6 of the Oldest Images of Jesus Christ

1) Alexamenos graffito – 1st to 3rd century

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/41.jpg

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Is this a depiction (albeit, a mocking one) of Jesus – perhaps even the oldest surviving image of Jesus?

The image is carved in plaster on a wall in Rome and is dated to somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries. It depicts a man looking at a person with the head of a donkey that’s being crucified, and it says, “Alexamenos worshipping God.” It’s believed that this was intended to be mocking the faith of a Christian named Alexamenos.

2) The Good Shepherd – 3rd century

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/15.jpg

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

“The Good Shepherd” image is found in the St. Callisto catacomb in Rome and is believed to have been painted around the 3rd century.

3) Adoration of the Magi – 3rd century

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/25.jpg

Giovanni Dall’Orto / Wikimedia Commons

This is a picture of a cast of a sarcophagus that is in the Vatican museums. It shows the scene of the magi adoring the Christ child and is dated to the 3rd century.

4) Healing of the Paralytic – 3rd century

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

This painting is on the wall of the baptistry of a church in a (long abandoned) ancient city in Syria. It depicts the story of the healing of the paralytic found in Mark 2, and it is dated to the mid-3rd century.

5) Christ Between Peter and Paul, 4th century

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5.jpg

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Image detail of Jesus:

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5a.jpg

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

This appears in a cemetery in an imperial villa that belonged to Constantine and is dated to the 4th century.

6) Pantokrator – 6th century

image: http://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/6.jpg

This is the oldest surviving panel icon of Jesus, and it is found at Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai.

Source:
 http://jesusdaily.com/6-of-the-oldest-images-jesus-christ/#TYaz3c8Kz5QM9vLu.99