The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Net

Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 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. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50; NIV)

As I have read this parable and pondered it, a much deeper meaning than what I had originally thought has been given me.

Before, I simply thought this represented the end of the age when the good would be separated from the bad; the good would dwell with Christ forever in heaven and the bad would be cast into the “fiery furnace.” And that was that…simple.

In a sense this is what is meant, but it is who is being separated that I want to focus on here. As I said I had just originally thought it was the wicked who had chosen not to accept the Gospel of Christ as many other parables and parts of the Bible teach.

But think about this…the net being referred to here is a dragnet. These nets are drug along the bottom catching anything and everything that happens to get in the path of the net. It doesn’t, however, catch everything in the body of water that’s being fished. As I thought about this, I realized that the meaning behind this parable wasn’t everyone in the end times, but a target group that had been “caught” in the dragnet.

So what is the dragnet? Well, the dragnet is the Gospel of Christ, the Kingdom of God. Those caught in the net are those who profess to be Christians. Unfortunately, all who profess to be Christians aren’t true Christians. Do you remember earlier in Matthew where Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven?” (Matthew 7:22; NIV)

You see, many call on the name of Jesus as their Savior, but they fail to follow through and live the life they have been called to live in Christ. They say they believe in Jesus, but their actions say something different. It is the same as when Jesus speaks to the Pharisees concerning the prophecy in Isaiah: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

Therefore, it is these two groups of Christians that Christ is referring to when He speaks of them being brought to shore and separated (the Judgement). Those “good fish” (true Christians) will be brought up to heaven to dwell eternally, while those “bad fish” (false Christians) will be thrown into the fiery furnace.

If you’ve been caught in the net of the kingdom of God, are you seeking to do the will of God? Is your heart in line with Christ’s, or do you simply honor the Lord with your lips and nothing more?