Parable of Drawing in the Net

Jan Luyken sketch of the parable of the dragnet.

The Parable of Drawing in the Net is a parable of Jesus written in the New Testament in Matthew 13:47–52. It is a parable about the final judgment. It is the seventh and last parable in the chapter which began with the Parable of the Sower.

What Jesus said

The parable:

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. Have you understood all these things? Jesus asked. Yes, they replied. He said to them, Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

— Matthew 13:47–52

What it means

It is, like The Tares and the Wheat and The Sheep and the Goats, a parable about the final judgment. Here, the edible fish must be separated from the inedible fish after they caught with a net.

Four of his disciples were fishermen and Jesus spoke using imagery they understood. Because it is a parable about the end of the age, a modern interpretation can be considered, with the net representing the Internet. Jesus's next words about old and new treasures indicated he did have in mind a future time. At that time, "true teachers of the kingdom display the kingdom's treasure for all to see."