Dirty Jesus

Today I read an interesting article by Johnnie Moore (professor of religion and vice president at Liberty University).  He stated very simply that Jesus was most probably a dirty man.  In the time he lived, physical hygiene and cleanliness were not priorities.  For him to be accepted by the people around him, he needed to live like them and be like them.  He had to do all the bodily functions as a human that we do and being a carpenter was dirty work.  He most likely became sick with various viruses and sweated in the sun like we do.  When he walked the dusty road of dirt barefoot, his feet were most likely black with soot.  At one time he may have stepped on something sharp and had an infected sore. Sometimes I forget he was fully man.  I always think of him as fully God.  In pictures we see everywhere, he is in pristine condition, perfectly groomed and usually dressed in a white flowy gown.  This was not Jesus the man in his day.  This is our image of what we what we want him to look like.  We believe he lived a very humble, obscure life until he came into his Godhood so why do we mentally dress him in white robes?   He was a regular Joe, living at home and following his dad in his trade.  Fully man and fully God. Tonight, when I pray, I will pray to the dirty Jesus.  I want to be like him.  I want to live humbly, help those around me and just get dirty.