What does the Bible teach regarding pictures and/or statues of Christ?

Firstly, any picture, image or statue of Jesus Christ for the purpose of worship is in clear violation of the Second Commandment. In Exodus 20:4-5, we read, “You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing 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 yourself to them, nor serve them…” In addition, it is most often the case that the image or statue itself becomes the object of worship, and this would be breaking the First Commandment (Ex. 20:3): “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

The vast majority of the pictures of Christ have no resemblance to the way He actually looked. He is typically depicted incorrectly with long hair, and a soft, sad, sort of sanctimonious look. Paul, upon inspiration from Christ wrote (I Cor. 11:14) that it is wrong for a man to have long hair!

We know that Jesus Christ was Jewish (Heb. 7:14), and that He was a carpenter (Mark 6:3). He would have therefore looked like most other Jewish men of that day—masculine, with short hair—and, due to spending so much time outdoors, He most likely would have looked somewhat rugged and weathered.

The prophet Isaiah described Christ in this way (Isa. 53:2): “For He [Christ] shall grow up before Him [God the Father] as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” It was His actions and message that were to attract attention, not any overly attractive physical features.

Most pictures and statues of Christ are therefore a direct opposite to how He is described in the Bible. These false images give us an incorrect impression of the true Jesus Christ, and are, in fact, a part of the devil's great master deception and should be treated as such. (For more information, read our booklet Which Is the True Gospel?)

It is not wrong to picture (in our mind’s eye) Jesus Christ in His glorified state as He is today, as John described in Revelation 1:14: “His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.” God would not have inspired this description unless He wanted us to know Christ’s glorified appearance.