The look on Jesus' face

This is what I seek: to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD (Psalm 27:4).

When you look at paintings of Jesus, what kind of facial expressions do you see? Some show a tender look of love. Others depict a quiet confidence. But only a few show Jesus smiling or laughing. It’s very rare to see Him angry or in pain.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was fully human in every respect but one—He never sinned. In other words, Jesus experienced the full range of human emotion. We know that He cried at the tomb of Lazarus. We know that He was angry when He drove merchants out of the Temple so that God’s people could pray in peace. We know that He was tender with people who were sick. We know that He spoke with powerful authority. We know that His soul was troubled while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we know that He cried out in anguish as He was dying on the cross.

Yet artists seem reluctant to show Jesus unhappy. When He is praying in the Garden before His arrest, He is usually pictured with a peaceful expression; when He is shown dying on the cross, you don’t see pain or inner turmoil sketched on His face. Why not? I think that artists try to sanitize Jesus’ suffering. You don’t see the blood that dripped from His wounds, blood that washes away our sins. You don’t see any hint of the hell His soul endured as our substitute. Maybe such paintings would not sell; who would want such an image in their living room? And yet what a shame it is to minimize the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for us.

Artists are also reluctant to show Jesus happy. He’s usually depicted as serious or at peace or with a tender look on His face, but almost never with a smile. Now I’ll grant you that the Bible does not say, "Jesus laughed." But your face lights up when you greet a friend. Kids laugh with joy when a puppy licks their face. People smile with pleasure at aroma of a delicious meal. Smiling shows that you are happy with God’s blessings.

That’s why I believe that Jesus must have smiled. He, better than anyone, saw the hand of God at work all around Him. He said that heaven rejoices when a sinner repents—Jesus must have showed happiness when people asked for His blessing and praised God for His work. Our Lord does get angry at sin—but he is a loving God who takes delight in His earthly children.