As a young lad growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I sometimes went fishing, but I never went phishing. You may have done the former, but I hope you have never done the latter, because “Phishing is a form of social engineering and a scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware, or ransomware” (from the Internet).
When you go fishing, you try to catch fish, but when phished, you get caught instead.
Sometimes my organization (SIL International) will deliberately try to make me go phishing. They want to see how gullible and alert I am. I’ll admit, I have been hooked a couple of times. I took the bait, and it had a sour taste.
But it is about fish and fishing, not phishing, that I want to write about, because they are very important.
Fisheries, I have read, contribute about $274 billion to the global world economy. It is not surprising that China is the top world’s seafood producer, making about 29.4 billion dollars a year for their work.
About 10-12% of the world’s population depend on fish as their staple food. And with fish eaten by such a large group of people, it is not surprising that there are many countries, including the U.S., that overfish and are on the “shame list” for overfishing bluefin tuna in the Pacific.
Florida is reported as the “Fishing Capital of the World” because of its resources and because it manages them so well.
Fish and fishing are often referred to in the Bible. Depending on your Bible version, fish are mentioned in at least 70 verses, including references to “fish,” “fishes,” “fishers,” and “fishing.” The exact number of verses may vary, but fish are a recurring image.
Jesus lived near the Sea of Galilee and once while passing along it, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea. “Jesus said to them, “Follow me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” Right then, the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him (Matthew 4. 19-29 CEV).
In Matthew 13.47-51, Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to what it is like when a fishnet is cast into the sea and catches all kinds of fish: “The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history.”
Arthur Pink explained that "The 'good' fish represent believers; their being 'gathered' speaks of association together—fellowship; while the 'vessels' tell of separation from the world. First, the fishermen will separate believers (the good fish), and finally, angels will take away non-believers to hell.” Not a pretty picture for the bad fish!
Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus was with his disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias. Peter wanted the disciples to go fishing, which they did, but after a night on the boat they had caught nothing. Jesus met them in the morning and inquired about their catch, knowing that they had empty nets.
“Try the right side of the boat and you will catch fish,” Jesus told them. They reluctantly obeyed and caught so many fish that they had trouble dragging the fish to shore. When they get there, they counted the fish and there were 153 large fish. The net should have torn with the weight, but it was not.
It must have not yet been daylight because the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus at the shore until he gave them some fish he had cooked. Then, when he blessed the bread and fish, they recognized him. This was the third time he appeared to them after the resurrection.
Most Christians are probably familiar with the fish symbol (Greek ICHTHUS) because it is shaped like a fish and is often on the bumper or back of a vehicle. Some research has suggested that the fish symbol emerged in the first century or even before, but this is not confirmed. However, the fish is often associated with the early Christian community and represents unity and faith.
The next time you eat fish, imagine that Jesus has blessed it, just as he did the bread and the wine.
You may end up going fishing, but best not to go phishing.
Karl Franklin
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