Sometimes it is worthwhile to evaluate if Jesus is teaching a parable as part of a series of parables on a particular subject. A good example of this is a sequence of parables in Matthew 13 when Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of God with: the Parable of the Sower, Parable of Weeds, Parables of the Mustard Seed and Yeast, Parable of the Hidden Treasure and Costly Pearl, and Parable of the Dragnet. As you study each parable, discover what Jesus is saying and whether there is a significance in the order of His presentation.

Matthew 13:47-51, LSB
47) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48) 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. 49) So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50) and will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51) "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes."

1. Do you see the simile found in the first half of the Parable of the Dragnet (Matt 13:47-48)? What is being compared?

2. During the first century, fishing involved using dragnets which were larger than typical fishing nets. Floats made of wood or papyrus bundles and sinkers comprised of rocks were employed to keep the head of the net at the surface while its foot was dragged along the lake's bottom. One method was to anchor one end of the net on shore, and the boat takes the other end and makes a semicircle back to shore. Another method has the dragnet cast and drawn into the boat or dragged behind the boat to the shore. What is Jesus' interpretation of the Parable of the Dragnet?

3. Who hears Jesus' interpretation of this parable? What is being emphasized? Fill out the row on the Parable of the Dragnet