Jesus Was Jewish

I know we know this, but recently this thought has been dominating my mind. Jesus was Jewish. He looked like a Jew, i.e. not an American. I'm guessing that almost all (if not all) of the standard pictures I grew up with show an Americanized Jesus and not an ethnically Jewish Jesus. Don't get me wrong. There are many beautiful pictures of Jesus. I don't think it is wrong to draw him differently in different cultures (some of my favorite Bible pictures are painted by an Indian artist who pictures the Bible in an Indian context). It's just, I got to thinking, "What did my savior really look like?" I wanted to think of him as a Jew, to picture him in my mind as he really might have been (is even now). I've found a picture here that captures more of a Jewish Jesus. The picture here shows what Jews of Jesus' time might have looked like. I guess what I am seeking in this cocoon is to throw off any false ideas I might have inadvertently imaged in my mind. Obviously, we don't know what Jesus really looked like. But I think in a way that even seeing Jesus as Jewish has changed the way I think about him. He lived in a very different culture than mine. It really hit me today how blessed I am. Jesus was a Jew and he reached out to Gentiles. This is radical! I am saved because he, a Jew, loved me, a Gentile. An amazing thought (read John 4 to see how the disciples were so shocked that Jesus reached out to a Samaritan and a woman). Putting Jesus in a Jewish context I think also has enlightened my Bible study. What a strange journey to be on, not only knowing that Jesus was Jewish, but thinking of him as Jewish. New and blessed perspective!

Psalm 93

A child's birth,
the promise of hope,
the fulfillment of prophecy,
the glory of God,
the King of angels,
the Lord of earth,
God in Man.

To you, Lord Jesus,
we give praise.
We know you as the child
we need to bring us peace.
And peace you brought
in the form of a baby
and later in the resurrection of a man.

We look upon your face
this Christmas day
and see in you all we desire.
To you, King, Lord, Emmanuel,
we lift our souls
entrusting them to your care.
Praise to Jesus Christ, Savior of All.

Psalm 71

You speak to me, Lord,
I hear your voice.
Your words flow from the Word;
the Savior draws me in.
You move my mind,
you direct my path.
With you I am safe,
with you I am free.
I love you, my God.
You draw back the veil
and let me see your face.

Psalm 69

Lord Jesus, you have made me free.
You have brought me peace and rest.
You do not snuff out a smoldering wick;
You do not break a bruised reed.
You proclaim you are with us always;
we have never been abandoned.
May I look to you, to your ways,
to your heart, to your instruction.
May they be my guide
as I navigate this life.