The Parable of the Ten Talents

Intro -

Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:29-37 Parable of the Persistant Widow - Luke 18:1-8 Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat - Matthew 13:24-30 Parable of the Lost Sheep - Matthew 18:10-14 Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 Parable of the Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:23-35 Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-16 Parable of the Mustard Seed - Matthew 13:31-32

We’ve spent the summer looking at the parables of Jesus to see what we could learn about the Kingdom of Heaven not only to come, but also in the here and now. The example of Jesus teaches us much about how to live as citizens of God’s Kingdom in the here and now, to be people who live so counter-culturally that people will take notice.

This morning we are going to talk about the parable of the talents. This is a parable that many would just like to skip over because it brings up all kinds of things such as what are my God-given talents? How on earth can I use those? I’m not really supposed to use that am I? God must be mistaken, I couldn’t possibly!

Luke 15:11–32 NIV

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

Matthew 25:14–30 NIV

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Until Jesus Comes...

God has given each of us management over His resources: time, money, gifts, abilities.

vs 15 - The Distribution of Resources are given in proportion and are appropriate for the individual. God determines what is appropriate with what he has gifted us and entrusted us with. We are to be faithful to what God has asked of us, not of what he has asked of someone else.

vs 16-18 - What Are You Doing With What You Have Been Given? Are we supporting God’s work with our time, talent, and treasures? Are we serving others? Are we building others up? Or are we squandering what God has gifted us?

vs. 19 - What Have You Done? There is accountability for the use of our resources. It is expected that they will be used. It is expected that they will bear fruit. It is expected that God’s kingdom will increase through our faithful stewardship. Do we have the faith of the mustard seed that Pastor Cindy talked to us about last week that God will be faithful if we follow and obey?

vs 20-21 - A Reason To Celebrate. Faithful stewardship honors God and He is exalted through your faithfulness. Faithfulness in small things opens the door for greater things, not of ourselves but of God working in and through us. And something else comes out of this celebration - an increased intimacy with God.

vs 22-23 - Quality...Not Quantity. I think sometimes we get caught up in the idea that we need to keep up with the “Joneses” of the church. But notice here that the first two servants were received the same reward. The criteria was faithfulness and effort not outcome. We can only be faithful with what we have been entrusted and sow or invest into others. It is up to God to bring the results - the growth of that seed. God rewards not according to your performance, but according to His faithfulness. Aren’t we glad for that this morning?

vs 24-25 - Wasted Potential. The servant hid the master’s resources out of fear. Maybe it was fear of failure or feelings of inadequacy or maybe even fear of not being able to do what someone else is doing when they seem to be getting results. Can I be real with you for a moment? Pastors can easily fall into this trap of comparison - this fear of not being able to keep up with the church down the road or maybe even envious of the church down the road. But we need to realize when we lose focus on being faithful with what God has give us, we are being selfish. When we are faithful and growing in Christ, allowing ourselves to be continually transformed, our priorities are aligned with God’s, not ours.

vs. 26-27 - At The Very Least...Do Something!!! God can take even our smallest efforts and bring something from it. God may even use those efforts to build confidence and boldness in us for the next uncomfortable step of faith God is going to ask of us.

vs. 28-30 - How Faithful Are You? God does not reward unfaithfulness. Faithfulness comes from obedience. If you have not been faithful with the things God has entrusted you with, don’t expect Him to give you more. It’s never too late...any effort is better than no effort.

We shouldn’t be people who are afraid or fearful or caught up in the idea that Christ is coming back and do nothing for the Kingdom now! God is asking each of us to be faithful right now with what God has entrusted us with. When we get caught up focusing on the coming Kingdom instead of the Kingdom of the here and now we become like the servant called wicked and lazy in this parable.

We are to be people who invest what we have been given in others in the here and now. You might be asking, well Pastor, how would I do that?

Jump with me down to vs 34:

Matthew 25:34–46 NIV

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition From the Text

The story is not about praising successful investors but about being wise in using given opportunities. The parable illustrates this point by opposing good (agathe) and faithful (piste) servants to a wicked (ponerē) and lazy (oknerē) one. It also uses dramatic language to describe the consequences of their decisions: the wise ones are invited to share the master’s happiness and the foolish one is thrown into darkness. Not knowing “the day or the hour” (23:36) is no excuse for doing nothing; passive waiting for the coming of the Lord could turn into a disaster, not the moment of joy. The time must be used wisely to take risks and maximize opportunities on the mission of God, not to waste them (France 2007, 951).

These are examples of the types of opportunities that God puts in front of us. In fact, some of them are so common many of us don’t even notice them. But we must first recognize our talents and use them for the purposes of God’s Kingdom. What type of legacy do you want to leave? What do we want people to remember - us? Or the God we served faithfully and obediently? Let me tell you a brief story about a man who realized that he wanted to be remembered for something different:

THE STORY OF THE NOBEL PRIZE

Quiz time, folks--who invented dynamite? Do I hear the answer: Alfred Nobel! In fact in 1867, Nobel received U.S. patent number 78317 for his dynamic invention. That this explosive instead of being used peacefully for blasting the rocks during mining operations (as was originally nobly intended by Nobel) ending up as a destructive weapon used for destroying properties, limb and life was not this brilliant scientist’s fault at all. Yet all-too-surreal story behind the origin of Nobel prize would have us believe so!

BOOM...in 1888, Alfred had a dubious distinction of reading his own unflattering obituary! When Alfred's brother Ludvig died, a French newspaper mistakenly ran an obituary for Alfred, which called him the "merchant of death." It went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." This horrified Alfred. Not wanting to go down in history with such a horrible epitaph, Nobel created a will that soon shocked his relatives and led to establishment of the now famous Nobel Norwegian Committee which awards Nobel Prize "to all during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

Nobel's last will left approximately 94 percent of his worth to the establishment of five prizes in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. The fact that Nobel prize has been awarded for several outstanding achievements which have made this strife-torn, ailments-infested World "a better place to live in" and also the fact that it continues to inspire several to put their best foot forward in various worthy pursuits stands as a shining testimony to a man who aspired to "live nobly even after his death" by recognizing and rewarding the noble deeds of his fellowmen. https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/80684/the-story-of-the-nobel-prize-by-suresh-manoharan

While this isn’t a story about someone who was a believer working for God’s Kingdom, it does talk about a man who left a legacy that continues to inspire people to help make the world a better place. Now imagine if that inspiration was driven by God’s Kingdom and the spreading of the message of the Gospel to serve people who need help, to clothe, feed, to care for, to visit....to fight to end the injustices within our contexts....to be the embodiment of Jesus Christ in our current context.....something so desperately needed!

Do we want to be people known for what God is doing through us for God’s Kingdom, for our faithfulness and obedience, or do we want to be remembered as someone who came up with a way to kill more people faster? Let’s be honest friends…if we aren’t serving the least of these, if we aren’t sharing the good news of the hope and joy that come from the gospel, aren’t we comparable to the ones who took an invention to blast rocks and used it to destroy people?

It seems like a drastic comparison, but we need to be people of faithfulness and obedience. We need to be people who truly believe that the Gospel and the spread of God’s Kingdom is to help make this world a better place - to help bring it closer toward the ideal that God created in the first place.

I believe this comparison is one to make us think and ask ourselves this question in reflection this morning:

REFLECTION: Are you being faithful with what God has given us? Are you doing something with it? What are you doing for the Kingdom of God in the here and now?

RESPONSE & PRAYER

SING: OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART

BENEDICTION: Father, may I model my life after Your Word and seek to serve others in obedience to You. May my life overflow with joy in service to others—always pointing to You as the source of hope and strength. And may I know in my depths, Lord, that anything done in Your Name and for Your glory is never done in vain. Amen.

Next week Pastor Cindy is going to close out our parable series as we look at the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 helping us understand that we need to be ready for God’s kingdom - but not get lost in just looking for what is to come......