Christian Message Boards: Jesus fish

This is topic Jesus fish in forum General Discussion at Christian Message Boards.

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Posted by OlympicGold (Member # 4875) on :

Good morning everyone,

Does anyone know the significance of the fish? Is it the symbol of Jesus? What exactly should I understand when seeing it? I am going to get one of those metals ones to put on my car.

Have a great day!
OG

Posted by David (Member # 1) on :

The fish symbol is the earliest of Christian symbols and was the most common representation of Jesus Christ from the second through the fourth centuries.

Why is the fish meaningful to Christians?
The Bible relates a number of accounts where fish were a significant aspect of Jesus' ministry. On one occasion (Matthew 14:19), Jesus served several thousand families with a meal of bread and fish. On another occasion (Matthew 4:19), Jesus called Peter and Andrew, saying, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."

Many early Christians were persecuted and forced to worship secretly. The fish symbol served as a secret form of communication. Often the persecuted Christians would scratch this symbol on the ground to identify themselves to fellow believers.

Soon, Christians began to attach meaning to the word "fish" itself. The Greek letters for ichthus (meaning "fish", pronounced "ICK-THOOS") became an acronym: I=Jesus; X=Christ; O=God's; Y=Son; E=Savior.

Today, the person who displays the fish symbol has accepted the same New Testament teaching that these early Christians accepted: that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. By a decision of faith, this person has entered into a personal relationship with God and knows the reality of God's forgiveness.

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NIV).

Posted by Caretaker (Member # 36) on :

The Greek word for fish, with English letters, "ICHTHUS", is an acrostic for Jesus Christ God's Son Savior. In the days of the early Church, and the catacombs and caves, one Believer would make a half circle on its side and the other would make one on the other side, which would form the symbol of a "fish", a secret sign for identification with Christ.

Posted by OlympicGold (Member # 4875) on :

Awesome info to know! I am reading the bible beginning with Matthew and I remember him feeding an entire colony from only bread and fish. In other chapters in Matthew I believe he used mainly bread if my memory is correct.

Posted by andyman (Member # 4781) on :

Thanks for that David. Personally, i thought it was just from the passage of Matthew 4:19.

But yeah, its always good to see one of those fishes on someones car. [Cool]