Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 13:47

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:" — Matthew 13:47 (ASV)

Thematically and structurally, this parable is parallel to the parable of the weeds. But whereas the parable of the weeds focuses on the long period of the reign of God during which weeds coexist with wheat and the enemy has large powers, this parable simply describes the situation that exists when the Last Judgment takes place: the kingdom embraces “good” fish and “bad” fish, and only the final sweep of the net sorts them out.