Throughout church history, Christians have wrestled with an important question:
Should believers create pictures or sculptures of Jesus?
Some Christians see artistic depictions as helpful teaching tools. Others believe that any attempt to portray Christ visually is unwise because Scripture never records His appearance and warns against making images for worship.
Whatever position one takes, all orthodox Christians agree on one central truth:
Our worship belongs to Christ alone—not to any image of Him.
What Does the Second Commandment Say?
God commanded:
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image… You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Exodus 20:4–5)
The issue isn’t art itself. God commanded artistic cherubim for the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:1). The concern is making an image that becomes a substitute for the worship of the living God.
Why Are Some Christians Cautious?
Many believers—especially within the historic Reformed tradition—point out that:
- Scripture never tells us what Jesus looked like.
- Every portrait is therefore an artist’s imagination.
- Jesus is one Person with two natures—fully God and fully man—and His divine nature cannot be painted.
- Images can easily become objects of devotion rather than reminders of biblical truth.
Throughout history, paintings and statues have sometimes become objects of prayer, veneration, or superstition—precisely the danger the Second Commandment seeks to prevent.
Can Art Ever Be Useful?
Other evangelical Christians distinguish between education and worship.
A historical illustration in a children’s Bible or a teaching resource is viewed differently from an image used devotionally. While these believers reject every form of veneration, they see educational artwork as permissible when it simply illustrates biblical history.
The Greater Question
Perhaps the more important question isn’t,
“Can I paint Jesus?”
but
“How has God chosen to reveal Jesus?”
The New Testament consistently points us to the inspired Scriptures, not to a portrait.
Jesus gave His Church His Word—not His photograph.
As Paul reminds us:
“We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Food for Thought
How should Christians balance artistic expression with the Second Commandment’s warning against images that compete with the worship due to God alone?
Related Apples of Gold article: