# How much did Jesus resemble Mary?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 30, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511 "2022-09-30T15:40:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/1 "2022-09-30T15:40:00Z")
I assume he didn’t look anything like Joseph, but much did he resemble Mary?
Was he very similar, so it might look like they shared 100% of their genes, and if not, what was the other 50%? Did he look 50% like God?
I know I am not going to get a factual answer here, but have anyone tried to answer these questions?
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/2 "2022-09-30T15:43:12Z")
On what basis would we answer them? The assumptions that arise in traditional genetics go out the window when divine impregnation is involved, and there is very little in the way of descriptions of either Jesus or Mary that would allow any sort of substantive discussion on the subject.
So the answer is - somewhat? Maybe?
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/3 "2022-09-30T15:43:15Z")
I tried to Google some pictures, but they must have been camera-shy.
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### Author:  [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/4 "2022-09-30T15:45:09Z")
Obviously not factual, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that Jesus looked totally human, or else someone would have remarked on it.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/5 "2022-09-30T15:56:40Z")
He certainly got his Dad’s glowing head.
[ ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Jesus_Christ_-_Hofmann.jpg/800px-Jesus_Christ_-_Hofmann.jpg)
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/6 "2022-09-30T16:36:13Z")
If he had 100% of Mary’s genes, he’d be female. Unless god performed the Miracle of the Y Chromosome.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/7 "2022-09-30T16:56:46Z")
> [@Danger\_Man](#):
>
> I assume he didn’t look anything like Joseph…
Funny thing is, he was the spitting image of Joseph’s Boss.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/8 "2022-09-30T17:11:41Z")
If he had his daddy’s nose would it be invisible, or just extremely large?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/9 "2022-09-30T17:17:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> If he had his daddy’s nose would it be invisible, or just extremely large? -
Does God have a nose so large even He can’t blow it?
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### Author:  [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/10 "2022-09-30T17:18:33Z")
Probably the oldest depiction of Jesus (from 235 AD) shows him as a beardless, youngish man with short hair. I don’t know how much of this appearance he inherited from his father.
[ ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Christ_Healing_the_Paralytic_-_Dura-Europos_circa_232.jpg/299px-Christ_Healing_the_Paralytic_-_Dura-Europos_circa_232.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/11 "2022-09-30T17:34:09Z")
Jesus Haploid Christ?
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/12 "2022-09-30T17:45:03Z")
Probably, the best descriptions that we have of Jesus would be any tidbits in the Gospels and - to make an assumption - a description of his brother, James the Just:
> [@](#):
>
> He drank neither wine nor strong drink, ate no flesh, never shaved or anointed himself with ointment or bathed. He alone had the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies, since indeed he did not use woolen vestments but linen and went alone into the temple and prayed in behalf of the people, insomuch that his knees were reputed to have acquired the hardness of camels’ knees.
>
> - Hegesippus (c. 140)
James continued to lead the Jerusalem school of Jesus, after his death, and there’s a variety of reasons to believe that Jesus ascribed to an ascetic school of thought (see below). So it’s not surprising to see descriptions of non-bathing, natural-length hair, and torn up knees from begging and praying. We should probably assume that Jesus was the same.
There’s no particular note, in the Bible, of Jesus being paler than anyone else around him or sticking out in an extreme way - like being 8 feet tall or glowing in the dark. During his trial, the people are described as laughing that someone would think that “that guy” is the Son of God, and they chose some other guy to vote to save the life of.
We do have some notes of dark skin. If, again, we assume that he was out begging and praying, regularly, then it would be fairly likely that he was pretty sun-tanned so that would seem to match the Biblical descriptions.
Reasons to believe that Jesus was an ascetic:
1. His brother, and the person who continued to lead the disciples in Jerusalem after his death, is described as such.
2. Christian regions in Israel, Syria, Egypt, and Northern Africa taught asceticism for the centuries following Jesus’ death. These are the places that Jesus’ apostles, who actually met and learned directly from him, were wandering and spreading their message. This only seems to stop as the Roman church becomes dominant in those regions.
3. Paul describes having to convince Christian churches in Turkey to stop trying to practice asceticism (saying that it was only required for priests, not lay believers). This implies that someone else was telling them that they should practice asceticism and they were confused on the subject. This would make sense if we view Turkey as being on the border of the Roman and the Jerusalem churches, and receiving different messages from the two directions.
4. John the Baptist, who Jesus describes as following similar systems, was.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/13 "2022-09-30T17:58:29Z")
> [@eburacum45](#):
>
> Probably the oldest depiction of Jesus (from 235 AD) shows him as a beardless, youngish man with short hair. I don’t know how much of this appearance he inherited from his father.
From that we could infer that his father was a beardless, youngish man with short hair. Hey, so was my father. Hmmm.
I think we’re far enough into the thread to point out that Jesus is a fictional character. Hey, he takes after his father that way, too.
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### Author:  [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/14 "2022-09-30T18:01:28Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> He certainly got his Dad’s glowing head.
Mock if you will but, at a time when there was very little or no light during the night, it came in pretty darn handy!
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### Author:  [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/15 "2022-09-30T18:08:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> > [@eburacum45](#):
> >
> > Probably the oldest depiction of Jesus (from 235 AD) shows him as a beardless, youngish man with short hair. I don’t know how much of this appearance he inherited from his father.
>
> From that we could infer that his father was a beardless, youngish man with short hair. Hey, so was my father. Hmmm.
Well, Jesus didn’t inherit the noodly appendages or bat wings, anyway.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/16 "2022-09-30T18:18:57Z")
This might be appropriate here:
> **[Who came up with our popular image of Jesus?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344431/who-came-up-with-our-popular-image-of-jesus)**
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/17 "2022-09-30T18:43:04Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> I think we’re far enough into the thread to point out that Jesus is a fictional character.
Probably not. I don’t buy into the divinity of it all, but he was one of many wandering prophets in Palestine at the time. He just had better PR post mortem in Paul. Were it not for Paul, the Christian sect would probably be on par with the Samaritans today.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/18 "2022-09-30T19:04:25Z")
Actually, both people depicted look about the same. It may be that this artist drew all people this way.
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### Author:  [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/19 "2022-10-02T14:25:43Z")
The closest model, I think, is that Mary was an Ant. Even though the male ant only gets its genes from an unfertilized mother, they can look quite different (looking at pictures anyway).
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-jesus-resemble-mary/972511/20 "2022-10-02T14:29:48Z")
That explains so much!
Jesus could walk on water because He was Boy Ant!
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