Parable of the Net

Text and Content

The Parable of the Net appears only in the Gospel of Matthew, at 13:47-50. It is one of several kingdom parables collected in Matthew 13, following the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Tares, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Leaven, and the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl.

The parable runs as follows:

• A net cast into the sea gathers fish of every kind.
• When the net is full, the fishermen draw it to shore, sit down, gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away.

Jesus himself interprets the parable: "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49-50). He then asks his disciples whether they have understood all these things, and the section of parables closes with his saying that every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old (Matthew 13:51-52).

Background

The parable draws on fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Fishing was a common livelihood there, and several of Jesus' twelve disciples were fishermen (Matthew 4:18-22). The Greek word translated "net" in this passage, sagēnē, refers to a large dragnet spread wide to haul in fish all at once, and it is reported to occur only here in the New Testament. Because such a net gathers fish indiscriminately, it suits the meaning of the parable well.

Many commentators connect the discarding of the "bad" fish with the dietary laws of Leviticus 11:9-12, which regarded fish without fins and scales as unclean. Since the text does not state this directly, the connection is generally treated as interpretive background.

Significance in the Wider Scriptures

This parable forms a pair with the Parable of the Tares in the same chapter. Both teach that good and evil are now mixed together and will be separated at the end of the world, and both use the expressions "furnace of fire" and "wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:42, 50). The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25 is also often mentioned alongside it, since it likewise addresses the separation on the last day. In the Old Testament, Habakkuk 1:14-17 uses the image of people being gathered in a net as a symbol of judgment, while Ezekiel 47:10 uses fishermen spreading their nets as a symbol of restoration.

Interpretation and Debate

• The church as a mixed community: Augustine read the presence of good and bad fish together in the net as signifying that the church on earth contains both true and false believers. He is known to have used this interpretation to refute the Donatists, who insisted on a church composed only of the pure. Later Reformers, including John Calvin, also used the parable to explain that hypocrites may be mixed into the visible church.
• What the net represents: Some interpreters see the net as the church, while others see it as the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world. The "fish of every kind" are sometimes read as all nations.
• Relation to church discipline: Because the final separation is entrusted to the angels, some read the parable as teaching that human beings should not pronounce final judgment. Many denominations, however, hold that the parable does not rule out discipline within the church (Matthew 18:15-17). Anabaptist and believers' church traditions place greater emphasis on the purity of church membership and tend to read the parable's "mixture" as describing the condition of the world rather than of the church.
• Distinction from other passages: The catch of 153 fish in John 21 and the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5 are separate events in which nets also appear. They should not be confused with the Parable of the Net.

This parable is frequently cited in discussions of eschatological teaching on the Last Judgment and heaven and hell.