Tucked away in Oxford University’s historic library are the oldest surviving New Testament fragments, papyrus texts nearly 2,000 years old that are among Christianity’s most treasured writings.
For Dr Jeremiah Johnston, who has studied the Magdalen Papyrus P64 extensively, being one of the few people allowed to hold the pieces of historic scripture was ‘the single most awe-inspiring experience this side of heaven.’
The fragments themselves are tiny, fragile scraps, browned with age, yet they preserve moments from the Gospel of Matthew, including four sayings of Jesus, key portions of the Last Supper and Judas arranging his betrayal.
During a visit to the library of Magdalene College, Johnston was granted the rare opportunity to hold the three fragments encased in a simple frame, an experience he described to the Daily Mail as life-changing.
‘It was literally taken out of what looks like a shoebox, not even on display, and I had as much time as I wanted with one of the most priceless Christian artifacts on earth,’ he said, recalling the almost ethereal nature of the encounter.
‘I’m holding that fragment, and to know that it’s 2,000 years old, and to know that it’s true, and that the scales of truth tip in the favor of Christianity, was transformational for me.’
The fragments preserve 24 lines of text from Matthew chapter 26, specifically covering verses 23 and 31, and date back at least to the first century AD, offering an extraordinary window into the earliest written record of Jesus’ words.
Alongside other early New Testament scraps, the P64 also represents the oldest known examples of a codex, a book with individual pages rather than a traditional scroll, underscoring the profound shift in how early Christians recorded and preserved their sacred texts.
The fragments land squarely in today’s debates over how faithfully the Gospels were transmitted, offering physical evidence that early Christians had been preserving these texts for far longer than critics often claim.
And its frayed edges and faded ink reveal that the story of Jesus was being written down earlier than skeptics sometimes admit.
‘It’s a reminder to me that Jesus died for my sins so that I could be forgiven. And so I’m holding that fragment,’ said Johnston, who is set to release his new book ‘The Jesus Discoveries.’
‘It takes my breath away,’ he added, describing the huge significance the specific excerpts hold as part of what Christians call the words of institution, in this case being the lead-up to the Last Supper and Jesus’ crucifixion.
These fragments were given to Magdalen by Charles Bousfield Huleatt in 1901.
Huleatt, a Magdalen alumnus-turned-missionary, was working in Luxor, Egypt, when he obtained the papers. How he acquired them remains unknown, as does their ultimate origin.
Johnston explained that the P64 fragments were dated entirely through paleography, meaning scholars compared the handwriting style of the scribe to thousands of other dated secular documents found in Egypt that have survived from the same era.
He explained that because everything was handwritten before the invention of the printing press, these handwriting comparisons, along with the fact that the fragment is written on papyrus, rather than later parchment, and is formatted as a codex with writing on both sides, allow experts to date it to the late second century AD.
This would mean that they may have been penned ‘a full century’ after Jesus’ crucifixion, which many scholars believe occurred in 33 AD.
However, some experts, such as German archaeologist Carsten Peter Thiede, argue that the same evidence points to an even earlier first-century origin date for the texts, around 70 AD.
Matthew 26 marks the point where Jesus moves from teaching and ministry into the final hours leading to the crucifixion, making it one of the most consequential chapters in the Gospels.
On the back of Fragment 1, which is from Matthew 26:7-8, the words read: ‘Poured it on his head as he was at the table. When they saw this, the disciples said indignantly.’
The next piece features Matthew 26:10: ‘Jesus noticed this and said, “Why are you upsetting the woman? What she has done for me.”‘
This passage is part of the story of the woman who anoints Jesus with expensive perfume at Bethany, shortly before the Passover.
And the final excerpt, from Matthew 26:15, reads: ‘Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you prepared to give me?”‘
The front side of the first fragment, with text from Matthew 26:31, reads: ‘Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away from me tonight, for the scripture says.”‘
That quote is simply Jesus predicting that all his disciples would soon abandon him, as they later did.
The second includes details from Matthew 26:32: ‘I shall go ahead of you to Galilee.” At this, Peter said to him.’
The final piece features Matthew 26:22-3 and reads: ‘They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, ‘Not me, Lord, surely?’ He answered, ‘Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me.”
Speaking about the translations, Johnston told the Daily Mail: ‘We have four sayings of Jesus within those fragments. Jesus’s name is mentioned twice, Peter and Judas Iscariot’s names are mentioned, and these are the earliest copies in the world where their names are found.’
During his doctoral residency at Oxford, Johnston gained unprecedented access to rare biblical manuscripts through the Bodleian Library, receiving an elite ‘A’ reader card granting full access to special collections.
He believes the cumulative evidence demonstrates that early Christians were committed to accurately preserving the Gospel and that the Magdalen Papyrus attests to that effort.
