Did Jesus have long hair?

Secondly, the Nazarite's hair was not to be cut for the entire length of his vow of separation (v.5). 1I Corinthians 11:5 shows that the woman's long hair is a sign of her subjection to man, who normally does not have long hair (v.16). The Nazarite's long hair was therefore a sign of his subjection to God. It was only when Samson lost his hair that he lost his strength (Judges 16:11-20), for the strength of the believer lies in his subjection to God. The Lord Jesus was not literally a Nazarite, though many pictures mistakenly represent Him as having long hair; but spiritually speaking, He is the one true Nazarite, totally separated to God.

The hair of the Nazirite was not to be cut. Long hair on a woman is a sign of her subjection to the authority of man (1 Cor. 11:10), and thus Samson's long hair would make him resemble a woman, thus emphasizing his total subjection to the authority of the Lord (v. 5). The Nazirite was a type of the Lord Jesus, whose perfections in these three points stand out beautifully. Not that He was a literal Nazirite, for He did drink wine and there is no indication in scripture that He had long hair, though people imagine this and have painted pictures that cannot be trusted.

However, being a vow, it involved the adoption of a legal principle - that is, in taking the vow, the Nazarite obligated himself to fulfil its conditions. This stands in contrast to grace where no vow is asked or even permitted, for the Lord set these aside in Matthew 5:33-37. Yet the Lord Himself, though not literally a Nazarite on earth, perfectly fulfilled the spiritual significance of the Nazarite's separation. His was a blessed life of perfect devotion to God, of holy separation from every evil, and of utter subjection to His Father's will. The Old Testament bore witness of His vow to do the will of God (Ps.40:7-8), and this He has perfectly done

In taking the vow the Nazarite placed himself in a position where he was required to fulfil its conditions. Under grace no vow is asked for or even permitted, for the Lord Himself set vows aside in Matthew 5:33-37. He was not a Nazarite on earth in the literal sense, but in Him the spiritual significance of Nazariteship was perfectly fulfilled. His life on earth was a blessed life of perfect devotion to God, of holy separation from every evil and of utter subjection to His Father's will. The Old Testament bore witness of His vow to do the will of God (Psa. 40:7-8), and this He has done perfectly, not simply in His life, but in His great sacrifice at Calvary. He is the only One who can be fully trusted to fulfil His vow.

When we designate the Lord Jesus as the true Nazarite, we do not mean that He literally took the vow of a Nazarite, or literally had the characteristics of a Nazarite. We do not read, for example, that He refrained from drinking wine. He said Himself: ‘John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He has a demon. The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold, an eater and wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners’ (Luke 7:33, 34). In Matthew 26:29 it says: ‘I say to you that I will not at all drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.’

The Lord Jesus was, of course, the Nazarite ‘par excellence’, the perfect example of God’s Nazarite, not in the literal, but in the figurative, spiritual sense.

We read that the Lord Jesus was, "come of woman, come under law" (Gal. 4:4, J.N.D. Trans.). Was the Lord Jesus a Nazarite? Did He take up this vow? Clearly He did not. "The Son of man came eating and drinking" (Matt. 11:19). He touched the dead: "And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi: which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise" (Mark 5:41). The Lord Jesus was not a Nazarite under the law, but He fulfilled in spiritual reality what the shadow of Numbers 6 gives us in outline. He was the true Nazarite who walked in perfect separa­tion to His God. He was cast upon Him from His mother's womb (Psa. 22:10). He came eating and drinking (wine), but said to His disciples, "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom" (Matt. 26:29). There was no joy for Him in this earth, in His people Israel. He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As He looked into the heart of man there was that in it which brought Him only sorrow. He did not joy over Jerusalem, He wept over it. The challenge presented to us in the Scripture is this: can we as those who belong to Him, find our joy in a world that has rejected Him? Do we in any way seek our joy in a world that has turned away from Him, a world in which He knew nothing but sorrow and rejection and ultimately death. Quite plainly we should be able to answer "no." We cannot as it were drink of the fruit of the vine. There was no joy for Him and because we are His, there should be no joy for us. But there is a secret joy for the Christian, a joy which this world cannot know or understand. If we consider again the feast at Cana, while the feast-master did not know where the wine came from it says that the servants who drew the water knew. There is joy for those who serve the Lord Jesus. We draw water from Him which this world cannot draw. We drink of the wells of salvation and this is our joy. We drink deeply of that life which He has given us, the life which is in Him, and we can know the joy which He would have us to know even in this world. "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). This He said in the context of the need to abide in Him and bear fruit.

If we are going to be Nazarites, there is a certain sense in which it must be a voluntary thing. We must be willing to be Nazarites. When any one voweth the vow of a Nazarite. There was only one true Nazarite that ever walked this earth, and His Nazariteship was not a mere negative thing, it was that positive thing which associated Him with God, rather than merely separated Him from the world. As a matter of fact He was not a literal Nazarite. John the Baptist was a literal Nazarite. He was a man who abstained from all kinds of things; he came neither eating nor drinking, and the compliment he got was that he had a devil. The Son of Man came eating and drinking. He was a Man with men. The blessed Lord did not need any external self-righteous separation. Ah, His holy soul was separate unto His Father completely, and He needed nothing to witness outwardly of that. None could ever approach Him with defilement, none could ever link His holy Name with even the thought of sin. He was so completely absorbed in His Father's will, so completely yielded up to His Father, that the very finger of the world itself could scarce point at Him as anything but what He was. It was such a palpable falsehood, when they spoke of Him as a gluttonous man and a winebibber, as not even to require contradiction. He even takes the name of reproach Himself. Yes, He is the Friend of sinners, and associates Himself with that expression. Do not our hearts delight to know Him in that way! But who thinks of Him as the friend of sinners in any way save to deliver them from their sins? Who thinks of Him as in any way identifying Himself with the low state about Him, save in grace coming down to bear the consequence of man's distance from God, in order that He might associate His people with Himself in true Nazariteship unto God!

Christ's Manhood is seen in His flowing locks, and is emphasised by their being black. Long hair belonged normally to the woman, who had from God the place of subjection. The Nazarite, who separated himself "Unto the LORD" (Numbers 6:2) must needs "Let the locks of the hair of his head grow." How wonderful that the Eternal Son of God should come into Manhood, into the place of subjection, to be the True Nazarite, and to become "Obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." As God, He had ever commanded, as Man "Yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered." Gladly did the Son come to do the Father's will; to do His good pleasure was His delight, even if it meant infinite sorrow and suffering to secure what lay in the counsels of the Father.

The blackness of His locks is in marked contrast to what is revealed concerning Him in Daniel 7 where, as "The Ancient of days … whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool" He is seen as the One whose goings forth were of old, even from eternity. Now He is Man, no grey hairs are on Him; all the freshness and vigour that belonged to Him down here is unimpaired by all that He has passed through. Vigour and zeal characterized Him, but not in the bustling haste that marks the flesh, but in innumerable works of which the Spirit of God has recorded, "If they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25). Although Christ has become Man, and our souls delight in Him with His flowing locks as black as a raven, yet we remember who He is in the greatness of His Person, unchanged and unchangeable. Therefore when Jesus is seen by John in vision, "Like unto the Son of Man … His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow." The Son of Man is still the "Ancient of days."