[color-brown]For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes[/color]

It shouldn't make any difference but let's keep it honest and follow what the scriptures have to bear witness to Jesus, his lineage of his mother who was of the Tribe of Judah, who was also a descedant of David, who was of Jesse who was of the lineage of Noah. It would stand to reason that they woul carry their family characteristics down the line with them. What is dishonist it call him "lilly white" or "black". He was of one of the Tribes of Isreal, mainly Judah.

Matthew 15:21-28 (King James Version)

21. Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

22. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil

Syria borders Judea on the north and Phoenicia is a coastal strip and fits perfectly in this story of the land within Syria along the Great Mediterranean Sea. Tyre, a city in Phoenicia, and would have been approximately 55 miles from Galilee, a region Jesus ministered in... She is further described as a Canaanite; the Canaanites being enemies of the Jews since God ordered their removal and destruction in the time of Moses and Joshua as found in Deut. 20:16 and Numb. 33:50-53

From a religious standpoint, Greeks had no status in the Jewish religion or God's kingdom because of their idolatry and pantheon of gods used in their worship. The Canaanites date back into antiquity and some trace them back to the time of Ham. The Bible attributes the name to Canaan, the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah, whose offspring correspond to the names of various ethnic groups in the land of Canaan, listed in the "Table of Nations" (Gen. 10), where Sidon is named as his firstborn son, to be subdued by the descendants of Shem.

The Canaanite, the enemy of God's people, would have been despised. One might conclude that through the eyes of Jewish men, a Greek- Canaanite woman would have been considered sub-human, or a *******, because of their mixture of genetics from the children of God, perhaps to the extent of being unworthy of life itself. These roots trace much further back to the beginning of human history that I will not cover here as this was not my original subject matter, but I am only giving some history before I give reply to the subject under discussion here. I would note that God himself sent his people out to destroy many people’s sparing not woman or child. I also relate here that Noah was a just man, he and his family being spared because he was perfect in his genealogy or genetic makeup from Adam, as this is the root from which Jesus was to be born the son of David.

The Canaanite woman begins the incident by calling out to Jesus. The title she uses is significant. She doesn't address him with general titles of respect but rather she addresses him as "Son of David." She knew who he was and correctly defined the time. The title "Son of David" is a very exclusive title, which is only used to refer to the Jewish Messiah. As found in Matt. 12:23 and Matt. 22:41-42.) Additionally, the revelation of Jesus as Messiah only comes directly from God, as evidenced by Peter's confession and acknowledgement of Jesus as Messiah to which Jesus replied," Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven." Matt.16: 16-17. Further note that it was upon this revelation Jesus proclaimed he would build his church, and not on the personage of Peter but of the revelation Peter had of Christ.

Though Jesus does not respond to this woman when she cries out, Jesus doesn't send her away, but states, "I was sent only to the lost children of Israel," and "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." There are only two ways this woman can respond. She can assume she's being insulted and called a dog and take offense and be angry, or she can discern the spiritual message hidden beneath the master’s speech and statement. By her response, she appears to understand that Jesus' primary calling is to the Jews and those of promise, but incredibly, she also recognizes that just the crumbs, that fall from the masters table, are enough for what she's asking for in the healing of her daughter, and that we all rely on God for our very existence.

The woman's recognition of Jesus as the Son of David, and her comprehension of the spiritual message underlying Jesus' response to her, and her belief that this miracle required nothing more than crumbs of Jesus' power provided overwhelming evidence for Jesus to declare, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

What does this all have to do with what color Jesus was? It would be easy for me to just blurt out and quote scripture here to give a reply but this issue is more complex than most understand and I feel it necessary to give more of an historical account so that some cannot twist scripture to somehow exclude some because of their genetic make up for which we have no control over, or to play to the racist class as many do to this day as a means to cast disparaging images on others. It is good to discern the times and to keep in mind that Christ died once for all men so that we might be saved. For it is the desire of God the father, that no flesh should perish but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth and except the free gift of salvation for there is none righteous no not one.

The Apostle Paul is the evidence to the fact that God loves all his children and sent Paul out to the Gentiles to preach the Gospel (Good News) to a hurting world who still needs a savior today as much as the day Jesus died at Calvary. Has God cast the Jews out in favor of the gentiles, No! Not on your life, The fact of the matter is that God made a promise to the Jews through Abraham that will never be broken, and the fact is the Jew is still Gods chosen people, and had they at the time not rejected Christ none of us would be saved today, and in fact this happened so that those gentiles would in turn carry the gospel to the world, so that God is all, in all, and the Jews would be reconciled to their God at the time of the end.

Keep in mind Jesus was a Jew, born of a Jewish virgin who was from a long line of Jewish heritage we know Jesus genealogy and he was called the son of David. Now again we ask what color was Jesus and how do we know for sure? To answer this we go to scripture and what it has to say about the Lord. We know he was not a very good looking man as stated in Isaiah as we are told he had no form or comeliness and they esteemed him not.

We go to a description of his family line and King David who is stated to have been good looking and of a ruddy complexion 1 Samuel 16:12

1 Samuel 16:12 (King James Version)

12And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was (ruddy), and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

1 Samuel 17:42 (King James Version)

42And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and (ruddy,) and of a fair countenance. In Hebrew the word ruddy is admoniy, ad-mo-nee or more fully admowniy; meaning reddish as to show blood in the face as in rosey red cheeks or to become flush from fair skin.

Further read the songs of Solomon who in his praise speaks of the coming Christ and gives a description of him in Solomon 5: 10-16

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand .His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. The word ruddy in this verse is the Hebrew word adom, (adam) aw-dome; meaning rosy, red, ruddy, show red in the face to become or made red or flush!

So what we know is that Jesus was fair in complexion and had black hair as black as a raven. There is much more to be said here but I think it safe to say that Jesus was fair or olive skinned with black hair and this would be “A” typical for one of Jewish Origins. Some claim he was lily white but if you look at the Jewish people they too are fair skinned if you use many others in the area as a guide to define color tone. But to hold one skin tone above another is foolishness as Jesus is Lord to all no matter what genetic makeup or skin pigment you may have.

For God so loved the World! This means all not just a few! That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in his should not perish but have everlasting life.


Gerlinda



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