The Cult of Personality



"Jesus Christ" aka Jeffrey Hunter

Studies have shown that people who are tall, thin, good looking and sociable tend to be more successful in life than those who are short, overweight, unattractive and shy.

There's even biblical evidence for that. The ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah, who lived in Judah during the 8th Century B.C., prophesied that the Jewish Messiah, who the ancient Jews eagerly longed for, would look like nothing they expected him to look like. 

Here's what Isaiah wrote concerning the physical appearance of the Messiah: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."(Isaiah 53:2)Even John the Baptist admitted that he had a hard time recognizing Christ when he first saw him: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God." (John 1:32-34)

Indeed, Jesus Christ looked nothing like a messiah to the ancient Jews. He was a very ordinary looking man who probably stood slightly less than six feet tall. He was the very antithesis of the messiah that the ancient Jews were looking for. When he appeared in Israel 2,000 years ago, few recognized him because he didn't resemble what they imagined a messiah should look like.

And yet, Christ didn't enter the world to win a beauty contest or get on the cover of GQ Magazine. He came into the world to become the everlasting atonement for sin on a Roman cross that God's infinite justice demanded. Isaiah continued: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

If Christ appeared in the world today, he would probably be treated just as contemptuously as he was by the ancient Jews because of his looks. But outward looks don't mean much or equate with greatness unless a person is a professional model or a movie star. Indeed, the fallen world always judges the outside, but God judges the inside. (1 Samuel 16:7)

And so, in the fallen world that we live, personality and good looks are everything. Barack Obama is America's 44th president because he looks good and gives inspiring speeches. But beneath his polished exterior, he's a hack politician with minimal skills. In a sense, Obama is the classical cult leader; good looking, charming, charismatic and well-spoken.

And that's what most cult leaders are--dynamic looking, charismatic personalities that attract multitudes of people through their charm and persuasion. Real leaders and godly men may not be much to look at on the outside, but they're golden on the inside. Christ may not have been very attractive on the outside, but he possessed the Spirit of God on the inside.

And when we consider Christ, we need to consider what lived inside of him rather than his outward appearance. Hollywood certainly dressed him up and chose great looking actors such as Jeffrey Hunter to play his role. But good looks and a charming personality could not have accomplished what Christ accomplished for us on the cross 2,000 years ago.