(CP) The Megiddo Mosaic, which decorated one in all the oldest Christian prayer halls, is now on display on the Museum of the Bible as a part of an exhibition that runs through July 2025. The mosaic bears images of a fish, a logo of early Christianity, and a Greek inscription that reads “To God Jesus Christ.”
Israeli archeologists discovered the mosaic in 2005 during a salvage excavation conducted as a part of the planned expansion of the Megiddo Prison. The showing on the Museum of the Bible is the primary public presentation of the mosaic, as attributable to its location on prison grounds, the mosaic was not accessible to the general public.
In addition to the inscription recognizing Jesus as God, the Megiddo Mosaic memorializes the names of 5 women, perhaps highlighting the role women played in early Christian communities. The mosaic also features the name of the Roman officer who paid for it to be made.
During a reception celebrating the exhibit’s Sunday opening, Museum of the Bible CEO Carlos Campo said the staff believes the mosaic conveys the “transformative power of the Bible.” He urged people attending the exhibit’s opening to “take a step back” and see the mosaic.
“Because as I step back, I learn more concerning the power of this object and what it’s attempting to say to me about ancient history, concerning the history of Christianity, concerning the place there at Megiddo in Israel, and so way more,” Campo said.
“And so, that is what we have come together today to rejoice, that this object really is a way for us to come back together, a way for us to see that these tiny little tesserae, these tiny little chips, these beautiful pieces, when placed together, they tell a remarkable story of unity,” the Museum of the Bible CEO continued. “
“A remarkable story of a spot that brought people in from many various areas, and yet they shared enough in common to grasp that they were individuals who could rejoice, worship, and are available together in peace,” he said. “And it’s what we come together to rejoice today.”
During an interview with The Christian Post, Campo said the museum partnered with the Israel Antiquities Authority to bring the mosaic to the U.S. The technique of moving the mosaic involved separating parts of the tiles without damaging the composition.
Experts put the pieces of the mosaic together inside a number of weeks of its arrival. According to Campo, anywhere from 50 to 75 staff worked on piecing the mosaic together; nonetheless, he acknowledged that there are countless others who worked on the project in an ancillary fashion.
The Museum of the Bible dedicated an exhibit to the Megiddo Mosaic since it’s one in all the earliest artifacts that discuss with Jesus as divine, based on Campo. He also noted that the mosaic appears to point that many converts to Christianity were present after Jesus’ death, highlighting the names of the five women and the Roman soldier featured on the mosaic.
“Some people would posit that, well, after Jesus died, there was this dark phase where almost nobody was following Christ,” he said. “Well, this mosaic says that that is not true, that there have been people even under persecution, which they definitely had, who were faithful followers of Jesus Christ.”
