Dragnet

[Chad]

The Dragnet (Mt 13:47-50)


INTRODUCTION

1. We have seen where Jesus taught two parables concerning the growth and development" of the kingdom:

a. "The Parable Of The Mustard Seed" - Mt 13:31-32
b. "The Parable Of The Leaven" - Mt 13:33
​

2. We also saw where Jesus taught two parables concerning the "value and preciousness" of the kingdom:

a. "The Parable Of The Hidden Treasure" - Mt 13:44
b. "The Parable Of The Pearl Of Great Price" - Mt 13:45-46
​

3. Jesus also taught two parables depicting the "present mixture and future separation" involving the kingdom of heaven:

a. The first was "The Parable of The Wheat And The Tares", which we have already studied - Mt 13:24-30,36-43
b. The second is "The Parable Of The Dragnet", which will be the focus of this study - Mt 13:47-50
​

4. In each case where there are two parables seemingly addressing the same subject, there are subtle differences in which different aspects of the kingdom are being stressed

a. In the two parables describing the "growth and development" of the kingdom...

1) One depicts the "visible" growth (The Mustard Seed)
2) The other depicts the "invisible" growth (The Leaven)
​

b. In the two parables describing the "value and preciousness" of the kingdom...

1) One illustrates the value of the kingdom to one "accidentally" finds it (The Hidden Treasure)
2) The other illustrates the value of the kingdom to one "seeking" it (The Pearl Of Great Price)
​

[In a similar way, we will notice a subtle difference between "The Parable of The Wheat And The Tares" and "The Parable Of The
Dragnet"...]

I. THE PARABLE EXPLAINED

A. THE DETAILS OF THE PARABLE...

1. A "dragnet" was cast into the sea
2. As defined by the Holman Bible Dictionary, a "dragnet" is...

a. "A large fishing net equipped with a weighted bottom edge for touching ("dragging") the river or lake bottom and a top with wooden floats allowing the net to be spread across the water (Isa 19:8)."
b. "Such nets were normally let down from a boat and then drawn to shore by a crew positioned on the beach. In the case of a large catch the net was hauled to shore by boat (Jn 21:6-8)."
​

3. Once the dragnet was drawn to shore, the fish were separated; those good for eating were saved in vessels, the inedible were
discarded

B. THE MEANING OF THE PARABLE...

1. As with "The Parable Of The Wheat And The Tares", Jesus explains what this parable means - Mt 13:49-50

a. The kingdom of heaven, in its present state, will be a mixture of good and bad

1) Just like a dragnet gathers in both good and bad fish
2) We saw in "The Parable Of The Wheat And Tares" that this will be due to the influence of Satan, such that there will be those "that offend, and those who practice lawlessness" - cf. Mt 13:41
3) Paul wrote that in "a great house" (i.e., the church) some vessels are "for honor and some for dishonor" - 2 Ti 2:20-21
​

b. But in the future there will be a separation - Mt 13:49

1) It will occur "at the end of the age" - cf. Mt 13:39-40
2) The agents of this separation will be the "angels" - cf. Mt 13:41
3) The "wicked" will be separated from the "just" (i.e., the righteous) - cf. Mt 13:41
​

c. The punishment of the "wicked" is described - Mt 13:50

1) "cast...into the furnace of fire." - cf. Mt 13:42a
2) "There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." - cf. Mt 13:42b
​

2. In giving His explanation, we see the emphasis of Jesus in this parable, and the fundamental difference between it and "The Parable Of The Wheat And The Tares"

a. The emphasis is upon...

1) The "future" separation of those in the kingdom
2) The punishment of the wicked
​

b. Unlike "The Parable Of The Wheat And The Tares"...

1) There is nothing in the explanation related to the "present" mixture in the kingdom - contrast that with Mt 13:24-30
2) There is nothing depicting the blessedness of the righteous - contrast that with Mt 13:43
​

["The Parable Of The Dragnet", then, reinforces the spiritual truths taught in "The Parable Of The Wheat And Tares", especially those
relating to the coming judgment and condemnation of the wicked.

That Jesus would emphasize the judgment and condemnation of the wicked in this parable ought to impress upon us that the "good news" of the kingdom of heaven also contains "bad news" for those who reject it.

Since this parable focuses on the "destiny" of the wicked, this might be a good time to review what Jesus Himself taught on the subject...]

II. JESUS' TEACHINGS ON THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED

A. JESUS TAUGHT THE WICKED WILL BE JUDGED...

1. We have seen this truth illustrated in the two parables we have been comparing
2. He warned those cities that rejected Him of the coming judgment - Mt 11:20-24
3. He spoke of the condemnation that would come upon His generation - Mt 12:41-42
4. The wicked would be raised unto condemnation, unlike the righteous - Jn 5:24-30

B. JESUS TAUGHT THE WICKED WILL BE SEPARATED FROM GOD...

1. He spoke of this separation in His sermon on the mount - Mt 7:21-23
2. Again, when describing the judgment scene - Mt 25:41-46

C. JESUS TAUGHT THE WICKED WILL BE CAST INTO "HELL"...

1. A term used most often by Jesus to describe the destiny of the wicked

a. The Greek word is "geenna" {gheh'-n-nah}, which in Hebrew is "Ge-Hinnom"
b. B. W. Johnson comments: "The term Gehenna arose from the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the Canaanites burned human sacrifices to Moloch. After the return of the Jews from the Captivity they made it a place of defilement, where the refuse of the city was thrown and burned. The name was applied to the place of future punishment by the Jews. The word is often used in the New Testament, and always denotes a place of future punishment."
c. Found twelve (12) times in the New Testament, and it is used only by Jesus with one exception (Ja 3:6)
​

2. Jesus used the term to describe the final place of punishment...

a. In His sermon on the mount - Mt 5:21-22,29-30
b. When sending His apostles on the "limited" commission - Mt 10:28
c. In warning against personal stumblingblocks - Mt 18:8-9
d. Perhaps the most vivid use of this term is in Mk 9:43-48
-- Jesus evidently used this word because it properly spoke to His contemporaries the horror and abomination of the eternal destiny awaiting the wicked!
​

3. This place called "hell" was originally prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41), but will serve as the place of punishment for the wicked as well

D. JESUS TAUGHT THE WICKED WILL SUFFER TORMENT...

1. They will experience "the furnace of fire"

a. As described in "The Parable Of The Wheat And The Tares", and "The Parable Of The Dragnet" - Mt 13:42,50
b. This "furnace of fire" is the same as...

1) The "fire" of Gehenna - Mt 5:22; 18:8-9
2) The "lake of fire" - Re 20:12-15; 21:8
​

c. A fire that is never quenched - Mk 9:43-48
d. Notice Jesus' description of Hades (the temporary dwelling of the wicked dead) - Lk 16:22-24
​

2. They will experience "wailing and gnashing of teeth"

a. As told in the two parables we have considered - Mt 13:42,50
b. Jesus used the similar expression "weeping and gnashing of teeth" on other occasions - Mt 8:12 22:13; 24:51; 5:30
​

3. They will experience "outer darkness"

a. As in the punishment of...

1) The "sons of the kingdom" (unbelieving Israelites) - Mt 8:12
2) The "unprepared wedding guest" (those who mistakenly believe they are saved?) - Mt 22:13
3) The "unprofitable servant" (slothful Christians?) - Mt 25:30
​

b. And the punishment described by Peter and Jude for false teachers - 2 Pe 2:17; Ju 13
​

4. They will experience "everlasting punishment"

a. The punishment for the wicked is as "everlasting" as the life given the righteous - Mt 25:46
b. The wicked will be "punished" with "everlasting destruction" from the presence of the Lord - cf. 2 Th 1:9
​

CONCLUSION

1. As Jesus went about "preaching the gospel of the kingdom" (Mt 4:23), He did not hold back...

a. He called upon the people to repent - cf. Mt 4:17
b. He warned them of the impending judgment and torment to come

1) As seen in "The Parable Of Dragnet"
2) As seen in our survey of Jesus' teaching on the destiny of the wicked
​

2. If we are to proclaim the "gospel of the kingdom" faithfully...

a. We must not only preach the "good news" of the kingdom...
b. We must also tell the "bad news" Christ revealed through His parables and other teachings!
​

Dear friend, are you living in view of the coming judgment? When "the great separation" is made, where will you be? Why not be "born again of the water and the Spirit", so you may enter that wonderful kingdom? - Jn 3:5; Mk 16:16; Ac 2:36-39

 

[complete]

Hello there, @Chad,

I hope you will not mind me contributing to your entry on the parable of the dragnet:-

Scripture mentions three different nets:-
1) The cast net (diktuon) (John 21:11)
2) The circular net (amphiblestron), (Matthew 4:18)
3) The drag net (sagene), only used in this parable of the dragnet.

* There are 40 different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee: of these are two common kinds, one a good fish, the bream; the other a fish without scales, and therefore an abomination, having neither fins nor scales (Leviticus 11:10), the flesh of which was salted and sold to the port of Rome, where it received the name of 'stinking sheat fish'.

* The sea is continually used as a type of the nations, particularly in a tumultuous state. 'The waters ... are peoples. and multitudes, and nations, and tongues' (Rev. 17:15)

* Prophetically, the drawing of the net to shore at the end of the age is parallel with the gathering of the living nations to the land of Israel.
It is good to take not of the fact that In the parable and in the prophecy, the fish and the nations are living and not dead. This is not dealing with the judgment of those who are raised from the dead, but that of the living nations, whose relation with the kingdom is to be decided.

* Scripture is emphatic upon the fact that towards the end of the age Jerusalem and the land of Israel shall become a 'burdensome stone to the nations'. Looking at the prophets:-

'For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat,
and will plead with them there for My People and for My heritage Israel,
whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My Land.'
(Joel 3:1)

'Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;
and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished;
and half of the city shall go forth into captivity,
and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.'
(Zechariah 14:1-2)

'Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the LORD,
until the day that I rise up to the prey:
for My determination is to gather the nations,
that I may assemble the kingdoms,
to pour upon them Mine indignation,
even all My fierce anger:
for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.'
(Zep 3:8)

'Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about:
thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat:
for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.'
(Joel 3:11-12)

'When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory:
And before Him shall be gathered all nations:
and He shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:'
(Matthew 25:31-32)

* The gathering of the nations takes place at the time of the end. Matthew 25 shows that the nations who have well treated the 'brethren' of the King shall enter into the kingdom, while the nations who have ill-treated the Jew are an offence and are gathered out of that kingdom. As 'nations' they enter the kingdom, or as nations they are prevented from entering. These nations do not consciously do what they do to Israel for Christ's sake, they only learn that when they stand before His throne.

* The peculiar time of Israel's trouble, which is coming, will be a great temptation to all the nations to take advantage of the helplessness of this nation which will be trodden down, but the Lord will reward that nation which acts kindly to His people. 'Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom'; 'the righteous unto age-abiding life' (Matt. 25:34,46) is typified in the parable by the putting of the good fish into the vessels. 'Every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles' (Zechariah 14:16). These are the good fish of the parable.

* The nations who are thus blessed will have a blessed portion in the kingdom; many however, will forfeit their place when Satan is unbound at the end. Israel's pre-eminent position in the kingdom is emphasized in the parable of the Tares, for of them it adds, 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father'. Thus, at the end of the age there will be two siftings and two gatherings in connection with the kingdom. First from Israel itself (as indicated in the 'Tares') He shall thoroughly purge His floor --- hypocrites and sons of the wicked one, those who say they are Jews and are not, but who are of the synagogue of Satan (Revelation 3:9). - and then from the nations round about as already seen in the quotations fro the Prophets and Matthew 25.

* Evil shall not always reign. That kingdom so long looked for will come, and then shall begin the final step towards the goal - 'A new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness'.

Praise God!

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris