Question: Which book in the Bible contains the following verse, “His head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.”?
Answer: Revelation. (Revelation 1:14)
Comments: Many people of African descent have taken comfort in the fact that the texture of Jesus’ hair as presented in Revelation 1:14 is most descriptive of African hair despite the common images of Jesus in popular culture.
Jeremiah W. Wright explains, “Almost every Black Christian knows or should know Revelation 1:14-15. It is the only passage in the Bible where a physical description of Jesus is given...He was a real man from Africa. The African who shaped our faith more than any other African was, of course, Jesus.” (Wright, Africans Who Shaped Our Faith, Chicago: Urban Ministries, 1995, p. 141)
I must note that I disagree with Wright’s assertion that Jesus was from Africa, though he did spend time in the African nation of Egypt as a child. There is a bigger issue at stake though.
This discussion reminds us that everyone wants Jesus to look like them. Humanity tends to surround itself with people like themselves and this is a way to lay claim on Jesus. In arguing for a black Jesus, Wright is making a claim on Jesus, who had years been excluded from his culture. The separation was perpetuated in part by white images of Jesus.
In all likelihood Jesus was probably neither black nor white. He still loves each of us. As such, we can all claim Jesus.
How do you picture Jesus?
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