Sunday, April 19, 2009: Good Fish, Bad Fish

Good Fish, Bad Fish
Matthew 13: 47 – 52.

I. Introduction.

Four hundred years ago, there were so many cod fish off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts that early settlers named the region “Cape Cod.” But in 1999, the cod population was so depleted that the United States government was forced to begin a series of programs to limit the number of cod that could be harvested.

Over those four hundred years, the fishing industry had changed so much that professional fishermen were known to say “the fish don’t stand a chance.”

Fishing boats became safer, faster and more capable of traveling farther out to sea. Fishing nets became larger and stronger. And, the fishing boats relied on underwater sonar to locate the fish. Indeed, the fish don’t stand a chance.

The result of all this technology is that Cape Cod has become “overfished.” This means the fishermen are catching fish faster than the fish can repopulate. In other words, there are not as many fish in the sea.

When Jesus called his first disciples, he found them fishing in the Lake of Galilee. One pair of brothers was actually in the boat, conducting their daily business of catching fish. A second pair of brothers was sitting on the lake shore repairing their nets, perhaps getting ready to begin their daily pursuit of fish. Jesus’ words to these two sets of brothers was simply, “Follow me; and I will make you fishers for people.”

I believe this is the same, simple call Jesus extends to us as well. “Follow Jesus, and become fishers for people.”

In a place like Lufkin, Texas…I wonder if we need to worry about “overfishing.” An entire industry in Cape Cod is struggling from overfishing. But, what about us? Is it possible for us to “overfish” in Lufkin and Angelina County?

There are a lot of churches in Lufkin and Angelina County. Our church is even involved with three “new” churches—helping them to get started. This fact alone should prove that we do not believe Lufkin has been “overfished.” There are still fish in the sea. There are still people who do not know Jesus as the Lord of their lives. There are still people who choose to stay at home on Sunday mornings to catch up on sleep, yard work or to do something as honorable as spend time with their families.

You have heard me say this before, but it is worth repeating… If you and I want our church to grow, we have three choices. There are three ways our church could grow and reach more people on a given Sunday morning.

1. Growth by birth. If you would just have more babies, our church will grow. Actually, it is a little more complicated than that. You have to have more babies, AND you have to bring your babies to church.

2. Growth by transfer. This is actually how many churches in the United States are growing right now. Larger churches have been the beneficiaries, while the smaller churches have suffered. The Mega Churches offer more ministries and activities for children and youth than smaller churches can afford. As a result, smaller churches have gotten smaller. Mega Churches have gotten larger, or Mega-er. The sad thing about this type of growth is the way some churches look larger, while the number of Christians has remained about the same. The churches are growing, but the Kingdom of God is not.

3. Growth by evangelism. I believe this is the type of growth described in the New Testament. This is what it means to become “fishers for people!” Jesus didn’t call us to transfer fish from one aquarium to another. Jesus didn’t call us to grow our churches by having more babies than the rest of the world. Jesus called us to throw our nets out into the sea and bring in fish who have never seen the inside of an aquarium.

Jesus called us to “go fishing.” But, please don’t misunderstand me on this point. Yes. I want you to have more babies. There is nothing wrong with having babies and rearing your children in the church. We just do not need to rely on our birthrates to grow our church.

And, Yes. We do accept people who are moving their church membership from one church to another. We have a dynamic youth ministry that many people may want their kids to be a part of. We are developing a children’s ministry right now by searching for a fulltime children’s minister. The committee has been reviewing résumés and is ready to begin interviewing prospective candidates. I met with one of our young married adult Sunday school departments two weeks ago to tell them how much I need them to invest in the children’s ministry—for the future of our church.

And, as far as evangelism goes… We have made some progress. I am not ready to say we are the best in Texas. But we are doing more evangelism now than we did three years ago. We have held two Matthew Parties and had professions of faith, baptisms and new members as a result of both parties. On Easter Sunday, New Beginnings Baptist Church held their first worship service in the location on Pershing Avenue. In that service, they had 134 people present—they have been averaging 40 in our chapel. They also baptized seven new believers, including one man who was baptized with his wife and child. At the end of the service, they had three people join by transfer of membership.

What would it take for us to experience the same kinds of results at First Baptist Church? A short answer…Go Fishing.


Read Matthew 13: 47 – 52.

One characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew is the way it shows Jesus doing a lot of talking. If you have a “red letter” Bible, you will probably find more red letter in Matthew than in any of the other Gospels. That is because the words of Jesus are in red. Matthew shows us Jesus as a teacher. Not just any kind of teacher…Jesus was a teacher with authority. People listened to Jesus when he taught them.

In this section of Matthew, we find Jesus teaching through the use of parables. There are many different ways we can define the term parable. Sometimes a parable is a story, but not always. At other times, a parable is a comparison. We find one of each kind of parable in Matthew 13: 47 – 52. In fact, I would suggest that we just read two parables—one about a net, another about an owner of a house.

II. The Parable of the Net.

Notice the way Jesus began the Parable of the Net. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net…”

More than likely, the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” means exactly the same thing as the “Kingdom of God.” Matthew is the only Gospel writer who does not use the phrase “Kingdom of God.” Perhaps this indicates that Matthew was writing to a primarily Jewish audience and was using Jewish terminology. Good Jews would not use the word “God” out of fear of violating the third commandment—Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.

If this is true, then Matthew is talking about the realm in which God is the King, whether that realm is in Heaven or on earth. That would be consistent with the other Gospels’ usage of the “Kingdom of God.” On one hand, God is the King of Heaven. On the other hand, God is the King on earth in the hearts and lives of the individuals who name Jesus as their Lord.

The Kingdom of God—both in Heaven and on earth—is like a net. But, how is it like a net?

The type of net Jesus describes here was a common way of fishing in the First Century world. The net was shaped like a cylinder and was open on the top and bottom. The top of the net had some kind of floatation device to keep it from sinking. The bottom of the net had weights to allow it to sink as close to the bottom of the lake as possible.

As the bottom of the net sank to the floor of the lake, all kinds of fish were trapped inside. The fishermen would then draw the top and the bottom of the net closed, then haul it back into the boat.

There is at least one place in the Bible where we see the disciples using this kind of net. It is the story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples after the resurrection in John 21. The disciples had fished all night long, with no luck. As the sun was rising, Jesus appeared on the shore line. He commanded them to cast their net out the opposite side of the boat. They did as he said and caught 153 fish!

This catch was so large that it nearly sank their boat. The net was so full of fish that the disciples couldn’t even pick it up to put it in the boat. They had to tow the net behind the boat.

On a typical day in the First Century, anyone walking along the lake shore would see fishermen with nets spread out on the banks going through the fish. Some of the fish were “keepers,” but most of the fish were trash. They had to be thrown back into the lake. Perhaps the fish were too small. Perhaps they weren’t the right kind of fish. Either way, the net would bring in both good fish and bad fish. The net was indiscriminate.

Again, notice that Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a net.” He didn’t say, “The Kingdom of God is like a bunch of fishermen sorting out their fish on the banks of the lake.”

This is the mistake we Christians make when we “go fishing” for people. We usually look for the good people and try to witness to them or to invite them to church. Jesus doesn’t tell us to discriminate. Jesus tells us to be like a net that catches all kinds of fish. In fact, Jesus used a very curious word to describe the fish in verse 47.

“The Kingdom of God is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all RACES of fish.”

If Matthew did write his Gospel to a primarily Jewish audience, this is significant. The Jewish people believed there were only two types of people in the world: Jews and Gentiles. Jesus said, “The Kingdom is not just for the Jews. It is for Jews AND Gentiles.”

Jesus is teaching us the same thing today. The Kingdom of God is not just for the white people. It is for Red and Yellow, Black and White. The Kingdom of God is not just for American citizens. It is for Americans, Mexicans, Scandinavians, Ethiopians, Kenyans and even for the illegal aliens living in Texas. The Kingdom of God is not just for the middle to upper class. It is for the kid at school with no lunch money, the man working at the factory, the woman waiting on tables, the family evicted from their home, the businessman, the CEO, the doctors and lawyers. The Kingdom of God is like a net, because it knows no boundaries.

If you want to do the work of the Kingdom of God, then be like a net that does not discriminate or sort good fish from bad fish. Jesus said there will be an appropriate time and place for sorting the good and the bad. But that is not our job.

Sorting is God’s job, and God will do the sorting at the final judgment.
Judgment is real. But, it’s not our job. Heaven and Hell are real. But, we don’t determine which people go to Heaven or Hell. Our job is to catch the fish and leave the rest to God in the final judgment.

III. The Parable of the Homeowner.

After telling the parable to his disciples, Jesus asked them if they understood. For once in their lives, they did understand. But, with understanding comes responsibility.

Notice Jesus’ words in verse 52…

“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

When I first started studying this Scripture, I was expecting Jesus to finish the parable by describing the way the homeowner sorted out the new and the old. I was expecting Jesus to tell his disciples to throw away all the old stuff and keep the new stuff. But, Jesus made no mention of sorting. The old is still good. The new is also good.

The key to understanding this parable is a word that doesn’t show up in our English translations. Literally, Jesus said, “Every scribe who has been DISCIPLED about the Kingdom of God is like the owner of a house.”

Usually when we use the word “disciple,” we are talking about the students of Jesus. The men (and later women) who lived life with Jesus, witnessed his miracles and learned about the kind of life Jesus came to give us. If we think in these terms, then it seems that Jesus is telling us that all disciples ought to combine the old and the new as we do the work of scribes. The scribes were teachers.

IV. Conclusion.

The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting good fish from bad fish. The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting the old and the new. The Kingdom of God is about catching all kinds of fish, instructing them in all the traditions (old and new), then allowing God to do the work of sorting.


"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." -Charles Spurgeon.