I have never been a fan of pictures
of Jesus. Several years ago, my, not yet Christian, sister bought me a picture
of Jesus. She obviously thought it would be something I would enjoy and very
much appreciate. Bless her, they say it’s the thought that counts.
Though I received it gracefully, it
was something I would never have bought in a million years. It was one of those
pictures of an effeminate looking Jesus hugging a smiling lamb. You know the
sort I mean; you may even have one hanging on your wall at home (apologies if
you do) – but it was not ‘my cup of tea’ and the picture never saw the light of
day. In fact, I have no idea what happened to it.
Now don’t get me wrong, it is not
that I believe the bible explicitly prohibits pictures of Jesus, though it does
warn against the making and worshipping of graven images.[1] Indeed
a picture of Jesus may prompt us to remember He is with us or maybe encourage
us to be thankful and to pray. As I do not believe there is anything in the New
Testament to prohibit us having a picture, and it could even be helpful, what is
my concern?
What did Jesus look like?
Do we know what Jesus looked like?
The common image of Jesus, at least in the west, is that of a man with flowing
locks of lighter coloured hair, often blue-eyed with a neatly trimmed beard
(see the Mormon picture above). But does this image accurately portray a first
century Jewish man living in Palestine or is it more like a Hollywood Jesus?
The Bible offers few facts about
his appearance, and perhaps deliberately so, but it does tell us that ‘he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that
we should desire him.’ (Isaiah 53:2).
Rather than having us
be overly concerned about what Jesus looked like, it seems Scripture is more
concerned that we understand who Jesus is and what He did for us.
The Mormons love pictures of Jesus
Now it is not that I begrudge them
having a picture of Jesus, though their pictures are the most cringeworthy I’ve
seen since my sister, well you know; rather it has more to do with my total
conviction that though they think they know the man in their picture, they haven’t
a clue who he is. Not only do they not know what He looked like, they do not
know who He is or what He did for them.
The Mormon Picture
of Jesus
‘The official doctrine of the Church is that Jesus is the literal offspring of God. He’s got 46 chromosomes; 23 came from Mary, 23 came from God the eternal Father.’[2]
“That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof;
and the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right
to be called the ‘Son of the Highest.’”[3]
Mormons believe that the Jesus in their pictures is the product of a
sexual relationship between the human Mary and the God they call Heavenly
Father.
‘He is the Son of God, literally, actually,
as men are the sons of mortal parents’[4]
But this was not the beginning of the Jesus in their picture, no their
Jesus pre-existed as the literal firstborn son of Heavenly Father and Heavenly
Mother. In the pre-existence he was known as Jehovah, and he was one of the three
gods in the Mormon Godhead.
Hold on there’s more…
The Mormon Jesus is also the brother of Lucifer.
‘The appointment of Jesus to be the Saviour of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Saviour of mankind’[5]
And there’s more…
The Mormons do not believe that Jesus is eternally God, as the Bible states
and orthodox Christians believe no, their picture of Jesus has him becoming a
God through his own effort and obedience. For example, as the Mormons believe
that baptism is a necessary requirement for progression towards becoming a God,
Jesus had to be baptised by John. Also, as marriage is extremely important for
a Mormon to progress towards exaltation, they would have to contend that Jesus
was married.
A Different Picture of Jesus
From this we see that the Mormons have ‘a picture’ of Jesus, but not one
that allows them the right to be call themselves Christians.
Their picture of Jesus puts them outside of historic, biblical
Christianity.
[1] “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…” Exodus 20:4-5
[2] Stephen E. Robinson, interview in The Mormon Puzzle, DVD, North American Mission Board, Southern
Baptist Convention, 1997.
[3] James E. Talmage, as quoted in Doctrines of the Gospel, p. 9
[4] What the Mormons Think of
Christ (LDS pamphlet p.44)
[5] The Gospel Through the
Ages – Milton R. Hunter p.15
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