Was Jesus Black?
There is no way for us to know for sure what Jesus’ skin color was. Still, Jesus’ race continues to be a hot topic because our image of him shapes how we view his identity and, by extension, our relationship with him. Who was Jesus in the context of ancient Rome and how was he similar to or different from who we are in our own contexts?
Some Christians have found meaning in the image and identity of a Black Jesus beyond skin color. They see Jesus as uniquely able to relate to the American Black experience of oppression at the hands of the state. Jesus’ repeated encounters with the authorities, and eventual arrest and crucifixion parallel the Black experience of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination, and police brutality. In this way, the idea that Jesus was Black is more about his identity as a persecuted person than his literal appearance. Jesus’ “Blackness” is his commitment to siding with people who are persecuted, his resistance to corrupt authorities, and his promise to liberate oppressed people from captivity.
But not all Christians see Jesus as someone who opposes power or sides with the oppressed. Some see Jesus as a figure who supports those in power as long as those people are not sinful. They emphasize Jesus’ condemnation of sin rather than power. In fact, many Christians believe that a powerful military and police force are critical for combatting sin. Was Jesus Black?
It depends on how you view his relationship with power.
How Christians across the political spectrum have answered this question
“Yes, Jesus is always on the side of oppressed people and resists power.”
Jesus said that the Lord sent him “to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed.” He came specifically to liberate oppressed people.
Jesus spends a lot of time resisting the authority of scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Romans by breaking their rules and pointing out their hypocrisy. He resists those in power because power is inherently sinful.
Jesus is persecuted by those in power because they see him as a threat to their systems of power. He can relate to people who aim to disrupt oppressive systems.
“No, Jesus sides with all believers and resists sin, not power.”
Jesus is more concerned with ensuring that all people believe in him than he is with specifically liberating oppressed people. True liberation comes from belief in him.
Jesus’ encounters with scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Romans, are not about power, they are about sin. Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy of their sin and their refusal to believe in him, not their power.
Jesus is persecuted for calling out sin and can relate to people who face persecution for doing that.
Jesus’ persecution
During Jesus‘ lifetime in ancient Rome, Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious leaders of competing sects within Judaism. While they disagreed on a few points of theology, these leaders were united in their opposition to Jesus. Pharisees and Sadducees had a complex relationship with the Roman government, but generally had the freedom to exercise their religious authority as they saw fit so long as they did not challenge Roman authority. Roman governors, such as Pontius Pilate, were responsible for enforcing Roman law on behalf of the emperor.
As Jesus gained more followers, he quickly became the target of Pharisees and Sadducees, who felt threatened by his message and growing popularity. Throughout the gospels they question him, attempt to embarrass him, and run him out of town. But their campaign only emboldened Jesus, who responded with increasingly brazen jabs. He accused the Pharisees of being hypocrites, guilty of violating the laws that they claimed to uphold. Eventually, his rebellion attracted the attention of the Roman authorities, who arrested Jesus before trying and crucifying him. As you read a selection of these encounters, consider what drove the tension between Jesus and those in power and what that means for how we should relate to power today.
Read the New Testament passages
How these passages build on the Old Testament
The New Testament passages in this section make frequent allusions to prophecies and events depicted in the Old Testament:
In “The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth,” Jesus reads a prophecy from the book of Isaiah that predicts that a messiah will liberate the Israelites, saying “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He then angers the crowd by comparing himself to the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who broke the social norms of their time by helping outsiders.
Before Jesus cleanses the temple, he accuses religious leaders of turning it into a “den of robbers,” referencing Jeremiah’s prophecy that God would bring judgment on the nation for desecrating God’s house.
When Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees, he calls them hypocrites and says that if they had been alive in the days of the prophet Zechariah, they would have participated in killing him.
Jesus attends the Festival of Booths, an important Jewish celebration that’s mentioned throughout the Old Testament. Zechariah prophesied that “all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Festival of Booths.”
But outside of these explicit references, Jesus’ persecution by religious leaders and Roman authorities serves to cast him as the fulfillment of Jewish messianic prophecies and to place him as an heir to Moses, who liberated the Israelites from bondage. Isaiah predicted that the messiah would be despised and punished. In Deuteronomy, Moses predicts that there will be a new prophet like him who will speak God’s truth. Many Christians see Jesus as a liberator who emulated Moses in delivering the Israelites from oppression.
Jewish people during Jesus’ lifetime would have been very familiar with the scriptural references Jesus was making and would have understood that he was casting himself as the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies and traditions. Jesus was proposing a different interpretation of Jewish scriptures than the one put forward by religious leaders at the time, and that’s why these leaders saw him as threatening. As you read these passages, consider the ways in which they add to our understanding of Jesus’ relationship with power, and what our relationship with power should be today.
Read the Old Testament passages
Now that you’ve read the scripture…
Reflect
What are you thinking and feeling right now?
Request
Ask God to open your heart and your mind to a different perspective. Challenge yourself to see another point of view— even if you don’t agree with it.
Respond
Thank God for working through scripture and through the people around you. If you’re about to discuss this section with other people, pray for them and for your time together.
Questions for reflection & discussion
How do you picture Jesus? How does that picture influence your relationship with him? In what ways are you similar or different?
Why is Jesus rejected at Nazareth? What does this passage tell us about his reasons for coming into the world?
What is at the root of Jesus’ resistance to the Pharisees? Why does he rebel against them and how does he go about it?
What is at the root of the Pharisees’ persecution of Jesus? What motivates them to plot to kill him?
To what extent is Jesus persecuted by those in power and to what extent is he persecuted by everyday people? How does that inform our understanding of Jesus’ relationship with power?
Some Christians have used these passages to justify discrimination and violence against Jewish people. How do you think Jesus would feel about that? How can we understand Jesus’ criticisms of the Pharisees without resorting to anti-Semitism?
What is the relationship in these passages between religious authorities and the Roman government? In what ways do they work together and in what ways do they work against one another?
Do you think that Jesus takes sides? If so, who does Jesus side with? How do you reconcile that with his calls to love everyone? If not, how do you explain Jesus’ opposition to the Pharisees?
Think back to the Sermon on the Mount. How do these passages inform or change your understanding of whether or when Christians should fight?
Why does Jesus’ identity matter? Do you think his identity should be a focus of Christian conversations?
How do Jesus’ references to the Old Testament impact our understanding of his identity and his relationship with power?
How would you define Jesus’ identity?
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