The Sign of the Fish

Its been forever since I posted. Things have gotten unexpectedly busy around here these days and the thought of posting exzuted way to much brain power. But last week I was asked by a family member if I knew where the fish came from when we saw one on a bumper in traffic. I had forgotten but have a bookmarker that explains it all and promised I would share it- so here it is a week later with a bit more than the marker provided. Sorta neat to know the story after being clueless for so many years.



The earliest followers of Jesus were persecuted and forced to worship in secret locations. They adopted a secret symbol as a means of identification between fellow Christians in a pagan world. The earliest followers of Jesus were persecuted and forced to worship in hidden locations. Often these believers would scratch the secret symbol of a fish in the ground to help them identify other Christians.

Not only was fish a common food of the day, often used and referenced by Jesus during His ministry, but the letters which make up the Greek word for "fish" (IXØ U S ) also spell out a secret message about our Lord. I-Jesus, X-Christ, Ø -God’s, U -Son, S -Savior.