Chapter
31
The Dragnet and the Householder
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 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.
Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say
unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto
them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth
out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:47-52)
Matthew 13 contains the
parables of the kingdom. Each parable is intended to convey a single specific
spiritual truth. They are earthly illustrations of spiritual things, of things
relating to the kingdom of heaven, that kingdom into which sinners are born
when they are born again by God the Holy Spirit.
·
The parable of
the leaven hidden in meal (v. 33) portrays the gradual spread and influence of
the gospel, both in the hearts and lives of God’s elect and in the world.
The last two of the eight parables
of the kingdom given in this chapter illustrate the separation and judgment of
unbelievers from the saints of God and the responsibility of God’s servants in
the work of the gospel ministry.
First,
in verses 47-50 our Lord declares the parable of the dragnet.
“Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and
gathered of every kind: 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.” (Mt
13:47-50)
In this parable, our Savior warns us
that things will not always continue as they now are. Soon the kingdom of
heaven will be full, the church of God will be complete, and there will be a
day of judgment in which God will forever separate the righteous from the
wicked. This parable is intended to be a warning to all men of the certainty of
God’s wrath and of the day of judgment.
To illustrate God’s judgment our
Lord used an activity which all who heard him would surely understand –
Fishing. It was a common, everyday activity around the Sea of Galilee. There
were three basic methods of fishing employed in that day, just as there are
today. A line and a hook were used to catch one fish at a time. That is the
kind of fishing the Lord sent Peter to do when money was needed to pay taxes
(Matt. 17:24-27). One man fishing by himself might use a one-man casting net.
Peter and his brother Andrew were taking turns casting this kind of net when
the Lord Jesus called them to be “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:18-19). These
small nets were used in shallow water. A man would wade out in the water. When
a school of fish came near, he would cast the net upon the water. As the net’s
weights carried it down over the fish, he would draw it together and hall his
catch to shore.
The third type of fishing was done
by the use of a huge dragnet. A dragnet might be stretched out to cover as much
as one half square mile. It required the labor of a team of fishermen. The
dragnet was pulled in a giant circle by two boats, or by one boat if one end
could be anchored to the shore. Floats were attached to the top of the net and
weights to the sides, so that when it was cast, the dragnet formed a huge wall
around everything it encompassed. Because the net permitted nothing to escape,
it swept everything in its path to shore, fish of every kind, both good and
bad. When the net was full, it would be drug to shore by a huge team of men. At
the end of the day, they gathered the good fish into containers to carry home
or to the market. And the bad fish, they simply discarded with all the useless
trash that had been caught in their net. When our Lord said, “The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a net,” the word that he used specifically means
dragnet.
The
fishermen in the parable are gospel preachers. The sea is the world. The net is
the gospel we preach. The ship into which the fish are gathered is the church
of God. The good fish are true believers. The bad fish are the false
professors. The time of separation is the end of the world.
“The
preaching of the gospel is the means of gathering souls to Christ, and into his
churches. Those that are gathered into a visible gospel church are of every
kind, of all nations in the world, Jews and Gentiles, all ranks and degrees of
men, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, all sorts of sinners, men good
and bad. Some have the truth of grace in them. Others, that are only
hypocrites,…have nothing but a form of godliness, and a name to live, and are
dead.” (John Gill)
We are to preach the gospel freely
and indiscriminately to all men, as God gives us opportunity (Matt. 28:18-20;
Rom. 1:15-16; 2 Cor. 5:18-21). As long as we are in this world the visible
church of God will be like the ark that Noah built, containing all kinds of
creatures, both clean and unclean.
Three times, in the parable of the
sower, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, and again in this parable,
our Lord tells us that his church in this world is a mixed congregation. He
intends for us to learn and remember this lesson.
There is a day of
separation coming! (v. 49-50). When the fullness of the Gentiles has been
brought in, when the last chosen, redeemed sinner has been saved, the Lord
Jesus Christ will come again in judgment. In that day he will separate
the bad fish from the good (Rom. 11:25-26; Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:28-29; Acts
17:31).
Nothing in the Bible is more
difficult to accept than the fact of hell. Nothing more difficult to talk or
write about. But we cannot ignore it. We must not ignore it. It is clearly and
constantly set before us in the Word of God. It was spoken of more often by the
Lord Jesus than any other subject. He talked much more about hell and divine
judgment than he did about the love of God (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 8:12; 11:23;
18:8-9; 23:33; Mark 3:29; 9:43; Luke 10:15; 12:9, 10, 46; 16:33, John 5:29;
15:6).
Hell is not merely the state of
forever being separated from all that is good. It is not merely going out into
nothingness. I do not pretend to know what hell is. The human mind simply
cannot conceive the horrors of hell. Even the biblical representations of hell
are only suggestive. Men argue about literal fire in hell. But the fire of
God’s wrath is infinitely more horrible than any inferno we ever imagined! No
words can describe and no mind can imagine the pain, the agony, the torment of
that “furnace of fire” where there is both “weeping and
gnashing of teeth forever.”
This much is certain. — Hell is a
place of constant torment, misery, and pain (Matt. 22:13; Mk. 9:43). The
torments of hell will involve both body and soul. It is a place “where the
worm dieth not” (Mk. 9:44 Matt. 11:22-23; Heb. 10:28-29; Lk. 12:47-48).
John Gerstner wrote, “Hell will have such severe degrees that a sinner, were he
able, would give the whole world if his sins could be but one less!” And hell
is forever! It is a state of total, eternal hopelessness (Matt. 25:46). John
Bunyan wrote, “Forever!” will be the most tormenting word known in hell!” And
C. H. Spurgeon said…
“In
hell thou shalt have none but a company of damned souls with an innumerable
company of devils to keep company with thee. While thou art in this world the
very thought of the devil’s appearing to thee makes thy flesh to tremble and
thine hair ready to stand upright on thy head… Oh, what wilt thou do when all
the devils of hell be with thee – howling, roaring, and screeching in such a
hideous manner that thou wilt be even at thy wit’s end and ready to run stark
mad again for anguish and torment? If after ten thousand years an end should
come, there would be comfort. But here is thy misery: here thou must be
forever!”
The
parable of the householder portrays the great worth and importance of the
gospel ministry.
“Jesus
saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea,
Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore
every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto
a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things
new and old.” (Mt 13:51-52)
The
question of verse 52 was put directly to our Lord’s disciples – “Have ye
understood all these things?” While the reference may include all that he
had spoken in parables, I think it is best to see this question as referring to
what he had spoken immediately before in verses 47-50 regarding the preaching
of the gospel, the gathering of sinners to Christ, and the judgment to come.
Understanding these things, a great
weight of responsibility is upon the shoulders of every believer and
particularly upon the shoulders of all who are “scribes” in the kingdom,
those men who are gifted and called by God as preachers of the gospel (2 Cor.
5:1-21). They are men who have been instructed into the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, the gospel of the grace of God. These men, God’s servants,
gospel pastors and preachers, are householders under Christ. They are
responsible for the feeding of the family (Acts 20:28; Jer. 3:15), the rule of
the family (Heb. 13:7, 17), and the care and protection of the family of God (2
Tim. 4:12-16).
“Gospel
ministers are deputies and stewards under him, and under him preside over the
household, and have the government of it, provide food for it, and protect and
defend it; all which require large gifts and abilities, great love and affection,
both to Christ and his people; much wisdom, prudence, and knowledge; and great
faithfulness and integrity, courage and firmness of mind.” (John Gill)
Like a faithful husband and father,
who is a good provider for his family, lays up stores for his household, and
brings them forth as needed, so the faithful pastor, by diligent labor in study
and prayer, lays up good things for the family of God and brings them out as
needed for their souls good, comfort, and edification. The treasury from which we
bring forth things old and new as they are needed is the Word of God. Every
faithful gospel preacher knows that he carries the treasure of the gospel in an
earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7), and is humbled by the realization of that fact
(Eph. 3:8). Yet, like Elihu, he is full of the matter (Job 32:19). Like
Jeremiah, he cannot forbear (Jer. 20:9). Like David, his tongue is the pen of a
ready writer (Ps. 45:1).
But what does our Lord mean by “things
new and old”? He certainly is not suggesting that the gospel preacher
brings forth old doctrines and new. Someone once accurately stated, with regard
to doctrine, “If it is new it is not true; and if it is true it is not new.” By
“things new and old”, our Lord is referring to truths that are old in
themselves, but newly made known to and experienced by his servants as they
study the Scriptures. To cite Gill again, this refers to “every new acquisition
of knowledge and experience, added to the former stock and fund. The phrase
seems to denote the plenty and variety of Gospel provisions, which the
ministers of it are to bring forth, suited to the various cases of such who are
under their care.”
Some things are laid up to ripen in
our hearts to be brought out in due season. Other things, like fresh vegetables
gathered from the garden, are best served up immediately. But the faithful man
keeps nothing back. He does not confine his provision for the family of God to
a single aspect of gospel truth, but sets forth Christ crucified by declaring
all the counsel of God. He is neither weary of the old, nor afraid of the new.
Old truth is made new by a living experience; and the faithful man brings forth
the old, old truths of Holy Scripture as new things, because he has experienced
them new in his own soul.
The word “new” means “fresh.”
Faithful preachers do not serve up leftovers. They diligently seek God’s
message for his people, that they might feed them with knowledge and
understanding. C. H. Spurgeon’s comments on verse 52, in my opinion, precisely
convey our Lord’s intent.
“We
must in our instruction of others cultivate variety, but we must not aim at it
by poisoning the children with deadly drugs for the sake of giving them novel
dishes. Only things worth putting into a treasury are worth bringing forth to
the household. That scribe had need be well instructed who has to keep on
handing out a variety of precious truth throughout a long life.
Lord,
make us sufficient for these things. Instruct as, that we may instruct our
household. May we make no reserve for self, but bring out for thy people all
that which thou hast put in our charge. Oh, to be accepted of thee in the day
of thy return, because found faithful to our trust!”