CHRIST -- NO FORM OR BEAUTY
“And we saw that He had no form nor beauty” (Is. 53:2).
Beholding all the beauty in our world and the wondrous beauty among numerous men and woman, we can only attempt like a shadow to understand the beauty of our Creator and God who endowed such great beauty on all creation, with its flowing rivers and streams, leafy trees and beautiful flowers lakes and oceans, forests and fields, the earth and planets, the sun and moon, and the stars and clouds; and then He crowned everything by forming man in His own image, placing him over all creation.
“He had no form nor beauty.” Isaiah the Prophet here is speaking of the Lord and His appearance as a man. How can he who gave such beauty to everything, beauty to the universe, beauty to the angels, how can he be without form or beauty? Certainly He is the Creator of all beauty was able to come in whatever form He chose. But it was not His desire to come to us as a beautiful heavenly angel or as a divine King, nor as a luxurious rich nobleman.
He came for the most important work of saving the race of men who had become prisoners of the evil one and their resultant sickness needed to be cured The condition of man was a cause of much misery and mourning and man was greatly need of divine help. The means of salvation would be accomplished by the sacrifice of His life-giving death, which after three days would be followed by His glorious resurrection. He came to spread the Gospel among His disciples and through them to all humanity. He came to save man and release him from grip of the Devil’s tyranny. To accomplish this, He would suffer and be crucified that He might rescue us from the threat of death and the power of the evil one. His terrible His suffering crucifixion and death would bring joy and exultation to the world by His glorious Resurrection! For this reason Orthodoxy glorifies His death on the Cross singing: “Behold through the Cross joy has come into the world!”
One day when God so wills, we will not only see Christ as a man or suffering on the Cross but in His divine glory as the Logos and Source of everything for He is God and the Creator of all that exists. We can see Him somewhat by our relationship with Him. We see Him in His goodness and kindness, and we rejoice in His majesty and glory. His real beauty cannot be fully visualized or described, for we only familiar with earthly beauty which is but a shadow and cannot even approach heavenly beauty.
“And we saw that “He had no form or beauty.” Christ did not will to show us in His divine beauty, because He came to accomplish what no man can do, free mankind from the authority which the devil held overhim and raise him to the heights by changing him from an earthly man to a heavenly man. Those who follow Christ will undergo derision and mockery for becoming so different than others who are still under domination of the devil. Those who are saved will not live for this earthly world which promises death as the only end, for they are well aware that Christ has trampled down death by His death, freeing us from its grasp. To live the new life in Christ is to live in the glory of His Resurrection; it is to live a heavenly life where physical death is transformed into the door to eternal life. More than that, living in Christ results in our acquiring eternal life while we are yet in the world.
The more we keep His commandments the more we show Him our love for Christ. For He said: “If you love me keep my commandments.” The more we pray to Him the more life we have for He said: “Pray without ceasing.” When we glorify Him, that same glory reflects back into our own souls. We do not desire to see Christ without form or beauty, for everything He chose to do was for our benefit,
The real beauty of Christ is not physical but spiritual and is reflected in His humility and meekness which exalted Him above all men. He spoke about this: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble in my heart.” Christ came to make us rich and wealthy, not with dollars and cents, but with every divine word that came from His holy mouth, which is the greatest possible wealth. The more we read and absorb the wonderful words of Christ and His evangelists and apostles, the more we become filled with His spirit and the more our lives become sanctified. He had no form or beauty, yet He was the most beautiful man that ever lived and His glory is beyond description. He does not appear to us a simple human being but He does shine forth as the life-giving Godman. Why did Christ not come as a beautiful angelic creature? He did not want to impress us witj His appearance, but wished to save us to spiritualize us and fill us with His divine wisdom
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