Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52 (Pentecost 9: Series A)

I do not think I have ever heard a sermon on the Parable of the Net. I know I have never preached one. But it is not as if the text is especially confusing. Its point is about as obvious as it gets, and it is not as if it touches on a subject matter that Scripture does not say much about. In fact, the Bible talks about this more than many of the topics I preach on every year, if not every quarter. Nor is the focus something on the fringes of our Christian faith. We confess it every week in our creed!

Maybe I just love the other parables in this pericope more. Or possibly I am turned off by the heavy word of Law Jesus lands on. Or perhaps I am too sensitive about how “fiery furnace” and “gnashing of teeth” might sound to my hearers. But these words of Jesus are for us and for our hearers still today as much as ever.

Take a look at Duccio di Buoninsegna’s painting, “Appearance on Lake Tiberias.”[1] I would like to look at and linger over three different areas of the painting to guide our reflection (and serve our proclamation).

First, consider the disciple in red, hunched over the net, and his fellow laborer to the right. They are straining and uncomfortable. “Lift with your legs, not your back!” we are tempted to shout. Such labor is not healthy or sustainable. They are focused on the fish in the net. Their heads are down. Their eyes are focused. They are intent. Perhaps they are thinking about the benefit of bringing in the haul, or maybe they are worried about the consequences if they fail. They feel the weight of the fish, the weight of the task. Perhaps they are experiencing the weight of Jesus’ call and commission: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.” “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Sometimes our efforts at faithful service and missionary zeal can become an unhealthy and unsustainable burden. We can be so focused on what we are to do, that the job or the task is all we see. We can start to see other people as projects, objects, and objectives.

Second, look over at Peter. He is standing to the left of the boat, out of the boat. See his feet. He is not floating above the water; his feet are in the water. He is with and among the fish we can make out still swimming. Jesus called Peter to be a fisher of men so more people would be caught up in God’s gracious love through Jesus. But Peter needs to remember he is also one who needs to be caught-up in the same grace. In Matthew 14, when Peter’s feet start to sink below the surface, he cries out, “Lord, save me!” because he also needs saving.

He was and we are sent to bring the message of salvation to the world. But the task of bringing the Good News is not just something we do for others. Salvation is the work of God in Christ Jesus. We need the Good News. We need the Gospel. Praise the Lord that God’s grace is ours and continues to be for us! The Gospel is not just a launching point or a prerequisite for our commissioning, as if we move on from a childish need for saving grace and then mature into the more advanced work of missions. The Church needs saving and is saved by Jesus before she ever reaches out to anyone else. We comfort others with the comfort with which we ourselves have been comforted (and by which we are still being comforted).

But the task of bringing the Good News is not just something we do for others. Salvation is the work of God in Christ Jesus. We need the Good News.

When we see Peter’s feet in the water, we are reminded that it is not “us versus them,” where we are the mighty fishermen who are sent to save the poor needy fish. We ourselves need a Savior, even while we are sent in His name.

Jesus uses the image of fishermen bringing in a haul of fish to describe the final judgment. This parable is about the Last Day. Just as the fish are separated, the good from the bad, so all humanity will be separated, the righteous from the evil. “He will come to judge the living and the dead.” The stakes could not be higher.

So, what is the difference between a good fish and a bad fish? What separates the righteous from the evil? If all have sinned, and if the wages of sin is death, who then can be saved? With man, it is impossible, but not with God. With God, all things are possible.

To move beyond the metaphor of fishing and fish, let us talk very directly about people, humanity. What separates the righteous from the evil? It is not their voting habits or their church attendance records. It is not the cleanness of their conscience or their charitable contributions.

Now, look at the right side of the painting. See the man with the dark beard. Follow his eyes, and the next person’s eyes, and the next, and the next. Follow all their eyes.

What separates the righteous from the evil? It is Jesus. The only difference between the righteous and evil is Jesus. It is not that Jesus finds sufficient righteousness in some more than others. Instead, some have received the all-sufficient righteousness of Jesus by faith, by looking to Jesus for salvation.

Furthermore, see Jesus’ hand gesturing and inviting, “Follow me. Believe in me. Trust me.” See in that same welcoming hand the hole left by the nail of His crucifixion. There, the wrath of God was satisfied. There, the penalty for our sin was paid in full. There, the bitter anguish of separation from God the Father was carried out. Judgement Day already occurred some 2,000 years ago outside of Jerusalem. The full extent of God’s Last Day wrath was poured out on Jesus, for you, and for all. Look to Jesus. Jesus is not dead and buried. He lives. He calls. He invites. He saves. Today is the day of salvation. And on the Last Day, He will save.

“On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.”

Jesus and Peter water