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[Silas Mariner]

Prior to his execution and resurrection, was there anything special or interesting about the physical body of Jesus? I mean in terms of appearance and in day-to-day functionality (not, say, when performing a miracle or some such).

[jimwalton]

Not in the least. There is no information that would lead us to believe there was anything exceptional about Jesus's physical appearance or his body (before his resurrection). He was a common laborer (a stone smith and a carpenter). We're not told that his height was anything abnormally tall or short (contrast with King Saul in the Old Testament, whom we are told was particularly tall among his peers, and King David and his son, Absalom, whom we are told were particularly handsome). From his lineage we expect that he had a normally dark complexion for his part of the world, black hair and a beard. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night of his arrest, he had to be pointed out by Judas to the arresting party. Isaiah 53.2 prophesies that He wasn't particularly attractive or that he would stand out with physical prowess or handsomeness. Given his occupation and socio-economic status, he probably would have had an adequate but not an overabundance of food to eat, so he was probably on the slim side. But even when performing a miracle there was nothing about his appearance or body that would change. As far as anyone could tell by looking, he was just a normal man like all the other men.