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Jesus’s Gospel Dragnet
Jesus’s Gospel Dragnet
David W Palmer
When Jesus called his first disciples to follow him, he offered them a learning contract: “Follow me, and I will make you competent at fishing for men” (Mat. 4:19 DKJV). If they upheld their side of the contract—following him, watching him, listening to him, obeying him, and imitating him—he would fulfill his side; he would make them competent at doing what he had been doing.
As Jesus came towards his conclusion in the “boat classroom” teaching session, he gave them a parable to explain the kingdom; it drew again on the analogy of catching fish. He spoke of fishing with a net; this was the fishing with which they were familiar:
(Matthew 13:47–48 NKJV) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, {48} which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.”
As his apprentices listened to Jesus describing this scenario, I’m sure many of them could not only picture it; but they could virtually feel the quivering net, smell the water, visualize the net full of “every kind,” and even taste the adrenalin “rush” of pulling in a full net. They could then certainly identify with the tedium of sorting the catch, while motivated by the lucrative market outcome and the security it provided for them and their families.
The Master, however, wasn’t painting this picture for them to lure them back to their old life; he was positioning their thinking to take in the eternal truth that he was about to expound from the allegory:
(Matthew 13:49–51 NKJV) “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, {50} and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” {51} Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
Suddenly, Jesus’s persona changed from being the carpenter sitting in a fishing boat talking about farming and fishing, to the eternal Lord and Judge of the universe. He turned the thinking of the young apprentices away from the thoughts of fishing, family, and earthly security to some very sober eternal matters. He now wanted them to focus—not on the good fish, which were a valued means of nutrition, income, and security—but on the fate awaiting the “bad” fish. Their destiny is “the furnace of fire,” where their eternal fate is: “wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus was alluding to the commission he would give his apprentices when they graduated—after his resurrection. For example, he would say:
(Mark 16:15–16 AKJV) And he said to them, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned.”
Jesus asked his apprentices if they had “understood all these things?” They responded, “Yes, Lord.” We can only trust that both they and we can profoundly comprehend what Jesus is saying. Earthly security for our families and us is a huge issue; yet it is temporal, and passes quickly in the light of eternity. People who haven’t believed the gospel will face not just an uncomfortable future, but also an eternity of “wailing and gnashing of teeth.” This is not someone’s theory, or even some theologian or preacher’s opinion of eternity; this is Jesus himself telling us of the importance of our gospel “dragnet.”
Our Master devoted much of his earthly ministry—of merely 3½ years—in training his twelve apprentices to continue and multiply his gospel ministry and kingdom mission. He has never updated or revised this plan. Jesus wants us to engage in his discipleship / apprenticeship program until we too take on his values, vision, methods, and mission. If we follow him wholeheartedly, not only will we have the safety and security provided by the “Good Shepherd,” but also he will apply his skills as the greatest teacher, trainer, disciple-maker, and apprenticeship Master to making us competent at catching new people for his kingdom. He is doing this for you; he is making you into a fisher of men.
Today, I encourage you to freshly commit to:
I leave you with the words of Jesus: “Have you understood all these things?” ... “Yes, Lord” (Mat. 13:51 NKJV).
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By DAVID W. PALMERJesus’s Gospel Dragnet
David W Palmer
When Jesus called his first disciples to follow him, he offered them a learning contract: “Follow me, and I will make you competent at fishing for men” (Mat. 4:19 DKJV). If they upheld their side of the contract—following him, watching him, listening to him, obeying him, and imitating him—he would fulfill his side; he would make them competent at doing what he had been doing.
As Jesus came towards his conclusion in the “boat classroom” teaching session, he gave them a parable to explain the kingdom; it drew again on the analogy of catching fish. He spoke of fishing with a net; this was the fishing with which they were familiar:
(Matthew 13:47–48 NKJV) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, {48} which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.”
As his apprentices listened to Jesus describing this scenario, I’m sure many of them could not only picture it; but they could virtually feel the quivering net, smell the water, visualize the net full of “every kind,” and even taste the adrenalin “rush” of pulling in a full net. They could then certainly identify with the tedium of sorting the catch, while motivated by the lucrative market outcome and the security it provided for them and their families.
The Master, however, wasn’t painting this picture for them to lure them back to their old life; he was positioning their thinking to take in the eternal truth that he was about to expound from the allegory:
(Matthew 13:49–51 NKJV) “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, {50} and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” {51} Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
Suddenly, Jesus’s persona changed from being the carpenter sitting in a fishing boat talking about farming and fishing, to the eternal Lord and Judge of the universe. He turned the thinking of the young apprentices away from the thoughts of fishing, family, and earthly security to some very sober eternal matters. He now wanted them to focus—not on the good fish, which were a valued means of nutrition, income, and security—but on the fate awaiting the “bad” fish. Their destiny is “the furnace of fire,” where their eternal fate is: “wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus was alluding to the commission he would give his apprentices when they graduated—after his resurrection. For example, he would say:
(Mark 16:15–16 AKJV) And he said to them, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned.”
Jesus asked his apprentices if they had “understood all these things?” They responded, “Yes, Lord.” We can only trust that both they and we can profoundly comprehend what Jesus is saying. Earthly security for our families and us is a huge issue; yet it is temporal, and passes quickly in the light of eternity. People who haven’t believed the gospel will face not just an uncomfortable future, but also an eternity of “wailing and gnashing of teeth.” This is not someone’s theory, or even some theologian or preacher’s opinion of eternity; this is Jesus himself telling us of the importance of our gospel “dragnet.”
Our Master devoted much of his earthly ministry—of merely 3½ years—in training his twelve apprentices to continue and multiply his gospel ministry and kingdom mission. He has never updated or revised this plan. Jesus wants us to engage in his discipleship / apprenticeship program until we too take on his values, vision, methods, and mission. If we follow him wholeheartedly, not only will we have the safety and security provided by the “Good Shepherd,” but also he will apply his skills as the greatest teacher, trainer, disciple-maker, and apprenticeship Master to making us competent at catching new people for his kingdom. He is doing this for you; he is making you into a fisher of men.
Today, I encourage you to freshly commit to:
I leave you with the words of Jesus: “Have you understood all these things?” ... “Yes, Lord” (Mat. 13:51 NKJV).