Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. 48 When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
51“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” 53 When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
Jesus concludes His great discourse on the Kingdom with a parable that evokes both invitation and warning. The image of the net cast into the sea gathering fish “of every kind” reflects the Church’s mission in the world—universal, inclusive, and far-reaching. But the image also includes an inevitable moment of separation. Just as fishermen distinguish between what is good and what must be discarded, so too, Jesus says, will the angels separate the righteous from the wicked at the end of the age.
The parable mirrors the earlier teaching on the weeds and the wheat (Mt 13:24–30) and reinforces a core truth of salvation history: God’s mercy is real and universal, but His justice is final and unerring. The dragnet, as noted in the Paulist Biblical Commentary, suggests the inclusive scope of the Gospel message—gathering people of every background, nation, and condition into the reach of the Church. But it reminds us that being near the things of God—hearing the Word, attending church, belonging to a Christian community—is not the same as being transformed by the grace of God. Entrance into the Kingdom requires more than proximity; it requires conversion of heart, repentance, and the humble surrender to God's will.
This parable echoes Old Testament imagery, particularly Ezekiel 47:10, where fish from every kind gather in the life-giving waters flowing from the temple—symbolizing the future abundance of God's grace. But the image of final separation also reflects Daniel 12:2, where “many who sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame.” The furnace imagery, too, draws on prophetic visions of judgment, such as Malachi 3:18 and Isaiah 66:24.
Jesus’ question—“Do you understand all these things?”—invites not just intellectual agreement but readiness to respond with one’s life. And with His final words, He shifts from the parable to a deeper responsibility: “Every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household…” Here, Jesus commends those who understand both the “new” teachings He brings and the “old” promises of the Law and the Prophets. He is not replacing the Old Covenant but fulfilling it (cf. Mt 5:17). The disciples are now to become stewards of this integrated truth, drawing wisdom from both Scripture and Christ’s revelation.
As the Navarre Bible notes, this concluding image is a call to apostolic responsibility: the disciples, like scribes of a new order, are now charged with transmitting the fullness of divine revelation contained in the Old and New Testaments, now brought to light through the life and teaching of Christ. These first followers of Jesus were not to discard the Law and the Prophets, but to interpret them in light of the One who fulfills them (cf. Mt 5:17). Their task—now passed to the Church—is to bring forth the treasures of both the old and the new, offering the wisdom of salvation history with clarity, faithfulness, and zeal. In this way, the Kingdom continues to grow—not by novelty or reinvention, but by the Spirit-guided unfolding of what God has always intended from the beginning.
The parables, the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel all speak with one voice when read in the light of Christ. Divine revelation reached its fullness in Jesus, and there is no new revelation to come. What remains is not a new message, but a lifelong unfolding of what has already been revealed. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church—and each believer—is called to grow in understanding, not by inventing new truths, but by drawing more deeply from the inexhaustible richness of God’s Word.
The Kingdom of God, then, is not only a place of welcome but a call to readiness. The net is still being cast, but when it is full, the moment of decision will come.
Lord of the harvest and Judge of all hearts, cast Your net wide and gather us into Your mercy. Open our eyes to see Your truth in both the old and the new, and give us the grace to live as children of the Kingdom. May we not merely be caught, but converted. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Navarre Bible: Matthew, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§1038–1041, 546.
- Ezek. 47:10; Dan. 12:2; Mal. 3:18; Is. 66:24; Mt 5:17; Mt 13:24–30.
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