Two Trees

The Bible has a lot to say about the physical body, but does it have anything to say about what we call body image?

Was King Saul considered a natural leader because he stood "a head taller than any of the others" (1 Samuel 9:2)? Did Zacchaeus realize he would go down in history as "a wee little man"? King David had "a fine appearance and handsome features," but the reason God chose him had more to do with his character than his looks (1 Samuel 16:7, 12). A king named Eglon isn't widely known, but he was notably wide—"a very fat man" (Judges 3:17).

When Abigail looked in the mirror, did she consider herself "an intelligent and beautiful woman" as others saw her (1 Samuel 25:3)? Did Esther realize she "was lovely in form and features" (Esther 2:7), or did she feel inferior to other women around her? What was the wicked queen Jezebel thinking when she "painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window" (2 Kings 9:30)?

Tragic Tree

One of the best-looking individuals mentioned in the Bible was David's son Absalom. "In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him" (2 Samuel 14:25). Absalom was a good looking guy from head to toe, and his head deserved special note: "Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels about five pounds by the royal standard" (v. 26).

Absalom's good looks eventually went to his head. He bad-mouthed his father David, manipulated his countrymen with self-serving words, and organized a conspiracy to take away his father's throne. His thick head of hair eventually contributed to his downfall, for he rode a mule under an oak tree, his head got caught in the thick branches, and he was left hanging in midair until a soldier loyal to King David plunged three javelins into Absalom's heart as he hung there helplessly from the tree (2 Samuel 18:9-15).

Absalom had a flawless body but a rebellious spirit, and his story ended in tragedy. No one looks handsome hanging from a tree with his flesh pierced by javelins.

Triumphant Tree

Years later another descendant of David was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14). "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9), but there's much about his body we do not know. How tall was he? How much did he weigh? Did he have a thick head of hair?

From working in a carpenter's shop and traveling the countryside on foot, surely he had strong muscles and sun-tanned skin. But was he handsome with movie-star looks? The prophet suggests otherwise: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).

Truth is, we all have more in common with Absalom than we'd like to admit. We have rebelled against the king, flattered ourselves that we should be the ones in charge, and sought the cheers of the crowd over our Father's approval. But Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). He had a tortured body but a flawless spirit. The Prince died for the rebels, pierced for our transgressions.

That's why the songwriter wrote, "In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see." There's wondrous beauty in the cross because whether we're heavy or thin, handsome or plain, healthy or sick, Calvary's tree shows how God sees us.