THE DRAGNET

MATTHEW 13:4

A. "AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A NEW, 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"
  1. Among the parables recorded in this chapter Jesus exhibits the work of God's kingdom in widely different aspects:
    1. The leaven works from within, gradually, and almost insensible
    2. The dragnet works without; its method is sweeping and concerted in its movement
    3. The leaven works outward - from within; but the dragnet does everything wholesale and in mass
  2. "The Kingdom of Heaven", Jesus said, "is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind". Here is a scene utterly different from that of the parable of the leaven:
    1. The net represents the church of God in action; every member is busily engaged in catching fish
    2. The more the effort is a concerted action by all the members of the church, the greater the harvest of souls
B. LET US NOTE A NUMBER OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE PARABLE OF THE NET
  1. It implies, for one thing, that Christ expects his disciples to aim at the masses:
    1. In the other parables the Lord shows that men are won one by one; Examples: The woman of Samaria - John 4; Nicodemus - John 3; the centurion - Matt. 8;
    2. But the dragnet shows that the Lord wants the church to reach the masses with the gospel; Examples: His eyes are upon the multitude - Matt. 9:36; the Day of Pentecost is evidence - Acts 2
  2. A second lesson of the parable is the adaptation of means to the end pursued:
    1. For the kind of fishing here described, a suitable net and proper equipment has to be provided
    2. Here we have our Lord's sanction for organized evangelism, for Missionary Societies at home and abroad
    3. This is clearly indicated in the use of a large dragnet which is in itself a carefully designed machinery
C. OF VERY SPECIAL INTEREST TO US IS THE APPLICATION OF THE PARABLE OF THE DRAGNET
  1. In the parable of the leaven, the woman takes the leaven and mixes it with the meal
  2. But the parable of the dragnet represents the divine means of catching the fishes:
    1. Observe, please, Jesus did not say, "The Kingdom of Heaven has a net", but "It is a net"
    2. This is the proper function of the church of God in the cause of God - it constitutes the gospel net; Examples: "Ye are the salt of the earth"; "Ye are the light of the world" - Matt. 5:13-14; "Ye are my witnesses" - Is. 43:10; "God says, "Go, preach the gospel" - Matt. 28:18-20
  3. There is a sad note in the parable of the dragnet:
    1. As there is to all human efforts
    2. The mixed result of pulling in the fish in mass; there were the good and the bad
    3. Thus the Lord prepares His church for a measure of disappointment in working for the masses: Examples: The parable of the soil; the stony soil, the thorny soil and the good soil - Matt. 13:18-23; Here is a key for the work of the Evangelist, who baptizes large numbers of converts but has losses; some members of the church are ready to find fault with his method of labor, blaming him for the loss. It is for the encouragement of God's faithful worker that we have the parable of the dragnet, showing that when you work for the masses, you cannot expect all to be good.


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