The actor portraying Jesus in The Chosen has long hair. Most illustrations of Jesus depict Him with long hair. I would guess that most Evangelicals today think that Jesus had long hair.  

But is that correct? 

The Apostle Paul wrote: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?” (1 Cor 11:14). Would Paul have written that if Jesus had had long hair?  

There was one exception to this rule. A Jew might take a Nazarite vow. Those who took this vow did not drink wine or grape juice or eat grapes, and they did not cut their hair until their vow was complete. While most who took this vow did so for only a matter of months, Samson is an OT example of someone who was a lifelong Nazarite.  

Some wrongly think that because Jesus was a Nazarene, He never cut His hair. But Nazarene and Nazarite are unrelated. A Nazarene was one who grew up in Nazareth. A Nazarite was someone who had taken the Nazarite vow.  

There is no indication in the Gospels that Jesus ever abstained from wine. This shows that He had not taken a Nazarite vow. 

The Bible does not describe Jesus’ physical appearance during His earthly ministry. Revelation 1:14 says of the risen Lord, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire.” Compare Dan 7:9. The phrases “white like wool” and “white as snow” suggest that His post-resurrection hair reflected His holiness and wisdom. The reference to wool might suggest that His hair was short and curly, though that is speculative.   

Most Jewish men of the first century had beards and short hair. If Jesus had had long hair, He would have stood out. The fact that Judas needed to identify Him with a kiss (Matt 26:48) might be additional evidence that Jesus had short hair typical of first-century Jewish men.  

Ezekiel 44:20 indicates that priests “shall neither shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long.” Since Jesus is our High Priest, it seems likely that He would maintain the standards of a priest even though He was not from the line of Levi and Aaron, but instead a priest “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:6; 7:17).  

Pictures depicting Jesus as having long hair follow the notion that philosophers and teachers had long hair. But there is no evidence that He had long hair, and there is every reason to believe that He had short hair.  

Keep grace in focus, and you will continue to love the Lord Jesus, regardless of your mental image of Him.