Picturing Jesus

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4–6)

Those who argue that Christians should not depict Christ in any way frequently only quote the first part of Exodus 20:4. Yet the whole verse, along with the first half of verse 5 (“you shall not bow down to them or serve them”) is a single statement in the Hebrew.

It’s clear that the meaning of the passage is that you shall not make an image which you intend to worship.

Go back and reread the above Scripture passage, keeping in mind that our English translations have broken up the original single statement. It’s clear that the meaning of the passage is that you shall not make an image that you intend to worship. And this image is not limited to a representation of God but also includes anything on earth or in the water. This means a picture of a dolphin, orchid, lion, or elephant is just as prohibited as a representation of God.

Can We Have Pictures of Anything?

Those who argue that pictures or other art forms cannot represent Jesus in any way, to be consistent, must be against all artwork of anything in the earth, the ocean, or in the heavens. But most Christians understand that’s not the point of the second commandment. Rather, it’s about the heart behind the image. What is strictly prohibited is the making of an image with the express intent of worshipping it in place of God, who alone deserves worship. And how does this contextually play out in other Scriptures?

You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 26:1)

Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. (Deuteronomy 4:15–19)

Again, note the twofold emphasis given in this passage. The first one is not to try to depict God the Father as any created thing. He appeared to Israel at Mt. Sinai without form, or as a thick dark cloud with lightning, thunder, and fire (Exodus 19:9, 16, 18). The second emphasis is on the intent—“to bow down to it” and “lest you act corruptly.” Worship is the focus, not the image itself.

Also keep in mind that God expressly commanded the Israelites to depict various plants and heavenly beings in the intricate carvings displayed on both the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle (Exodus 25:18–21, 25:31–34, 26:1), and he was pleased with Solomon’s temple, which also featured such depictions (1 Kings 7:13–45).

From this, we can clearly understand that the second commandment is not forbidding the depiction of God’s creation—it is forbidding such depictions if they’re created for the purpose of worship (such as the golden calf that was created to represent the true God in Exodus 32 with utterly disastrous consequences).

What About Depictions of Jesus?

But what about depicting Jesus? After all, he’s not like anything else in all of creation—he is very God in flesh! But consider that. Jesus is very God in flesh. Jesus came and walked among us. He is Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23), the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), and the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his nature (Hebrews 1:3).

He wanted people to know he was both human and God. His appearance and needs as a regular human showed he was human; his works and words showed he was God.

Tens of thousands of people saw Jesus during his life, and yet we have no recorded statement from Jesus telling them not to look at him (in fact, he purposely appeared to people—e.g., Thomas—so they could see him post-resurrection). He wanted people to know he was both human and God. His appearance and needs as a regular human showed he was human; his works and words showed he was God.

Nativities—A Big Inconsistency

Here’s another consideration worth noting: Every Christmas, nativity scenes pop up in churches and Christian homes and yards. Now, many of the Christians and churches that are against depictions of Christ will set up a nativity, picturing an infant Jesus as a reminder of the incarnation of Christ. But they are depicting Christ, the God-man, in doing so. There’s no difference between Christ the infant Lord and Christ the fully-grown Lord! Baby Jesus is fully God. This is another inconsistency many Christians haven’t really thought through!

But We Don’t Know What He Looked Like!

Jesus did indeed come as a man, but Scripture doesn’t specifically describe him, so no one knows what he looked like. Therefore, any representation we create, so the argument goes, would be a false one. Does this amount to lying and deception?

Well, consider that any historical image of people (or anything else!) before cameras were invented would then also be wrong, and any artwork that is not 100% realistic would be sinful too, since it would not accurately depict the subject. Clearly, this line of reasoning does not hold up to scrutiny.

God is a creative God, and he has given us beauty, artistry, music, and imagination. Images have been given to us by God as tools of communication. Visual representations of Jesus do not encompass everything he is—of course they can't. But they do provide valuable teaching tools for children who can’t read and for people around the world who haven't been exposed to the gospel. Pictures that depict biblical accounts help us visualize what took place and can help us grasp the truth more easily. And our natural visualizations when hearing or reading about Jesus (biblical and otherwise) are, in the same way, helpful and not necessarily sinful. It’s hard not to visualize him when you read where he drew in the sand (John 8), for example (and maybe even try to visualize what he was drawing!).

We want others to see him, learn about him, and be drawn to him.

Clearly, no human artist can put on paper everything there is of Jesus. In the same way, no words can capture all of him. Should this stop us from writing or singing about Jesus? Of course not. Any representation of Jesus will be flawed, whether written, sung, or painted. That does not mean we should stop expressing Christ. We want others to see him, learn about him, and be drawn to him.

We Worship God and God Alone

Scripture, carefully understood and interpreted, doesn’t prohibit depictions of Jesus (though some Christians may still choose not to, and grace must be extended to both sides by believers who disagree). Creating images of Jesus is, of course, wrong if they are created to be worshipped (even if that worship is “for” or “to” God—so was the worship of the idolatrous golden calf!). But images created with great care and reverence to teach others about Christ are not in violation of Scripture.