(Matthew 25:14-30)
“14 For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
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Picture this: A wealthy CEO of a successful company decides to travel to some distant paradise island. Before he departs, he calls a meeting with three of his managers. In the meeting, the CEO announces that while he is away, they will all be granted a specific amount of money to use as an investment into the company. In addition, they will all have access to the Creative Arts department for help bringing ideas to fruition. Two of the managers feel honored that they would be allowed such an opportunity and they enthusiastically begin their assignments. The third manager, however, fearing he is being set up for failure so that the company will have an excuse to fire him, immediately buries all the money given to him so that he can give it all back to the CEO when he returns. While the CEO is away, the Creative Arts department asks the third manager if he would like assistance accomplishing his goals, but the manager declines. Finally, when the CEO returns, the first two managers reveal that they doubled their investments. With delight, the CEO gives them praise and tells them that he is going to put them in charge of a lot. The third manager, however, returns every cent to the CEO and then accuses the CEO of trying to set him up for mismanagement. The CEO sadly explains that he was not setting anyone up for failure; in stark contrast, he was rooting for their success. Further, the CEO explains that he was away finalizing the details for the company to transfer locations to the paradise island and he was hoping to invite the managers to live and work there as partners in the company. The CEO then tells the disgruntled manager that because he can’t be trusted due to his hostility, the company wouldn’t be able to invite him to the new location, but that he also wouldn’t be able to remain at the old location because the old location will be torn down and will no longer exist. And at that, security escorts the disgruntled manager out of the building and into the darkness of the night.
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Once again we discover that this parable describes the Lord going to prepare a place for us in the Kingdom (John 14:2). Before Jesus departed by ascending up into Heaven (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9-10), He imparted to all believers both spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8; 1Corinthians 12:4-11,28) and a specific allotment of resources. The Lord quite literally entrusted everything in this world to us so that we may advance the Kingdom of GOD. Verse 15 informs us that each person receives according to his/her own ability. This detail is important. None received more or less than they could handle. If they failed in their assignments, their excuse could not be that they were overwhelmed. Failure would indicate only laziness or hatred toward the Master. The issue is not how much we have, but if we use what we’ve been given and how we use what we’ve been given.
In Exodus 4:2-7, in response to Moses’ doubts and fears about how effective he could actually be, GOD asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Ponder: Moses basically told GOD he couldn’t do what GOD was asking him to do because he didn’t have what he needed to be able to do it. But GOD essentially asked Moses, “What do you already possess? You keep bringing up excuses for the things you don’t have, but you haven’t even acknowledged what you do have. What’s in your hand?” And then GOD showed Moses that He could use even the most ordinary thing, such as a staff, to accomplish GOD’s will. And then the Lord instructed Moses to put his hand inside his cloak in order to experience a miracle. All he had to do was reach inside! And once he did, he saw that the miracle was in his hand! And that miracle came directly from the Lord!
What can you find if you reach inside yourself to discover what the Lord has already given to you? Everything you need is already within you! Everything you need according to your abilities have already been given to you by the Lord. So, what has GOD entrusted to you? GOD often delights in using the ordinary for extraordinary purposes. What are the ordinary things in your life you already have that you can use? Your voice (speaker)? A pen (writer)? Hammer (carpenter)? Shovel (construction worker)? Broom (cleaner)? Musical instrument (musician)? Computer (engineer)? Or perhaps it is your very hands (sculptor)?
In this parable of the talents, the Master gave the servants different amounts of talents. A talent was either a measure of weight or an amount of money. In other words, it was the amount of resources allotted to each person.
Various metals were weighed using talents:
Gold: (Exodus 25:39; 37:24; 1Chronicles 20:2; 2Samuel 12:30)
Silver: (Exodus 38:27; 1Kings 20:39; 2Kings 5:22)
Bronze: (Exodus 38:29)
However, a talent was also a measure of money or currency (1Kings 20:39; Matthew 18:24). A talent weighed about 75 pounds or 35 kilograms and was equivalent to 60 minas. A mina was equivalent to 50 shekels. And a shekel was equivalent to 2 bekas or 20 gerahs. The Jewish talent contained 3,000 shekels of the sanctuary (Exodus 30:13). The Hebrew term for talent was kikkār (kik-kawr’), a flat, round gold or silver disk, or circular-shaped loaf. In the Greek language, the word comes from tálanton (tal’-an-ton), a large monetary measurement equal to 6,000 drachmas or denarii, the Greek and Roman silver coins. According to scholars, a talent was worth about 15-20 years’ pay for a laborer. Thus, this was no small amount of money that the Master entrusted to the servants. The servant who received five talents literally received a lifetime of resources. And even the servant who only received one talent still received about 15-20 years of resources.
In verses 16-17, it is written that the servant who received five talents immediately started using what he had been given in order to grow and prosper, to multiply and profit. Likewise, the one who received the two talents did the same. But in verse 18, it is written that the servant who was given one talent buried what he had been given and did not use it.
It is written in verse 19 that “after a long time” the Master returned and “settled accounts with them.” This describes the second coming of Christ Jesus. Has it been a long time since the Lord has departed to go prepare a place for us? Yes. But when Jesus returns (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16), He is going to settle accounts with everyone according to their deeds (Jeremiah 17:10; 32:19; Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6; 2Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15). After all, it is written in Luke 12:48 that from everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
In verses 20-23, it is written that the two servants, who grew and prospered by using what they had been given, were congratulated and deemed faithful. Not only were they congratulated, but they received more because they had been faithful with what they had been given. And finally, they were invited to enter the joy of their Master. This represents the believers who enter the Kingdom of GOD after having their works tested with fire (1Corinthians 3:12-15) and then being judged before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15). These are the people to whom GOD will say, “Well done, good and faithful one.”
In verses 24-28, the servant who buried what he had been given was allowed an opportunity to explain himself and defend his choices. After all, if this servant was going to be judged according to his deeds, it would only be fair for the defense to speak prior to pronouncing a judgment, right? It’s quite interesting that in his defense, he acknowledged the Lord as “Master” (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:11) and also claimed to know Him. But did he truly know the Master? The servant, trying to reverse the scenario and put the Master on trial, accused the Master of being hard and unfair, saying that He reaps what He doesn’t sow, and gathers where He doesn’t scatter seed. The servant concluded his argument by stating that he was afraid of losing what he was given because he was afraid of the Master, and so he didn’t even try to use what he had been given. In other words, he buried his potential and the spiritual gifts that came with it.
Ponder: if the Master was truly unfair, would He have allowed the servant an opportunity to make a defense for himself? Would the Master have entrusted the servant with anything of value? Would the Master have given the servant the freedom to use what didn’t even belong to him? Would the Master have allowed the servants to have any freedom while He was away for a long time? If the Master was selfish or greedy as the servant claimed He was, would He have blessed the other servants with even more as a reward? Was it not the servants who received more and not the Master? In fact, isn’t it true that the Master was only gone for a long time in order to prepare a place for them out of His love for them?
It is written in 1John 4:16-19, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”
If the servant had truly known the Master, he would have known that the Master was loving and desired to see them succeed and be blessed. The Master, using the servant’s own words against him, proved that even if his words were true, he still neglected to act on that belief. For if the servant truly believed that the Master desired to reap what He didn’t sow, then he would have put the money somewhere so it could have earned interest. And so the Master became Judge and pronounced a guilty verdict: “You wicked, lazy slave.” The penalty? “Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” And so, the servant who claimed to know the Master ended up being told by the Master, “I don’t know you— depart from Me” (Matthew 7:23)!
Do you truly know the Lord? In John 14:8-15, it is written: “Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.’ ”
It is clear then, that if we truly know the Lord, then we would not fear Him. Jesus didn’t tell us that if we fear Him we must keep His commandments; rather, if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. We desire to advance the Kingdom, not out of fear of a tyrant, but out of love for our Father. We should use everything we have been given in order to advance the Kingdom. This means, of course, that we should do everything as if serving the Lord (Colossians 3:17,23; Ephesians 6:7 1Corinthians 10:31). We must not make excuses to avoid doing what the Lord has called us to do. What has GOD called us to do? In general, He called us to do the great commission! We are to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the commandments (Matthew 28:19-20). In the end, a good tree produces good fruit (Matthew 7:20; 12:33); however, the bad tree, like the fig tree that did not produce fruit, will be cursed (Matthew 21:19). And this is exactly how this parable ends: the wicked servant is deemed worthless and thrown into the outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; Luke 13:28), the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So, what are you doing with what you’ve been given? Do you know what you have been given? Were you not given life? Were you not given time? So, what are you doing with your life? What are you doing with your time? Were you given a brain? What are you doing with your thoughts? Are you thinking about good or evil? Were you given a voice to speak? What are you doing with your voice? Were you given hands? What are you doing with your hands? What are you doing with your money? Do you have a home? A vehicle? What are you doing with everything you own? Were you blessed with a husband/wife? Children? What are you doing with what you’ve been given?
The Artist J:
God is in the business of multiplying things. Right from the beginning in Genesis 1:22,28 God told Adam and Eve “Be fruitful and multiply”. God’s mission to multiply hasn’t stopped. The great commission in Matthew 28:18-20 where Jesus tells Christians to go and make disciples can basically be summed up as “Go and multiply.” Jesus has always been about multiplying. Remember the fig tree which Jesus cursed for not multiplying in fruit, or how he used the small amount of five loaves of bread and two fish and multiplied it to feed five thousand people! Every word or deed Jesus did was to multiply the kingdom of God. Even on the cross Jesus told the criminal next to him “Today you’ll be with me in paradise.” Adding one more even while directly on the cross.
Likewise, the parable of talents is about multiplying. God giving us gifts, and using those gifts for His increase. God loves to give something that is even sometimes seemingly insignificant and multiply much from it. Just like He does with our faith.
Faith is a gift from God. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and has assigned each person a measure of faith and expects us to walk in it (Romans12:3; Hebrews12:2). Just like in Jesus’s parable of talents, the more we walk in faith and do what He expects of us, the greater the increase. Also He will bestow greater responsibility to us for faithfully doing the work, which is basically just planting seeds (sharing the Gospel) and watering them (discipling, teaching). God Himself does the real work, because only God provides the growth (1Corinthians 3:6-7). The reward for faithful servitude towards God is more responsibility in the kingdom.
There are earthly examples of individuals using the faith God has given and then God rewarding them for being faithful stewards of his gift. Take Noah for example, God gave Noah instructions, he accomplished those instructions by walking in faith and in turn God saved only Noah and his family from judgment, establishing his name forever because all the world came from Noah.
Or take Abraham for example, He was given a measure of faith, he walked in faith and God made him a covenant saying “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”(Genesis 26:4).
David walked in faith and God told him “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2Samuel 7:12-13).
There’s many more examples in scripture but you see the point.
God gives us a measure of faith and he also gives us a gift of the Spirit like prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy. All of these gifts are to be used for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Making and discipling followers of Christ. Multiplying Christians. Then God will reward you in the kingdom to come, but remember this reward is for the faithful servants. Not for those who are simply seeking a reward, but for the servant who works simply to please his master, or a son or daughter doing as they’re told simply because they love their father. To honor their father. Before God can reward you for your service, you have to humbly be a servant.
The faithful servants will walk in the faith which Jesus has given them, while the unbelieving will hear the good news of Jesus and bury what they’ve been told, never walking in faith, never multiplying the kingdom. For them, all that is left is weeping and gnashing of teeth, while the faithful will hear “Well done!” and be made judges over even the angels, and will be given authority over nations. Because if we are responsible stewards with little, He will make us responsible over much.