Not only is white Jesus inaccurate, he
also can inhibit our ability to honour the
image of God in people who aren’t white.
Jesus of Nazareth likely had a
darker complexion than we
imagine, not unlike the olive skin
common among Middle Easterners
today.
Princeton biblical scholar James
Charlesworth goes so far as to say Jesus
was “most likely dark brown and sun-
tanned.”
The earliest depictions of an adult Jesus
showed him with an “Oriental cast” and a
brown complexion.
But by the sixth century, some Byzantine
artists started picturing Jesus with white
skin, a beard, and hair parted down the
middle. This image became the standard.