WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.

WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

Mt 25:14–30.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

25:14–30Ref—Lk 19:12–27

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.’

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 25:14–30.

Introduction

Jesus used parables to present to us powerful pictures about God, humans, and life.

1. By means of these stories, he communicated life-changing truths to his disciples and to those who are willing to listen and learn today.

The parable of the talents, or the parable of the three servants, is a parable that emphasizes the importance of faithfulness.

By means of this parable our Lord let us know that in the final analysis our lives will be judged not on the basis of our fame but on the basis of our fidelity.

We will be rewarded not on the basis of our genius but on the basis of our goodness.

This parable should confront each of us in a very personal way and disturb us to the depths of our being.

It should encourage us to do our best and challenge each of us to become a better person.

We are the children of God by grace through faith. At the same time, we are servants of God with the privilege of helping God and others.

This pointed parable calls our attention to the possibility that we can blow our opportunity for God and for ourselves.

And we can waste our opportunity to minister significantly to others.

This parable should impart to each of us a healthy fear of the real peril of experiencing a colossal failure.

Talents were measures of money. Today’s English Version translates the sums spoken of in the parable as $ 5,000, $ 2,000, and $ 1,000.

These talents represent the means God has entrusted to his people for carrying on his kingdom work in the world today.

They are the gifts that Paul enumerates as being distributed by the Holy Spirit in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12– 14, and Ephesians 4.

It could be said that these talents are the gospel itself, the truths Christ preached, the training we have received, the energy available to us, the education and skills we have acquired, along with Christian experience, health, wealth, time, opportunities, and effectiveness in preaching and teaching.

God has entrusted to us all of the gifts and endowments of the Holy Spirit.

From the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been bestowing on God’s servants the talents and gifts needed for doing God’s work in the world today.

I. Notice that the talents were entrusted to “each according to his ability” (Matt. 25: 15 NIV).

This parable does not emphasize equality. It emphasizes the importance of faithfulness.

A. We are unequal in our natural gifts.

B. We are unequal in the opportunities that are open to us as individuals.

C. We are unequal in the advantages that we might have over others.

D. We are unequal in human endowments. Yet each of us has an equal opportunity and charge to become a good and faithful servant of God. This parable points out that we will be judged and rewarded on the basis of our faithfulness in using what has been entrusted to us.

II. Let each of us beware of the possibility of becoming a twin brother or sister of the one-talent servant.

A. This man failed to trust in the good character of his Lord. From the dawn of human history, Satan’s strategy has been to question the goodness of God. In the Garden of Eden, he dropped the hint that God was not really good, that he was restricting Adam and Eve from entering into what they had the right to experience.

The sin of no faith has been the undoing sin of God’s people throughout the ages.

The sin of little faith causes us to refrain from attempting to do the big things God wants us to do.

B. This man was not a bad man. He is not described as cruel and merciless. He is not described as a wasteful person or as a slave to his passions.

C. This man counted his one talent as being of no real importance.

Evidently he assumed that his one talent was not needed. He failed to appreciate that every talent is precious in God’s sight.

D. This man lacked the faith and courage to take a risk. He decided to be cautious and play it safe. He is like those who never “go for broke” in order to succeed in a business enterprise.

We must trust God to fulfill his promises if we are to do something significant.

We must expose ourselves to the peril of embarrassment and loss if we are to do anything worthwhile.

What if Abraham had played it safe and had refused to risk leaving his home and going to a far country for God?

What if Moses wanted to play it safe and tried every excuse possible to avoid responding to God’s call.

Finally, he took the risk and became a great deliverer.

And we can be grateful that Jesus did not play it safe.

If Paul and the other apostles had played it safe and had never risked failure, we probably never would have known about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Many people are tempted to think that their talent is so small that it does not matter, and therefore they neglect to respond to their opportunities.

When we do this we become a twin brother or sister of the one-talent man.

III. The good news in this powerful parable.

A. Each of us has been given talents by our King.

The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each believer according to the needs of the church.

No one is left empty-handed.

Each one has been given a gift.

B. We can double our capital (talents) by faithfulness.

We can have twice as much of the same things as were first entrusted to us if we are reliable and trustworthy in using what God has already placed in our hands.

We can improve our own usefulness and fruitfulness.

Someone has said, “One note is a sound. Add other notes and you have a song.” One color, no matter how beautiful, is monotonous. Add other colors, and you have a cathedral window.

Such is the reward to those who add to the gifts God has given them through faithfulness.

C. We can receive the Lord’s approval and praise.

We receive God’s acceptance when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

He accepts us and forgives us. We can have his approval and his praise if we are faithful in the use of the gifts he bestows upon us.

All of us would like to hear him say, “Well done.”

D. We can enter into the joy of the Lord.

All of us want to enter into the joy of our Lord in the hereafter.

This parable teaches us that it is possible for us to enter into the joy of our Lord in the here and now.

Ours can be the joy of doing good.

Ours can be the joy of showing God’s love to others.

Ours can be the joy of seeing people come to know Jesus Christ as Savior.

Ours can be the joy of becoming what God wants us to be.

Conclusion Let us beware of thinking of ourselves as one-talent people.

We need to recognize that the little person with a great gospel is mightier than a great person with no gospel.

If we neglect to use our opportunities and gifts, we will lose them.

If we bury our gifts, we reveal that we do not have the character that makes it possible for us to be compatible or comfortable with God.

Let us use what God has given to us that we might bring glory to him and that he might be glorified in us.

Crabtree, T. T.. The Zondervan 2024 Pastor's Annual (p. 69). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.