Question from a WordTruth.Com friend:
>>> I have a picture of Jesus in my home. A friend saw it and
>>> told me it was wrong to have this picture. Is it idolatry?
WordTruth.Com Response:
In the Old Testament, the Law given to Israel included the commandment: "You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything 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 to them nor serve them..." (Exodus 20:4-5, NKJV).This refers to the worship of idols and is one argument commonly used to prohibit pictures of Jesus. Were you to worship the image rather than the reality of Jesus, you would be wrong.
Another verse that is often cited in this issue is from the New Testament: "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16, NKJV).
While this verse would appear to support the view that we should not have pictures of Jesus, careful analysis reveals something different. Pay attention to the first word, "therefore." When studying Scripture, one must always ask the question: "What is the 'therefore' there for?
It refers back to Paul's teaching in verses 5:13-15 where he makes the point that since Christ died for all people "that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15, NKJV). We are not to live a life in the flesh for ourselves but for Christ. We regard no one as a mere human but as one for whom Christ died. Paul said though he had known Christ once as a man, he knows Him know no longer as a man but as the King of Kings and LORD of Lords!
A picture of Jesus is simply one artist's conception of what He might have looked like. It is always interesting to see such renderings from different cultures -- inevitably people picture Jesus much like themselves. I rather think that is why we have no pictures of Jesus so that no one could "claim" a superior position since Jesus looked like a particular people group. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Christ, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2, NIV). If we did have an actual picture of Jesus in the flesh, we would probably not find His appearance desirable anyway!
Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with a picture of Jesus that, when you look at it, you remember Him. And when you remember Him, you remember how much He loves you, all He has done, is doing, and will do for you as His child. Remembering Jesus leads to praising and worshiping Jesus -- not the picture but the real Jesus. If that is how you approach a picture of Jesus, then there is nothing wrong with it at all. In fact, the world would be a much better place if everyone had such a picture and such a relationship.
On a practical note, whenever your friend comes over, simply take the picture down so as not to offend him. You can put it back up when he leaves.
May God bless you with His wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus!
Randy Lariscy :-)
Director - WordTruth Ministries
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Web Site: WordTruth.Com© Copyright 3/28/2003, Randy Lariscy.
