Matthew chapter 13 and verse
47. We've been looking at some of
the parables of our Lord in this passage, and there are a number
of them. We've been through quite a few
in the past few weeks, and I wanted just to touch upon another one
that you find in verse 47. The Lord Jesus has been speaking
about the nature of the kingdom of heaven, his body, his church,
his work, his ministry here upon earth, and how that there are
practical aspects of it, which he teaches us about through these
parables, these narratives, these stories that he tells. And in
verse 47 of Matthew chapter 13, we read these words. Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that is cast or was cast
into the sea and gathered of every kind, which when it was
full and drew to shore and sat down and gathered, and which
when it was full they drew to shore and sat down and gathered
the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be
at the end of the world. The angels shall come forth and
sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into
the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. That's some solemn words there,
isn't it? I like to go fishing. And I suppose
that over the years, I've done a few different kinds of fishing. I fished at sea with a hand reel. I fished in the river with a
fishing rod. I've even fished on ice with
an Alaskan. But I've never fished from a
boat with a drawnet. And this is what we're talking
about today. When the disciples went fishing
on the lake of Galilee, they likely used a drawnet. And that's the significance of
the Lord relating this story, this account, this parable. And
that kind of fishing, and it is still done today in some places,
still it's just done by individuals or by two men working together,
or there are boats that are designed for this kind of fishing. Certainly around the UK, we have
a fleet that used to be a very large fleet, it's much smaller
now, but we have a fleet of boats that still go out with these
large, huge, huge nets that stretch for miles. that draw in all the
fish. We call it trawling. I think
you have a different meaning for trawling over here, but that's
the kind of fishing that is used. When men were fishing just by
themselves or with a couple of people, they used what they called
a draw net and that net was weighted around its edges. And when the
men were fishing, they would throw the net out with such a
movement that it caused it to spin and the weight to flatten
it like a big frisbee. And when it landed in the water
and began to sink, they would be able to catch all manner of
fish in that net. And they were able to draw a
line that was connected to the net in from both edges and draw
it together like a big bag. And so it went into the water,
covered an area, and then was drawn into the boat like a large
sack or a bag. And inside the net, hopefully,
if they had been fortunate, there would be all kinds of fish caught. They would be able, by that means,
to catch the fish that feed near the top. and they would catch
the fish that fed in the middle and they would catch the fish
that fed at the bottom. When these trawlers go out with
their huge nets, it's a very destructive process and they
rip up the seabed because of the weighted nets that are there
and there's been quite a lot of controversy about that form
of fishing when it's done on an industrial scale. But the
picture that we have here is to do with just a few men fishing
together from a boat and they would bring in all kinds of fish. There would be big ones and there
would be little ones. There would be some that would
be good for eating and there would be some that would not. And when that net is dragged
onto the shore, and it's opened up, all kinds of fish are found
in there. Some that are good to keep and
eat, and others that are not, and they are discarded, they
are thrown away. And this picture that the Lord
Jesus Christ was establishing, this picture that he was setting
and bringing into the minds of the people who were listening
to him, this parable, like the others that Jesus told, spoke
about commonplace things because the very people that were there
were fishermen. And if they weren't fishermen
themselves, they had most certainly seen the fishermen at work on
the Lake of Galilee. They knew what he was talking
about and they knew that process of separating and discarding
and keeping that which was good and that which was valuable and
that which was precious. Do you remember what we've previously
said about these parables being earthly stories with heavenly
meanings? You see, we've got to see through
the surface story and understand the message that is being related
to us, because there's a heavenly meaning. These are stories about
common things, but they have a special, sometimes hidden message
in that which is declared. And this parable is a message
for us all. Because Jesus is using this picture
to tell us that there will come a time at the end of the world
when there will be a great separation. He doesn't explain the first
part of the parable on this occasion. He goes right to the end, right,
as it were, to the meat of the parable, the important part. And he's telling us all, whether
we're younger or whether we're a little bit older, He's telling
us all that soon there is a time coming when a great division
will be made. A division in this world, a separation
that is going to take place. This old world is going to be
brought to an end. The things that we see around
about us. You know, when you're young, you think that things
don't change very quickly. And as you get older, you begin
to appreciate that things are changing very quickly and that
nothing stays the same. And just in the time that we've
spent here over the past few weeks, we've seen big changes,
big changes in this church, big changes in the people that come
to this church, big changes in the circumstances of those people. Things don't stay the same. And we think a year's a long
time, and a month's a long time. But what we're being told in
this parable is that very soon, all these things are going to
come to an end, and God is going to send his angels to judge this
world, to separate out between the men and the women in this
world. And what the Lord has been telling
us is, in a sense, a little bit like that parable that we had
about the tares when God sent his angels to separate the good
from the bad. There is going to be that separation,
a separation between the just or the justified people and the
wicked who are still in their sins. And therefore this parable
is a warning to us all. There is a day of reckoning coming. A day of terror and a day of
loss and a day of fear. And this story paints a picture
of a reality where there is a coming judgment, a real judgment and
a separation where people will cry out because they are so anxious,
they are so fearful about the changes that are happening and
the judgment that is coming. I reflected upon this passage
as I was preparing it for the younger people and I'm thinking
to myself, you know, I'm speaking to youngsters here and perhaps
I'm quoting one of the most fearsome verses in the whole of the Bible.
Is that appropriate for young ears? Well, I imagine that there were
youngsters around when the Lord was giving his parable. So I
followed my plan and I brought you these thoughts. A children's
address and yet I wonder if perhaps these are not some of the most
awful, devastating words in the whole of the Bible. At the end
of the world, the angels will come. The angels will come forth
and they will sever the wicked from amongst the just, and they
will cast into a furnace of fire those who are sinners and opposed
to God, those who have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of their sins. And the Bible says in that
day there will be wailing and there will be gnashing of teeth. So I have a little prayer for
us all this morning, and here it is. God grant us knowledge
of the righteousness, the goodness, and the mercy that will cause
us to be amongst those just ones that the angels will gather and
present to the Lord Jesus Christ. and give us grace in these days
to banish fear, mercy in our souls that will comfort us, and
the joy of knowing that we are at peace with God. Cause us,
even the littlest ones amongst us, to know the Lord Jesus Christ
by faith, so that when that great separation comes, we shall, with
the good and the just, be saved from the terror of being cast
away with the bad and the wicked. Amen.