2177 The Parable of the Fishing Net
2177 The Parable of the Fishing Net  
Podcast: BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women
Published On: Wed Aug 12 2026
Description: Matthew 13: 47-51, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. that is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you understand all these things?” So, Jesus is saying in the end there will only be 2 categories of people and they will be separated out by the angels. There will be the wicked and the righteous. The wicked’s fate is the fiery furnace of misery. The righteous will be kept and carried off. We know from earlier parables in this chapter that the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. So, it’s clear who we don’t want to be – we don’t want to be the wicked. And it’s clear who we do want to be – we want to be the righteous. Now, how can we be sure because this is eternity we’re talking about. There will be no undoing this. After sharing this story, Jesus says, “Do you understand all these things?” No – I honestly don’t at this point, Jesus, help me understand. Explain this to us. He wants us to understand this, so let’s dig deeper here for understanding. When I’m trying to understand scripture, I do a few things: 1. I look at different translations for clearer wording. 2. I look up the original Greek or Hebrew words and their definitions. 3. I read commentary to get additional understanding. Looking at other translations of this parable, they all say it in the same words – there are the good and the bad – the righteous and the wicked, and in the end they are getting separated. Until then, they will be in the same waters living together. God doesn’t separate us now, but the day will come when he does. Now, let’s look at the original text. These spoken words of Jesus were recorded by the disciple Matthew after he personally heard them. The language was Greek. In Greek, the two groups people will be separated into are the ponēros and the dikaious. The ponēros are the wicked ones. The word means evil, bad, harmful, morally corrupt. It describes one who is not only bad in character, but produces bad effects. This isn’t the person who messes up in their life and fails – this is the person who is truly bad. This isn’t about just doing bad things – this is about BEING bad. It’s a moral corruption from within. It’s a genuinely rotten, poisonous fruit. Religion has warped this word to make us think we’re going to Hell if we sin. Well, here’s the really bad news about that teaching – WE ALL SIN. Every single one of us. There has only been one without sin and that was Jesus. The rest of us aren’t good enough – but that doesn’t mean we are wicked. This word ponēros is used when Jesus teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6. Verse 13, “deliver us from the evil one.” That’s the ponēros one. Satan. So his people, his followers, his devoted workers are the ones who Jesus tells us are wicked. They are the ones who will meet the fate of the fiery furnace. These are NOT the ones who have made wrong choices and wandered off the path occasionally. These are the ones who are inherently evil. —— Then there are the dikaious. Here’s what that word means – those who are in right standing with God. Here’s what that word doesn’t necessarily mean – a good person. We try to make this all about us, about our acts, our deeds, and our track record. And if we do, we always fall short. We simply are not righteous. No matter how good you are, it hasn’t made you right with God. There is one thing and one thing only that has made you right with God – that’s the man on the middle cross. Jesus gives us right standing with a Holy and perfect God. JUST JESUS. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be MADE RIGHT WITH GOD through Christ.” This is how we are the diakious – the righteous – the ones who will get to shine bright in the Kingdom of God forever! Jesus did that for us. Romans 5:17, “God’s wonderful grace and his GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Righteousness is a gift of God’s grace. No, we don’t deserve it, but he gives it to us anyway. You can stop thinking you have to make yourself good enough and receive the grace that completely covers you. Romans 3:22, “We are made RIGHT WITH GOD by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. yet God, in his grace, freely makes US RIGHT in his sight. People are made RIGHT WITH GOD when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.” It just couldn’t be any clearer than that. We are made right with God through one thing and one thing alone – BELIEVING IN JESUS! And no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve come from or how wrong you’ve been, this is true for YOU. YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS THROUGH JESUS. So my friend, your destiny is sealed. If you believe in Jesus, you are in the diakious, the righteous, the ones in right standing with God. And your future is secure in Jesus – you get to shine in God’s Kingdom forever! So let’s go back to Jesus’ question: “Do you understand all these things?” I think I finally understand what He’s trying to show us. One day, the net is going to come ashore. One day, there will be a separation. One day, this life will be over, and eternity will begin. And on that day, the question won’t be, “Were you perfect?” Because none of us were. It won’t be, “Did you make good choices every day?” Because none of us did. It won’t even be, “Were you good enough?” Because none of us are. The question is: What did you do with Jesus? Because there are only two categories in the end: the wicked and the righteous. And here’s the incredible news for every person who has put their faith in Jesus: Jesus makes you righteous. Not your performance. Not your religious résumé. Not how many Bible verses you know. Not how many times you’ve gotten it right. Jesus. The man on the middle cross took what belonged to you so that you could receive what belonged to Him. He took your sin. He gave you His righteousness. He took your shame. He gave you His grace. He took your condemnation. He gave you right standing with God. So stop trying to earn what Jesus already died to give you. You don’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering, “Am I good enough?” You aren’t. Jesus is. And that’s the whole point. The Gospel isn’t that you finally became good enough for God. The Gospel is that Jesus was good enough for you. So when the net comes ashore, I don’t want to be standing there hoping my good outweighs my bad. I want to be standing there covered by Jesus. I want to be found in Christ. I want His righteousness to be my righteousness. And then—because I have received His life—I want that life to change the way I live here and now. Because this isn’t just about where we go when we die. It’s about who we become while we’re alive. If Jesus has truly gotten into your life, He should eventually begin getting into everything. Your thoughts. Your words. Your relationships. Your decisions. Your money. Your marriage. Your work. Your habits. Your reactions. Your dreams. Your disappointments. Everything. He becomes the center. And when Jesus becomes the center, He begins changing what your life produces. So don’t spend your life trying to prove you’re good enough. Receive the righteousness Jesus freely gives you. And then spend the rest of your life letting Him transform you from the inside out. Because someday the net will come ashore. And when that day comes, I want to hear Jesus say: “You are Mine.” And I want to shine like the sun in my Father’s Kingdom. Not because I was good enough. Because Jesus was. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com