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!”
