On Theology and Christian Life - That Jesus has a beard and in defense of dogma

“I gave My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard,” (Isaiah 50:6). That Jesus has a beard is proved by the Prophet Isaiah who writes that Christ gave his cheek to those who pulled it out. This section of Isaiah’s prophecy belongs to what has been named the Servant Songs. It is one of four, and each describes this Servant as one who suffers for the transgression of God’s people. The Hipster culture left aside; that this Servant has a beard is a significant detail. For by it we know that he is a man. He is a human being with flesh and blood and beard.

I draw your attention to this detail, dear Christian reader, not because I am a pastor with a beard (though I am), but because the humanity of Jesus is of utmost importance for you. A Christ — a Suffering Servant — without a human nature is of no use to you. Jesus was not then, nor is he now, an ethereal spirit or a make-believe man. When the Son went out from the Father and took up habitation in the womb of the virgin Mary he received from her a true human nature — as true as the one you and I now have. From that point on, he was and ever shall be, world without end, a man. Jesus is like you in every way, except sin (Hebrews 2:17; 4:15).

Now, you might be wondering what facial hair has to do with dogma, or what dogma even is. In the first place, dogma or doctrine simple means “teachings.” So far as my beard is concerned, facial hair has nothing to do with dogma. But, regarding the beard of our Lord Jesus, dogma and beards (or this particular beard) are most certainly intertwined.

The latter part of this column’s title is “in defense of dogma.” What, or against whom, does dogma need to be defended? Well, in short, against any and all who see the study and exposition of dogma or doctrine as an unfruitful and even anti-Christian affair. To be dogmatic is considered an insult among some in this house we call Christendom. The slant comes in all forms. “Deeds not Creeds” may be the most common, oft-repeated, and ironic considering that the statement itself is a Creed — a confession — that doing Christian things, not saying Christian things, is preferred in the Church.

But dogma or doctrine — teaching — had an important place in the ministry of Jesus who, in a manner of speaking, systematically preached the Sermon on the Mount. He concluded his sermon by saying that whoever heard his teaching and lived according to it would have his house built upon a solid foundation (Matt. 7:24). The Church will stand against the gates of hell because of the confession “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (Matt. 16:18). Doctrine is what the early Christian Church devoted herself to with steadfastness (Acts 2:42). The teaching or dogma of the Apostles is that through which you believe and so are saved (John 17:20). “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine,” St. Paul writes to young Timothy, “Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you,” (I Tim. 4:16).

Now, the dogma that is intertwined with the beard of Jesus is sometimes called the Two Natures in Christ. Of course, you do not have to know it by this name, but you must know and believe what it teaches, otherwise you are not a Christian. Simply put, the Lord Christ has two natures. He is 100 percent God and 100 percent man in one divine person. He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and has been such from all eternity; begotten from the unbegotten God and Father of us all. In the words of the Nicene Creed he is God from God, Light from Light, very God from very God. He is one substance with the Father. And yet, in the fullness of time, he was born out of a woman, born under the Law (Gal. 4:4). Again, as the Nicene Creed says, for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and he is a man, a man with a beard.

These two natures in Christ are joined in the one person of Jesus through what is called the personal union. This, by no means, is a mere doctrinal or dogmatic heading, though it is that. The personal union of the Son’s divinity and humanity is of utmost importance for salvation. Even as a fleshless Son offers you no benefit, so too would Jesus as a mere man mean only sorrow for you. For a fleshless Son cannot live under the Law for you and for your redemption (Gal. 4:4), nor can a mere-man Jesus suffer in the place of and fulfill the Law perfectly for the whole of humanity.

However — and Christ be praised — we hear from Isaiah that our bearded Savior did this very thing. That he has a beard, again, shows his humanity by which he lived under the demands of the Law. That he gave his cheek to have this beard pulled out shows that he suffered. That he can and did do it all, and perfectly, for the whole of humanity, indeed for you, dear reader as an individual, is shown in that “the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed,” (Isaiah 53:5). This we call the Vicarious Satisfaction (from the Latin satisfactio vicaria, meaning in man’s place, Christ offered to God the satisfaction of his perfect life, suffering, and death so wrath would be alleviated, and grace given). The chastisement of this Jesus — beard and all — avails for your peace, forgiveness, and salvation because he is God and man in one divine person. That is a doctrine, when rightly taught and believed, that saves me and those who have ears to hear.

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Pastor Marcus Williams

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Havre

Zion Lutheran Church, Chinook