One of the earliest physical depictions of Jesus is found in some graffiti in Rome. You can see it the graphic that accompanies today’s devotional. 

It dates from the late-first to early-third centuries, probably closer to the later. It shows a man on a cross, but the man has a donkey head. There is another person below the cross. It looks like he is worshipping. The graffiti reads “Alexamanos worships [his] god.”*

It’s anti-Christian graffiti. The person on the cross is clearly Jesus. He is shown with a donkey’s head to ridicule him. This picks up on the shame which for centuries was associated with the cross. In many people’s eyes it was a symbol of humiliation and defeat, not of glory and victory.

The graffiti was found in a slave’s cell. The most likely scenario is that a slave named Alexemanos was a Christian, and the other slave was not. For whatever reason, this other slave wanted to make fun of the Christian. Therefore, he made fun of Jesus and his manner of death.

I wonder what Alexemanos felt when he first saw the graffiti? I hope it didn’t bother him too much. I hope he saw beyond the mockery and found renewed allegiance to the Lord who had gone to the cross in an act of self-sacrificial love to redeem his people and to gain victory over sin, death and darkness.

In Mark 8:38 Jesus says: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Originally, Jesus had just been speaking about taking up a cross. If we are ashamed of Jesus, his words, or his manner of death, this is a very serious warning.

Today, we need to continually ask ourselves whether we are ashamed of Jesus. Are we embarrassed if someone finds out we are a Christian? Do we try to make excuses and explain away some of his more controversial teachings? 

None of us are perfect. We are all on a journey of growth. We all need the forgiveness of God. Fortunately, God is very free with his grace! But as we grow, let’s not shy away from the one who endured shame, torture, spitting, ridicule, pain, abandonment, and death for us.

Alexamenos worshiped his God, even when others made fun of him. And so do we.

Notes:

-*Craig Evans, Jesus and His World (Augsburg, 2013), 71.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.
-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on February 17, 2025.