Parable of the Net

Jesus began the seventh and final parable in Matthew 13 by saying, "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matthew 13:47-50.

Jesus began by saying "Once again" because this was the sixth time he had said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like." All the parables in Matthew's thirteenth chapter are about the Kingdom. This parable, the Parable of the Net, teaches the same general lesson as the Parable of the Weeds (see Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43). There will be a final separation of the righteous and the wicked. Both of the parables make this point very clear. In the Parable of the Net, Jesus compares the heralding of the Gospel to the casting of the net. The disciples and Jesus' listeners were familiar with using a net to catch fish. A net was used by one of two methods. Either it was cast from the shore (or by somebody standing in shallow water) or it was let down from a boat. In either case the net would be drawn ashore or into the boat. At that point, the fisherman would sort the fish. The ones that were the right size and variety would be kept and the small ones or otherwise undesirable fish would be thrown back. In the Parable of the Weeds the question to ponder is whether we are good seed or bad; wheat or weeds. This Parable causes us to consider whether we are "good" or "bad" fish. When the Gospel is preached, many people respond to the message. The Church is like a big net that is drawn ashore or into a boat that is filled with all kinds of fish. God, who is the Judge, will ultimately determine to which category we belong.

Jesus asked his disciples, "Have you understood all these things?" Matt 13:51. "Yes," the disciples replied. Jesus asked them this question because after the Parable of the Weeds, they had to come to him for an explanation. Apparently, they got the point of this illustration. Then Jesus told them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old" Matt 13:52. The reasons Jesus said this was that now his disciples had this new information to add along with what they had already learned and known about from the Word of God. Christians today teach from the Old Testament (the first 39 books of the Bible) as well as the New Testament (the last 27 books).

All of us start out as "bad" fish. The Bible states that we are all "sinners" (see Romans 3:10 & 23). We can be changed or saved through repenting of sin and by responding in faith to the Savior. What kind of "catch" are you?

"Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast"

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches." He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 13:31-35).

Between the parable of the weeds and Jesus' explanation of that parable to his disciples, he told two other short parables. The first one was about the mustard seed and the second one involved yeast. Keep in mind that these parables are to teach us something about the kingdom of Heaven. The parable of the mustard seed was about a man planting the smallest seed in a field that grew to become the largest garden plant. The Gospel begins as a small seed that once it takes root and grows soon becomes the most important thing in our lives. This is also true in the world. Christianity began with a small group of disciples and quickly expanded so that by the end of the Fourth Century, a historian stated that the Mediterranean Sea had become a Christian lake. Today, Christianity is the world's largest religion numbering a billion followers.

In the parable of the yeast, the main character is a woman who is making bread in her kitchen. Starting with a little yeast, she mixes it into a large amount of flour. The yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough so it goes from a little to a lot. Usually in the Scripture, yeast symbolizes something bad or evil. We are all familiar with the pervasive influence of evil and can see numerous examples in the news of how it spreads. From the context of Jesus' parable, we understand Jesus' suggestion that the Gospel and Christians are supposed to influence their communities and the world for good. While we may be small in number, we can grow to have great influence as at the Gospel affects our lives and the hearts of others through life-changing faith. Christians are to be "salt and light" to their world.

This passage notes the fact that Jesus' teaching and parables was the fulfillment of a prophecy from Psalm 78:2 that indicated the Messiah would teach through the use of parables: "I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old." Jesus was using parables to explain truth to his disciples while at the same time confirming to them that he was the Christ.

Parable of the Sower

Jesus went out of the house a sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”--Matthew 13:1-9.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” --Matthew 13:18-23.

The thirteenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel contains seven parables of Jesus. They are about a sower, weeds, mustard seed and yeast, hidden treasure and the pearl, and the net. The phrase "the Kingdom of Heaven is like" introduces six of the parables. Studying this chapter and these seven parables will give us a better understanding about God's Kingdom.

The first parable which deals with a farmer who sowed his seed is the longest and is perhaps the most familiar. In this story Jesus was instructing his disciples by using an illustration from the agrarian society that they were part of. First of all, Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that like the farmer they ought to be out in the field, which is the "world," sowing the seed which is the "Gospel." Just as a farmer cannot produce seed or cause it to germinate, both he and a disciple can and should plant the seed. Christians should definitely be sowing more seed than most of us do. You could do this through a spoken witness, printed literature, etc. Secondly, Jesus described the four different soils on which the seed fell. Those soils actually represent various heart conditions of people who hear the Gospel. An analysis of these "soils" indicates that only one of the four is "good" soil. Therefore, the Lord's disciples should be realistic about the results and not be discouraged by rejection or a lack of response. Thirdly, just as all soils are not the same, neither are the results from the plants that produce a yield. While the outcome may be different -- 30, 60, or 100 times -- from what was sown, the point is that reproduction and multiplication should occur. Translation: All Christians may not be effective evangelists as Billy Graham but we should reproduce other believers.