Sunday, June 19, 2011

Matthew 13:47-52

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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.

There were 3 basic methods of fishing in the time of Jesus.

1. A line and a hook was used to catch one fish at a time.

2. A one-man casting net, used in shallow waters to look for a school of fish.

3. A huge dragnet stretched out over as much as a half square mile. Good fish were taken in and packed up and the bad fish were thrown away. This is the word used here.

NOTE the basic teaching here is that there will be definite judgment for every one. No one will escape it. This reminds me of Who will do all of the judging--Jesus. Jesus is the only One Who counts. He's the only One Who can judge, YET He is the One is spreading all the love around. Check out Romans 8:31-39:

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:9-11

Every knee will bow someday, better bow your knee today or you'll be forced to bow later! Jesus always leads with His love and not with condemnation, but some day even the author of Love, Jesus, will have had enough!

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. 18 ``He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18