The Beauty of Jesus
by Doy Moyer
We sing, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” What is the beauty of Jesus? While we often connect beauty to outward appearance, that is not the sense in which the beauty of Jesus draws us, for “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). This does not mean Jesus was ugly, but it does mean that He didn’t stand out due to His physical appearance. He would have looked like anyone else.
How, then, shall we think about this? Psalm 27:4 expresses the desire to see the Lord’s beauty:
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (ESV)
To gaze upon His beauty is more than seeing a visible manifestation of God. His glory is the sum of His attributes, and His beauty is the expression of His glory. Visions of God in His glory are connected to the recognition of His holiness: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3; cf. Revelation 4-5). To see God’s beauty is to see that He is holy, good, full of grace and mercy, forgiving, slow to anger, and keeping steadfast love. It is also to see that in Him is no sin, and that sin receives a just judgment (cf. Exodus 34).
Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14). In Him dwells the fullness of deity (Colossians 2:10). Yet, coming in the flesh as a man, how can we gaze upon His beauty meaningfully? If there was “no beauty that we should desire Him” physically, what is the beauty upon which we may gaze?
The beauty of Jesus is in His nature and character. His entrance into this world brought a whole new level of showing people what God is like. From His healings and other miracles to His demonstrations of great compassion and forgiveness, the beauty of our Lord is eternal. Grace and truth came through Jesus in the greatest and fullest of ways (John 1:17). He is the Word of God, the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3), the One who descended to show us the glory of God in a new light. This wasn’t about looks; it was about His demonstration of love, mercy, and compassion that comes from radiating God’s glory. He demonstrated these qualities because He is the epitome of the divine nature. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
The beauty of Jesus is on full display in His service and sacrifice. He did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He took on the form of the suffering servant (Philippians 2:7), and His service is beautiful. His sacrifice is beautiful. This also means that the beauty of Jesus is seen in the cross, which holds the drawing power. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). While it may seem counterintuitive, the truth is that to see the cross is to gaze upon the beauty of our Lord. His glory can be seen in His humility and the love shown through His sacrifice. “We beheld His glory” (John 1:14). God’s love is beautiful, and no greater love has ever been shown than what is seen in Jesus (John 15:13; Romans 5:8). If we can see the beauty of love, then we see the beauty of Jesus through His love as He died for us.
Christ’s beauty is also demonstrated in His opposition to sin. His purity and holiness are manifested in His life; He did not condone sin. While He showed great compassion to sinners, He also taught the need for repentance. After healing the lame man, He told him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Because of who He is, He could never treat sin in a way that diminishes its consequences. Indeed, His going to the cross shows how serious He is about dealing with the problem, for there He “bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (I Peter 2:24). This is beautiful, making it possible for us to share in the beauty of forgiveness and righteousness.
To “let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me” means service and sacrifice in my life as well. “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (I Peter 4:13). It is to show a life that aims to please God, be a light to the world, and to love and serve our neighbors with dignity and honor. A life of beauty is a life that imitates and follows Jesus. Let it be seen in me.
