From Matthew 13:47-50 / Jesus’ last kingdom parable here (#7) treats the mystery of the GOSPEL itself, or of CONSUMMATION.

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

Note first as a hint to preachers – as with each of these parables, the great subject of them is the Kingdom of Heaven.

While we might be inclined to preach each of these separately, and indeed, they do lend themselves to individual exposition – frequent allusion must be made to the fact they form a composite. If we do not do this, we lose what is really going on. We do not want to overlook how the 7 parables together paint a picture that will frame encouragement and direction in the days to come when the advance and the glory of the Kingdom’s fullness seems remote or even lost.

Jesus knows full well that His current disciples and we who follow in later generations, will be tempted to read the Church through the lens of the culture, the newspaper and current events. Here, He is providing for us a lens through which to interpret the mission, state and work of the Church irrespective of any outside environment.

These are divine constants. Whether the Church at large seems healthy or weak, attacked or at ease, prosperous and influential or marginalized and ignored – these 7 principles will remain true. Fearful and weary Christians and ministers need not faint. His appointed consummation will come.

Note second, that like the parable of the wheat and the tares, we must face the reality we will not have a perfectly pure Church now. That blessed state remains to be ours “at the end of the age” – not in the midst of it.

Many a Church leader has tried to ignore this truth, turning to political or even military power, witch-hunting and harsh and arbitrary degrees of separation – only to fail over and over again at the expense of the Gospel. Wasting time, energy and lives in their quest to accomplish what Christ Himself told us would not be.

We, do not produce, usher in or create The Kingdom. Christ builds His Church. We co-labor with Him in our assigned times and places. But the consummation is in His hands, not ours. How woefully self-important we can make ourselves and our ministries when we lose sight of this.

Note 3rd, what we know from Jesus’ own teaching in other places. (Matt. 24:14)

The net of the Gospel is cast into the sea of humanity, and all sorts are gathered in indiscriminately. However, we need not fear. The day of sorting will come. There will be a separating of the goats and the sheep. The call of the Gospel is to go out to everyone, everywhere. Providence will certainly dictate some parameters. But that is God’s business, not ours.

Our ambassadorship is not to a few, but to the world. We are His representatives pleading as if the very voice of God were pleading through us “be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Or, as we see in Luke 12:58 – all men are on their way to judgment. And each needs to reconcile with his adversary now, on the way, lest our guilt and lack of repentance find us in “the prison.” There, there is no forgiveness. Every last cent due, will be extracted. We must tell them while there is time. We may cast the net without concern for what fish will be gathered in it – as the responsibility for the sorting is given to others. Let us discharge our great call, and leave the work assigned to others to them. It is enough for us to be about this work. May His Spirit be pleased to gather in more than we ever imagined.

No, this does not negate the need for sound Church discipline nor for requiring sound professions of faith for membership in the local Church. But it does recognize that the Gospel net draws many, good and bad.

They come for different reasons. Curiosity. Community. Seeking position or power. Wanting the thrill of the supernatural. Comfort from life’s harshness. To feel special. To fill some natural void. Because Christians are a nice group to be among. For means to earthly gain. And some, the blessed some, who come because of the reality of their sinfulness and the reconciliation they need to God the Father through faith in shed blood of Jesus Christ. At the end of the age, the angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous. The false will be exposed. Justice will still be done.

Christ’s Kingdom, in all of its purity and glory WILL come.

Be faithful servant of God – He knows what He’s about.