The sign of the fish ∙

The sign of the fish ∙

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace. – Titus 1:4

2 Timothy 1:9-10

 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time – to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.

Internet acronyms are often confusing. They have become popular as shortcuts for fast-paced digital communication. DYK (Do you know) some of the most popular acronyms of today? If not, DW (Don’t worry) – you soon will.

Do you need a bit of help? You might need someone to break it down. For example, ELI5 stands for “Explain like I’m 5,” which means providing a straightforward explanation without complexity.

In case you missed it, ICYMI, here are a few more: IMHO means “In my humble opinion,” and PIBKAC humorously points out that the “Problem is between keyboard and chair,” implying user error, that is, the problem resides within you.

Among symbols from the first century, one frequently encountered the acronym ICHTHUS (ἰχθύς), known as the sign of the fish. In Greek, ichthus means “fish.” The symbol of the fish became a secret way for early Christians to identify each other.

According to tradition, during the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians in the early centuries, the fish symbol served to differentiate allies from adversaries. As recounted in ancient stories, a child of the King would draw one arc of a simple fish outline in the dirt upon meeting a stranger. If the stranger completed the drawing, it signaled mutual faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Christianity Today, Elesha Coffman).

Saint Augustine appreciated the fish symbol as a Christian emblem and a descriptor of Christ. The Greek word ichthus forms an acrostic for Jesus Christ, God’s Son and Savior.  

Augustine remarked, “It is a suitable sign for Christ because He was able to live without sin in the abyss of this mortality, as in the depths of waters.’ He saw Christ as like a fish immersed into a foreign environment. That environment being this fallen world” (MacArthur).

In the 1970s, the “Jesus Fish” became an icon of modern Christianity.

The Greek word ICHTHUS (ἰχθύς) is spelled as follows:

Iota (i), Iesous (Ἰησοῦς) Jesus

Chi (ch), Christos (Χριστός) Christ/anointed

Theta (th), Theos (θεός), God

Upsilon (y or u), Huios (υἱός) Son

Sigma (s), Soter (σωτήρ) Savior

REFLECT & PRAY

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then, he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

Father, thank You for providing the Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, to be the Savior of the world. What a wonderful acronym:ICHTHUS (ἰχθύς)

INSIGHT

Luke 2:11 The Savior – yes, the Christ, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

John 20:31 These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

The name Jesus in Hebrew is originally Yehoshua (pronounced Yeh-HO-shoo-ah), which was later shortened to Yeshua (Yeh-SHOO-ah). Both versions translate to “The Lord is salvation.” This name was quite common among Jewish families. It was often given to sons as a symbol of faith and hope that God would eventually send the Messiah to set up the promised kingdom and redeem His people.

In the Greek New Testament, the word translated into English as Jesus is Iesous. Iesous is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Yehoshua. Transliteration involves converting letters of a word from one language to similar-sounding letters in another, creating a new word in that language. An example is the English word “baptize,” which is derived from the Greek word baptizo (bap-TID-zo), meaning to immerse, sprinkle, submerge, dip, wash, identify, or bring about permanent change.

The Greek word Christos (Χριστός) comes from the Hebrew word Mashiach (מָשַׁח), meaning “Anointed One” or “Messiah.” This Hebrew term gives rise to the English word “Messiah” through its Greek transliteration, Messias. Both Mashiach and Messias signify The Anointed One.

The Greek term theos (θεός) is translated to English as God, while huios (υἱός) is translated as Son.

The Greek word soter (σωτήρ), meaning “savior,” describes someone who delivers others from danger or harm. This term is used for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is seen as the one who rescues those who accept Him as Lord, saving them from sin and impending judgment. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

John 1:1-14

 1 In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 2 He existed in the beginning with God.

 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The eternal Son of God became truly human. He subjected Himself to His own creation and its physical laws, experiencing its ups and downs. He would undergo the development of human reason and language, being taught things that, as a human, He did not know. He walked like a baby before he walked like a man. He thought and talked like a baby before he thought and talked like a man. The growing pains of the Son of God were just as real for Him as they were for us. He had to learn to be a carpenter from His earthly father, Joseph. Jesus Christ lived with a human body, mind, and soul, with all their limitations, except for sin (R. Kent Hughes).

“He really did it. It really did happen. Paul was right: “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body . . ..” (1 Timothy 3:16)” (R. Kent Hughes).

The miracle of the incarnation is remarkable on many levels. The eternal Son of God became truly human. He became a man to sympathize with and understand what it was like to be human.

Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

No one can genuinely empathize with another unless they have personally experienced something similar. In the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, we have not only Someone who saved us from our sins but also Someone Who, in His humanity, experienced the same challenges and temptations that we face. He fully comprehends human temptations, limitations, and shortcomings and can relate to and sympathize with us. He offers perfect guidance and support.

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© Dr. H 2024