Scientific breakthrough revealed what Jesus might have actually looked like and it changes everything

We all have an idea of what Jesus Christ might have looked like, and that image can vary drastically depending on what culture you were brought up in.

But the world’s widely different mental depiction of Jesus could soon be lining up, thanks to a scientific breakthrough that revealed what the Lord is likely to have looked like.

Along with an ancient text excluded from the Bible which drastically alters Jesus’ message, it might change everything we thought we knew about the son of God.

Back in 2002, associate professor of world Christianity at the Columbia Theological Seminary, in Atlanta, Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi explained per Popular Mechanics how our mental imagery of Jesus wildly changes.

“While Western imagery is dominant, in other parts of the world he is often shown as Black, Arab, or Hispanic,” he said.

Now, thanks to forensic anthropology, in which British scientists have been able to re-create Jesus’ face with the assistance of archaeologists from Israel.

Using knowledge of the study of primate and human evolution, and the study of skeletons, retired medical artist Richard Neave, of the University of Manchester, England, reconstructed what he and his peers believe is the most accurate depiction of Jesus.

Gathering skulls from around the same era and place as Jesus used to live and preach 2,000 years ago, Neave put them through a computerized tomography.

The process created an x-ray of the skulls that detailed even the most minute details on them, before Neave put it through a high-tech computer program that detailed how thick the skin would have been.

However, the process was unable to identify what kind of hair Jesus had or his eye color.

To determine these, Neave and his team took to various archeological sites that were dated before even the Bible was created – from the 1st century, which suggested Jesus’ eye color was dark and that he also had a beard.

Did Jesus have long hair?

In the Bible, there is a line from the Gospel of Paul which read: “If a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him.”

The scientists’ thinking is that Paul would not have written that if his Lord did.

Although, there’s an argument that Jesus donned long hair – with the most logical reason being that the Shroud of Turin, which many believe Jesus was wrapped in after death, had marks resembling an imprint of long hair on it

.

It is something that has long been debated, but most biblical scholars have come to the assumption that the Son of God had short hair with tight curls.

How tall was Jesus?

While archeologists have pinned his height at being around 5ft 1in – which is average compared to others in the area at the time, as well as being 110 pounds.

But with Jesus working as a carpenter it could be argued that he was more muscular than other folks.

After completing his artwork, Neave insisted that the image isn’t exactly that of Jesus, but of someone who would have lived in the area at that time.

Professor of anthropology at the University of California, in Santa Cruz, Alison Galloway gave her expert opinion to Popular Mechanics: “This is probably a lot closer to the truth than the work of many great masters.”

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Surasak Suwanmake

Topics: Religion, Science, History