What did Jesus look like?

If you were standing in a room full of people and were told that Jesus was in the room, would you recognize him? How would you pick him out in the crowd?

By his clothes? But suppose everybody in the room was wearing a long, flowing toga?

By his beard? But suppose all the men in the room would be wearing beards.

You could scrutinize other facial features of those in the room but what would you be looking for? Someone who looks like the leading character in "The Passion of the Christ"?

If you had an artist's sketch of Jesus, that would help. A photograph would be even better.

But a photo from the first century A.D.? Most people would regard that as impossible. They would be surprised to learn that cameras were in existence in the time of Christ. The rudimentary photographic device was used in ancient Greece and Rome among the rich. It was a darkened box with a small opening to admit light. This created an image on a screen inside the box.

An Australian anthropologist, according to a British tabloid, claims to have found a photograph of Jesus taken around 30 A.D., just before his crucifixion.

The article says Dr. Bradley Durbin, considered an authority on the Holy Land in the time of Christ, explained that the photograph was uncovered in a trunk in a house that appears to have been destroyed by fire.

According to the newspaper, the trunk also held a chalice and a tablecloth that Durbin said may be souvenirs from a meal where Jesus had been a guest. The family, he said, may have been followers of Jesus.

The photo Durbin showed reporters was of a bearded man with dark hair. On the back of the picture were the words, "The Son of Man, Light of the world," written in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.

While this is the only purported photograph of Jesus, we have had written descriptions of Jesus' face and physique that are somewhat contrary to Durbin's findings--namely, Jesus' hair color.

Frank Adams of Tucson, Ariz., published a slim book titled "A Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus." (Psychical Aid Foundation, 1972).

Adams bases his description of Jesus on three ancient manuscripts: a letter from Publius Lentulus, a Roman, to the Senate in Rome; Pontius Pilate's letter to Tiberias Caesar (before Pilate met Jesus face to face at his trial; and a report by Gamaliel, a Jewish teacher (and St. Paul's teacher), to the Sanhedrin.

Here, according to Adams, are excerpts from the manuscripts:

Publius Lentulus: "He is a tall, well-proportioned man and there is a severity in his countenance which attracted love and reverence. His hair is the color of new wine, from the roots to the ears and thence to the shoulders. He has never been seen to laugh but has been observed to weep. He talks little but with great quality."

Pontius Pilate: "One day in passing the place of Siloe, I observed in the midst of a concourse of people a young man leaning against a tree, calmly addressing the multitude. I was told it was Jesus. His golden-colored hair and beard were a contrast between him and his hearers with their black beards."

Gamaliel: "He is the picture of his mother although his hair is a little more golden. He is tall and his shoulders are a little drooped. His eyes are blue. He is not a great talker unless there is something brought up about heaven and divine things when his eyes light up with peculiar brilliancy."

Adams notes in his book that the descriptions of Jesus given by Publius Lentulus and Gamaliel both speak of him as being tall, although Adams says "the average height of mankind at this period was somewhere around 5 feet and under."

The photo of Jesus allegedly discovered by the Australian anthropologist Bradley Durbin sheds no light on the matter of his height but the verdict of Christianity is that--figuratively, if not literally--Jesus stands head and shoulders above the common round of humanity.