Casting Our Net Series

This evening we will be looking at “The Parable of the Dragnet.” What in the world is a dragnet? William Barclay says, “The dragnet is what we know as the seine net, a large net which has corks at the top and weights at the bottom so that it stands, as it were, upright in the sea. Ropes attached to its four corners draw it through the sea, and as it is drawn it forms a cone-shaped cavity into which are swept all kinds of creatures.”(1)

Tonight we will discover how the dragnet is symbolic of the kingdom of heaven. We will learn that just as the dragnet sweeps in all kinds of creatures, the kingdom will contain all kinds of people; meaning that God isn’t picky about who enters into heaven, so long as they confess Jesus as Lord and are committed to living for Him. We will also be viewing a passage from John chapter 21, in order to see the importance of trusting Jesus and walking in obedience to His instruction when casting our net and fishing for souls.

Where Are We Casting? (v. 47)

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind.

We see from this verse, that in the work of the kingdom we need to be “gathering some of every kind.” Frank Stagg says of this parable that “one cannot select his fish but must expect a mixed catch, [and] so the ‘fishers of men’ must be prepared to cast their nets widely over the whole field of human society; the mission of Jesus involving an undiscriminating appeal to men of every class and type.”(2) In other words, believers and churches should be searching for lost souls wherever they can be found, and not be specifically targeting people of one race, nationality, region, or income level.

If you observe churches today, both contemporary and traditional, you will see they have a tendency to target particular groups of people. Contemporary churches will target those who are less than forty-five years of age, because they believe that young people have more energy to serve, and this is the age range in which you find families with children and youth. Traditional churches will target those above forty-five years of age, because these individuals are seen as less prone to suggest change, and they often have more money to contribute to the financial support of the church.

Jesus calls us to witness to everyone in every place. In Mark’s version of the Great Commission, we read where Jesus declared, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 15:16), and then in Matthew’s version we read, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). In the Greek, the word nations is ethne, which is where we get our word “ethnic,” which pertains to a people group “sharing common and distinctive culture, religion and language.”(3) When we refuse to reach those of a different race, nationality, region or income level, then we are being disobedient to the Great Commission.

Why is it that we tend to pour ourselves into one specific area or type of ministry? It could be because we doubt that God will empower us to work in other areas with which we are unfamiliar. When we are ministering and serving in the kingdom, we should ask ourselves where we are casting our net and why we are casting it there. Turn with me in your Bible to John chapter 21, verses 3-6, and we will discover what Jesus has to say about where and how to cast our net:

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

We read here that Simon Peter and some other disciples got into a boat and headed out on the sea to go fishing. In Matthew chapter 4, verses 18-19, we read how Jesus referred to Peter as a fisherman of men. Listen as I read these verses: “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’.” This fishing trip that Peter and the disciples embarked upon was actually symbolic of them being fishermen of men.