Ixthus

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11

Since the days Christians worshipped in the catacombs to avoid persecution, the fish has been a symbol of Christianity, just as the star of David is a symbol of Judaism and the crescent symbolizes Islam. Visitors to the Calixitus catacombs outside of Rome see the fish symbol carved in the limestone walls where Christians once met and worshipped. Many throughout the world still display the fish–on a lapel pin or small insignia on the bumper of a car–to indicate their faith as Christians.

What does the fish have to do with Christianity? Is it because four of Jesus’ twelve disciples were fishermen that the association was made? No, but there is a reason. The Greek word for fish is ixthus. Five Greek letters form the word, and those letters in an acrostic form a message which Christians clearly identified.

The first letter represented the word Jesus. The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Savior.

The first word, Iasous, is the Greek word for Jesus, the name given by the angel to Joseph when he learned that his wife Mary was pregnant with a child conceived of the Holy Spirit.

The second word, Christos, is the word translated "Christ". It meant the anointed one and was really a title. The Jews fully understood that using that title bestowed Messianic significance on a person, and was never used lightly.

The next words, Theos Huious, meant "God Son", reminding us of what John wrote long ago when he penned these words: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16).

And the final word, Savior, described what Jesus did. When the angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem, he cried, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

The fish is a beautiful picture of who Jesus Christ is to us. Wear the symbol with pride.

Resource Reading: Luke 2:1-15