Matthew 25:14-30 Talent

Matthew 25:14-30 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

14“You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The servant who had received the five talents immediately put them to work and gained five more talents. 17In the same way, the servant who had received the two talents gained two more. 18But the servant who had received one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

19“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20The servant who received the five talents came and brought five more talents. He said, ‘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 servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

22“The servant who received the two talents came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents.’

23“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

24“Then the servant who received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25Since I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26“His master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers so that when I came I would get my money back with interest. 28Take the talent away from him and give it to the servant who has the ten talents. 29Because everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Talent

I.

Number Three. That’s what we’ll call him. What do you think of servant number three as Jesus begins his parable? “You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey” (Matthew 25:14-15, EHV).

Try not to color your perceptions by the rest of the parable. What must the master have thought of Number Three as he doled out his possessions to them? Perhaps he was incredibly average. After all, he got a smaller amount than the rest. Perhaps the master saw him as just a “Jack of all trades and a master of none.” Was that accurate? Perhaps Number Three was only a dabbler; he wasn’t really capable of excellence, and that was why he was given less.

Before we write off Number Three as a talent-less hack, consider the word “talent” itself. A talent was a sum of money equal to 6,000 days wages for a common laborer. If a common laborer earns $15/hour, that equates to $720,000. That’s not insignificant.

“The servant who had received the five talents immediately put them to work and gained five more talents. 17In the same way, the servant who had received the two talents gained two more. 18But the servant who had received one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money” (Matthew 25:16-18, EHV). There’s always one in every crew, isn’t there? One person more occupied with office gossip than making sure any of the office work gets done. One person who just stands around leaning on a shovel rather than working. Number Three used his shovel, all right, but only long enough to dig a hole large enough and deep enough to conceal the talent he had been entrusted with. After he was finished with this exhausting work he went and found his easy chair, kicked his feet up, and sat around the whole time the master was gone.

Now what is your perception of Number Three? “Jack of all trades, but a master of none”? Talent-less hack? Shovel rack?

II.

Let’s go back to the beginning. “You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them” (Matthew 25:14, EHV). The master was the whole reason there were any talents to dole out in the first place.

The Master, of course, represents Jesus. He was sent to this earth on a mission—the salvation of the world.

Jesus was sent because people are incapable of salvation on their own. Sin permeates. Sin proliferates. The Psalmist David said: “Who can recognize his own errors? Declare me innocent of hidden sins” (Psalm 19:12, EHV). Sin is in every nook and cranny of our lives, even places we don’t realize. As far as dealing with sin is concerned, each of us is a talent-less hack. We cannot be sin-free. We cannot earn God’s favor. Jesus said: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16, EHV). Even choosing to become a believer in Jesus is not something any individual has the talent to do—it must be the Holy Spirit working faith in our hearts. God knew that no part of salvation could be left to you and me.

Jesus came to take that sin, all our sins, even those sins we are not aware of and try to hide deep within, on himself. He would take every single one to the cross and pay the penalty God demands for sin. Having sins paid in full is wealth beyond imagination. That’s the wealth Jesus won, and the wealth he left behind, when he went on his journey out of this world to his Father’s side in heaven.

III.

“You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability” (Matthew 25:14-15, EHV).

One popular translation of the Bible no longer uses the word “talent” in this parable. Since the parable is talking about money, the team of translators decided to use “bags of gold” instead of “talent.” I wonder if that was a wise change. The English word “talent” originates with the Greek word. Because of the way Jesus talked about it in this parable, the English word came to define someone’s abilities. It would seem best to leave it in the translation and define it or explain it, instead.

Just like the parable of the Ten Virgins, this parable urges followers of Jesus to be ready for Judgment Day. Jesus has already won our battle and has given us the ultimate victory. Now, while he is at the Father’s side in heaven, Jesus has given each of his chosen believers talents.

Do you see yourself in any of the three servants in the parable? Which one is you?

Sometimes I used to call myself “incredibly average.” Sometimes I thought of myself as a “Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” At Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary they didn’t give us grades. As long as you weren’t told you didn’t cut it, you must be doing ok. Only the Latin designator on the diploma gave you any clue how well you had done. Mine equated to about an A- average. Not Summa Cum Laude, but by definition not incredibly average, either.

The point is that even Number Three in the parable was not incredibly average. He was given one talent. In today’s monetary terms, $720,000. He was supposed to do something with it. He chose to bury it; to do nothing.

You are no talent-less hack. You are not unimportant to the Master. You have been given talents. How many, or what kind? I don’t know all of yours; maybe I’m still finding out about some of my own. What does each of us do with those we have? That is the question.

IV.

“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19, EHV). Inevitably, the master returned.

Picture the cluster of servants. Number Three kept scooting to the side trying to get out of the picture. He must have been watching and listening nervously as the other two stepped forward to give an account of their activities over the passage of time. After years of leaning on his shovel while the master was away, Number Three had only gotten it back out to dig up the talent he had been entrusted with.

As each of the other servants concluded his report, the master said: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, 23 EHV).

I wonder if Number Three ever worked harder in his life than he did in those few minutes, trying to come up with the best story he could. After all, the other two were rewarded by the master. He had to salvage something.

Number Three gave his report. “Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25Since I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24-25, EHV). Though he hadn’t made use of the talent, he used every bit of ability he had to try to cover his own rear end.

Jesus’ parable says nothing of the master’s expectations as he went on his journey. The master gave to each servant according to his abilities. That doesn’t imply that the master had unreasonable expectations. He didn’t expect any of them to go beyond his abilities, just to use his abilities.

By this time I would imagine that even Number Three himself could figure out he had been a failure, so he tried defining the master as a “hard man.” That’s what he chose to concoct as his excuse as to why all he could have done was to lean on his shovel.

“His master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers so that when I came I would get my money back with interest’” (Matthew 25:26-27, EHV). Number Three’s story wasn’t really very convincing. He wouldn’t have needed to work very hard to open an account at the bank to earn at least a little bit of interest on the talent. That, too, had been too much. Number Three wasn’t lacking ability, he was just wicked and lazy.

“Take the talent away from him and give it to the servant who has the ten talents. 29Because everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:28-30, EHV). Number Three lost everything.

The warning is clear: use whatever talents—whatever abilities—God has given you. He doesn’t expect anything beyond your abilities, just that you don’t lean on your shovel and do nothing with what he has given you.

It applies in life in general. Use your abilities at your job, as a parent or grandparent, as a student in school. If you are capable of A’s, don’t be satisfied with B’s. Use every ability you have, and use it as well as you can.

It also applies in the church. God has entrusted you with monetary talents; make use of them to the best of your ability for your own future life and as you give back a portion to God to use in his ongoing kingdom work. Use the abilities you have to serve the church in all kinds of different capacities. There are many ways your congregation can use what you have been given.

Perhaps you don’t think of yourself as a talent-less hack, but only incredibly average, or a “Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” Do you know where the phrase got its start? The “master of none” part seems to have been added later, but “Jack of all trades” was written to speak dismissively of actor-turned playwright William Shakespeare. If you are “just” a “Jack of all trades,” you are in good company.

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, 23 EHV). The Master only asks you to be faithful. When you are faithful, he puts you in charge of many things. Your reward is more to do for your master, but also he tells you: “enter into the joy of your master.”

Use your talent, and enter the joy of your Master. Amen.