Just like last week, this week will be two parables, which are right after the two from last week were spoken by Jesus. Parable 18, The Fishing Net found is found in Matthew 13:47-50, and Parable 19 is found in Matthew 13:52.
Parable 18 (The Fishing Net) Matthew 13:47-50
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The parable of the fishing net refers to God’s judgement in the last days (Matthew 25:31-46, will be parable # 46 in this series), which will eternally separate the wicked from the righteous. This note of warning is a reinforcement of the urgency of the last two parables (Parables 16 and 17).
Back during the time this parable was spoken some fishing was done with a large weighted net that would drag along the bottom of the lake. When the net was pulled in, it contained as assortment that had to be separated. In a similar way the visible kingdom, the sphere of those who claim to be believers, is full of both good and bad and will be sorted in the judgement.
This parable also is teaching the same lesson as the parable of the weeds, (parable #12), that the righteous must endure some period of coexistence with evil, until God’s final judgement brings justice and rewards.
Since the action that places the bad fish alongside the good is not attributed to the Evil One, there is a slightly different emphasis in this parable than that in the parable of the weeds. Jesus drew a following comprised of faithful and the faithless, but they were sorted out through various tests he placed before them. He has continued throughout history to draw all sorts of people toward the kingdom, but these will be judged or sorted out in the end.
Here, as in the parable of the weeds, we find the coexistence of evil alongside the righteous, the discarding and burning of the evil, and the treasuring and protection of the righteous. The angels are the agents of judgement whom Jesus will use, and the description of hell in verse 50 is identical to that used in 13:42.
Verse 51 is a pause before the next parable, but the reply by the disciples is an important one, the abilities to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom is a gift from God. (See Matthew 13:10 – 17)
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
Parable 19 (Owner of a House) Matthew 13:52
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Jesus asked the question (verse 51), and the disciples answered. The disciples affirmative answer to this question amounted to an expression of faith, a carefully considered choice to place their faith in the King and His teachings.
Jesus left the disciples with this brief parable in verse 52. Not many scribes (teachers of the law) had become disciples of the kingdom, especially because of their investment in the Jewish religious establishment. Any teacher of the law had his alliance radically changed toward Jesus as the way of salvation. Any scribe who could say, “Yes, I commit,” as did the disciples in the preceding verse, would bring with him a rich knowledge of the treasures of the Old Testament. A scribe was a specialist in the knowledge and teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures. At the same time, as a disciple of the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed, he would acknowledge the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus the king. He would embrace it while still appreciating the value of the old. Jesus’ arrival on the stage of history and his death and resurrection would complete God’s covenant, offered to any who would respond in faith.
It is important for Christians today to become familiar with both the Old and New Testament in order to reflect God’s full revelation. The kingdom servant (and Christian disciple) is to be like the scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom, continually opening the treasures of both the old and new.