Hi Peggy,
The following verses have been quoted previously in this thread but please look at them again;
Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form8389 nor comeliness;1926 and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,4341 and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not.
H8389
תּאר
tô'ar
to'-ar
From H8388; outline, that is, figure or appearance: - + beautiful, X comely, countenance, + fair, X favoured, form, X goodly, X resemble, visage.
H1926
הדר
hâdâr
haw-dawr'
From H1921; magnificence, that is, ornament or splendor: - beauty, comeliness, excellency, glorious, glory, goodly, honour, majesty.
H4341
מכאבה מכאוב מכאב
mak'ôb mak'ôb mak'ôbâh
mak-obe', mak-obe', mak-o-baw'
From H3510; anguish or (figuratively) affliction: - grief, pain, sorrow.
Luk 4:23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
I can understand the difficulty of overcoming the worldly, churchian, Hollywood image of Jesus being the quintessential leading man but when we look at all the scriptures that have been quoted in this thread and in Ray's article I have yet to see one that describes Christ as a beautiful physical specimen, we do not get that image from His Word, we get it from church (and worldly) tradition.
Phi 2:7 But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men:
Phi 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Phi 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name:
As far as the ability to work through pain I was a first hand witness to my own parents who worked through pain their entire lives. My Dad was born (1918) with a deformed hip and left leg, it was amputated when he was 2 years old and was in and out of the hospital until about 8 or 9 years old from all the complications of the rather primitive surgery as well as the hip issue that plagued him (in silence) his entire life.
He worked for close to forty years in a low to average paying job with arthritis and a heart condition. He may have missed 5 or 6 days during that entire time as well as working every hour of overtime he was offered. The accumulation of unused sick days helped him to retire a couple years earlier than he otherwise would have been eligible for.
Thankfully he did get those extra couple years as shortly after he retired he was discovered to have colon cancer, a very severe colon cancer which he managed to survive for about 3 years but in a very weak state.
Not once, ever in my life did I hear him say "woe is me" or seek sympathy from anyone, not ever. He worked hard, provided as best he could and did not complain about his afflictions. He was not a religious man, I don't even know the degree of faith he had but he was a real inspiration as an overcomer.
With all that said I do not believe my Dad suffered more than my Lord.
Christ set aside His glory to walk among men as a man, he did not turn stones into bread (or any other food) when fasting in the wilderness, he did not use any of His power for His own self interest, only for the glory of His Father. He not only humbled Himself by becoming lower than the angels as a man but took on man's afflictions as well as suffering temptations, all without sin. Therein lies His beauty, by His suffering, by His love, by His humble spirit, by His sicknesses and pain we are made whole and acceptable to our Father.
His Peace and Wisdom to you,
Joe