Wednesday 1 Jul 2020

July 1: Matthew 13:47-50

Key Verse: Matthew 13:48
When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

Devotion:
I wonder what the people thought of Jesus when He compared them to various things, from animals to plants and more! I’m sure there were quite a few people who could not quite get their heads round what Jesus was saying at times – but each time this happened, He would sense it and offer some sort of explanation if it was required. I think the disciples got this one quite quickly because many were from a fishing background and understood what happens to the catch when it is sorted…

This may sound a bit harsh to us nowadays because we are so insulated from the reality of where food comes from and what is required to deliver that food from the source to our plates, or freezers! Jesus wanted them to understand the gravity and finality of what was going to happen, so He used their own lives to describe it.

When the gospel message goes out to the world, it does not get selected for the few who know Jesus at the time, it goes out to everyone who is near at the time. Some of those people are not going to want to hear it whilst others don’t know they need to hear it. The net goes down and scoops up everyone who is there at the time. But not everyone is going to be selected from that net load because some will still not believe and some will still not want to know.

When it is time for the net to get drawn in, when it is time for Jesus to come back to take us home, there are going to be people who are caught up in the net but do not believe or do not understand. Jesus has the task of sorting out the fish on that final day and He will go about His task with due diligence, without bending the rules and without making exceptions just because we kick off a bit!

Points to Ponder:
Have you told the people near you about Jesus?

Do they know it will be time soon for Him to return?