{"id":31045,"title":"Fishers of Men - the BELIEVE Blog","description":"I always assumed that the fish was associated with Christianity because of the role fish played in Jesus\u2019 ministry. Some of his closest friends were fishermen and he did many miracles around fish: catching, multiplying them and feeding people. He even likened His ministry and the Great Commission to fishing for men. And I\u2019m sure this was certainly part of the reasoning behind the choice of a fish as a symbol. But there\u2019s so much more!","content":"

\"8PTg0kcGRNpQ4qY89PwNrzHByg5xq0NQ3TISsiEfJyHhq4LR.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&v=2\"\u201cAnd Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew\u2026and he saith unto them, \u2018Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.\u2019\u201d Matthew 4:18-19<\/p><\/blockquote>

The Christian fish. It\u2019s one of those symbols of Christianity<\/strong> that\u2019s been around for so long that we don\u2019t usually stop to question why.<\/p>

We see this symbol everywhere in the Christian world. On books, jewellery, coasters, and even the car in front of us at the traffic lights. It\u2019s become so synonymous with Christianity, almost as closely as the cross, that even most nonbelievers recognise that the fish is a Christian symbol<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>

But it was only recently that I found out a little more behind the meaning of the fish and why Christians first adopted it. If you\u2019re familiar with any of the story behind the fish, you probably heard, saw or read that it was first used by early Christians as a secret sign of fellowship<\/strong>. One believer would draw half a fish and the other complete the outline to indicate that both knew they were in safe company to speak about the Gospel without fear of persecution<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>

I always assumed that the fish was associated with Christianity because of the role fish played in Jesus\u2019 ministry. Some of his closest friends were fishermen and he did many miracles around fish: catching, multiplying them and feeding people. He even likened His ministry and the Great Commission to fishing for men. And I\u2019m sure this was certainly part of the reasoning behind the choice of a fish as a symbol<\/strong>. But there\u2019s so much more!\u00a0<\/p>

The type of fish we see so often depicted on Christian mugs and bookmarks is actually called an \u201cIchthus\u201d<\/em>.<\/strong> This is the Greek word for fish, and the early Christians adopted it as a kind of acrostic. They used the Greek letters to spell out:\u00a0 Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter<\/em>. Which translates roughly in to English as: Jesus Christ God's Son Savior.<\/em><\/p>

I was dumbfounded. This simple symbol of a fish summarised the whole Gospel message!<\/strong> In such a subtle way, Christians were able to simply \u201cdoodle\u201d their statement of faith.<\/p>

This prompted a little personal reflection on how we share our faith today. Although where we live now we don\u2019t have to be quite so careful about who we reveal our faith too, it is a fact that we will always face persecution in some form.<\/strong> We aren\u2019t in fear of being fed to lions, as the early Christians were, but the world is steadily walking further into resentment and hostility for those who hold onto and act on the values that Christianity upholds.\u00a0<\/p>

Perhaps the time for we Fishers of Men to discreetly doodle our faith is much closer than we first thought. Take some time today to pray and seek God on how you can best use the freedom we currently have<\/strong> as believers.<\/p>

Rosie Shepherd<\/p>

Senior Designer & Co-Founder | Revival<\/p>

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Follow us on instagram - https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/revivalforeveryone\/<\/a><\/p>","urlTitle":"fishers-of-men","url":"\/blog\/fishers-of-men\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/fishers-of-men\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/revivalforeveryone.com\/blog\/fishers-of-men\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1692825802,"updatedAt":1692831615,"publishedAt":1692831615,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":233745,"name":"Revival"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/kfbg73ataepkmmotetzyivgjupt03brylswgxai49jxleyti.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/kfbg73ataepkmmotetzyivgjupt03brylswgxai49jxleyti.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/kfbg73ataepkmmotetzyivgjupt03brylswgxai49jxleyti.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":29384,"title":"Environment is Everything - the BELIEVE Blog","url":"\/blog\/environment-is-everything-the-believe-blog\/","urlTitle":"environment-is-everything-the-believe-blog","division":233745,"description":"I was leading worship in our church last Sunday with one of my younger sisters. A song that she had picked out was about growth and spoke prophetically about how each of us are gardens that the Lord is working on.\n\nAs I sat down for the teaching, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the words, \u201cLet the earth bring forth its fruit\u2026\u201d","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/37g0cmshnkqinkr19xdxe2fmju7hoqslo4onlsu29qybntpn.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/37g0cmshnkqinkr19xdxe2fmju7hoqslo4onlsu29qybntpn.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":23553,"title":"Life in Abundance - the BELIEVE Blog","url":"\/blog\/life-in-abundance-the-believe-blog\/","urlTitle":"life-in-abundance-the-believe-blog","division":233745,"description":"\u201cI am come that they may life and that they might have it more abundantly. \u201d John 10:10 Every little thing that Jesus ever said is just so rich with meaning, wisdom, blessing and truth. Here, Jesus is telling us that He had a divine mission: bring abundant life.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/vxdyjygd0hl0xzicy0aweoayxpmdwjaw4hozirhqvqxii5ih.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/vxdyjygd0hl0xzicy0aweoayxpmdwjaw4hozirhqvqxii5ih.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":35714,"title":"Parallels - The BELIEVE Blog","url":"\/blog\/parralels-the-believe-blog\/","urlTitle":"parralels-the-believe-blog","division":233745,"description":"What did God create us for? To look after the world? To tell people about Him? To build families and churches?\n\nOur primary purpose is actually none of these things. God deserves our worship, yes, but even that is not why He created us.\n\nGod made us for relationship with Him; to have an intimacy of true companionship. Isn\u2019t that just amazing? The creator of the Universe made you, custom built, to be His friend?\n\nIn the beginning, it says that God walked in the garden with Adam. However, Adam was a flesh being and God a Spirit being. Adam, though he was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), was not like God...","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/o4j2m7iu7gf6tgrne3lijkdfwvsi0o7qihfczewsdwnwxivd.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/o4j2m7iu7gf6tgrne3lijkdfwvsi0o7qihfczewsdwnwxivd.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}