A historian and biblical researcher found Jesus’s alleged first and only portrait.

Fully bearded and long hair man, crowned with thorns, wearing a white tunic with a blue sash. It has been the image of Jesus that many of us have believed in for centuries and circulated in most Christian countries. But is it the real image of Jesus? Has anyone seen Jesus? Does anyone have his real portrait?

Image: Youtube

There have been arguments as to how do Jesus looks. In medieval times there were depictions of Jesus’s image. The Shroud of Turin or the Holy Shroud (a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man, allegedly used to wrap Jesus after the crucifixion), Image of Edessa and the Veil of Veronica or Sudarium also known as Vernicle and often called as simple Veronica (a Christian relic was consisting of a piece of cloth that is said to bear an image of the Holy Face of Jesus). However, these claims don’t have any academic nor scientific supports.

The conventional image of Jesus emerged around AD 300 but did not become established until the 6th century in Eastern Christianity and much later in the west. A historian and biblical researcher, Ralph Ellis, claims that he has found the first and only portrait of Jesus, a record that can change an important figure in Christianity’s history.

Ellis has been studying the Bible and events from the holy book of Christianity to historical facts for years. Jesus, being the most significant figure in western history, has been described, drawn, and depicted in many ways. But none of these images has been proven nor being supported by any record or scientific basis.

The portrait which Ellis is pertaining was the image of a man engraved into a bronze coin dating from the first century. It was also believed to be the face of King Manu, who ruled the Kingdom of Edessa in southeastern Turkey, in upper Mesopotamia. It depicts the image of Jesus Christ. According to Ellis, King Manu, and Jesus was the same person.

Image: Express UK

To Christians, Jesus did exist, and to modern scholars; He was crucified by Pontius Pilate, for he feared that the so-called king of Jews would encourage violence. In the same manner how King Manu died as what Ellis believed. Like Jesus, King Manu also was treated as a threat to Romans because he supported the Jewish upheaval during the first Judeo-Roman war (year 66-73).

Ellis pointed out that in ancient accounts; both King Manu and Jesus were Nazarene Jews who lived in Jerusalem in the first century. Moreover, Ellis said that “the traditional tiara of the Edessan Monarchs was, as can be seen on the coins, a plaited crown of thorns.”

This claim was supported by some records based on the collected research of Ellis. He added and explained that “The fact that Jesus was the only convict said to have been forced to wear a crown of thorns as he was led to his execution, points to there being a link with this king. Jesus was also made to wear a purple cloak, a symbol of power, and could only be worn by Roman emperors. To disobey was punishable by Death. It is my theory that Jesus was forced to wear this crown in the biblical story because he, or more correctly, King Izas Manu, had attempted to overthrow the Romans. Both the crown and cloak were overtly political statements, warning against further uprisings against Rome.”

As a support of this claim, some similarities were too remarkable to happen by chance. Jesus was confusingly involved in an unknown insurgency in the AD30s. Basing on Ellis’s research, Jesus shifts in his historical timeline from the AD30’s to the AD60’s, which makes Jesus the prominent figure in the Great Jewish-Roman War. Therefore Jesus can be a warrior king who challenged the power of the Roman Empire in A.D 68 and paid the price.

Contradicting the orthodox story of Jesus that has become central to the church for thousands of years, it is probable to draw a lot of criticism. But when regarded from a historical perspective, Jesus Emmanuel and Izas Manu being the same is a solid case.

The claims of Ralph Ellis has not been confirmed nor approved. And no living proof can support it as well. The idea of having a savior has played a vital role in everyone’s life, and it makes it easier to win in every battle.

“And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold; I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”-Revelations 1:13-16.

By Kris De Vera Estrella, IFY Books