Isaiah 53:2 – For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Our Lord was not good looking. Our society places a lot of value on looks. Hollywood judges value by looks. The world does as well. Good looking people are often wealthy. You would think that if the Lord of glory was going to appear in human flesh, he would come here as a strapping example of physic and attractiveness. The first Adam may have been comely but the second Adam surely was not. This verse makes it clear he had no form or comeliness.
COMELINESS, n. That which is becoming, fit or suitable, in form or manner. Comeliness of person implies symmetry or due proportion of parts; comeliness of manner implies decorum and propriety. It signifies something less forcible than beauty, less elegant than grace, and less light than prettiness.
Webster’s 1828
There is nothing about looking at Jesus Christ’s outward appearance that would make you think He was God. Most of the Greek gods were well built and attractive. But our Lord had no beauty that you would look at Him and desire Him.
So why would God take on human flesh in such an ugly body? First and foremost, he wanted to show that it was not a work of the flesh He was doing but rather a work of the Spirit. We do not need to be attractive in the eyes of the world to do the work of the Spirit. He also wanted to show us that people were attracted to Him, not because He was good looking, but because He had God’s Spirit. People should be attracted to us because we exhibit the love of God in our hearts and lives. They should see God’s Spirit and character in our lives.
Our Lord was also likened to a tender or sickly plant that was rooted in dry soil. Have you ever seen a wither plant that is about to die. It is not much to look on. It is usually limping and the leaves are dropping. Some of the wood may have dried up as well. As Christians, we may not be much to look on from the world’s perspective. We might not have much of the world’s goods. But we do have God’s Spirit dwelling inside us.
The bottom line is the Lord wants to emphasize what is in the heart more than the appearance on the outside. It should not be the outward adorning of our bodies that should matter, but rather the hidden man of the heart. Our Lord was not good looking, but He did not come hear for a beauty contest, He came here to be an example of how to live humbly. He came here to save sinners from an eternal hell.
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