The Parable of the Talents/Minas

 

 

Matthew's Gospel account gives us the Parable of the Talents (Mat 25:14-30). While Luke gives us the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27)

Both of these parables end with the line: 

'For to everyone who has will be given, and they will have abundance, but from those who don’t have, even that which they have will be taken away.' Mat 25:29

'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from those who don’t have, even that which they have will be taken away from them' Luke 19:26

It's very easy to think this applies to 'me.' Have I somehow managed to be a bad servant? Have I been unfaithful with what God has given me? But the next line in Luke makes it clear:

'But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.' Luke 19:27

The bad servants are those who do not want Jesus to reign over them. If you are a Christian then you have made Jesus your King already. You have chosen to have him reign over you. Jesus' enemies are those who reject the Gospel, not those who accept it. 

Compare these verses that talk directly about the difference between those who accept the Gospel message concerning Jesus and those who reject it:

'Whoever believes in Him is not judged. Whoever doesn’t believe has been judged already, because they have not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.' John 3:18

'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on them.' John 3:36

'Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in themself. Whoever doesn’t believe God has called God a liar, because they have not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. The testimony is this, God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has the life. Whoever doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.' 1 John 5:10-12

In or Out?

There are two groups, those who have and those who do not. This is the common theme of the New Covenant: sheep and goats; those in Jesus and those in Adam; those in death and those in life, those in the darkness and those in the light, etc.

The issue isn't whether you have been a good servant. The issue is whether you want Jesus to reign over you as your King.

So why are they called servants?

One question we might well ask is, if they are not believers then why does Jesus call them servants? The answer is simple. Jesus came to the house of Israel - the people who were called God's servants. There are many people who rejected Jesus from among Israel. 

Again, the problem we have is that we tend to read the Bible and assume every verse is directly talking about us. When we read the Gospels, for example, we see that Jesus spoke to the Jews, some were Pharisees, some were Sadducees and others were just ordinary Jews going about their lives. Of all those groups some accepted Jesus and some rejected Him, but they all saw themselves as God's chosen people.

Clearly, there were those who sought to have Jesus killed. The trouble is, Jesus uses the language of master and servant to mean different things at different times. Sometimes He uses it to mean those who believe in Him and sometimes He uses it to mean those who are of Israel. The thing is that God made a covenant with Israel, declaring that they would be His people and He would be their God.

God was faithful to that covenant even when they were not. They didn't stop being His people just because they were unfaithful. That is not the same as being saved to eternal life. God's covenant was a national covenant. Not everyone within Israel had faith in God even if they tried to keep God's Law.

What Jesus is showing is that as their master He has the right to treat His servants according to their faithfulness. That is to say, just because they have a legal right to be God's people if they reject Him, He has the right to cast them out.

Bear in mind this is talking about those under the old covenant. In Luke 19:11, it is written that Jesus told them this parable because they thought God's Kingdom would appear imminently. It would be the Jews who would be waiting for God's promised Kingdom. In the parable, the journey the master goes on is to receive a kingdom (Luke 19:12). We know that between the old and new covenants, after the ascension, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God and was given the name above all names.

We have the servants of the old covenant rejecting the Messiah. The Messiah then went and was given a new Kingdom. We can think of a kingdom as the place where the King rules. We worship Jesus as our King. So, the Kingdom that Jesus received was the church. Those who reject Jesus as King will logically not be part of the Church. This will have its fulfilment in the eternal state.

We are under the new covenant of grace. There is a reason why the new covenant comes under the announcement of "The Good News!"

It might help to think about how the Pharisees saw themselves and how Jesus saw them. These are among the unfaithful servants.

What will Jesus say to you?

I have heard so many Christians say that when they appear before the Lord they want to hear Him say, "My good and faithful servant!" as if God grades us by our faithfulness and works. We are His bride trusting in His faithfulness and works! When we appear before Him, He will call us - His beloved. If He does call us His good and faithful servants it will be because we were faithful in accepting the Gospel message.