “The Black One.”
The pre-Christian era Jewish anticipation of an “Expected One” was expressed in the post-Christian era as the “Christ.” The recognition of Jesus as Christ did not come easy and the establishing of Christianity as a religion independent of Judaism took many years.
It is difficult to establish biblical and historical consensus about the life of Jesus. The issue of how early Christians depicted him physically is just as complicated and probably more controversial.
Since the 2nd century, there have been physical depictions made of Jesus. The Bible gives no description of him. In the book of Isaiah (Chapter 53, Verse 2) a prophesy is given that is accepted as being about Jesus, which says “he has no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” In Revelations 1:15 and Daniel 7:9 he is described, somewhat metaphorically, as having hair like wool and feet like burned brass.
In the 4th century one depiction of Jesus is reported to have become quite popular. This image was based on the Letter of Lentulus, supposedly written by a Roman official named Lentulus during the time Jesus lived. The letter has no credibility and was most likely a forgery. Lentulus (whose existence is questionable) was supposedly Pontius Pilate’s superior and was believed to have written a report to Tiberius Caesar, including a warrant for the arrest of Jesus that provided this physical description:
At this time there appeared and is still living a man, if indeed he can be called a man at all, of great powers named the Christ, who is called Jesus. The people term him the prophet of truth; his disciples call him Son of God, who wakens the dead and heals the sick, a man of erect stature, of medium height, fifteen and a half fist high, of temperate and estimable appearance, with a manner inspiring of respect, nut-brown hair which is smooth to the ears and from the ears downward shaped in gentle locks and flowing down over the shoulders in ample curls, parted in the middle after the manner of the Nazarenes, with an even and clear brow, a face without spot or wrinkles, and of healthy color. Nose and mouth are flawless; he wears a luxuriant beard of the color of his hair. He has a simple and mature gaze, large, blue-grey eyes that are uncommonly varied in expressiveness, fearsome when he scolds and gentle and affectionate when he admonishes. He is gravely cheerful, weeps often, but has never been seen to laugh. In figure he is upright and straight. His hands and arms are well shaped. In conversation he is grave, mild and modest, so that the word of the prophet concerning the ‘fairest of the sons of men’ (Psalms 45:2) can be applied to him.
This letter lacks credibility because of its blatant flattery of Jesus, uncommon for a Roman official. Its identification of Jesus as the Christ, Son of God and Prophet of truth were all ascribed to him after his crucifixion. The use of a scriptural reference further proves that it was written by a Christian supporter of Jesus and not a Roman official who wanted to arrest him.
In 705 C.E., during the second rule of the Roman Emperor Justinian II, a gold coin was minted that had Justinian and Tiberius on one side and Jesus on the other. The image of Jesus on this coin is of a man with an afro, facial hair of crisp curls, thick lips and a full nose. This image replaced a more European image that appeared on an earlier coin.
Paintings of Jesus from the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. are found in the Catacomb of Dormitilla. One painting shows a profile of a man with a thin nose, thin lips, very dark skin and black hair. Another painting, called “The Good Shepherd,” shows a very dark skinned young man with an afro-like hair style.
There are no known portrayals of Jesus from the 1st century C.E. and very few assigned to the 2nd century. Jesus did not become a hero to European people until more than 300 years after his death. They had no reason to honor him with portraits and statues. The Christians were basically considered enemies of Rome until the 4th century C.E. when, under the rule of Constantine, the Edict of Milan ended persecution of the Christians. After the reign of Constantine, Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman empire.
Unlike today, they had no cameras, video tapes or computers to record and maintain an accurate image of Jesus or his contemporaries. Under Roman persecution, the destruction of Christian literature and symbols often occurred. This may account for the lack of images of Jesus from Christian communities of the first 300 years of the religion. It is unwise to expect a former oppressor to depict the national heros of its former enemy accurately. The Romans could not defeat the Christians so they absorbed them into Roman culture in the 4th century. This assimilation produced a synthesized version of the religion and synthesized images to represent the religion. However, there were a few images produced in Rome that depict Jesus as a black man, such as the 7th century gold coin shown on page 61.
Despite the lack of early images, the portrayals of Jesus and Mary, popularly known as the “Black Madonna and Child,” remain as positive proof that they were perceived as black people. In 1125 C.E. Rupert the Benedictine stated that paintings of Mary, common to his time, show her as “dark” and “black.” Today, there may be as many as 600 Black Madonnas, mostly in Europe.
In the 16th century C.E. there were 190 known Black Madonnas in France and today there may be as many as 300 there. According to William Mosley, author of What Color Was Jesus? “Hundreds of thousands make the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Black Madonna at Alt-Otting in West Germany.” He also states that “Many believe that through contact with these images one can be healed of sickness and diseases, and there have been many published reports to that effect. The Black Virgin of Kazan, also called ‘the miracle Ikon of Holy Russia,’ is noted for the alleged miracles it has performed.”
The fact that Jesus was a 1st century Jew supports the belief that he was a black man. In his family lineage are found Hamite women (Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba). He was of the tribe of Judah, considered a rabbi (teacher) by his contemporaries and allowed to teach in the synagogue. This respect and authority would not have been given to him if he were not perceived as a pure Jew.
In 2002 Popular Mechanics magazine raised the ire of many of its readers by publishing a cover story entitled “Real Face of Jesus.” By using modern techniques in forensic anthropology, researcher A. Midori Albert was able to construct an image of what a normal Galilean Semite of Jesus time would look like. The resulting image, which appears on the cover of the December 2002 edition of the magazine, depicts Jesus as a dark skinned man with brown eyes, black curly/woolish hair, mustache and beard, a broad nose and thick lips.
Most recently, traditions about Jesus’ supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene have also shined light on the concept of Jesus’ ethnicity. Mary Magdalene is certainly a somewhat enigmatic biblical personality. Questions loom regarding her character, identity and ethnicity. It is possible that she was an African woman from Magdala in Ethiopia. According to a popular legend from the southern coast of France, in 42 C.E. several Christians arrived in a boat with no oars on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul in order to escape Christian persecution. Among the voyagers was Mary Magdalene and a young girl who was presented as her servant girl, but is purported to be Jesus’ and Mary Magdalene’s daughter. The child is identified as “Sarah the Egyptian,” or “Sarah la Kali,” which literally means “Black Sarah.” Though it can not be proven that she was the daughter of Mary Magdalene (or Jesus), it is interesting to note that the one person who is traditionally or historically referred to as the offspring of Jesus is also black.
There is no sin in seeing Jesus as a black man. Many people say that it does not matter what color he was, yet they refuse to replace their “white Jesus” image with a black one. Some people choose to use no image, but this will not erase the white image embedded in their minds.
The biblical Jesus was a black man. As a carpenter he was physically strong. He lived part of his life with no father. He came from Nazareth, a town in the Galilee region of Palestine where the people had the reputation of being of “passionate and lawless character.” He was considered a threat by the established political and religious leaders. He was a revolutionary who chose to change the world with a sword of truth. He was tried as a criminal and put to death.
Many black youth would benefit from knowing this perspective of Jesus. Like Jesus, many of today’s black youth work as laborers; they are fatherless; they live in communities where the people have the perceived reputation of being lawless; they are considered a threat to society; and they are tried as criminals and put in prison to die. It may not matter to some people what color Jesus was, but it may make the difference to those who have rejected the Gospel as “the white man’s religion.”
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
THE BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL JESUS by James C. Anyike
THE BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL JESUS
(From Historical Christianity African Centered by James C. Anyike) 
The Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus is the Son of God, “who was born of Mary the Virgin, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, on the third day rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, sittith on the right hand of the Father, from which he cometh to judge the living and the dead.”
It is believed that Jesus was born around 4 B.C.E., probably in March or April, and was put to death April 4, 33 C.E. Most people assume the story of Jesus is well documented biblically and historically. This may or may not be true, based on what one is willing to believe.
From a biblical perspective, many Bible scholars have doubts about who the authors of the New Testament books were and when the books (or letters) were written. Most scholars agree that Mark was the first of the Gospels written, and was followed by Matthew, Luke and John. The later writers most likely used the book of Mark and added the stories of Jesus’ birth. Since the beginning of Christianity, there have been controversies about which books should be canonized (accepted as truly God-inspired Christian literature) and which ones to declare heresy. In fact, the books of Peter, James, Jude, Hebrews and Revelation were all heavily disputed by some early Christians.
Some of the Apostles of Jesus (the 12 men trained and commissioned by Jesus personally) doubted the authenticity of Paul’s conversion and his authority as an apostle, an issue still debated. There are many Christian ministers today who reject his authority. These and other matters produce some difficulty in developing historical certainty regarding the life of Jesus, and cause complications in developing religious doctrines for Christians to live by.
From a historical perspective, there is no widely accepted evidence from the time Jesus lived to verify that he ever existed. The Bible and non-canonical documents that support the existence of Jesus are often dismissed by critics as subjective Christian propaganda and myth. They were all written years after the time Jesus is believed to have lived. The lack of evidence current to the time of Jesus does not mean that he never existed. It may mean that the Christian writers developed a better understanding of the ministry and personal history of Jesus after the time of his death and resurrection.
There also exists non-Christian references to the existence of Jesus. The 1st century Roman historian Tacitus reported that a man called Christus was executed under Tiberius and Pontius Pilate. The report about Jesus by Josephus is given in his The Antiquities of the Jews, though not preserved in its original form.
Gerald Massey rejects these sources as “forgeries” and argues that the lack of “contemporary testimony or recognition” is due to the biblical Jesus being a mythical figure based on a 1st century B.C.E. man named Jehoshua ben Pandira, as recorded in the Talmud. Jehoshua (or Yehoshua) is the original Aramaic for the more popular Greek version of the name “Jesus.” The Talmud reports that Jehoshua was trained in Egypt, performed many miracles and was put to death as a sorcerer.
It took many years for the biblical image of Jesus to crystalize. The nature of Christ was still being disputed by church leaders well into the 5th century B.C.E. and the development of the many different Christian denominations resulted from varying interpretations.
The acknowledgment of Jesus as “Christ” is the most important element of the Christian religion. The title “Christ” is derived from the Greek term Christos, which means the anointed. It is equivalent to the Hebrew mashiackh, from which the word “messiah” is derived. There is also a belief that the term “Christ” has some affinity to the Egyptian term karast, which refers to the mummification process of embalming a corpse, perfuming it and standing it upright. The common Hebrew concept of anointing involved the belief that a person anointed with certain oils gained superior or supernatural powers. According to J.A. Rogers, “Christ” comes from the Indian term Krishna or Chrishna, meaning “The Black One.”
The pre-Christian era Jewish anticipation of an “Expected One” was expressed in the post-Christian era as the “Christ.” The recognition of Jesus as Christ did not come easy and the establishing of Christianity as a religion independent of Judaism took many years.
It is difficult to establish biblical and historical consensus about the life of Jesus. The issue of how early Christians depicted him physically is just as complicated and probably more controversial.
Since the 2nd century, there have been physical depictions made of Jesus. The Bible gives no description of him. In the book of Isaiah (Chapter 53, Verse 2) a prophesy is given that is accepted as being about Jesus, which says “he has no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” In Revelations 1:15 and Daniel 7:9 he is described, somewhat metaphorically, as having hair like wool and feet like burned brass.
In the 4th century one depiction of Jesus is reported to have become quite popular. This image was based on the Letter of Lentulus, supposedly written by a Roman official named Lentulus during the time Jesus lived. The letter has no credibility and was most likely a forgery. Lentulus (whose existence is questionable) was supposedly Pontius Pilate’s superior and was believed to have written a report to Tiberius Caesar, including a warrant for the arrest of Jesus that provided this physical description:
At this time there appeared and is still living a man, if indeed he can be called a man at all, of great powers named the Christ, who is called Jesus. The people term him the prophet of truth; his disciples call him Son of God, who wakens the dead and heals the sick, a man of erect stature, of medium height, fifteen and a half fist high, of temperate and estimable appearance, with a manner inspiring of respect, nut-brown hair which is smooth to the ears and from the ears downward shaped in gentle locks and flowing down over the shoulders in ample curls, parted in the middle after the manner of the Nazarenes, with an even and clear brow, a face without spot or wrinkles, and of healthy color. Nose and mouth are flawless; he wears a luxuriant beard of the color of his hair. He has a simple and mature gaze, large, blue-grey eyes that are uncommonly varied in expressiveness, fearsome when he scolds and gentle and affectionate when he admonishes. He is gravely cheerful, weeps often, but has never been seen to laugh. In figure he is upright and straight. His hands and arms are well shaped. In conversation he is grave, mild and modest, so that the word of the prophet concerning the ‘fairest of the sons of men’ (Psalms 45:2) can be applied to him.
This letter lacks credibility because of its blatant flattery of Jesus, uncommon for a Roman official. Its identification of Jesus as the Christ, Son of God and Prophet of truth were all ascribed to him after his crucifixion. The use of a scriptural reference further proves that it was written by a Christian supporter of Jesus and not a Roman official who wanted to arrest him.
In 705 C.E., during the second rule of the Roman Emperor Justinian II, a gold coin was minted that had Justinian and Tiberius on one side and Jesus on the other. The image of Jesus on this coin is of a man with an afro, facial hair of crisp curls, thick lips and a full nose. This image replaced a more European image that appeared on an earlier coin.
Paintings of Jesus from the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. are found in the Catacomb of Dormitilla. One painting shows a profile of a man with a thin nose, thin lips, very dark skin and black hair. Another painting, called “The Good Shepherd,” shows a very dark skinned young man with an afro-like hair style.
There are no known portrayals of Jesus from the 1st century C.E. and very few assigned to the 2nd century. Jesus did not become a hero to European people until more than 300 years after his death. They had no reason to honor him with portraits and statues. The Christians were basically considered enemies of Rome until the 4th century C.E. when, under the rule of Constantine, the Edict of Milan ended persecution of the Christians. After the reign of Constantine, Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman empire.
Unlike today, they had no cameras, video tapes or computers to record and maintain an accurate image of Jesus or his contemporaries. Under Roman persecution, the destruction of Christian literature and symbols often occurred. This may account for the lack of images of Jesus from Christian communities of the first 300 years of the religion. It is unwise to expect a former oppressor to depict the national heros of its former enemy accurately. The Romans could not defeat the Christians so they absorbed them into Roman culture in the 4th century. This assimilation produced a synthesized version of the religion and synthesized images to represent the religion. However, there were a few images produced in Rome that depict Jesus as a black man, such as the 7th century gold coin shown on page 61.
Despite the lack of early images, the portrayals of Jesus and Mary, popularly known as the “Black Madonna and Child,” remain as positive proof that they were perceived as black people. In 1125 C.E. Rupert the Benedictine stated that paintings of Mary, common to his time, show her as “dark” and “black.” Today, there may be as many as 600 Black Madonnas, mostly in Europe.
In the 16th century C.E. there were 190 known Black Madonnas in France and today there may be as many as 300 there. According to William Mosley, author of What Color Was Jesus? “Hundreds of thousands make the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Black Madonna at Alt-Otting in West Germany.” He also states that “Many believe that through contact with these images one can be healed of sickness and diseases, and there have been many published reports to that effect. The Black Virgin of Kazan, also called ‘the miracle Ikon of Holy Russia,’ is noted for the alleged miracles it has performed.”
The fact that Jesus was a 1st century Jew supports the belief that he was a black man. In his family lineage are found Hamite women (Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba). He was of the tribe of Judah, considered a rabbi (teacher) by his contemporaries and allowed to teach in the synagogue. This respect and authority would not have been given to him if he were not perceived as a pure Jew.
In 2002 Popular Mechanics magazine raised the ire of many of its readers by publishing a cover story entitled “Real Face of Jesus.” By using modern techniques in forensic anthropology, researcher A. Midori Albert was able to construct an image of what a normal Galilean Semite of Jesus time would look like. The resulting image, which appears on the cover of the December 2002 edition of the magazine, depicts Jesus as a dark skinned man with brown eyes, black curly/woolish hair, mustache and beard, a broad nose and thick lips.
Most recently, traditions about Jesus’ supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene have also shined light on the concept of Jesus’ ethnicity. Mary Magdalene is certainly a somewhat enigmatic biblical personality. Questions loom regarding her character, identity and ethnicity. It is possible that she was an African woman from Magdala in Ethiopia. According to a popular legend from the southern coast of France, in 42 C.E. several Christians arrived in a boat with no oars on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul in order to escape Christian persecution. Among the voyagers was Mary Magdalene and a young girl who was presented as her servant girl, but is purported to be Jesus’ and Mary Magdalene’s daughter. The child is identified as “Sarah the Egyptian,” or “Sarah la Kali,” which literally means “Black Sarah.” Though it can not be proven that she was the daughter of Mary Magdalene (or Jesus), it is interesting to note that the one person who is traditionally or historically referred to as the offspring of Jesus is also black.
There is no sin in seeing Jesus as a black man. Many people say that it does not matter what color he was, yet they refuse to replace their “white Jesus” image with a black one. Some people choose to use no image, but this will not erase the white image embedded in their minds.
The biblical Jesus was a black man. As a carpenter he was physically strong. He lived part of his life with no father. He came from Nazareth, a town in the Galilee region of Palestine where the people had the reputation of being of “passionate and lawless character.” He was considered a threat by the established political and religious leaders. He was a revolutionary who chose to change the world with a sword of truth. He was tried as a criminal and put to death.
Many black youth would benefit from knowing this perspective of Jesus. Like Jesus, many of today’s black youth work as laborers; they are fatherless; they live in communities where the people have the perceived reputation of being lawless; they are considered a threat to society; and they are tried as criminals and put in prison to die. It may not matter to some people what color Jesus was, but it may make the difference to those who have rejected the Gospel as “the white man’s religion.”
The Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus is the Son of God, “who was born of Mary the Virgin, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, on the third day rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, sittith on the right hand of the Father, from which he cometh to judge the living and the dead.”
It is believed that Jesus was born around 4 B.C.E., probably in March or April, and was put to death April 4, 33 C.E. Most people assume the story of Jesus is well documented biblically and historically. This may or may not be true, based on what one is willing to believe.
From a biblical perspective, many Bible scholars have doubts about who the authors of the New Testament books were and when the books (or letters) were written. Most scholars agree that Mark was the first of the Gospels written, and was followed by Matthew, Luke and John. The later writers most likely used the book of Mark and added the stories of Jesus’ birth. Since the beginning of Christianity, there have been controversies about which books should be canonized (accepted as truly God-inspired Christian literature) and which ones to declare heresy. In fact, the books of Peter, James, Jude, Hebrews and Revelation were all heavily disputed by some early Christians.
Some of the Apostles of Jesus (the 12 men trained and commissioned by Jesus personally) doubted the authenticity of Paul’s conversion and his authority as an apostle, an issue still debated. There are many Christian ministers today who reject his authority. These and other matters produce some difficulty in developing historical certainty regarding the life of Jesus, and cause complications in developing religious doctrines for Christians to live by.
From a historical perspective, there is no widely accepted evidence from the time Jesus lived to verify that he ever existed. The Bible and non-canonical documents that support the existence of Jesus are often dismissed by critics as subjective Christian propaganda and myth. They were all written years after the time Jesus is believed to have lived. The lack of evidence current to the time of Jesus does not mean that he never existed. It may mean that the Christian writers developed a better understanding of the ministry and personal history of Jesus after the time of his death and resurrection.
There also exists non-Christian references to the existence of Jesus. The 1st century Roman historian Tacitus reported that a man called Christus was executed under Tiberius and Pontius Pilate. The report about Jesus by Josephus is given in his The Antiquities of the Jews, though not preserved in its original form.
Gerald Massey rejects these sources as “forgeries” and argues that the lack of “contemporary testimony or recognition” is due to the biblical Jesus being a mythical figure based on a 1st century B.C.E. man named Jehoshua ben Pandira, as recorded in the Talmud. Jehoshua (or Yehoshua) is the original Aramaic for the more popular Greek version of the name “Jesus.” The Talmud reports that Jehoshua was trained in Egypt, performed many miracles and was put to death as a sorcerer.
It took many years for the biblical image of Jesus to crystalize. The nature of Christ was still being disputed by church leaders well into the 5th century B.C.E. and the development of the many different Christian denominations resulted from varying interpretations.
The acknowledgment of Jesus as “Christ” is the most important element of the Christian religion. The title “Christ” is derived from the Greek term Christos, which means the anointed. It is equivalent to the Hebrew mashiackh, from which the word “messiah” is derived. There is also a belief that the term “Christ” has some affinity to the Egyptian term karast, which refers to the mummification process of embalming a corpse, perfuming it and standing it upright. The common Hebrew concept of anointing involved the belief that a person anointed with certain oils gained superior or supernatural powers. According to J.A. Rogers, “Christ” comes from the Indian term Krishna or Chrishna, meaning “The Black One.”
The pre-Christian era Jewish anticipation of an “Expected One” was expressed in the post-Christian era as the “Christ.” The recognition of Jesus as Christ did not come easy and the establishing of Christianity as a religion independent of Judaism took many years.
It is difficult to establish biblical and historical consensus about the life of Jesus. The issue of how early Christians depicted him physically is just as complicated and probably more controversial.
Since the 2nd century, there have been physical depictions made of Jesus. The Bible gives no description of him. In the book of Isaiah (Chapter 53, Verse 2) a prophesy is given that is accepted as being about Jesus, which says “he has no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” In Revelations 1:15 and Daniel 7:9 he is described, somewhat metaphorically, as having hair like wool and feet like burned brass.
In the 4th century one depiction of Jesus is reported to have become quite popular. This image was based on the Letter of Lentulus, supposedly written by a Roman official named Lentulus during the time Jesus lived. The letter has no credibility and was most likely a forgery. Lentulus (whose existence is questionable) was supposedly Pontius Pilate’s superior and was believed to have written a report to Tiberius Caesar, including a warrant for the arrest of Jesus that provided this physical description:
At this time there appeared and is still living a man, if indeed he can be called a man at all, of great powers named the Christ, who is called Jesus. The people term him the prophet of truth; his disciples call him Son of God, who wakens the dead and heals the sick, a man of erect stature, of medium height, fifteen and a half fist high, of temperate and estimable appearance, with a manner inspiring of respect, nut-brown hair which is smooth to the ears and from the ears downward shaped in gentle locks and flowing down over the shoulders in ample curls, parted in the middle after the manner of the Nazarenes, with an even and clear brow, a face without spot or wrinkles, and of healthy color. Nose and mouth are flawless; he wears a luxuriant beard of the color of his hair. He has a simple and mature gaze, large, blue-grey eyes that are uncommonly varied in expressiveness, fearsome when he scolds and gentle and affectionate when he admonishes. He is gravely cheerful, weeps often, but has never been seen to laugh. In figure he is upright and straight. His hands and arms are well shaped. In conversation he is grave, mild and modest, so that the word of the prophet concerning the ‘fairest of the sons of men’ (Psalms 45:2) can be applied to him.
This letter lacks credibility because of its blatant flattery of Jesus, uncommon for a Roman official. Its identification of Jesus as the Christ, Son of God and Prophet of truth were all ascribed to him after his crucifixion. The use of a scriptural reference further proves that it was written by a Christian supporter of Jesus and not a Roman official who wanted to arrest him.
In 705 C.E., during the second rule of the Roman Emperor Justinian II, a gold coin was minted that had Justinian and Tiberius on one side and Jesus on the other. The image of Jesus on this coin is of a man with an afro, facial hair of crisp curls, thick lips and a full nose. This image replaced a more European image that appeared on an earlier coin.
Paintings of Jesus from the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. are found in the Catacomb of Dormitilla. One painting shows a profile of a man with a thin nose, thin lips, very dark skin and black hair. Another painting, called “The Good Shepherd,” shows a very dark skinned young man with an afro-like hair style.
There are no known portrayals of Jesus from the 1st century C.E. and very few assigned to the 2nd century. Jesus did not become a hero to European people until more than 300 years after his death. They had no reason to honor him with portraits and statues. The Christians were basically considered enemies of Rome until the 4th century C.E. when, under the rule of Constantine, the Edict of Milan ended persecution of the Christians. After the reign of Constantine, Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman empire.
Unlike today, they had no cameras, video tapes or computers to record and maintain an accurate image of Jesus or his contemporaries. Under Roman persecution, the destruction of Christian literature and symbols often occurred. This may account for the lack of images of Jesus from Christian communities of the first 300 years of the religion. It is unwise to expect a former oppressor to depict the national heros of its former enemy accurately. The Romans could not defeat the Christians so they absorbed them into Roman culture in the 4th century. This assimilation produced a synthesized version of the religion and synthesized images to represent the religion. However, there were a few images produced in Rome that depict Jesus as a black man, such as the 7th century gold coin shown on page 61.
Despite the lack of early images, the portrayals of Jesus and Mary, popularly known as the “Black Madonna and Child,” remain as positive proof that they were perceived as black people. In 1125 C.E. Rupert the Benedictine stated that paintings of Mary, common to his time, show her as “dark” and “black.” Today, there may be as many as 600 Black Madonnas, mostly in Europe.
In the 16th century C.E. there were 190 known Black Madonnas in France and today there may be as many as 300 there. According to William Mosley, author of What Color Was Jesus? “Hundreds of thousands make the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Black Madonna at Alt-Otting in West Germany.” He also states that “Many believe that through contact with these images one can be healed of sickness and diseases, and there have been many published reports to that effect. The Black Virgin of Kazan, also called ‘the miracle Ikon of Holy Russia,’ is noted for the alleged miracles it has performed.”
The fact that Jesus was a 1st century Jew supports the belief that he was a black man. In his family lineage are found Hamite women (Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba). He was of the tribe of Judah, considered a rabbi (teacher) by his contemporaries and allowed to teach in the synagogue. This respect and authority would not have been given to him if he were not perceived as a pure Jew.
In 2002 Popular Mechanics magazine raised the ire of many of its readers by publishing a cover story entitled “Real Face of Jesus.” By using modern techniques in forensic anthropology, researcher A. Midori Albert was able to construct an image of what a normal Galilean Semite of Jesus time would look like. The resulting image, which appears on the cover of the December 2002 edition of the magazine, depicts Jesus as a dark skinned man with brown eyes, black curly/woolish hair, mustache and beard, a broad nose and thick lips.
Most recently, traditions about Jesus’ supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene have also shined light on the concept of Jesus’ ethnicity. Mary Magdalene is certainly a somewhat enigmatic biblical personality. Questions loom regarding her character, identity and ethnicity. It is possible that she was an African woman from Magdala in Ethiopia. According to a popular legend from the southern coast of France, in 42 C.E. several Christians arrived in a boat with no oars on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul in order to escape Christian persecution. Among the voyagers was Mary Magdalene and a young girl who was presented as her servant girl, but is purported to be Jesus’ and Mary Magdalene’s daughter. The child is identified as “Sarah the Egyptian,” or “Sarah la Kali,” which literally means “Black Sarah.” Though it can not be proven that she was the daughter of Mary Magdalene (or Jesus), it is interesting to note that the one person who is traditionally or historically referred to as the offspring of Jesus is also black.
There is no sin in seeing Jesus as a black man. Many people say that it does not matter what color he was, yet they refuse to replace their “white Jesus” image with a black one. Some people choose to use no image, but this will not erase the white image embedded in their minds.
The biblical Jesus was a black man. As a carpenter he was physically strong. He lived part of his life with no father. He came from Nazareth, a town in the Galilee region of Palestine where the people had the reputation of being of “passionate and lawless character.” He was considered a threat by the established political and religious leaders. He was a revolutionary who chose to change the world with a sword of truth. He was tried as a criminal and put to death.
Many black youth would benefit from knowing this perspective of Jesus. Like Jesus, many of today’s black youth work as laborers; they are fatherless; they live in communities where the people have the perceived reputation of being lawless; they are considered a threat to society; and they are tried as criminals and put in prison to die. It may not matter to some people what color Jesus was, but it may make the difference to those who have rejected the Gospel as “the white man’s religion.”