“Jesus is God.” An inscription declaring this to be a reality, the earliest and oldest written expression of the Christian faith, has been deemed ‘the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls’ by at least one religious scholar.
Dated to 1,800 years ago, the inscription was uncovered by an inmate at Megiddo prison in Israel, when he was digging beneath his cell floor (there is no word as to whether this was an escape attempt). What was discovered was writing in ancient Greek on a mosaic, with a phrase that translates to, “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”
Akeptous was likely an elite woman and important member of her community who played a key role in the church by donating a table for communion – a key tenet of Christian worship. Aside from Akeptous, the mosaic’s inscription also advised the reader to ‘remember Primilla and Cyriaca and Dorothea, and lastly, Chreste.’
Clearly, women played an active role in the organization and spread of the faith in the early first millennium BC.
Hidden away under the prison since its discovery in 2005, the mosaic with its electrifying inscription has now made its way to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, where it will be on display to the public until July 2025. Fittingly, it was found in the Jezreel Valley, where some Christians believe the final battle of the Biblical Armageddon referenced in the Book of Revelations will occur.
The Megiddo Mosaic: Jesus, the Son of God
The 581-square-foot Megiddo Mosaic decorated what is the world’s first known prayer hall in 230 AD. This, unto itself, is a confirmation that Christians believed Jesus was the son of God from the very beginning, a product of the Immaculate Conception. The mosaic includes some of the earliest images of fish, referencing the story in Luke 9:16, when Jesus multiplied two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people.
Megiddo Prison in the Jezreel Valley of Israel. (James Emery/CC BY 2.0).
Interestingly, the timeline of the mosaic predates the adoption of Christianity as a formal religion by the Roman Empire, reports The Jerusalem Post. At this point the faith was still in its infancy, with no way of knowing what kind of future it would have.
After its initial discovery, it took the Israeli Antiques Authority a full four years to uncover the entire mosaic. The prayer hall, or church, was likely abandoned and covered up in ancient times because the Roman Empire’s Sixth Legion was transferred to Transjordan, a region located to the east of the Jordan River, reports The Daily Mail.
Naturally, this discovery has been hailed as a groundbreaking development in Christian history. Carlos Campo, CEO of the Museum of the Bible, hailed the mosaic as “… ‘the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls,’ ” while his colleagues noted it was “the most important archaeological discovery for understanding the early Christian church.”
“We truly are among the first people to ever see this, to experience what almost 2,000 years ago was put together by a man named Brutius, the incredible craftsman who laid the flooring here,” Campo said at the opening of the exhibition.
Christian and Roman Co-existence: A Rarity?
The mosaic includes the name of the Roman officer who commissioned the tile during the Roman occupation of Judea (6-132 AD).
“Gaianus, also called Porphyrius, centurion, our brother, has made the mosaic at his own expense as an act of generosity,” mentions the inscription on the mosaic. It seems that Gaianus was one of the early converts to Christianity among the Romans, and was enthusiastic enough about it to invest his resources in spreading its message.
Painting of Jesus walking with his disciples through the hills of Judea (painted by J.J. Tissot in 1894). (Brooklyn Museum/Public Domain).
By this time in history, Romans and Christians apparently co-existed to some degree, despite Roman paranoia about religion, cults, war, and slaughter. Christianity was outlawed by the Roman Empire at this time, but its practice was clearly still going on, and in some cases apparently somewhat openly.
The spread of Christianity began in the 1st century AD, originating incidentally in Judea, focusing on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and his early followers. It gained massive traction through the missionary efforts of apostles like Paul, who traveled extensively across the Roman Empire, preaching to both Jews and Gentiles. The faith’s inclusive message, emphasizing salvation, compassion, and hope, appealed to diverse groups, especially those living in marginalized communities.
Despite periods of persecution, Christianity flourished and proved to be an unstoppable force. During the reign of Emperor Constantine it was legalized with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, as Constantine became the first Roman emperor to rule openly as a Christian. By the 4th century, Christianity had became the dominant religion in the empire, completing a long rise that began in places like the prayer hall with the inscribed mosaic that was found lying beneath the prison in the Jezreel Valley.
Top image: Megiddo Mosaic with its inscription referencing ‘God Jesus Christ.’ Source: Vesafis Tzferris/CC BY-SA 4.0.
By Sahir Pandey
