Parable of Drawing in the Net

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The Parable of Drawing in the Net is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. It is the last parable of Jesus in chapter 13. Jesus speaks of heaven, hell, and judgment:

"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." From Matthew 13:47–53,NIV

Another version of this parable appears in the Gospel of Thomas:

And he said, "The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!" (Patterson-Meyer translation)

In ancient Israel, there were 54 different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee. The good fish and the bad fish had to be separated upon drawing them from the sea. The bad fish were tossed back leaving the ones that were of value.