<p>13:47&nbsp;<em>Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net-&nbsp;</em>It&rsquo;s so easy to have a negative spirit. Are people sincere? Do they just get baptized in the hope of material help? Can we cope with so many converts? Won&rsquo;t many of them leave? What does this person really believe about doctrine? Can you believe them? Isn&rsquo;t this or that the thin end of the wedge? This isn&rsquo;t the spirit of the Lord&rsquo;s parable about the drag net fishermen (note, not fishing with a line for a special, prize catch- but concentrating on saving as many as possible, of whatever quality, Mt. 13:47). In drag net fishing, one big fishing boat drags a net which is tied to a small dinghy. God&rsquo;s fishing is thus dependent on us, the smaller boat, working with Him. Thus the harvest was plenteous during the Lord&rsquo;s ministry, but relatively few were converted due to the dearth of labourers (Mt. 9:37 implies). 1 Cor. 12:21 gives something more than a random example: the head (the Lord Jesus) cannot do without the feet (a symbol of the preacher in Rom. 10:15). In the work of witness especially, the Head is reliant on the preacher for the work He wills to be done.</p>
<p><em>That was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind-&nbsp;</em>We are being gathered to judgment&nbsp;<em>now&nbsp;</em>(Mt. 13:47; 22:10; Jn. 11:52) although we will be gathered then to meet the Lord (s.w. Mt. 3:12; 13:30). We are as fish&nbsp;<em>gathered</em>&nbsp;into the net, and yet also<em> gathered</em>&nbsp;into vessels at the judgment (Mt. 13:47,48). The gathering is both then and now; our gathering into the net, our first response to the Gospel, is a gathering unto judgment. The Hebrew idea of 'calling' very often implies a calling to give account- e.g. God calling Adam to account (Gen. 3:9), Pharaoh calling Abram to account (Gen. 12:18), and Abimelech likewise (Gen. 20:9- other examples in Gen. 26:9,10; Dt. 25:8). Our calling to the Kingdom is effectively also a calling to give account. The point is, we must act now as men and women will do so on their way to judgment and the meeting with their ultimate destiny. Then we will not be bickering amongst ourselves or worrying about our worldly advantage; then, only one thing will matter. And so now, only one thing matters. When we go to judgment, we are not to look back as did Lot's wife; and yet we are not to look back having put our hand to the plough in this life. By starting on the way of Christ, we are starting on our way to judgment. See on 13:48.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&quot;</em>Of every kind&quot; here is <em>genos</em>. Does&nbsp;<em>genos</em>&nbsp;here suggest that every genetic type of human being will have been called to the Gospel by the time the fishing is done? The word can of course refer to a nation or kindred. The suggestion is perhaps that once persons of every nation / kindred have been gathered into the net, then the night of fishing is over and the judgment (and therefore the Lord&rsquo;s return) can happen. Hence our extension of the Gospel net to every&nbsp;<em>genos</em>&nbsp;will affect the coming of the Lord. Mt. 24:14 is actually explicit about this; indeed, it is a repeated teaching of the Lord (although only implicit at times) that He will come only once we have extended the net of the Gospel to every nation.</p>