Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:1-3
Here are a few different translations to the second sentence of verse 2:
- He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (NIV) - He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. (ASV)
- He had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. (NET)
- There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him. (NLT) - He has no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him. (NASB)
As a reminder, the remnant of Jews who are saved when Jesus appears to them during the end times are looking back on the first coming of Jesus. Their veil will be lifted and they will see what they did to the Messiah. How did they miss him when he came? Because he was just an ordinary looking man. They were anticipating a royal prince who would rule all of Israel and Jesus didn’t look the part.
It’s also interesting to note that there is no mention of Jesus’ outward appearance in any of the four gospels. This is the only recorded description of what Jesus looked like. Let’s take a look at a few different words used here that describe Jesus:
- He had no beauty (form)
- He had no majesty (comeliness)
- He had nothing desirable (no beauty) in his appearance
The Hebrew word for “beauty” or “form” is tō’ar which focuses on the shape itself or the outward contours of a figure. This is the same word used in the following Scriptures:
- “his form (tō’ar) marred beyond human likeness” (Isa 52:14).
- “Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure (tō’ar) and was beautiful” (Gen 29:17).
- “Now Joseph was well-built (tō’ar) and handsome” (Gen 39:6).
- “He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking (tō’ar) man” (1 Sam 16:18).
- “This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure (tō’ar) and was beautiful” (Esther 2:7).
So from these verses, we can deduce that Jesus had no beauty, was not well-built, not fine-looking, and did not have a lovely figure. I don’t think this necessarily means he was ugly, but he was certainly very ordinary. He’s not going to stand out in a crowd or catch your eye.
The word for “majesty” or “comeliness” is the Hebrew word hādār which communicates visible magnificence. This word is often used to describe God’s splendor which inspires awe and calls us to praise Him:
“For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty (hādār) are before him;
strength and joy are in his dwelling place” (1 Chron 16:25-27).
Jesus did not bring this majesty with him when he came as the Suffering Servant. There was nothing in his “appearance that we should be attracted to him” (vs. 2, NASB1995). The word for “attracted”, “desirable” or “beauty” is the Hebrew word ḥāmad which can mean anything from wholesome delight to illicit craving. It is used to describe the Garden of Eden as “pleasing to the sight” (Gen 2:9) and also used to describe the forbidden fruit as “desirable for obtaining wisdom” (Gen 3:6).
Jesus, the Creator of the majestic heavens and the beauty of the earth, who sustains all things and brought life into the world, became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (Col 1:17, Heb 1:3, John 1:1-14) He left heaven and all of his majesty behind to walk the earth as an unattractive ordinary man. He surrounded himself with society’s outcasts and lived in poverty to die the death given to criminals.
Of course the world didn’t recognize him as God in the flesh. Yet he was the light of all mankind and his words were the very words of life. And through his words and his sacrifice, he gave us the right to become children of God. If we simply believe in his name, we will one day seem him as he really is – the King of kings.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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