The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
Day 4 – The Parable of the Talents
Like the parable of the Ten Virgins, we are clued in to the topic of this parable from the discourse Jesus gives in chapter 24, where he talks about his second coming. Another clue comes in the first words of this parable; Jesus is telling his disciples what “it will be like,” when he returns. He wants his disciples, and us, to be ready for his return. Often times, Jesus groups parables together like this that have similar meanings or meanings that build on each other.
Let’s get some characters in the story figured out before we work through this passage.
The man/master is Jesus. The servants are people who profess Jesus; we will see in this passage that some of the master’s servants are faithful, and others are not. A talent would be worth around $500,000 in today’s money. This amount of money should shock us, but the focus of the message should be on faithfulness over the amount of money.
This parable has an obvious contrast between the first two servants and the last one. We should not be surprised by this; Jesus frequently uses comparing and contrasting when talking in parables. All of the servants were given large sums of money, but how they responded with the master’s money was very different. The language that is used to describe the first two servants says they “went at once and traded.”
Jesus wants his hearers to know that these guys hustled and took his work seriously. But the third servant “went and dug.” Jesus uses this contrasting language to show us the lack of urgency and responsibility that the third servant had in his work.
How does the master respond when he returns?
To the first two servants he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
This is so simple and so good! The master also promises these faithful servants that he will set them over much. Jesus is saying that when he returns he will praise those who have been faithful and give them even greater responsibilities. This is interesting because we don’t usually think of heaven as a place where we have work or responsibility, but Jesus is saying that our faithfulness on Earth is preparing us for greater work and faithfulness in heaven.
“Heavenly rewards are not beds of rest; they are posts of duty.” – Fredrick Bruner
This is what we should want—to labor for Christ in this life and then serve him even better in the next life, unhindered by sin, guilt, pain, or ailments. How glorious it will be to truly worship Jesus with everything we have.
What about the last servant?
First, we see he has a false view of his master. The other servants loved and served their master, but this servant says his master is “a hard man.” Second, this servant is lazy and tries to blame the master’s harshness for his laziness. The master calls him out on this and casts him into “the outer darkness.” The man’s actions show the reality of his beliefs.
This parable should excite us toward faithfulness and frighten us from falsehood. We should work hard, not because we can earn anything, but because we love Jesus and want to be faithful to him.
“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.” – Dallas Willard
Jesus is not challenging his hearers to work hard enough to earn salvation. He is telling them that he is a merciful master who has given them work to do and the faith and grace to get it done.
Reflection
- Does knowing Jesus give you a desire to work for him and be faithful?
- Are there areas of your life or personal holiness where are you being lazy?
- Do you have a right view of who God is? Do you view him as just and merciful, or do you view him as harsh and vengeful?
- Are you laboring for Christ like the first 2 servants or are you wasting time like the 3rd servant?