The Parable of the Dragnet
Jesus gave the Parable of the Dragnet of the different kinds of fish to illustrate the kingdom of heaven. He said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:47-50).
The dragnet was a long, weighted net, the ends of which were carried outward and then brought together in the form of a big circle. In the parable, the fisherman casts the dragnet into the sea and pulls it when it is full of all different types of fish. Then, he separates the good fish from the bad fish and takes the good ones to be sold but casts the bad ones away.
The meaning
The dragnet represents the gospel and the efforts put forth by the preachers of faith – the fishers of men (Luke 5:10) – who work to win people to the knowledge of the truth. As a result, different people are won to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus accepts all kinds of people that receive Him by faith, regardless of their race and background (Acts 10:34; Matthew 11:19). He doesn’t discriminate against anyone for they are all His children (Mark 2:16, 17).
God values character in terms of whether a person has lived in harmony with all the light that has shone upon his way, whether, to the best of his knowledge and power, he has worked with heavenly messengers in overcoming sin following the perfect example of Jesus (Ecclesiates12:13, 14; Micah 6:8; Matthew 7:21–27).
The final judgement
In Parable of the Dragnet, Matthew illustrates the value of salvation as represented by the gospel message, and he stresses the end result of God’s call which will separate those who heed the divine call and those that don’t. This parable is like the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares for it too stresses the final separation between the good and the evil (Matthew 13:36-43).
Also, the Parable of the Dragnet emphasizes the eventual judgment on the basis of character development (James 2:12). The life record of every human will be examined by God (Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Therefore, believers should put great effort to claim God’s power to overcome sin in their lives (John 15:4).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
