Expert: Scott Talbot - 7/18/2006

Question
Hello, how are you going? This is Christina again here, the girl from Australia. thank you so very much for saying I can ask more questions to you about the bible, I really appreciate it a lot. I was wondering about this other question if that's okay to ask you. I was wondering, well you know how one of the 10 commandments is not to worship statues or idols, well I was wondering why when I go to church (I am Greek Orthodox) they make you kiss the pictures of Jesus and the church pictures as you are walking in. When I do that, sometimes I think to myself isn't that like breaking that commandment. Also, I was just wondering, I always thought that jesus was poor and that he had long hair, and then I read that Jesus wasn't poor and he had short hair, and that the long hair thing was just a storybook picture thing. I was just wondering if you know. Thank you so very much for your time, I really appreciate it. Warm regards, from Christina in Australia

Answer
Hello, Christina in Australia! :^)  It's so nice to hear from you again. I hope all is well down under.

Yes, one of the commandments states, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or wosrship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ..." (Exodus 20:4-5b).

It's interesting. Here where I live in Pennsylvania (in the United States), there are many Amish. They take this commandment so literally that they believe it's wrong to take a photograph of anything.

I don't think that's what God is trying to tell us. At the time this commandment was given, it was common for people to make "gods" for themselves out of clay, wood, stone, or whatever material they could find to depict their god. Then they would worship it.

The key thought is found at the end of the commandment. God states that He is a jealous God. And, in the first commandment (just prior to this one), He clearly states that "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). These ideas go hand in hand. What He is saying is that we should not worship or value anything above God--whether it's a false god of our own making, or money, or material possessions, or family, or friends, or anything else this world offers. God should be our highest priority, and should receive our greatest love and worship.

So when you go to church, do you think that your kissing of the pictures is a violation of this commandment? I don't think so. Particularly in the case of Jesus, who is fully deserving of your adoration.

You asked another question about Jesus, his hair, and whether or not He was poor. First, let's talk about what He owned. The verse that comes to my mind is Matthew 8:20, where Jesus says, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." This seems to indicate that He had no permanent home, but relied on others for shelter, and sometimes slept outside.

John 19:23-24 says that the soldiers who crucified Jesus divided up His few remaining possessions--His clothing. It must not have been much, because they had to "draw straws" for His robe, as it was otherwise difficult to fairly divide things up.

Jesus and His family apparently couldn't even afford a proper burial. John 19:38-42 indicates that a tomb was donated by Joseph of Arimathea.

So it seems, by every indication, that Jesus was poor. (The fact is, most people of that day and location were pretty poor.) However, as we discussed before, this does not mean that poverty is a virtue and wealth is a vice. I believe He wanted to make sure that 1) He was not distracted by worldly wealth; and 2) No one could accuse Him of doing what He did for personal gain, or for setting an example to "pursue wealth."

What about His hair? Well, we cannot say for sure, other than to speculate based on what we do know. The hairstyle of the day was the "Caesar cut." Those under Rome's rule (males) typically wore their hair the way Caesar did--short.

Many of the artistic depictions of Jesus come from the Middle Ages during which time most artists, for whatever reason, chose to depict Jesus with long hair. Maybe it's because long hair was in vogue then. Maybe it's because they, as others, confused the word, "Nazarene" (native of Nazareth) with "Nazarite" (one who observed various rituals to demonstrate dedication to God, including letting one's hair grow).

I hope my answers are helpful. Have a great week, Christina!

Scott in Pennsylvania :^)