TRANSLATION MATTHEW 13::47

“And again, the Rule of Heaven is like a dragnet thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of creatures. When it was full they drew it onto the shore, sat down and collected the good catch into buckets and threw the worthless catch away. It will be like this at the culmination of the ages. Divine messengers will come and set the corrupt apart from the just people; and will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”

“Have you understood all these matters?” They say to him,”Yes.” He said to them, “So every expert in Law who has become a pupil to the Rule of Heaven is like the master of a household, br out from his treasury both new and ancient items.”

The parable of the dragnet is often said to be similar to that of the darnel. And yes, there is similarity but also difference, in that there is little emphasis on “a time of patience” in the latter. The net does not take a long time to fill, and it is then emptied and its contents judged. Fishermen do not show any delay with their catch.,The dragnet method means that that there will always be “by-catch” which has no commercial value. The translation “rotten” misunderstands the process: there is no time for catch to rot. Worthless catch is types of sea creatures which will not sell. The explanation of the parable identifies the rejected people as corrupt or evil; the parable simply emphasises the ease and certainty of the separation.

God’s persuasive patience will rescue all that can be rescued from the tides of time, but it never cheats: that which cannot be rescued must be left to the fires of the rubbish tip. According to Matthew (and Jesus?) the process of God’s rescue is hygienic, leaving no mess behind.

Again we need to understand that the line of judgement runs through every person rather than between people. We will all have to say goodbye to aspects of our characters which are unjust. There may be people who are so completely corrupt that nothing of them can be rescued. Dante thought so: the inhabitants of his hell fundamentally want to be there. I don’t think I have ever met such a person.

The last section may be an indication of the abilities possessed by leaders in Matthew’s community of believers. The Jewish Christian holds things of value from the Torah and from Jesus. The new revelation fulfils and does not annihilate the old. The words here may be a self-portrait of Matthew. Or of Jesus.