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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
WILLMINGTON SCHOOL OF THE BIBLE
Submitted to Dr. Michael Summy
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
GBST163
Survey of the New Testament
By
Jaiden Jimenez
October 10, 2021
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Parable Paper
Parable Essay
One Parable of Jesus I see as has a great connection to me and for the believer has a specific
meaning to the church today in the 21 century is the Fishing Net parable, as I said in my
discussion. In Matthew 13, this Parable shows us the significance of being caught up by God as
good fish because he will throw us away from his kingdom if we are bad fish. In Matthew 13:47-
49," Again the kingdom of heaven is like a fishing net evil that was thrown into the water and
caught fish of every kind. When the net was complete, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat
down, and sorted good fish into crates but there the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at
the end of the world. the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous". Reading
this has importance and applying it to today because we all must have the goal of being right
with God written in the book of life. Matthew 14:50 says, " throwing the wicked into the fiery
furnace where there be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I have a question for you all: do you
want to go with Jesus Christ? I know I do. The only way to do that is to be his followers and not
followers of the world. This Parable reminded me of when Jesus said, "I will make you fish for
people'' in Matthew 4:19. Fishing for people is our duty as followers of Christ to spread our
faith(GoodNews) to people bring(fishing) them to Christ, and God will cleanse them, and if they
don't accept God; the final judgment be the lake of fire at the end of times or the end of the last
breath you take(death)of your time in the earthly life. The fishing net parable applies to my life
because I need to fish for people but work towards each day being right with God so I can be one
of those good fish fished by the angels and go with Christ in Heaven. The fishing net parable also
impacted my life because there is an eternity somewhere we are going. That can be with God in
paradise or the enemy satan in the lake of fire, which is not paradise; it's eternal suffering in the
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second death. I choose God in heaven because I remember this world is temporary and
everything in it, but many don't realize that; they think Jesus's parables and the whole word of
God is a fairytale. But we know it's not, and it is due to go out there and help the spiritually blind
see with the spirit of God that is upon us Christ-followers. Remember Christ is coming soon, so
we must take his words seriously, especially all his parables because it's key to success in our
walk with him and avoiding the bad outcomes. After all, the bad leads to a lake of fire, and
successfulness(Good) leads to eternal life. So be a good fish, and the Lord will be pleased and
say" well done my faithful servant" (Goodfish) and void "I never knew you" (Bad Fish) Matthew
25:21, Matthew 7:21-23.
In addition, throughout my walk with Jesus, my faith grew more to believe in his word because
that parable of the fishing net can be scary for those who unbelievers were not saved. It still
scares me and sometimes still does because I have some thoughts kept but am I right with God’s
eyes, not my own. We as believers should express this parable daily to each other and
unbelievers so we can have more light in our lives to see and not be blind to what the enemy tries to put
in our way. For example, we see the world as a form of government. We look at freedom like the United
states and anything with that type of stuff. Jesus’s kingdom attracts all kinds of people to live in his truth
and freedom that sets us free. Unlike the world with all sorts of people fishing, Jesus says he’s also fishing
all kinds of people in the world. But who will accept the call of him to become a Good fish? I received
that call. It was hard, but Jesus shows us the way it will be worth it. For example, it's worth it because the
world is temporary and everything in it is as it says in 2 Corinthians 4:18 “While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal.” Reading this verse goes with the parable fishing net because we
need to realize the kingdom of God is near. “The word Kingdom can just as well be translated as
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“government. So Jesus’ kingdom is the excellent kingdom we should want to be caught up in and
be with all the other good fish(christ. Webelivers), not lousy fish(unbelievers).
Furthermore, this parable, specifically meaning in the 21st-century church, is the Judgment Seat
of Christ at the end times. I say this because even though Jesus was delivering this parable
message directly to the scribes, he foreshadowed what’s to come in the final generation before
Christ comes. In Matthew 24:34, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all
these things take place.” This shows us that the generation we are living in, I believe it is the last
one, but I can be wrong. We know what’s going on today as we are near, and the parable fishing
net is telling us Christ is coming and we must be fishers of men, fish those in need, and let God
cleanse them to catch; Gods do to do the rest. Because we humans are like fish and the sea is our
“world now, it can be dangerous and dark out there, so God must catch us before it's too late for
us, but again it is we who are willing to be acquiredGod’sod’s presence. In Habakkuk 1:14:15,
“You make humanity like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all
of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he
rejoices and is glad.” See how God uses examples of fish because of their different kinds of
people, just like fish all around the world betta fish, Glo fish goldfish, white, black, Hispanic,
etc. As you see, this also refers to nations and how they conquered in verse 15,” the Chaldeans
who were very aggressive people in those days, a powerful nation that conquered the world are
described as bringing the countries into their net, somewhat like what the Lord Jesus is saying
here. And “bringing them into the net” is a picture of this mighty nation conquering other
nations, bringing them under its power and its influence.” In the Parable, when Jesus mentions
angels catching and separating, they were servants of God like us. We are here to be Good fish
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and share faith and be fishermen for God to fulfill the great commission and bring people to a
relationship with Jesus.
In Conclusion, the moral of the story is Christ is the true joy and happiness and the way to be
truly free. Because no one can give that but Jesus, that's why I pray. I hope you guys will be
touched by this parable and meditate each day because the kingdom of God is near. We think we
have a lot of time, but we don’t. The fishing net is getting full, and when that happens, time is
running out; we will be the Good fish or the Bad, lousy fish. It is our choice, so I say choose
wisely the path you want to take. Because the scripture says Mattew 24:22-24, “ In fact, unless
that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for
the sake of God’s chosen ones. Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There
he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will arise, and perform great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones”
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Bibliography
“15. The Parable of the Net.” 15. The Parable of the Net | Christian Disciples Church,
https://christiandiscipleschurch.org/content/matthew_parables_15.
Bilkes, Gerald M., and E. Kaufmann. “Christian Library.” The Parable of the Net | Christian
Library, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/parable-net.
“The Fishing Net Parable of Jesus - Matt 13:47-52 - Commentary.” The Fishing Net Parable of
Jesus - Matt 13:47-52 - Commentary, https://www.trusting-in-jesus.com/Fishing-Net-
Parable.html.
“Parable of the Fishing Net.” Messiah, https://www.messiah-of-God.com/parable-of-the-fishing-
net.html.