The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers — When Jesus Christ was a man on earth, did he wear a beard?”
“In recent years in many lands a beard or long hair on a man attracts immediate notice and may, in the minds of the majority, classify such a person undesirably with extremists or as rebels against society. God's ministers want to avoid making any impression that would take attention away from their ministry or hinder anyone from listening to the truth.”
After concluding that Jesus did wear a beard, the answer explains why Witness ministers nevertheless 'strive to dress inconspicuously'.
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Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Questions From Readers — When Jesus Christ was a man on earth, did he wear a beard?
Confidence note. Opened on wol.jw.org; wording confirmed; p. 288 from page marker.
Corroborated by. src-gbu-2023-1215-update8-beards
Notes. The 2023 GB Update itself refers to this 1968 article as the point where the organisation accepted that Jesus wore a beard.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1968-0501-qfr-beard