NEW YORK — They say you can never be too rich or too thin. Surely it goes without saying that you can’t be too good-looking, either, right? Especially in Hollywood.

But in the popular new film “Son of God,” Jesus is so, well, easy on the eyes that some are revisiting an age-old question that has vexed scholars for centuries: Did Jesus really look like Brad Pitt, only slightly better?

OK, that exact question hasn’t vexed scholars for centuries. But those who study religion as portrayed in popular culture do note that depicting Jesus on the screen has always been a tricky business, one that balances weighty theological concerns — how divine to make the son of God, and how human? —with more earthly ones, like how best to sell movie tickets?

“Listen, films are big business,” says Steven Kraftchick, professor at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. “They’re probably not going to cast Jonah Hill as Jesus.”

Not that Hill wouldn’t provide an interesting spin. But the producers of “Son of God,” Roma Downey (who also plays Jesus’ mother Mary) and her husband Mark Burnett, were clearly going for something different when they chose the strapping, 6-foot 3-inch Diogo Morgado, a Portuguese actor who’s dabbled in modeling, for “The Bible,” their History channel miniseries. (“Son of God” is culled from footage shot for the series).