Apples picking with Father

Once upon a time there was a little boy who went apple picking with his Father.  The little boy loved to spend time with his father and wanted to do everything just like his father did.  The day finally came for him to pick his apples.  He woke up early in the morning and ran to get washed up for the big event.  He brushed his teeth, washed behind his ears, through his washcloth on the back of the tub and raced downstairs for breakfast.  As soon as he hit the fourth step he could tell that his Mom had made bacon and blueberry pancakes.  Every Saturday she would make his favorite dish but he was still thrilled each time he looked at the table and saw the big plate of pancakes, the bowl of hot scrambled eggs, warm butter and fresh maple syrup from the pantry.  The little boy sat down, waited for his father to bless the food and began tearing into his plate.  “Hey there, slow down and chew your food,” his mother said.  The little boy paused with a piece of bacon right up at his lips and said, “I can’t go slow today, Mom.  Dad is taking me out to pick apples!”  The mother smiled at the boy and looked over at her husband.  She knew that both of them were just as excited to go out in the fields together.  The three of them continued to eat until breakfast was nearly over.  Finally, the father took one last sip of his coffee, set the cup down on the white linen tablecloth and said, “well son, guess we better get to it.  There’s a lot of fields but only the two of us.  One thing I want you to keep in mind though, make sure you check each apple carefully to make sure its not bad.  One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.”

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Players:

Fisherman – soul winners for Christ (And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men  - Mt 4:18-19)

Net – the effect or application of the gospel

Fish – people who are caught in the net both good and bad.  Not all people (or fish) that are caught in the net are eternally saved (that’s why you have churches filled with Church goers rather than Christ Followers.  Remember the parable of the sower where some seed fell on along the path, some fell on rocky places, some fell among thorns and some fell on good ground.  Mt 13:1)

Only two categories of fish: good and bad.  In this context Christ is not referring to the inner goodness or morality of a person.  He is referring to those to whom the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed – that and that alone is what makes any of us righteous. 

How do you know if you’re good fish?  Because you have been washed in the blood of Jesus, you have applied the blood to your bodies which is the temple of the Holy Ghost and because that blood has been applied, I don’t have to fear the death angel coming to snatch away my life or the lives of my family because when I am covered under the blood, death becomes nothing more than a step from this life to glorious life hereafter, when I and all around me are covered under the blood I will feel the pain of lost loved ones, but it will be tempered by the joy of knowing I’ll see them again.  How do I know if I’m a good fish?  Because I’m covered by the blood!

Bad fish – refer to wicked people.  Again, Jesus is not necessarily referring to morally corrupt individuals, the type you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at night.  He is referring to those people who have not trusted in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for their complete deliverance from this present world.  These people are in the Church for very different reasons but they never connected with the true work of Christ and so their lives, their inner lives have never truly been changed.  Examine yourself.  Think back to how you used to be before you professed your salvation and how you are today.  If you look back over your life your doing the exact same thing after the cross that you did before the cross then, Brother, let me tell you, you need to go back to the cross.  There must be change!

End of the age – when its all said and done, Christ will come back for His church and He will be coming for a church that has not a spot or a wrinkle.  This is where His angels play their part.  Like quality inspectors in a factory, their job will be to separate the good fish from the bad.  Those who are found good will look forward to enjoying the marriage supper of the lamb.  Those who are found bad will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Its not a popular preaching these days but the bottom line is that if we don’t have Christ in our lives, not just a church that we go to, but Christ in us, the hope of glory, then when we close our eyes for the last time in this world, we will open them up to eternal torment and damnation.  You can water it down anyway you want to to make yourself feel good but the bottom line is that you either get right with God or to Hell will you go!

The Cross and Salvation

Evangelism

The second reason this parable is so important is because it teaches us the importance of soul winning (or fishing for men).  The type of net that was used was not what you would think of as a net; something that you could just fling out on the water.  This net was a dragnet which means it was a big big net that had weights tied to the bottom of it and could be stretched between two boats.  As the boats moved across the water, the net would be like a giant wall sweeping everything into it from the top of the lake to the very bottom.  I said, from the top of the lake to the very bottom.  That means God has commissioned us to fish from the top to the bottom.  We are not taught to fish from just our comfort zones but to gather fish from the top of the corporation to the bottom of society.  We are to gather the biggest, the baddest fish out there as well as the fish laying down at the bottom.  All are part of the harvest and all should be caught in the net that is the gospel of Christ Jesus. 

Motives

Let us not be weary in our well doing.  Christ commanded us to gather in the fish and He and His angels will do the separating.  Its important to note that everyone who joins a church does not do it because of the saving power of Christ on the cross.  The power of the Gospel can be transcended by other attractions to a church such as:

• Socializing
• Networking
• Romance
• The law
• Position, power & influence

The End Times

This parable also has implications for the last days.  It refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. 

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels witha a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Mt. 24:30-31)

Just like the parable of the net, this is how it will be at the end of the age.  The angels of God will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw the wicked into the fiery furnace.  God detailed this final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 when He said,

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hella delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). 

The Purpose of the Parable

6 Perspectives -

1.  Historical perspective - A recurring theme throughout Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom is that the kingdom is spiritual and not material.  He taught this parable to the people of His day to let them know that the kingdom was not earthly.  There would be no earthly king to come along and overthrow Ceasar and Roman tyranny.  He wanted to teach this parable to those of us in the Church age to let us know that despite the teachings we hear on TV and from false doctrines, the Kingdom cannot be earned through works or bought with $77 dollar donations.  In fact, Christ tells us that the kingdom is within us.  It is spiritual not material, eternal and not temporal.  Too many people both then and now can only think of having a better life in the here and now and yes, God does desire to see His people prosper in the natural but the true gift of the kingdom comes in glory, for [God said in Rev. 21:4, I] shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither2 sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away(Rev. 21:4).

1. Elementary perspective – The simplest understanding of this parable is simply that, Jesus saves.  That’s why He told us in Mark 16:15 to, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

1. Ethnic perspective – The scripture tells us that they let down the net and caught “all kinds of fish.”  The implication is that God’s kingdom will be filled with people from every race and creed.  John the Revelator saw this himself and wrote in Rev 7:9-10, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”  When I was a little boy we used to sing a song that said Jesus love the little children.  All the children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His site.  Jesus loves the little children of the world.  Our fishing should not be limited but should include all kinds of fish.  How often do you talk to people about the Lord?  How selective are you when you do?  Do you only talk to people that look like you, act like you and think like you do or once did?  Jesus’ point is that we cannot be choosy about which of HIS, not ours, HIS children we draw into the net. 

Eternal perspective – I cannot stress enough the eternal perspective of this parable.  When He talks about the separating of the wicked from the righteous He is talking about the end of this present Gospel era in which people can still be saved by preached word.  That’s why Paul put such intensity in his words when he said, “NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).  Church, there will come a time when it is too late to respond.  A time will come when its all said and done and an angel will either escort you to heaven or escort you to hell.  No amount of pleading, crying, begging or bribing will undo the judgment.  The appointed time will have passed and then will be the hour of judgment.  Now is the accepted time.  At the end of the age, life as we know it will cease to exist.  The fish in Jesus’ day were examined 1 by 1 and those deemed “unclean or unworthy” were thrown away while the “clean and worthy” were gathered up in baskets.  Likewise, at the end of the age, Paul told us that each and every one of us will be examined and must give an account at the judgment seat of Christ for the life we have lived, whether good or bad (Rom 14:10-12).  For there is nothing that we do, nothing that we think is hidden, that is not being recorded and will not be brought out into the open (Lk. 8:17).   And for those who hold to the doctrine of annihilation that if you die and go to hell to be finally destroyed, I’ll re-read the verse, “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 13:49-50).  Now if the fiery furnace burned them up for all time, the verse would not go on to say there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  People hell is hot and hell is forever.  A preacher once said that the fires of hell and the blood of Jesus go together.   A few hundred years ago churches were full if you preached on the blood of Christ and the fires of hell.  Today most truly called churches are empty and very few preachers preach much at all about the blood of Jesus and the fires of hell.  Church, the blood of Christ satisfies the justice of God.  One drop applied to our lives is all it takes.  But the fires of hell do not satisfy His justice; that is why they will never go out.  Now Church, now is the acceptable time; now is the time for us to cast out our net and truly become fishers of Men!

1. when Christ returns, He will examine each of us.  Scripture tells us that “dead in Christ will be raised.”  Those who have lived righteous, sold out lives for Christ will rise to life everlasting but those who have never fully committed and trusted in the work of redemption that Jesus did for each and every one of us will rise to be condemned.

This parable also shows us that the kingdom will include the disobedient as well as the obedient, until such a time as Christ comes along with His angels to separate the wicked from the righteous (49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just…Mt 13:49).  That will mark the end of the church age.  So in the meantime, keep on fishing.  Keep on throwing out that net and pulling them in.  Don’t try to catch some and leave others.  Throw the net far and wide and let it sink deep to catch as many as you can possibly carry.  In the end our job is to fish, Jesus’ job is to separate.