October 10, 2004
HOW TO ESCAPE FROM REALITY
Matthew 13:47-50
Is there anything about tomorrow we can be certain about? For instance, will George W. Bush be re-elected as president? Two weeks ago that almost looked certain. Now, the polls tell us that the race is a dead heat. Will the Utes go undefeated this year? It’s looking good, but we all know what can happen on “any given day.” And how about that new Jazz line-up? The play-offs are a shoo-in—unless, of course, the injury bug bites or team chemistry melts down, or Jerry Sloan decides to retire.
Is there anything about tomorrow we can be certain about? Is there any guarantee you’ll have your job a year from now? Is there any guarantee I won’t get cancer or you won’t die in an auto accident? Is there anything certain in this world? Is there anything about the future we can know for sure?
Jesus says there is. We can know how this world will end and we can know what will happen when it does. In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus tells a story that opens a window to the future. He warns us of an event that is certain to take place at the end of time. Turn with me to Matthew 13:47-50 and follow along as I read the Parable of the Net. In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus says, Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 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. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
When we look into the future, is there anything we can be certain about? Jesus not only tells us there is, He draws us a picture. The scene Jesus paints is a fishing scene. It’s a scene very familiar to His disciples because many of them were fishermen. The fishermen in Jesus’ day would often use huge dragnets to gather in their catch. The fishermen attached weights to the bottom of the net and floats on the top. This created a wall around everything that swam inside the area encircled by the net. Nothing escaped when the fishermen drew the net in. Everything got dragged onto the shore. Unfortunately, not everything captured by the net was useful. Some of the fish caught would be junk fish. Some would be too small to keep. And some of the fish couldn’t be eaten because they were unclean according to Old Testament Law. That means the fishermen had to sit down sort their catch. The bad fish had to be separated from the good fish and thrown away.
That’s the picture Jesus uses in Matthew 13:49 where Jesus says, This is how it will be at the end of the age. Did you hear that? This is how it will be… There’s absolute certainty in that statement. Jesus didn’t say, “Maybe this is what will happen at the end of the age.” He didn’t make an educated guess about what might happen when the Day of Judgment comes. No! Jesus is certain about what the end will bring. Do you know why that’s significant? Jesus is God! He’s God. That means He doesn’t just know the future, He determines it. When Jesus says, “this is how it will be at the end of the age,” bank on it—that’s how it’s going to be!
As we sit here today, I really don’t know who’s going to win the presidential election. I don’t know if the Utes are going to go undefeated. I don’t know if I’ll have a job a year from now. In fact, I don’t even know if I’ll be alive. But here’s something I do know about tomorrow. At the end of the age, the angels of heaven will come and separate the righteous from the unrighteous, believers from unbelievers, the saved from the unsaved. I know it because Jesus says it and Jesus doesn’t lie.
So let’s stop and think for a moment about the meaning of Jesus’ parable. When Jesus teaches us about the future, what are the basic facts He reveals? What are the realities of the age to come? The first future reality of which we can be sure is this—at the end of the age, we will discover that there are only two kinds of people. After Jesus tells us the story about how the fishermen separated the good fish from the bad fish he continues on in verse 49 and says, This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous.
When push comes to shove, Jesus says, “Two kinds of fish, two kinds of people.” There are good fish and there are bad fish. There are keepers and there are throw-aways. And there’s nothing in between. In the same way, there are righteous people and there are wicked people. There are believers and there are unbelievers. There are people who will be welcomed into heaven and there are people who will be cast into hell. And there’s nothing in between.
Do you know what? That’s hard to take. It’s just too simplistic for sophisticated people like us. It’s too black and white. In fact, that kind of “either/or” mentality is downright offensive. Where’s the tolerance in Jesus’ thinking? Where’s “I’m okay, you’re okay”? If Jesus is right—if every one on earth really is either wicked or righteous with nothing in-between—where does that leave all the nice people? Where does that leave people who don’t know Jesus but do give to charity? Where does that leave people who don’t trust in Christ but who do live kind and moral lives?
I want to say this with all the concern and compassion I can. This world is filled with nice people who are, in fact, kind and moral and considerate of others. But never forget this—nobody’s nice enough to be righteous in God’s eyes. Do you know why? It’s because all the niceness in the world can’t remove the stain of our sin. The nicest person on earth is still a sinner. And without Jesus even nice sinners can’t be saved.
But you say, “I don’t like labels—especially labels that put people in categories like ‘wicked’ and ‘righteous’.” This may hurt your feelings, but the truth is what we like or don’t like really doesn’t matter. We aren’t God. Jesus is. Jesus isn’t here to tell us what we want to hear. Jesus is here to tell us the truth. And Jesus says that at the end of the age God will label us. He will label you and He will label me in only one of two ways—righteous or wicked, redeemed or condemned, saved or unsaved, believer or unbeliever, disciple of Christ or rebel against Christ. There are no other categories. There is no middle ground. “Nice without Jesus” is not an option. So what will it be for you?
There’s a lot about the future we can’t know. In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus tells us something we can know. We can know that at the end of the age, there’s only going to be two kinds of people. That’s one reality. Here’s a second—at the end of the age, there’s only going to be two places to go.
We all know about heaven. We all like heaven. Heaven is real. Just a few verses earlier in Matthew 13:43 Jesus speaks of heaven when He says that the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Everyone who knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will spend eternity in heaven. Heaven is the place for all who have been forgiven of their sin and who have been made righteous in Him. But in verses 49-50, Jesus warns us that there is a second eternal destination. There is a place of judgment. There is a place called hell. Again, in Matthew 13:49-50 Jesus proclaims, This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Nobody likes to talk about hell. But Jesus makes it clear. Hell is a real place and the Bible warns us that most people are living lives that will lead them there. As unpleasant as it is, I’m going to talk about hell. But before I do I want you to know something. The only reason Jesus talked about hell is because He didn’t want anyone to go there. That’s the reason I’m going to talk about it too.
Here in verse 50, Jesus describes hell as “a fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” With these words Jesus makes it clear that hell is a place of unimaginable suffering. But more than that, hell is a place of unending suffering. Hell is a place of separation from God. No one in hell receives the gifts of God. No one in hell tastes the love of God. No one in hell is healed by God, comforted by God, or delivered from their terror by God. Hell is darkness, hell is aloneness. And here’s something that makes it even worse—hell is a place of remembrance and grief.
In Luke 16 Jesus tells a story about a beggar who dies and goes to paradise and a rich man who dies and goes to hell. Look with me at Luke 16:22-25 and listen to what Jesus says, The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
The only thing I want us to see there is this—in hell the rich man could remember his life on earth. If you end up in hell, you’re going to remember the good things God gave you here on earth. In hell, you’re going to remember all the times someone told you about Jesus and you walked away. In hell, you’re suffering will never end—and neither will your knowledge that you could have had God’s gift of heaven if you’d only been willing to receive it.
All this talk about hell! I know what you’re thinking. What about God’s love? God’s love is not in question here? God forever proved His love when He died on the cross for you. Yes, there is a hell. And God proved His love for you when He let them slam the nails through His hands and feet so you don’t have to go there.
At the end of the age Jesus says there’s only going to be two kinds of people and two places to go. Two kinds of people. Two places to go. That means right now you have one choice to make. Will you or will you not yield to Jesus Christ and put your trust in Him?
When Jesus talks about righteous people do you know who He means? The righteous people who go to heaven instead of hell aren’t the religious people. The righteous people aren’t the ones who belong to some “one true church.” Becoming righteous in God’s eyes doesn’t have anything to do with doing good works, or giving a tithe, or going to church. Being righteous in God’s eyes has to do with one thing and one thing only—what have you done with Jesus.
You see, left to ourselves, every one of us here today fall into the “wicked” category. We all rebel against God. We’re all stained by self-centeredness and sin. We prove it when we do something as simple as grab the biggest piece of cake for ourselves or look away when we see someone else in need. We prove ourselves to be wicked every time we gossip, every time we lust, every time when snap at our spouse, every time we disobey our parents, lie, steal, back-bite, and on I could go. We are all proud, self-absorbed people and going to church can’t change that. But Jesus can.
Here’s how. In Jesus Christ, God became a man. Jesus lived a perfect life here on earth. He never sinned. He was righteous in every way. Then, having no sin of His own, Jesus became sin for you and me. Jesus accepted the guilt for every sinful thought you and I have ever had. He accepted the guilt for every sinful deed you’ve ever done. Think about that. What are you ashamed of today? What burden of guilt do you carry? Whatever you’ve done, Jesus took it. Jesus died in your place. He was punished for your guilt. This Jesus who warns you of hell, suffered hell for you so you can have heaven instead.
Do we get it? Hell is real. But because of Jesus you don’t have to go there. All you have to do is repent. All you have to do is put your trust in Him. All you have to do is stop being your own god and let God be God over you.
Jesus says, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Jesus is the small gate. Jesus is the narrow road. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Hell is reality. Jesus is your escape from it. Now is the time to put your trust in Him.
