Part 51 | Parable of the Nets
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· 2 viewsParable on the Dragnet.
Notes
Transcript
Read Matthew 13:47-52;
Intro
Intro
The Main Theme of Matthew is the King (Jesus) and His Kingdom
Kingdom of God: The realm in which God—by His grace—gathers people under His rule and reign.
Jesus came to inaugurate God’s Kingdom upon the earth (Through His death and resurrection)
Matthew 13: Jesus gives 8 parables to teach truths about the Kingdom of God
Previously: Kingdom of God and Kingdom of the devil are growing side by side across the earth.
In the end, Jesus will come to consummate (or complete) God’s Kingdom (abolish evil and dispel darkness)
We all have a choice: Which Kingdom will we be a part of? There are eternal implications for our choice.
Many people gladly receive God’s Kingdom (PTL!)
Others reject God’s Kingdom? Why???
John 3:19 (ESV)
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
(people love the darkness)--- friend of mine who has turned his back on the Kingdom because he LOVES sin.
Some people try and love both. They try to reconcile their love for God and a love for the world.
You can’t serve to masters.
Last Week: Parable of the Hidden Treasure: We considered the beauty and splendor of Christ and His Kingdom. We saw that the price for entering that wonderful Kingdom is unconditional abandonment.
Today: Parable of the Net: The Cost of NOT entering God’s Kingdom (the cost of NOT receiving Christ).
Main Point: You have one life and then eternity. Make your life count.
Parable
Parable
Summary:
Jesus is speaking to His disciples, many of whom were experienced fishermen.
In the story, the fishermen cast a large net into the sea...
The net picks up all kinds of fish, some good, some bad.
After the men draw in the net, they sort the fish, putting the good fish in containers and the discarding the bad.
Net: Three Kinds of Fishing in the Ancient World
Net: Three Kinds of Fishing in the Ancient World
Line and Rod: One fish at a time
Small Net that could be handled by one or two men (employed by Peter and Andrew in Mark 4:18)
Dragnet (Used Here) Massive net that could cover an area up to a half mile.
Has floats at the top and weights at the bottom edge; the ends are draw together to encircle the fish.
It would normally take at least two boats to properly use the dragnet, unless one end was on the shore.
Interpretation: The Kingdom of God is like a dragnet that is thrown into the sea:
Interpretation: The Kingdom of God is like a dragnet that is thrown into the sea:
The sea represents the world. God’s Kingdom is sweeping across the land and constantly drawing people in through the proclamation of the Gospel.
Colossians 1:5–6 (ESV)
...Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
If you go fishing with a rod, you normally use bait that will attract a certain type of fish.
You might go bass fishing, or fish for catfish, or crappie...
But when you use a dragnet, you will get all different types of species.
Matthew 13:47 (ESV)
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
Point: The Gospel is radically INCLUSIVE!
(Go unto all the world and preach the Gospel)
Matthew 13:48 (ESV)
When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
Separating the good fish from the bad fish was an ancient tradition throughout Israel.
According to the Old Testament Law, Jews could only eat fish with fins and scales (Lev. 11:9-12)
The good fish would be put into containers and taken to the market.
The bad fish would be thrown out.
Interpretation:
As the Gospel Message sweeps across the land, some will reject it, some will be false converts, and others will truly come into the Kingdom.
In the end, Jesus will send his angels to initiate final judgement, separating the good fish from the bad fish—that is the righteous from the wicked.
Those who have entered the Kingdom will be granted eternal life; those who have rejected the Kingdom will perish; they will be thrown into the fiery furnace, which—in Jewish literature—represents hell.
This is a parable about how our reception of the Kingdom NOW will impact our eternal state.
Two Thoughts
Two Thoughts
1) Be a Good Fish
1) Be a Good Fish
Good in vs. v. 48 is connected to the word “righteous” in vs. 49
Bad in vs. 48 is connected with the word “evil” in vs. 49.
Good Does Not Equal Moral Superior (Expound)
Mark 10:17–18 (ESV)
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Good Means “Good by God’s Standards” = Perfection
The word righteous means on that follows God’s Law
Romans 3:10 (ESV)
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
How do you become a good fish?
Through faith in Christ!
Philippians 3:7–9 (ESV)
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Christ is the only righteous one.
When we come to Him, we get His righteousness
OT (what was true of a king was true of a nation)
The good fish in the parable represent those who have responded to the message of the Kingdom. They have come with faith in Jesus, with UNCONDITIONAL ABANDONMENT.
Matthew 18:3 (ESV)
and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
These are people in the world but not of the world.
They Spirit of God has changed them (new creations)
Kingdom people live for the glory of God and the good of others, by the power of the Spirit!
They follow God’s law now, because God’s Spirit is in them, and they have the law written on their hearts.
Our cultural has become so polarized, and people are often separated into different groups or categories.
Democrats separated from Republicans
Blue Collar Vs. White Collar
City folk vs. Country folk
Poor and rich
We often separate by Gender and Race
But in the end, the great separation will NOT be by any of these categories.
The Righteous (those who are in the Kingdom through Jesus) will be separated from the unrighteous (false converts and those who have rejected Jesus).
The cost for entering the Kingdom is unconditional abandonment, for which you receive the supreme treasure of Christ and His Kingdom that you will enjoy for eternity.
You can stay on the throne of your life in this world. You can stay in the Kingdom of Darkness. But the payoff for that, is eternal punishment.
You have one life and then eternity. Make sure you are a good fish!
2) Fish without Ceasing
2) Fish without Ceasing
Matthew 13:51–52 (ESV)
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
After teaching His disciples about the Kingdom, Jesus asks his disciples if they understand what He has been teaching.
When they respond in the affirmative, Jesus gives them another parable, where he likens them to a master of a house who distributes wages to his workers.
In other words, the disciples have received the treasure of the Kingdom, and their mission will spread the net of the Gospel to all people.
That is our job as well. As people of the Kingdom, we need to proclaim the Gospel and serve others, that they may become “good fish” or part of the righteous through Christ.
They have one life and then eternity; make sure they know the Gospel! Fish without ceasing!
Closing
Closing
In May of 2000, John Piper preached a prophetic and life-changing message to over 40,000 college students at a Passion Conference.
In that message, he encouraged his students to make their life count.
He encouraged them to live for the glory of God and the eternal good of others.
Five minutes into his message, he laid out a comparison that people will never forget.
Excerpt:
Three weeks ago, we got news at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon. Ruby Eliason—over 80, single all her life, a nurse. Poured her life out for one thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the sick and the poor in the hardest and most unreached places.
Laura Edwards, a medical doctor in the Twin Cities, and in her retirement, partnering up with Ruby. [She was] also pushing 80, and going from village to village in Cameroon. The brakes give way, over a cliff they go, and they’re dead instantly. And I asked my people, “Is this a tragedy?”
Two women, in their 80s almost, a whole life devoted to one idea—Jesus Christ magnified among the poor and the sick in the hardest places. And 20 years after most of their American counterparts had begun to throw their lives away on trivialities in Florida and New Mexico, [they] fly into eternity with a death in moment. “Is this a tragedy?” I asked.
The crowd knew the answer, calling out, “No!”
“It is not a tragedy,” Piper affirmed. “I’ll read you what a tragedy is.”
He pulled out a page from Reader’s Digest.
(“I don’t know where I got it, because I didn’t subscribe,” Piper remembers now. “I must have found it in a doctor’s office somewhere.”)
He read it to them:
‘Bob and Penny . . . took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball, and collect shells.’
“That’s a tragedy,” he told the crowd.
And there are people in this country that are spending billions of dollars to get you to buy it. And I get 40 minutes to plead with you—don’t buy it. With all my heart I plead with you—don’t buy that dream. . . . As the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account with what you did: “Here it is, Lord—my shell collection. And I’ve got a good swing. And look at my boat.”
“Don’t waste your life,” he said, the words quietly tucked in before he barreled into another memorable anecdote, this one about a plaque in his home featuring C. T. Studd’s poem, “Only one life, twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
_________________
You have one life and then eternity; don’t Waste Your Life!
Make sure you are a good fish (in the Kingdom)
Fish without Ceasing (let others see Christ in you and hear about Christ from you).