Scriptures
Matthew 25:13-30
2 Timothy 3:1-7
Luke 19:12-27
Matthew 13:10-17
Over the past few months, our Bible studies have focused on the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives and how each of them is rooted in the unconditional love of God.
As we study and learn more about our Lord’s way, we must remember that learning it is not enough. Understanding it is not enough. Even believing it is not enough. We must apply the truths that we learn to our lives. A prerequisite to getting any additional understanding or knowledge from the Lord is the application of the truths He’s already revealed to us.
Matthew 25:13-30
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Mat 25:14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. Mat 25:15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Mat 25:16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. Mat 25:17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. Mat 25:18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Mat 25:19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Mat 25:20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ Mat 25:21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Mat 25:22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ Mat 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Mat 25:24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, Mat 25:25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ Mat 25:26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Mat 25:27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. Mat 25:28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. Mat 25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Mat 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This scripture is often used to encourage Christians to use their skills (talents) for the benefit of God’s Kingdom. That’s not necessarily an incorrect view – but I think it is incomplete. This passage has prophetic overtones that we can’t fully explore right now, except to point out that Jesus is exposing some kind of inadequacy at work in the Kingdom.
2 Timothy 3:1-7
2Ti 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2Ti 3:2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 2Ti 3:3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 2Ti 3:4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 2Ti 3:5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2Ti 3:6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 2Ti 3:7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
The part of this that we all remember is verse 5. But we’re given quite a description of these type of people – they do appear “Godly”, but the description that we are focusing in on is in verse 7.
We can read a similar story of the “Talents” story Luke that reveals a little more of the prophetic overtones that Jesus is speaking with.
Luke 19:12-27
Luk 19:12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Luk 19:13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ Luk 19:15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. Luk 19:16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ Luk 19:17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ Luk 19:18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ Luk 19:19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Luk 19:20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; Luk 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ Luk 19:22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Luk 19:23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ Luk 19:24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ Luk 19:25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ Luk 19:26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Luk 19:27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Verse 14 and 27 are very similar to other passages we’ve read about the millennial reign of Jesus as described in Isaiah. Notice that the rewards are different in this story also: the faithful are ruling over cities rather than receiving additional “talents”. This fits in to our discussions about God making us into a Royal Priesthood (to rule with Jesus and to be an ambassador for the goodness of God) and the sermon on the Mount (the Manifesto of our King) where He reveals that the meek will inherit the Earth.
We still have the repetition of the idea in verse 26 that says: “To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he as will be taken away”. So far, these stories have used money as the object of what is being given and invested. But when speaking to His disciples, Jesus reveals that object a little more clearly.
Matthew 13:10-17
Mat 13:10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Mat 13:11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Mat 13:12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Mat 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Mat 13:14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. Mat 13:15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Mat 13:17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Most people think Jesus spoke in parables so that people could understand what He was trying to say. But here, Jesus says that He uses parables to hide information from people.
But why would he want to hide information? It seems kind of “stingy” to our mindset. But if we understand God’s perspective in the matter from the previous “parable” verses, there is a cost to having information. Any information God reveals to us, we are responsible for. A poor attitude towards new understanding from God may lead us to say something like: “That’s very interesting, Lord. I don’t really want to do that right now, but what other thing can you teach me? Maybe I’ll like that better.” With such a mindset, we could quickly develop quite a deficit by having a mountain of information having acted on none of it.
When I read the “talent” parable, I don’t see a master picking three random servants. I see a master dealing with two guys he’s dealt with before and he gives them an amount for which they’ve already proven themselves trustworthy. The third is a rookie and is too fearful to even try.
There seems to be something missing from the overall story though. In a conversation with one of the Bible study members a few months ago, we discussed this parable and wondered: “How would the master have treated a servant who attempted to invest the master’s money, but lost it all?” In the end, we said he probably would have commended the effort and not condemned him.
However, after thinking about it for awhile, I think the absence of such a character in the story is actually revealing something about the
