Jesus Tattoos: A Biblical Basis
All things Jesus...even Jesus tattoos...
Should I? Biblical Basis (or not) for Jesus Tattoos...
That's a question only you can answer. Your grandmother or overzealous pastor may quote Leviticus 19:28:
"You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19.28)
Unfortunately for them, there is a whole host of problems with applying this verse to tattoos. First, it's written to Israel, with a theocentric government living under the rule of God, not the church. Second, the reason for this command is indicated by the context that they were not to do this because it was a practice of their pagan neighbors and part of their pagan worship in certain ritualistic rites.
So unless you're getting a tattoo of another god, the principle behind this verse would not apply...
But wait! Don't you know that your body
"is a temple of the Holy Spirit" 1 Cor 6:19?
(Of course, they might be mentioning this as they shove another Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll (tm) down their gullet. Irony? I'm going to pound my head against a wall the next time some obviously overweight-because-they-can't-put-down-the-Keebler-Fudge-Grahams-person says smoking is a sin or drinking is sin or tattooing is a sin because "you're not taking care of the Lord's temple")
In the context of this verse, Paul is addressing those who are joining their bodies to prostitutes, not getting Jesus tattoos.
Jesus on a Horse With a Tattoo
When Jesus comes back, he'll judge the earth with a sword coming out of his mouth...and a tattoo on His thigh...
"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19.16)
Another Consideration...
In fact, some authors have talked about the power of symbol, and how we have lost that perhaps due to anti-catholic bias, perhaps due to plain old misunderstanding. But having a symbol can be a powerful reminder to one's self and to the watching world of the grace of Jesus Christ.
Please Understand
I'm not saying you should get a Jesus tattoo or shouldn't get one. We are not trying to proof-text, merely pointing out that tattoos are neither moral nor immoral.
We are promoting intelligent debate on both sides of the Jesus tattoo debate. Ultimately, you have to do what is right before your Lord.
Jesus Tattoo Resources...
Don't make a big mistake and get the wrong translation of your phrase tattooed permanently on your self! Instead, use a relatively cheap translation service...
Hebrew Translation
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Or try Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, or any number of other languages.
For some Jesus tattoos and other designs, you might want to check out this huge resource of tattoo designs...
See our main cross tattoos page or our celtic cross tattoos page.
Got your Jesus tattoo? Send me a picture at ...
brucecolbert [at] gmail.com (replace [at] with @)
...along with your story and I'll post it in a future Jesus Tattoo gallery here at bible-guide-online.com