44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;
48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.
49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,
50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
51 "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."
52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
The treasure and the pearl indicate the inestimable value of the kingdom and hence it should be zealously pursued to the point of renouncing everything one possesses in order to acquire it. The joy of the kingdom brings to the discoverer is beyond earthly happiness. The dragnet implies that God's kingdom comprises of all kind of people: the good, the bad and the ugly; and the best way to deal with the mixed response to God's words is patient tolerance until the day of final judgment.
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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community