Why don't the Gospels describe what Jesus looked like?
In this episode of Exploring the Language of Scripture, Daniel Mikkelsen sits down with John Nelson, New Testament scholar and author of Jesus' Physical Appearance, to explore one of the Bible's intriguing mysteries.
Ancient biographies were obsessed with physical appearance—using it to reveal character through physiognomy. Yet the Gospel writers, who clearly knew Greco-Roman biographical conventions, deliberately omit any description of what Jesus physically looked like. Why?
John walks through the Greek text, ancient biographical conventions, and Jewish Scripture to show this wasn't accidental—it was intentional. He explores what the Greek word τέκτων (tektōn) reveals about Jesus' occupation (hint: probably not just a carpenter), the hidden wordplay in John's Gospel that's invisible in English, and what we can actually know about Jesus' historical appearance.
This matters beyond academics. If the Gospels challenge our image-obsessed world by refusing to describe Jesus' looks, what does that teach us about character, incarnation, and how we see Christ in one another?
📖 John's Book: Jesus' Physical Appearance: Biography, Christology and Physiology 👉 https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jesus-physical-appearance-9780567723208/
📘 Free Greek Guide — 'Why Learning Greek Could Be a Struggle and How to Move Forward' Discover common pitfalls in learning biblical Greek and Daniel's three-step framework to read with confidence. 👉 https://ntgreektutoring.com/why-struggle-with-greek
Don't Miss the Next Episode:
Daniel welcomes Danillo Augustus Santos to discuss the overlooked topic of the priesthood of believers in Paul's letters?
Chapters
00:00 Coming Up...
01:03 Meet John Nelson: The Scholar Who Studies What Jesus Looked Like
04:06 From Pastor's Kid to Greek Scholar: John's Journey
08:40 How Greek Unlocks Hidden Depths in Scripture
12:04 The "Butterfly Fallacy": Why Greek Isn't a Secret Code
14:48 Was Jesus Actually a Carpenter? What the Greek Really Says
19:58 The Genius Wordplay Hidden in John's Gospel
25:11 The Mystery: Why No One Describes What Jesus Looked Like
30:38 Ancient Biographies Were Obsessed With Looks—But Not the Gospels
34:59 What the Gospel Writers Intentionally Left Out
41:24 What We Actually Know About Jesus' Appearance
47:43 Isaiah 53: Did It Really Predict an Ugly Messiah?
51:41 The Transfiguration: Almost Describing Jesus—But Not Quite
55:26 Why Jesus' Resurrected Body Remains Mysterious
01:01:20 Zacchaeus: Who Was Actually Short in This Story?
01:07:37 Why Jesus' Character Matters More Than His Looks
Music Credits:
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Podcast Keywords:
biblical languages, New Testament, Old Testament, Christ, bible study, Relationship with God, learn biblical languages, Biblical Theology, Christianity, Covenants, New covenant, old covenant, language acquisition, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew.