The Parable of the Net (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11; John 1:35-42)
Matthew 13:47-50 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.
So will it 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.”
Whenever Jesus tells stories, he always starts with familiar scenes, and today it’s the turn of the fishermen. Fishermen in Jesus’ day go out in the evening and spread their nets all night, pulling them in when they are full to collect the fish that have swum into their nets. In the morning, the fishermen come to shore and begin sorting out their catch.
According to the Loyola Press, “The apostles fished for three main species: St. Peter’s fish, carp, and catfish. The Jews did not eat catfish because it was considered “unclean,” as it did not have fins and scales (Leviticus 11:19). However they were able to sell catfish to Greek communities on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee….The fish they caught (after they paid the tax man and their hired labor) was sold locally, or salted and preserved to be marketed in places like Jerusalem and even Greece. Fish too small to be marketed were mixed with the entrails of the cleaned fish and salted in a vat. The vats were kept in the sun while the mixture fermented. Eventually the liquid was strained off and marketed as garum, a fish sauce that was used in almost every meal in the Roman empire. Distributers of garum made the equivalent of millions of dollars each year.
Peter and Andrew’s fishing boat would have been 23 feet long and seven feet wide. It had a crew of five: four to row and one to steer and supervise the catch. The supervisor also had to keep a close eye on the weather because storms could quickly develop over the Sea (Matthew 8: 23–27).
The boat could carry a half ton of fish or between 11 to 13 passengers; it was big enough for Jesus to sleep at the bottom of the boat (Mark 4:38). The fishermen used nets made of flax or linen. Most fishing was done at night so that fish would not see and swim around the nets. In modern days nylon nets prevents this problem, and when fishing is permitted, it’s done during the day.
The fishing industry of Jesus’ day was highly profitable, but it was strenuous work and needed major organization. In deep water fishing, two or three boats would work together to set up a net between them and chase fish into the net. This would be done seven or eight times during the night and by morning the fishermen could bring in a half ton of fish.
During the day the men were busy. The caught fish had to be sorted for sale, the nets had to be washed in the lake to remove any silt, and tears in the nets had to be mended. The nets were then hung out to dry and folded for the next catch.” (https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/scripture-and-tradition/jesus-and-the-new-testament/jesus-in-history/biblical-fishing-101-reeling-in-the-first-fishers-of-faith/
Here Jesus is telling his listeners that there are all kinds of human “fish” on the earth. Just as there are good fish and bad fish, there are also good people and bad people. At the end of the age, angels will sort out the wicked from the righteous. The wicked will be sent to a “fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Obviously, nobody wants to wind up in the fiery furnace, but how can we be sure that we are righteous? If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we sin many times each day. By rights, every one of us should suffer punishment for our sins. But Jesus has come and has died a shameful death to pay that sin debt. We have a choice: we can accept what Jesus has done for us, confess that we are sinners, and put our trust in Jesus Christ or we can refuse this gift of eternal life. So the question for each of us is this: what kind of fish do you want to be?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We confess that we are sinners and that nothing we can do will pay for our sins. We accept what Jesus has done for us and we trust in Jesus for our salvation. Thank You for Your promise that when we trust in Jesus, we will enjoy eternal life with You. We pray in the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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