Matthew 13:47-52 has two final metaphors for the kingdom of God.
This time, Jesus moved from agricultural analogies to one from fishing. This would be familiar territory for some of the disciples since some of them were fishermen.
The net was cast out into the water and many fish were caught. But the bad fish were thrown away while others were put into crates for eventual sale in the marketplace. The key to the metaphor once again is the separation of good and evil at the end of the world.
ed. note - I'm taking some liberties in retelling the story in my own words. Be sure to read it for yourself!
Jesus used the same language in vv. 49-51 as He did in vv. 40-43 when He described the wheat and the weeds being separated out.
Jesus finished the teaching with the metaphor of the storehouse. The kingdom people are like the merchant who brings out both old and new things from the storehouse to sell to the people. Since there will be a separation of good and evil, people need to be told. The message has familiar (old) elements and new elements that Jesus introduces. This final analogy brings home the point to his followers: you have to tell people what I'm telling you because there are consequences to what people believe.
This aspect of Christianity rankles people. This notion of "particularism" strikes people as narrow minded.
But in life, there are many times we accept "particularism." If the car battery is dead there is no other choice but to buy a new car battery. If the heart has stopped there is no choice but to administer an electrical shock in the hopes of restarting it. Is it possible that this would be true as well in our beliefs about god and life?
The other day I came across this web page. In the introduction, he asked, do all roads lead to god?
He provided three possible answers (I'm paraphrasing what he wrote):
(1) Yes, all roads lead to god so if you pick one while someone else picks another, we all wind up in the same place; thus, there is no harm in just picking one road.
(2) No, if indeed one road is correct and the other ones are incorrect then it is pretty important to try your best to pick the right road.
(3) It is pointless since there is no god.
Dennis Prager who is Jewish has mentioned on his radio program that sometimes he is asked, how do you feel when people of other religions tell you that you are going to hell?
Prager responded, it is your right to believe that but it isn't your right to send me there early.
I grew up listening to Prager when he used to do a radio show on Sunday night called, "Religion on the Line." The format of the show had him pose a discussion topic to his in studio guests: a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister. There was often disagreement but it was always civil.
One of Prager's favorite slogans is, if we can't have agreement then let's at least have clarity.
Indeed, in religion, we aren't always going to agree but let's at least be honest and have clarity and acknowledge there are differences between the religions.
In Christianity, there comes a point in time where there is a separation of good and evil. Until then, Christians are to follow the example of Jesus in living rightly, helping the needy and proclaiming the hope that is in the Cross that restores fallen humanity to a loving God.
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