KINGDOM PARABLES: THE DRAGNET

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Kingdom Parables

a) The seven short parables teach us about the very great value of the kingdom of God. They also teach us of the universal nature of the kingdom. 

b) There is something else that many people fail to appreciate, and that's the enormous value of the kingdom of God. People in every nation may possess these true riches if they enter into God’s kingdom.

c) The parables that Jesus told, reflect the great value of belonging to the world-wide kingdom of God. Nothing is worth having, that would rob us of that place. This lesson is about seven such parables.

d) We look at one of the parables that addresses the great value of the kingdom of God.

2. The Dragnet

Matthew 13:47-50
“47 'Again', said Jesus, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a net that fisher-folk threw into the sea. The net gathered all sorts of fish. 48 When the net was full, the fisher-folk drew it ashore. They sat down and sorted the good fish 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 cast the evil into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  

a) The parable is about fishing using the art of the dragnet. A long net is set out beyond where fish are feeding, and the ends are pulled toward the shore to encircle the fish. This can be done with small boats, or even by folk wading where the water is shallow.

b) The net is drawn in, dragging the catch of fish with it. Undersized fish mostly escape through the net. The fish that are caught are then sorted, the good which are collected in containers, and the rubbish which is thrown away.

c) The parable looks toward judgment day and touches on "God looks on the heart." It is the heart and spirit of man that counts in the kingdom of God.

d) When God's angels pull in the great dragnet one day, and the fish are sorted, that is what will distinguish the good from the rubbish — not people’s wealth, not their power and glory in this world, but whether their heart is right with God.


The End ...

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