The Parable of the Dragnet
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 43:43
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· 13 viewsThe kingdom of heaven gathers like a dragnet, a wide net, a future sorting, and a final separation.
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Call to Worship
Call to Worship
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Adoration
Adoration
Confession
Confession
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Let the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to serve you, the living God. (Hebrews 9:14)
Message
Message
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We saw last week that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, and a man discovers it and sells all that he has to possess it.
It would seem that today’s parable has nothing to do with last weeks, but it’s deeply intertwined.
The kingdom is valuable because in it the Father gives us His Son. Therefore, to gain the kingdom–even at the loss of all else–is of infinite worth.
When the Christian possess the kingdom of Heaven we do not possess an abstract and ghostly form of Jesus Christ.
There really is eternal gain for the person who possesses the kingdom.
Part of the eternal gain of what the Bible speaks often on is eternal life.
We must not be mistaken about the nature of what we possess with the kingdom of heaven.
To possess the kingdom of Heaven is to possess the prize of heaven, Jesus Christ.
And to possess Jesus Christ is to possess eternal life.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John equates “eternal life” with the experiential apprehension of Jesus Christ in truth.
When we hold on to Jesus Christ by faith, we hold on to the eternal life that has been purchased and won for us.
Last week Jesus showed us the infinite worth of the kingdom.
Today He shows us the irreversible consequence of rejecting it.
What happens to the person who says…
“I’m not interested in your supposed treasure!”
“I don’t give a hoot about the ‘treasure’ you keep speaking of!”
What should we say of that person?
A mistake would be to say to them,
“The kingdom is good for me, but whatever floats your boat!”
“To receive the kingdom is how I’ve chosen to live, but we ought to live and let live!”
That’s the way the devil talks.
The kingdom of heaven will gather everyone with a future sorting and a final separation.
The kingdom of heaven will gather everyone with a future sorting and a final separation.
We can’t determine if someone will believe and receive the treasure of heaven.
But there are drastic consequences for those who reject the treasure of heaven.
The parable of the dragnet sets our expectations—a wide net!
The parable of the dragnet sets our expectations—a wide net!
No one is escaping the gathering of the kingdom!
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
The kind of “net” pictured here is unlike most of what you may have played with as a child.
It’s what fisherman refer to as a “dragnet”, which would have corks on the top of the water of a large net with weights on the corners.
They would be cast into sea and then pulled behind the boat.
A net is no good laying in a boat without first being thrown in the water.
Once in the water, it disrupts and disturbs all around it.
A dragnet collects indiscriminately.
A dragnet collects indiscriminately.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
A dragnet does not discriminate.
It gathers everything.
The “good” and “bad” fish mingled together, like we saw with the wheat and the tares.
16 “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
This is especially for you who does not see the value of Jesus Christ.
You who look at the kingdom of God with it’s King on the throne and yawn.
You need to have the right expectation here.
Even if you reason in your heart,
“I have no interest in the King and His kingdom!”
The kingdom does not respond in like measure, instead it says,
“I have a great interest in you and will finally and fully root you out!”
A dragnet contains all kinds of people.
A dragnet contains all kinds of people.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
In the sea of Galilee there were about 20 different kinds of fish (R. T. France).
Some were edible, like Tilapia or other species of carp.
But other fish were immediately viewed as trash, like Eels or catfish.
The Old Testament law demanded only fish to be eaten with scales (Leviticus 11:9-12).
Once the dragnet has been filled to the brim, it will be gather and sorted.
Application to those who think the kingdom of God is this weak and flimsy thing.
Now you may not say this out loud, but deep down there is a real hatred for the ordinary things of the kingdom.
The dragnet will be like an unbreakable, steal-girded, powerful net; that will catch every kind of good and evil.
No one is escaping the gathering of the kingdom!
If we have the wrong expectations of true justice, we can easily be disillusioned by the kingdom of God.
If we’re disillusioned by the kingdom of God will subtly begin to resent the kingdom of God for things that were never promised to us.
Let me give you an example…Why did Judas sell Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver?
30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave.
It’s not that Judas was trying to get rich, because that was certainly not the way to get rich.
He had other motives.
I would argue whether it was Judas having a different expectation, what he saw of Jesus disappointed him.
His disappointment would’ve went something like this,
“I’ve given up everything to follow you and this is all I get in return!”
The parable of the dragnet helps us put our expectations in the right place, but it also resets our timeline.
The parable of the dragnet resets our timeline—A future sorting!
The parable of the dragnet resets our timeline—A future sorting!
Then Jesus will go on to give us the interpretation of the parable.
49 So it will be at the end of the age.
The dragnet will be used at the end of the age.
The dragnet will be used at the end of the age.
The parable of the wheat and the tares focused on the coexistence of the kingdom of heaven and world until the end.
But the dragnet focuses on the situation that will exist at the end of the age. (Carson)
Jesus doesn’t say, “The kingdom of heaven will become like…” focusing on the future tense.
He also doesn’t say, “The kingdom of heaven has already become like…” focusing on the kingdom as it is here already.
It’s focus is on the condition of the sea when the end of the age happens.
The kingdom is the reign and rule of the Messiah, whereas the church is the Messiah’s people.
The Christian should rejoice when justice in this earth is done.
We echo what Jesus says in the Lord’s prayer
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
So we rejoice when we see temporal justice enforced.
But we also remember and hope in the reality that justice will come fully and finally someday.
Every form of judgment we see in this life that is righteous is a proleptic judgment.
It’s a judgment that comes before the true and final judgment.
Only after the dragnet is used is quality revealed.
Only after the dragnet is used is quality revealed.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
The men who “drew it ashore” are equated here with angels.
The messenger’s of God that delivered OT revelation to God’s people
14 Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
The messengers of Christ will be like the men who draw the kingdom up at the end of the age.
They will be the one’s gathering and sorting the evil from the good.
We’ve addressed the expectation, the timetable, but most importantly it seals our certainty.
The parable of the dragnet seals our certainty—A final separation!
The parable of the dragnet seals our certainty—A final separation!
No one avoids the separation!
The enemies of God gloat now in this present age because they are deceived to think that judgment will not really come.
But this text reminds us that judgment will truly and finally come someday.
Jesus has already addressed this in the parable of the wheat and the tare (Matthew 13:36-43), but the focus there was mainly on the righteous (Matthew 13:43).
But here Jesus focuses exclusively on the wicked.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
He really doesn’t even mention the righteous other than describing them as the fish that the wicked will be picked “from out of.”
I wonder if we have a right understanding of what happens when we preach the gospel?
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
“Prophecy involved both future prediction (foretelling) and present proclamation and exhortation of God’s word (forthtelling).” —R.C. Sproul
I once heard of my pastor doing evangelism on the streets at Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras draws people like fortunetellers.
Booths are set up on the streets of Mardi Gras offering to have your fortune told.
Instead of immediately flipping tables, they had their own booth set up that read,
“Have your fortune told here!”
People would come and ask to have their fortunes told, and he would open the Scriptures and tell them what was coming their way.
When you preach the gospel to a friend, coworker, or family member, you’re a prophet.
Now not in some weird, strange experience like you’re receiving visions in a back room, but a true prophet.
A prophet that stands upon the shoulders of the True Prophet, Jesus Christ.
Everyone’s in the net; not everyone will remain!
No one avoids the separation!
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The wicked are determined for everlasting ruin.
The wicked are determined for everlasting ruin.
Eternal judgment affirms the character of God.
To reject eternal judgment deceives you into thinking that God will somehow wipe the slate clean.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
We must never forget rejecting eternal judgment is to reject the God who is holy and unchanging.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
It will not be proximity that saves you on the last day.
Many people were close to Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry, yet did not possess Him.
The same is true today, proximity to this church will not save you.
Being close to our church will uphold you on the last day.
Only possession of Jesus Christ by faith will save the individual.
If you hate your neighbors, you will live with the following mindset.
“It’s their life, let them live however they want!”
“Live and let live!”
The Gospels of Matthew and Mark: Commentary Chapter 13
Hell is the destination not only of those outside the church, but also of those within its pale who made a false profession.
Remember, the church is not the dragnet!
It’s not an issue of church membership.
It’s not an issue of church attendance.
It’s an issue of sinners standing before a Holy God.
There is no second sorting!
The sorting is final!
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The wicked will suffer eternally.
The wicked will suffer eternally.
Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in all of Scripture.
It was not merely a addition to His ministry but central to it.
He warned of the dangers of it.
In one instance he tells a parable about a rich man and Lazarus.
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The rich man did not see the worth and significance of Christ.
How do we know that?
24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
The rich man was satisfied with the treasures of this earth.
He was satisfied to receive the good gifts and did not count the treasure of Jesus Christ to be worth investing in.
The reason we know this is that the rich man refused to care for the needy around him.
It does not mean that the rich man would have been saved by taking care of the poor.
The KINGDOM cannot be purchased!
But if this man would have understood the kingdom of God and the treasure of Jesus Christ, then he would have lived fundamentally different.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
The rich man could see the joys of where Lazarus was, yet couldn’t obtain it.
The rich man could remember the joys of his former life, yet couldn’t warn his family.
The agony and horror it will be for those outside of Jesus Christ.
They will be forever haunted by their own folly.
We have an obligation to warn others about the dangers of hell.
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” —C.H. Spurgeon
The kingdom of heaven will gather everyone with a future sorting and a final separation.
The kingdom of heaven will gather everyone with a future sorting and a final separation.
This risen Christ that we believe the Christian has been united to by faith, is the always living One.
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
The One who will live on forevermore.
To possess the “keys” is to possess authority, and He possesses the authority over death and hell.
The One who holds the keys over death is the One who steps into
Trust Him today!
Benediction
Benediction
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
