The Parable of the Dragnet

A study on  Jesus's parable of the dragnet from Matthew 13:47-50.

[Watch the Video]

Parable of the Dragnet

Outline:

Review

Parables of Matthew 13

Parable of the Dragnet

The Sea

The Net

The Fish

The Sorting

Conclusion

Scripture:

• Matthew 13:18-23
• Matthew 13:47-50
• Matthew 13:36-42
• Matthew 25:35
• Matthew 4:18-19
• Romans 10:14;17
• Matthew 13:48

Review

The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God means the reign of God

Jesus taught a different kingdom than the Jews expected

1. Not a takeover of the Roman government by force
2. The kingdom is spiritual and not political or geographical
3. The kingdom wasn’t going to come into place at a single instance, but would develop over time

The Jews expected the Messiah to be a human who would take dominion

Gospel of the Kingdom of God

• The gospel of the Kingdom is more than salvation
• It includes God’s original plan for God’s will to be implemented on earth through humans
• It started with Adam and Eve and ends with us ruling alongside with Jesus

The parables of Jesus

A parable is a succinct, story that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles.

• A parable is a type of analogy.
• A parable has a surface story and a deeper meaning
•  A simple story helps to explain a more complex or hidden story.  
• Jesus use simple stories of earthly concepts and people to explain things happening in the spiritual dimension.

Jesus taught in parables because:

1. They illustrated His point
2. Jesus only wanted his disciples to understand certain details of the kingdom

Parables of Matthew 13

We have looked at 6 of the 8 parables about the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13

• Sower/Soils
• Wheat and Weeds
• Leaven
• Mustard Seed
• Hidden Treasure
• Pearl

We discovered that the first four parables of Matthew 13 are warning us of opposition that will come against the Kingdom.  

Parable of the Sower/Soils

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells us about Seed that fell on 4 types of soil:

1. The Path
2. Rocky Soil
3. The Thorns
4. Good Soil

Jesus said that this parable is the key to understanding all of the parables.

Explanation of the Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:18-23

 18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Main Points:

1. Whether or not someone accepts the message of the Kingdom is determined by the condition of their heart
2. The Kingdom can be obtained and then lost
3. The word about the Kingdom can become planted in someone’s heart yet they still miss the Kingdom in the end
4. Things that impact whether someone enters the Kingdom include:

• The enemy
• Chasing worldly success
• Cares of the world
• Understanding the Kingdom

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

• Some people will appear to be children of God but they are not
• These people are actually supporting the enemy
• They will be removed at the end of the age

Parable of the Leaven

• There will be opposition from within the Kingdom
• Wrong teaching, and false doctrine will get mixed throughout the Kingdom

Parable of the Mustard Seed

• The Kingdom will start small (everyone won’t accept it when it is introduced)
• Acceptance of the Kingdom will grow large and rapidly
• There will be external opposition to the Kingdom

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

• Some will find the Kingdom unexpectedly
• They will discover that the Kingdom Is more valuable than their worldly possessions
• They will give them up for the Kingdom

Parable of the Pearl

• Some have been searching for the Kingdom
• When they find it they will joyfully give up all of their worldly possessions and goals to enter the Kingdom

Parable of the Dragnet

The Parable of the Dragnet, or the Parable of the Various Kinds of Fish

Matthew 13:47-50

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,
50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• We see similarities to the parable of the wheat and tares
• This is another parable warning of a future judgment

This is the first parable about fishing

• Many of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen
• None were farmers

What is a Dragnet?

4522 /sagḗnē("drag-net") a weighted-net, drawn in as a drag-net.

There are three ways to go fishing

• A line rod and pole
• Cast net
• Drag net

This is the only place where a dragnet is mentioned.

• Had floats at the top and weights on the bottom
• You catch the most fish in a drag net.
• Professional fishing - selling
• Required a team of people
• Some people were trained to figure out which fish to keep in which to throw away.

2 Methods

1. Sometimes fishermen fastened one end of the net on the shore while a boat pulled the other end into the lake. The boat then traveled in half a circle, sweeping the sea and enclosing the fish that were caught by the net against the shore.
2. At other times, two boats went out from shore, forming a semi-circle with the net, drawing it together to catch the fish.

You can see that this fishing method was rather effective but the drawback was that the fishermen could not be selective while catching the fish. Their catch was always a mixed one. So when the boat returned to shore, the net would be pulled out into land and all kinds of fish, big and small, would be enclosed within it. The fish are then sorted out. Only fish that had commercial value were kept and put in containers. All the others, the bad ones, are thrown back into the water.

A dragnet picks up everything

• Boots
• Bottles and cans

Parable Details

1. The sea
2. The net
3. Many kinds of fish
4. The sorting

The Sea

Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained

Matthew 13:36-42

 36Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of [ek] His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“This reference, as in the weeds, is not primarily to a mixed church, but to the division among mankind in general which the last judgment will bring to light.”

  -- New Testament scholar R. T. France

Jesus isn’t warning that there are good and bad people in church

• Rather that there are good and bad people in the world
• Being in the net doesn’t mean you’re Christian

At that time all believers were Jews.  Therefore with the kingdom refer to the church or the Jews?  

• There were no churches at that time only synagogues.
• Jesus never mentioned the church in any of his explanations of parables
•  Because the church didn’t exist yet

The sea is the world

• All of the people of the world

The Net

When you fish with a rod and bait you know what you’re going to get

• You fish for trout, or bass
• A net is indiscriminate

The Net is The Message of the Kingdom of God

Gathering

Matthew 13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering [sunagó] fish of every kind;

sunagó - to gather together

Notice the similarity to synagogue

It is interesting to notice that in Greek, ‘to gather (sunago)’ also means ‘to welcome.’

Matthew 25:35

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in [sunagó];

This means that the kingdom of God stretches out a welcoming hand to everybody. It is not exclusive in its invitation. Everybody without exception is invited to enter the kingdom of God. We know that a fishing net naturally gathers fish indiscriminately. ‘It gathers fish of every kind,’ we read in the parable.

If they had understood they would have realized now that the Kingdom was not just for Jews. It was for Gentiles as well.

The Net is The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

If we’re fishers of men what is the net?

The net is The gospel of the Kingdom of God

Implies that not only Jews will be brought into the Kingdom but Gentiles alike.

More Than Salvation

• The message of the kingdom includes the gospel of salvation
• But it is more than salvation

The net is not full yet.

The Fish

Matthew 4:18-19

18Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

• The fish are people (the souls of men)
• It includes saved and unsaved
• All who at some point in their life were captured by the gospel

They don’t throw the bad fish back into the ocean

There are only two categories of fish:

• There aren’t the a little bit bad fish or the pretty good fish
• There only good fish and bad fish

Sorting is By Nature Not Behavior

By law Jewish people could only eat certain types of fish. They had to have scales they were an allowed to eat shellfish. By the old testament Jewish law. They were not throwing out the fish that bit them or the fish that were ugly they were separating the edible fish from the inedible fish.

The sorting will be done by your nature not by your behavior. This is not sorting out those who did more good things than bad things or those who didn’t do certain bad things or those who did this after they did the bad things. Jesus is throwing out those have a sin nature versus those who don’t. The sorting is based on weeding out those were born again versus those who are not born again.

Unlike fish who cannot change the type of fish they are people can change from a bad fish to a good fish.

• And vice versa

Who Are the Bad Fish?

Bad Fish

The bad fish are:

• The bad soil from the parable of the soils
• The tares from the parable of the wheat and weeds
• The leaven from the parable of the leaven
• The birds from the parable of the mustard seed

They are those in the parable of the soils that fell away because of:

• Affliction and persecution
• Worries of the world
• Not understanding the word
• Influenced by Satan

They got captured in the net, but didn’t make the final cut.  You have to stay in the faith.

The Sorting

Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

ek -  has a two-layered meaning ("out from and to") which makes it out-come oriented (out of the depths of the source and extending to its impact on the object).

• It could mean the tares were within the Kingdom
• It could also be speaking of the impact the tares had on the Kingdom
• Meaning they would no longer impact the Kingdom

Matthew 13:49  "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

• The wicked are mixed in with the righteous yet they are not righteous
• Similarly the wicked were mixed in with those in the Kingdom yet they were not in the Kingdom

Both parables concern an end-times sorting, aided by angels, when believers will be separated from unbelievers once and for all.

• The field in the parable of the weeds is like the sea here
• The sea is the world
• The angels do the sorting in both parables

The Wicked Will Always be Among Us

There will be both the wicked and the righteous until the end of the age.

• The sorting will be at the end of the age

Christians aren’t going to take over the world and convert all non-believers as some churches preach

Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

Jesus talk more about hell then he did about: heaven or love.

Wailing and gnashing of teeth

• Waling is from emotional pain
• Gnashing of teeth is from physical pain

Conclusion

There parable can be broken into two time periods:

1. A time for fishing
2. A time of separation

Fishing

The angels are responsible for the separation, so we should be focused on the fishing.

Right now is the time to fish

• We should be helping to cast the net to capture as many souls as possible

Spread The Word About Christ

Romans 10:14;17

14How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

…

17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

• People get saved by hearing the word about Jesus
• People get save by hearing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
• If you don’t plant the Seed in their heart it can’t take root and produce fruit

We need to tell people what we know.

• That is our job

Separation

Matthew 13:48

and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered [anabibazo]  the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

anabibazo = to make go up; to ascend

• It is an action in which something is being lifted up.

It paints a picture of us being raised from the dead at the final resurrection.

We will all be in that net that is drawn out of the sea to be sorted.  

• The sorters won’t ask: did you swim fast enough, or did you swim in the right stream.  
• They just want to know what type of fish you are.  
• Are you good for consumption or are you unclean?  

We were all born as unclean fish, and Jesus is the only one that can clean us.  

• You can’t swim yourself clean
• you can’t eat the right worms
• you can’t swim up the right streams to become clean.

Jesus is the only one who can clean your scales.  If you believe in Christ then you will be among the good fish.

Let’s follow the Way, let’s seek the truth, so we can live life in the Kingdom

Instructor: MIchael Leadon

References

The Parable of the Dragnet

http://www.meetingwithchrist.com/E081%20The%20parable%20of%20the%20dragnet%20-%20Mt%2013(47-50).htm

Parables of the Leaven and Parable of the Dragnet

bibletalk.tv

Matthew 13:47-50 - Parable of the Dragnet

calvary chapel laguna creek

https://youtu.be/a128A19XMFM

Extra

The Net

Old Testament Net Reference

Habakkuk 1:13-17

13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,

and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

So why do You tolerate the faithless?

Why are You silent

while the wicked swallow up

those more righteous than themselves?

14You have made men like the fish of the sea,

like sea creatures with no ruler.

15The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook;

they catch them in their dragnet,

and gather them in their fishing net;

so they are glad and rejoice.

16Therefore they sacrifice to their dragnet

and burn incense to their fishing net,

for by these things their portion is sumptuous

and their food is rich.

17Will they, therefore, empty their net

and continue to slay nations without mercy?

Sorting

I Never Knew You

Matthew 7:15-23

      15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“So then, you will know them by their fruits.

      21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

• If we study the context we see that this passage is about false prophets
• Who is a false prophet?
• Someone who says “God said…” when God didn’t say it
• Preacher, prophet, speaking in tongues,
• False prophets and those who practice lawlessness

End Times

Judgment Seat of Christ

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4192/whats-the-difference-between-the-judgment-seat-of-christ-and-the-great-white-th

The saved are present at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and the unsaved are present at the Great White Throne Judgment.  Is it possible that they take place at the same time? Yes. Both judgments are a judgment of earthly works. It could be that Paul and John just chose to focus on different aspects of the same event.

It is also possible that these judgments take place at different times. Nothing in scripture prevents them from occurring separately, and they are certainly referred to in different manners.

Ultimately, whether they take place together or not, the salient point is that both the saved and the unsaved will be judged for how they lived their lives.

Conclusion

Acts 24:14-15

14“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; 15having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

An in depth study of the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the parable of the pearl.

[Watch the Video]

Matthew 13:10-12;16

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11 Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12 "For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

...

16“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Outline:

• Parables of Matthew 13
• The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
• The Kingdom is the Treasure / Pearl
• We Are the Treasure / Pearl
• Conclusion

Scriptures:

• Matthew 13:10-12;16
• Matthew 13:44-46
• Matthew 13:11
• Philippians 3:7-9
• Matthew 10:39
• John 15:16
• 1 Peter 2:9-10
• Luke 19:9-10
• Colossians 3:3
• Romans 6:23
• John 3:16-17

Parables of Matthew 13

We discovered that the first four parables of Matthew 13 are warning us of opposition that will come against the Kingdom.  

We have looked at 4 parables about the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13

• Parable of the Sower/Soils
• Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
• Parable of the Leaven
• Parable of the Mustard Seed

Parable of the Sower/Soils

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells us about 4 types of soil:

• The Path
• Rocky Soil
• The Thorns
• Good Soil

Only one of these 4 soils is good  

• Only one of these soils produces fruit  
• In the other 3 soils the word of God is impeded and they produce no benefit to the Kingdom  

Jesus said that this parable is the key to understanding all of the parables.

We learn in this parable that:

• The Kingdom can be missed
• The enemy can prevent the seed of the Kingdom from staying in someone’s heart
• The Kingdom can be obtained and then lost
• Worrying about your earthly situation can cause you to lose the Kingdom
• Chasing after worldly success can cause you to lose the Kingdom
• The fruit of the Kingdom grows at different rates in different people

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

We learn from this parable:

• Jesus has planted Children of the Kingdom in the world
• Satan introduced evil into the world in opposition to the Kingdom
• Jesus will remove wicked people from the Kingdom at the end of the age
• Those include: false prophets, church leaders who mislead the flock, and those whose lawless deeds have not been forgiven

Parable of the Leaven

The parable speaks of a woman mixing leaven into a large batch of meal until it permeates through the entire batch.

Leaven is used in the Old and New Testament to represent:

• Sin
• Wrong teaching
• Hypocrisy
• Pride
• Malice
• False doctrine

No where in the Bible is leaven used to represent something good

We learned that these things will get introduced into the Kingdom (or church)

Parable of the Mustard Seed

This parable compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed that grows into a tree and then birds come and rest upon its branches.

This parable tells us that the Kingdom will start small.  It won’t begin by a huge uprising and an overthrow of the Roman government like the Jews were expecting.  But the Kingdom will eventually grow large.

There are multiple other biblical references that use the analogy of birds nesting in a tree.  

• The trees always represent a nation or Kingdom
• The birds nesting in the trees always represent foreign nations or kingdoms

Jesus is telling us that another Kingdom will come and nest in the Kingdom of God

• That Kingdom is the Kingdom of the World
• The Kingdom of God will become influenced by the world

Summary

All of these parables show an example of something that started out good but then got corrupted in an unexpected way.  Jesus warns us that there will be opposition mixed into the Kingdom.

Some worldly practices that we discussed that have been mixed into the church include traditions with pagan origins that got mixed in during Constantine’s time:

• The origins and dates of Easter and Christmas (4th century AD)
• Saturnalia and Ishtar
• Christmas trees, yule logs, Easter bunnies and Easter eggs
• The worship of saints and Mary

There are New Age practices currently being mixed into the church:

• The Holy Spirit is a force (versus being a “person”)
• Faith is a force that can get you whatever you want
• Kundalini Awakening

• Strong feelings of love/euphoria
• Shaking, jerking, convulsing
• Psychic / prophetic visions
• Use of repetitive mantras
• Profound transformations of spirituality
• Long emotional upheavals
• Trance like state
• Loss of consciousness
• Vegetarianism

• Psychic readings (disguised as prophecy)
• Astral Projection
• Visualization

These are all examples of leaven that has crept into the church

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Matthew 13:44-46

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Between the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl, we can notice this distinction: The Treasure is made up of units of precious things, such as coins and gems of various kinds, although they are collectively one treasure. The Pearl, however, is a single object. These two illustrations—both of which conclude at the same place, the completion of the purchase—represent different aspects of the same truths: the costliness of the Treasure or Pearl, and the joy of the Purchaser.

Overview

These parables were spoken to the disciples in private

• There was not as much of a need to keep the meaning hidden

It is clear that both of these parables are enforcing the same point

One person finds the treasure by accident; the other finds what he was seeking

• Both recognize its value and give up everything else

There are two interpretations:

1. The value of the Kingdom surpasses the sum total of all of our worldly possessions
2. God valued us (the church) so much that He gave His life to save us

Some would relate this to the predestination debate...did we find Christ or did Christ find us.

Jewish Customs

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

This parable  is also found in the Gospel of Thomas

Because of the tension with the Roman take over people would bury their treasures in the fields or in graveyards.  It was the custom that if you found the treasure in a field you could buy the field. We don’t know how big the treasure was or how long it had been buried. It was not considered sleazy or immoral for someone to find a treasure in a field and to purchase it. It was considered clever.

The setting here presupposes that someone has buried a treasure and later died. The current owner of the field is unaware of its existence. The finder, perhaps a farm labourer, is entitled to it, but is unable to conveniently extract it unless he buys the field. For a peasant, such a discovery of treasure represented the "ultimate dream."

--Craig S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Eerdmans, 1999

Parable of the Pearl

At that time a pearl was considered the most valuable substance. Therefore saying that something was a pearl was to say that it was of high value.

The Kingdom is The Treasure/Pearl

A believer who understands the priceless treasures of God’s Kingdom will gladly forfeit things of the world to receive an inheritance from God that is incorruptible and eternal.

The Kingdom is Hidden to Some

Matthew 13:11

11 Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

• This is not talking about worldly possessions

It is not obvious to everyone

The Kingdom is of Great Value

Why would he sell all that he has for this treasure?

• He concluded this treasure was more valuable than all that he currently had.

Philippians 3:7-9

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Story: people flocking to California for Gold

Both parables are telling us that when we give all of ourselves to Jesus we discover the incomparable wealth of the kingdom of heaven

In each of the parables each man sold all that he had.

• You need to sell all of your self to get all of Christ.

What You Gain

The joy of finding the kingdom is the treasure.  Finding the kingdom should fill us with great joy.

Example: People enjoy finding treasures so much that watch tv shows where other people find treasures.

• Fixer-upper
• Pawnshop
• Pimp My Ride
• Storage Unit Wars

There is great joy in finding something unexpected

What we gain is of greater value.

He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose

—Jim Elliott

What We Give Up

Ultimately this is a parable about the cost of discipleship.

The parable is telling us that we don’t just choose discipleship to the kingdom because it has inherent value we choose it because there is a joy to it. What you give up cannot even compare to what you give.

We tend to think of the kingdom as an add-on but in actuality it is all or nothing.

• Or at least it should be.

God’s kingdom is personified in Jesus Christ

• Our entry into the kingdom is dependent upon our surrender to the Lordship of Jesus
• It’s about surrendering to God’s will.

Example: when I told Kevin Ku that I had to get another job

Why Aren’t You Experiencing the Kingdom?

• Why do some people seem to be so much further along in their walk with Christ?  
• Why is it this some people seem to experience Jesus in ways that others do not?
• Could it be that they have come to a place where they view him and their friendship with him is the most important thing in their lives?
• Why do some people seem to experience God’s joy and others don’t?

Matthew 10:39 says: “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Are you willing to lose that which you cannot keep to gain there which you cannot news?

Doe this impact how you experience the Kingdom while here on earth?

What we learn:

• The Kingdom is not obvious to everyone
• It’s worth giving up that you have

We Are the Treasure / Pearl

We didn’t find Jesus; He found us.

John 15:16

 16“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

Jesus Christ our Savior found us, a special treasure in the world, and gave His all to call us out of the world and redeem us. He now owns us.

We are the Treasure

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

The field is the world in the parable of the wheat and weeds

The treasure is a symbol of the members of the church. ‘

We are the Pearl

Jesus found us

Unlike other gems, pearls are produced by a living organism, an oyster, as the result of an injury. It usually begins forming around a grain of sand or an egg of some parasite that invaded the oyster. The oyster protects itself by layering the irritant with nacre (mother-of-pearl) until, out of pain and suffering, it forms an object of great beauty.

Luke 19:9-10

 9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The merchant is seriously and deliberately searching the world to secure the best and costliest gems. It is his livelihood, and he is diligent to travel extensively because he knows his efforts will be rewarded when he finds the best and purchases them.

• Since Christ is the One who seeks the sinner, the merchant cannot represent the members of God's church.
• The Shepherd seeks the sheep, not vice versa.

Jesus Found Us and Then Hid Us

Colossians 3:3

3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Jesus found us and saved us, but then He put us back into the world

• Instead of glorifying us immediately, He hides us after we are called by physically sending us back into the world.
• The world camouflages us because we still physically look like the world, but being regenerated members of God's church, we are radically different spiritually.
• We are set apart or sanctified by God's truth, and the world does not readily notice that we have His truth in our hearts and minds.
• No longer are we hidden in the world because we conform to it, but for the opposite reason.
• We are hidden in the world with Christ, and the world recognizes neither Him nor us

We Could Not Have Purchased the Treasure/Pearl

We can’t earn salvation.  It comes from grace.

Romans 6:23

23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• This needs to be understood through the doctrine of grace
• We cannot do anything to purchase the Kingdom

The doctrine of God's grace is essential in understanding this parable. The merchant is willing to buy the pearl at an exorbitant cost. No one can buy salvation or the Kingdom of God or eternal life for himself. Grace would not be grace if one were able to barter with God.

We do not choose Christ but He selects us (John 15:16; Luke 19:10). Since He is the merchant, the price paid was His life, and the church is the pearl. The church is one body (Ephesians 4:4), composed of those He has sought out through the ages to be a habitation of Christ by His Spirit and who will be His bride at His return.

What Jesus Gave Up

John 3:16-17

16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us

• His own blood
• His life

What Jesus Gained

He was looking for pearls but in the end He sold all He had and only got a single pearl

• That pearl is you
• He would have sacrificed His life just for you

Conclusion

It is not with perishable things such as Silver Oak goes that you were redeemed

The argument of Jesus finding us is based on the truth that salvation is a free gift.  But this position erroneously equates obtaining salvation with obtaining The Kingdom of God.  

While it is true that our efforts play no part in our salvation, they do indeed play a role in whether we experience the Kingdom of God while we’re here on earth.  The Kingdom is more than something we get after we die.  The Kingdom is also about the type of life we live while here on earth.  

The parable does not speak of us giving up everything in order to gain salvation.  Finding the Kingdom is not merely finding eternal life.  The Kingdom of God means “the reign of God”.  God’s Kingdom  will be fully realized at the end of the age, but Jesus is also explaining about the ability to experience the Kingdom now.  It is about living under the reign of God while being here on earth.

Jesus told us that the Parable of the Soils was the key to understanding the other parables.  

This parable teaches us that the Kingdom can be lost because of our actions and decisions.  The parable teaches that access to the Kingdom was lost due to:

• Satan
• Not understanding the word
• The desires of the world
• Deceitfulness of riches
• Desires of other things

Yes the gospel of grace teaches that your salvation has nothing to do with your works.  But we cannot deny the fact that in Jesus’ teaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom He repeatedly speaks about your thoughts, your actions and your behavior.

Being saved is not determined by our actions. Staying saved is not determined by our actions. The fact that the man in the parable sold everything was not to gain his salvation. It was to gain the kingdom. The kingdom is not synonymous with salvation or eternal life. You can have eternal life or salvation but still not live under the reign of God. You can be saved and live for yourself.  To live under the reign of God is to value God‘s laws and his will over your own pleasure and desires. To live under the reign of God means to value God‘s kingdom more than the kingdom of the world.

In both parables the finder was filled with great joy. He gave up everything happily not because it was a requirement. Neither of these people felt a burden to get rid of all their possessions.  They did it gladly.  They understood the value of the treasure and were willing to sacrifice everything for it.

Do you obey out of joy or out of obligation? The lesson of the parable is a picture of where we want to be in life.  Our life goal should be to be so enamored by the Kingdom of God that everything else in our life  no longer has meaning.  All of our previous desires and goals pale in comparison to what the Kingdom has to offer.

This is the picture painted by the parable.  This is the state of mind you should pray for.

Instructor: Michael Leadon

References

The kingdom routes with Scott McKnight

• The parable of the treasurers and the parable of the pearl

Parable of the Pearl (Church of the Great God)

https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/library.sr/CT/BS/k/1153/Parable-of-Pearl.htm

Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Church of the Great God)

https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/BS/k/1146/Parable-Hidden-Treasure.htm

Kundalini - The False Holy Spirit in Churches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le2sFRZ021E

Extra

Possession vs Ownership

Possession is not the same thing as ownership

Think of your car title

If you find precious stones in your yard now the government has put clauses in to realty contracts that say that they own those precious substances

This man wanted to own the treasurer not just to possess it

When it comes to housing you can tell the difference between an owner and a renter

We Are the Treasure / Pearl

Exodus 19:5

5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

• Israel is a type of the New Testament church

John 6:44

44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

John 17:11

11“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.

What Jesus Gained

Hebrews 12:1-3

1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

      3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Which is Correct?

The merchant travelled the world searching for pearls.  He sold all that he had because he found a single pearl.  This does not work in the analogy with Jesus being the merchant.