Parable of the Talents
Parables of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Parable of the Talents
Parable of the Talents
We continue in our study of the parables of Jesus.
As recap—what is a parable?
Parabole: parable, lesson, proverb, symbolic, figuratively.
A story that takes a complicated idea or subject and simplifies it using everyday terms or objects.
We have covered two of them so far, what two have we covered?
The parable of the sower
The parable of Pharisee and the tax collector
What was the main point or idea of the sower? What did that communicate?
The same seed is cast out and lands on different soils yielding different results. The thorns, rocks, path, etc prevent true growth. While the good soil produces good fruit. The soil was reprsentative of what? The heart. The gospel goes out and is received differently but the gospel is the same, God prepares the heart of those who are called to receive it and provide growth.
What was the main point or idea of the pharisee and the tax collector?
How are we made right before God. We seek acceptance from others and from God based on degrees or respect or actions and yet we are made right through the blood of Jesus.
Remember what did the pharisee say when he prayed? Thank God I am not like them—i fast, I give, I dont do those evil sins.
What did we say about the tax collector—where they well liked or not? They were hated.
What did the tax collector pray? God be merciful to me, a sinner.
He looked and trusted in God for his acceptance and justification, not in what he had done.
We are going to begin another parable today.
What are ways that you can serve the Lord? This can be inside or outside of the church.
Take a couple minutes and talk with the person next to you and then we will come together.
Okay—what are some ways you can serve? (Write on whiteboard).
Now that I got us thinking and awake—turn with me to Matthew 25.
The story we are going to read today is also found in Luke 19 but for the sake of time and clarity we are going to work through Matthew 25 together this morning.
Can I get a reader?
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Okay so we will begin to work through this and define some terms or characters.
First, what does the first line say?
“For it will be like a man going on a journey.”
For it—what is the “it”? Any guesses
The kingdom of heaven. Jesus is giving a series of stories about the kingdom of heaven.
Were going to focus on Matthew but here is what Luke wrote,
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
Why did the disciples, and Jews, think Jesus was going to establish his kingdom immediately?
They were told the Messiah would come and conquer evil and establish his throne and of it there would be no end.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
And those things are true—but no matter how many times Jesus tried to tell them otherwise, the timing was not quite so sudden and immediate. He would defeat evil and he has established his throne but he will also make all things new and all things will be subjected under his feet—every knee will bow.
They thought he would be a conquering lion, and yet he was a gentle sheep—the lamb who was slaughtered by the way.
So the it being the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is providing instruction and details as to what is to come.
What characters do we see in this story?
Man, servants, talents
Man or master is Jesus. The word is Kurious which is master or lord.
The master has this land and he is getting ready to do what? Go on a journey. And anytime someone goes on a trip, they prepare things ahead of time. You pack and prepare your things but you probably don’t realize this but your parents also prepare the car for the trip and they prepare the house for the trip.
Meaning they make sure the house is cared for while they are gone. Perhaps they clean out the fridge, lock all the windows and doors, adjust the furnace. If you have animals they arrange someone to care for them while they are gone. They arrange someone to care for the lawn and check the mail. You prepare your property to go away.
This man would have been wealthy, he probably had lots of land and had lots to care for and so in prep he would have brought servants or hired hands to him and laid out the expectations or needs while he was gone.
In preparation he gives out what? Talents
15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
What is a talent?
Money. There is some debate about just how much money this is but its safe to say it was several hundred thousand dollars in todays currency.
A talent was actually a weight of currency and so the price tag would depend on what time of money it was. Hopefully you know 10 pounds of pennies is way less valuable than 10 pounds of quarters.
Let’s just say that a talent is equal to $300,000. So that would mean he came to one servants $1,500,000.
To another he gave $600,000 and to the last he gave $300,000.
When I was in college I used to house sit for people (thats what you do when your young and single but seemingly somewhat mature people give you control of their house while there gone and hope you don’t burn it down.
But it would be common for someone to leave some money, not a lot, but something if you needed something or to get some groceries or whatever.
Were not talking about this—just imagine, someone gives you $1.5 million and says take care of this while I’m gone.
Notice the verse says each according to his ability. This is better translated able-ness. This idea of wisdom or skills, and depending on the masters perception of these you were given different amounts.
All of this takes place, and then the master leaves for his journey.
16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
The master goes on his journey and the servants get to work. The one who had five talents is busy working and trading while the master was gone and he ends up doubling what he had.
The one who had two talents did the same he ends up doubled what he had.
But the one who had one talent, what did he do?
He went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now, there are two sides to this coin although heavily weighted to one over the other. Is there something to be said about being prudent and wise with money? Yes—there is.
However, what do you think the motives of the servant who buried the money was? Why do you think he did that? The master is gone, I don’t need to do anything, I’ll just protect this and relax until he returns.
Let me ask you a question—have your parents ever asked you to do something while they were gone? Perhaps it was—before I get back, make sure you take out the trash, or wash the dishes, or take a shower, or finish your homework…etc.
What happens if they get home and you have it done? Hopefully nothing, maybe a thank you or good job. You certainly do deserve any praise for doing what your asked but thats fine.
What happens if they get home and it is not done? Punishment, consequences, disappointment. Perhaps you just hope that mom forgot what she asked you to do.
So the master comes home.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
The master comes and want to settle accounts—let me see what you have done with my money, remember the money was still the masters, he just gave it to his servants to care for it while he was gone.
This servant took what he was given, worked hard and had five more talents to show for it. He took his $1.5 million and turned it into $3 million.
How did the master respond?
Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
You took the comparably little of what I gave you and you used it well and were faithful and so in return I will give you much.
Let’s see what happens with the next servant.
22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
This servant was given two talents and he brought back an additional two more.
How did the master respond?
Well done, good and faithful servant—you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
Now servant one brought an additional $1.5 million back to his master while servant two brought an additional $600,000 back (putting it in US currency).
What do you notice about the masters response?
It was the same—he was pleased, he was thankful they took care of what he gave them first of all but more than that they multiplied it.
From our perspective you would think the master would treat the first servant better than the second, he brought so much more money, but he responded the same—well done, you have been good and faithful.
We will see that is not the case for all of the servants however.
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’
This one was given one talent and what did he do with it? He buried it.
What do you notice about his response to the master? He immadielty shifts the blame.
Lord—you are harsh, expecting things that are not possible, you are unrealistic.
What is the servant essentially saying?
Look, it wouldn’t matter what I did, it wouldn’t be enough for you so I didn’t do anything.
I was afraid of you so I buried it—but don’t worry I kept it, here it is!
How does the master respond?
26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This is like when you get in trouble by your parents and you try to come up with a silly excuse as to why you did it. Well the servant tried that and the master responds—so you knew I had high expectations and you knew I wanted things back and so your plan was to do nothing? No—you should have invested it.
At the very least I would have gotten interest back on what I gave you.
Give me your money and I will give it to the 1st servant. Those who have done something with what I have them will be given more but those who dont will have everything taken. The worthless servant will be cast into darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So what does this mean for us?
Application
The master, Jesus, will return. He has given us talents and is expecting us to do something with it in the meantime.
There are some things we can learn from this for sure.
Let’s talk about the talents. There are three ways to look at this and I would say its all of them in some ways.
The talents could mean money, gifts, or it could mean abilities.
For sure there is something to be said about money. Jesus clearly is referring to money when he was speaking to his disciples. What could possibly be some take aways with money?
We have been given all sorts of things including tangible, cash resources from God. We are expected to use it well—we are expected not to hoard it or worship but rather but faithful with it. It’s not ours, its the Lords.
I would say gifts and abilities are interchangeable in some ways so we are going to work through these together.
What are some of these gifts we have? Knowledge, health, strength, time, intellect, advantages, opportunities, jobs, spouse, children, friends, etc. Possibly even spiritual gifts.
We are called to care for these things, yes it can be tangible work or toil but we are called to do other things as well—what are other things we have been told to do perhaps in the context of relationships or the church?
The one anothers.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
As we await the masters return we are to call one another to good works, encouraging one another.
We have all been given these things—right? You have these and so you have a responsibility to use them well.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
We have been given these things and we are expected to put them to use for our master.
Remember what we pointed out about the masters response when he returned?
What was the response to servants 1 and 2? Well done.
There are 3 main takeaways or reminders for us.
We are called to faithful with what we have, and it won’t be the same for all of us. The preacher and the lay person may not have the same delegation from the master, but they both have the same responsibility. At the end of the day, the response from the master is not dependent on how much we have but rather our faithfulness to what we have. You and I will stand before the master of the universe and can receive the same stamp of approval as our heros of the faith. We will notice the parables have principles that carry over to others. We know based on last week we are accepted or justified by Jesus blood. And because of that we can be faithful with what we have been given.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Those that are faithful with what the Lord has given us will receive a three-fold reward:
Good & faithful servant—this praise filled approval is the best thing you can ever be told in your life, from the master.
You were faithful with little, now you will be given much—you were faithful here on earth, now you will be given heaven which is so much more valuable than what we have here.
Lord’s joy—the King of the universe calls you friend and there is nothing better than that
There is a severe punishment for those that are not faithful. Not caring for what you have been given is actually a sign of lack of saving faith.
There is no praise
There is no further work
There is no joy in the Lord’s presence. There is a future of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The beauty and the agony of the Christian life is there is so much already but not yet. You have been redeemed, purchased, but not yet free from the presence of sin. And so we are called to faithful with what we have now because we have so much more in glory.
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
We do not know the hour or the day. Remember I used the example of your parents asking you to do something while they are gone. You don’t know when they will be back so your goal no matter what is to make sure it is done, working hard to complete the task. We are doing the same in the Christian walk.