Good evening. Well, I didn’t do a handout that goes along with the whole lesson tonight, only the last part, and so I will wait until then to hand it out. Tonight we will continue with our series, “The Parables Of Jesus” and we will come to a parable that we looked at once before as part of a Sunday Morning service. Then next week we will not be having an evening service, and then we will pick back up with our study of the parables.
Before we get started, let’s just open with a word of prayer.
Here is a quick reminder, a parable is and earthly story with a Heavenly meaning. What needs sorting our in your garage or basement?
Well, so far we have seen 2 parables in which Jesus taught about the growth and development of the Kingdom. These were the parables of the Mustard Seed, and the Leaven. The idea behind these parables was that the growth of the Kingdom or of the church would start out small. It would have a small beginning. But then, despite it’s small beginning, it would experience tremendous growth.
The Mustard Seed could symbolize an external growth. The Kingdom is going to grow on the outside. In the church this would be a numerical growth. But in the parable of the Leaven, we find that the growth would be internal as well. This would be the growth of individuals and the relationships that they have with one another.
We also studied the parables of the Hidden Treasure, and the Pearl of Great Price. Both of these parables illustrated the value and the preciousness of the Kingdom. The idea behind these was that salvation is woth more than we could ever give. We also focused on the fact that salvation was free to us, but that it didn’t come free. Jesus had to pay a price, and we should be willing to give up everything we have and everything that we are in order to follow Him and receive this gift of salvation.
Jesus also taught His disciples 2 parables that explained the present mixture and future separation of the Kingdom. These 2 parables were the Wheat and the Tares, and the parable that we will look at tonight. In some translations it is called the parable of the Dragnet, but in the NIV it is just the Parable of the Net.
In each of these pairs of parables, the same subject is addressed, the Kingdom. But there are subtle differences, which stress different aspects of the Kingdom, and tonight we will look at the aspect of Good verses Evil.
Go ahead and turn with me to Matthew 13:47-50. Tonight’s parable is a little longer than the last few that we have looked at even though it is only 4 verses long. Anyway, in Matthew 13:47-50 it says, “1”
How does this parable relate to the parable about the Weeds in 24-30?
In last week’s parables, people were seeking the kingdom. In this parable, the kingdom seeks the people. As it turns out, the kingdom is seeking people who value it. So to understand this, let’s go back to the early translation of this word, and let me ask you, What is a dragnet?
Well, here is a Biblical definition. A large fishing net equipped with a weighted bottom edge for touching or dragging the lake or river bottom. The top of the net has wooden floats, which allow the net to be spread across the water. Such nets were normally let down from a boat and then drawn to shore by a crew positioned on the beach. Once the dragnet was brought on shore, the fish were separated. The fish that were good for eating were saved in vessels, and the inedible ones were discarded.
So, the dragnet is a large net that is pulled through the sea, and it is indiscriminate. It gathers fish “of every kind,” both “good” and “bad.” Now, the purpose of a dragnet is not to gather bad fish; the purpose is to gather good fish. The bad fish simply get in the way.
The “good” fish, then, represent the sons of the kingdom. So what then characterizes the “bad” fish? Presumably the same things that characterized the tares. They are “stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness.” You see, a bad fish will hinder others' attempts to find the kingdom and follow the king, and they don't value the Kingdom.
So, what is the meaning of this parable? Well, as with the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, Jesus explains what this parable is all about. That in this world there will be a mixture of both good and evil. This is due to the influence of Satan. As Christians, we are to remain faithful. The Bible tells us to be in the world, but not of the world. We cannot escape the influence of Satan, but we can escape being involved in the sinful life of the world. We just need to remain faithful to God.
The net then represents the gospel message. The sea represents this world that we live in. The fish that are gathered represent all mankind. And those who through the net should represent us, we should be out there trying to catch people and bring them to Christ.
Because in the future will be a separation. This will occur at the end of the age. The righteous will be saved, and the punishment of the wicked will be to be cast into the furnace of fire. In fact, this parable is much more concerned with the fate of the wicked than of the righteous. The parable of the Tares included the destiny of the righteous, but the parable of the Dragnet does not. The 2 parables from last week demonstrated what the righteous gain, which is joy from obtaining the kingdom of great value. But, this parable describes the agony of the wicked.
For the wicked, their ultimate tragedy is not the judgment they endure but the joy they lose out on. The ultimate tragedy is that they will be “away from the presence of the Lord” as it says in II Thessalonians 1:9.
Why do you think that Jesus spent time talking about the punishment of the Wicked rather than the reward of the faithful?
Why is it that not many people today like to preach about Hell and the punishment? (Joel Oltein)
Well, because Jesus spent time teaching about the destiny of the wicked more than He did about the reward of the righteous, I want to wrap things up this evening by looking at some of the Bible’s Teaching On The Destiny Of The Wicked. For this I have focused out handout this evening on this topic.
First, the Bible teaches that the wicked will be Judged. Could someone read Revelation 20:11-15 for me please?
Second, Jesus taught that the wicked will be Separated from God. Would someone read Matthew 7:21-23?
Jesus also taught that the wicked will be Thrown Into Hell. Someone read for us, Mark 9:47-48.
Fourthly, Jesus taught that the wicked will suffer Agony. Could I have someone read Luke 16:22-24?
And finally, the Bible teaches that the wicked will be punished with Everlasting Destruction. Would someone read for us, II Thessalonians 1:8-9 please?
Does anyone have anything that they would like to add tonight before we close?
Well, if we are to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom faithfully, then we must not only preach the good news to people, but we must also tell them of the bad news as well.
Let’s Pray |
