The Beauty of Jesus

A few nights ago I snagged some quiet time right before bed to close the day in Isaiah. I was in chapter 53 talking about the "man of sorrows," a prophecy that has since been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The whole book of Isaiah is a work of literary art and I was just enjoying the beauty of the language when another beauty struck me.

It was an inspiration from the Holy Spirit and triggered by my background music, at that moment Phil Wickham's You're Beautiful. I love the melody and words of the song but as I was reading about the suffering of the "man of sorrows," the juxtaposition of suffering and the idea of beauty stood out plainly from any other themes.

Every detail about this man of sorrows, my savior Jesus, could hardly be considered beautiful by our standard definition of the word today. Beautiful is usually taken to mean one of two things:

1. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. -or-
2. Of a very high standard; excellent.

The man of sorrows displays neither of these things.  He is physically plain with "no beauty or majesty to attract" people to him (v. 2). He is despised by those around him, they "esteemed him not" (v. 3). He takes upon himself infirmities and sorrows of others (v. 4). His body is mutilated, pierced, wounded, punished, crushed. He is "assigned a grave with the wicked," taken away in "oppression and judgment" (v. 9;8).

None of these things are beautiful. None of them are attractive, desirable, honorific. And yet when you consider the powerful and life-changing meaning of these words, this man of sorrows becomes the most beautiful being in the universe.

The man so physically plain was God in human form. He descended from heaven and became man so he might save us from our sins. He was despised by his fellow man because he spoke the truth about our depravity and challenged the idols of our hearts. His body was beaten down because he willingly took on the sins of the world, bearing the punishment of death we all deserve. He humbly accepted the fullness of the heavenly Father's wrath and judgment so we might have a second chance. He was perfectly submitted to the Father's will.

And because of that, he now sees the light of life, seated at the right hand of the Father, and is satisfied (v. 11). "He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors"  (v. 12).

By the world's standard, Jesus is not beautiful. But I think in reality he is the definition of beautiful. His love and sacrifice are the truest, purest forms of beauty. Like any beautiful thing on earth, let us give him the admiration and attention he deserves.