Episode 143: Picturing Christ (Daniel Becerra)

About this episode

Daniel Becerra discusses his book 'Picturing Christ' and the evolving images of Jesus in art and their impact on faith.

What did Jesus actually look like, and does it matter? In this episode, professor of ancient scripture Daniel Becerra discusses his new book Picturing Christ , co‑authored with Jennifer Champoux, Mark D. Ellison, and Matthew J. Grey. The book traces how Christians, Latter-day Saints and others, have imagined and portrayed Jesus across two millennia of art and what these evolving images reveal about a shared desire to understand the divine through faith and culture. Becerra explains that while what Jesus did matters more than how He looked, the way we picture Him still shapes how we relate to God and understand the scriptures. He dives into how assumptions formed by analyzing familiar artwork can influence our spiritual interpretation in subtle ways. The conversation also highlights what archaeology and historical research can teach us about Jesus's real-world context. Insights from excavations, early Christian artifacts, and material culture help ground scriptural stories in historical reality, enriching the way listeners imagine scenese from the New Testament. Through Picturing Christ, Becerra et al. invites listeners to see the Savior through a broader historical and artistic…

People in this episode

Guest: Daniel Becerra

Topics covered

• depictions of Jesus
• Christian art
• historical context
• spiritual interpretation
• archaeology
• faith and culture

Keywords

• Jesus
• art
• Christianity
• scripture
• archaeology
• faith
• depictions
• historical context

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Deseret Book

Books & works: Picturing Christ, 3rd, 4th Nephi: The Book of Mormon

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