Why is Jesus portrayed as white a lot of the time?
Firstly portraying Jesus as white is probably not a true reflection of who He really was. It is misleading. I believe there is a disconnect between the image and who He was.
But the second point is just as important I think. No matter what colour He was, He would still be different to some other races of people. If Jesus looked like somebody from Soweto He would not look like someone from China. If He looked Brazilian then an Eskimo is going to complain that he isn’t representing them. So let us settle with the fact that He is not going to look like everyone in that sense.
Personally therefore, I don’t think we should be too hung up on the question of the race that He was. But it is a valid reason to ask where this image of Him being white came from. Why would anybody try to depict him in a certain way? As much as we were created in God’s image, humanity has sought to create God in his own image. For what reason though? People often times make replicas of God or Jesus that make Him look like us, you’d be surprised if you went to certain households, to find a Jesus that was black. This is done because it helps with connection or relation. But one thing for sure is that He wasn’t like someone who is Norwegian. We know that He was middle-eastern so He would have been darker skinned, not blond haired and blue eyed.
But the point is that creating these visual images of Him is really not that helpful. Whether He looked like someone from Zimbabwe or not is not an indication of whether He can be a saviour for me. The import of the question needs to be paid attention to because it goes to the cultural phenomenon that we’re experiencing nowadays. We are in the middle of a cultural moment where skepticism of Christianity runs high because “it’s the white man’s religion”. Well, if truth be told, certain sections of white communities have co-opted the image of Jesus to almost Lord it over other people in saying this is God, He looks like us so we are your God. That is the idea that is going behind this, which seems like an imperialistic icon. However, here’s the issue, the bible does not say Jesus is the image of white people it says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In His incarnation He is the representation of who God is. We see the self-sacrificial character of God who loved the world, who didn’t love black people or olive people or white people or Jewish people. He loved the world and He gave His only begotten Son for the sake of those people. That is the image you need to carry in your mind. The fundamental thing you need to focus on is who is Jesus in His character. Finally, I want to leave this with all those who have been bothered by the idea of Jesus being white. Do not let the depictions of Jesus steer you away from the character of Jesus, because what some people choose to make Him look like has nothing to do with what history has shown Him to be like.
