Parables of the Kingdom

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (NASB) Matt. 10:37

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (NASB) Mark 8:34

This is the message of these parables. Anyone who desires to be in the kingdom of God must be willing to sacrifice everything for Him. Only then can one enter the kingdom of God.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. (NASB) Matt. 13:47-48

In ancient times the dragnet, or SAGENE in the Greek, was a very large, weighted net that was dragged along the bottom of a lake and then pulled together in a semicircle. Eventually the net would be pulled together and brought onto the beach. Then the undesirable fish would be removed and the good ones kept. The first part of this parable states the obvious. Then He added this,

So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (NASB) Matt. 13:49-50

In the same way, just as fishermen remove the bad fish, the angels will remove the wicked souls and keep the righteous ones. The wicked will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous will have eternal life with God. Since Jesus said this place exits, and since He described it the way He did, then it must be real and miserable. Jesus’ description of eternal punishment does not sound like a place I want to visit, let alone live in the rest of my life.

“Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” (NASB) Matt. 13:51

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. (NASB) Matt. 13:52-53

They had old treasures and now new ones. They were to bring them out for the guests and share them. Then Jesus left the crowds and departed.

Conclusion. The parables of the kingdom paint a great picture. They reveal that the kingdom of God is growing and expanding in the hearts of men and women. Some will listen and respond, willingly sacrificing themselves to gain spiritual life. A man or woman cannot come to God, believe in Jesus Christ, and then continue living as always. One who comes to Jesus will be willing to give up everything that he or she has. This is the test of true faith. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, his or her sins are forgiven; but the sign or the characteristic of true faith is a willingness to sacrifice oneself for God. Does this sound like you? Are you a disciple of the kingdom of God?

The kingdom is moving from nation to nation and around the world. Now it is only a spiritual kingdom. But some day it will exist everywhere when Jesus establishes His earthly kingdom for 1,000 years. Then He will be Lord of lords and King of kings and every person will submit. People will have the opportunity to respond to God and believe in Jesus Christ during that time. At the end of the kingdom, the wicked of all the ages will be sent to the Lake of Fire for eternity. However, the righteous will enter God’s eternal heaven and live with Him forever.