using God's gifts

King James Version (Chapter 25)

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of

teeth

V 15) 5 Talents was 145,425.00 = 290,850.00

Two Talents 58,170.00 = 116,340.00

One Talent 29,085.00 in the ground = 0

how many people do you think will have the excuse of not doing what the Lord has left for us to do

The Gospel of Matthew (d. The Parable of the Slaves Entrusted with a Lot of Money (25:14–30))

The third in the series of parables

about being ready returns to a setting

similar to that of the first, a master

dealing with his slaves. But this time

there is a more specific focus on their

commercial responsibility in their

master’s absence. Each is left with a

very large sum of money, with no

instructions on what to do with it, and

the story turns on their different ways

of exercising this responsibility. There is again a division between good and bad, between success and failure. Yet the “failure” of the bad slave consists not in any loss of money, but in returning it without increase. It was not that he did something wrong—he simply did nothing. This is, then, apparently, a parable about maximizing opportunities, not wasting them. To be “ready” for the master’s return means to use the intervening time to maximum profit; it is again about continuing life and work rather than about calculating the date and being alert for his actual arrival.

The Gospel of Matthew d. The Parable of the Slaves Entrusted with a Lot of Money (25:14–30)

It is then more about responsibility than about natural endowment, though the degree of responsibility given to each depends on their individual ability (v. 15). The “talents,” however, do not represent that individual ability but are allocated on the basis of it. They represent not the natural gifts and aptitudes which everyone has, but the specific privileges and opportunities of the kingdom of heaven and the responsibilities they entail. The parable thus teaches that each disciple has God-given gifts and opportunities to be of service to their Lord, and that these are not the same for everyone, but it is left to the reader to discern just what those gifts and opportunities are.

The Gospel of Matthew (d. The Parable of the Slaves Entrusted with a Lot of Money (25:14–30))

There is thus a fundamental division

between good and bad disciples,

between the saved and the lost, and

the language of ultimate judgment is

deployed again to warn the reader to

take the parable’s message seriously.

What ultimately condemned this

disciple, and made him unready to

meet his Lord at the parousia, was the

fact that he had proved to be “useless”

for the kingdom of heaven. Like the

man ejected from the wedding feast in

22:13, his performance had not

matched his profession, and it is only

those who “do the will of my Father

who is in heaven” (12:50) who

ultimately belong to his kingdom.

8:12 the sons of the kingdom This may refer to some Jewish people (Matt 13:38), who expected to be heirs of God’s future blessing (compare v. 10), but by extension it refers to people in general who claim belief in Jesus but don’t actually practice His message (7:21–23; 25:31–46).

will be thrown out A consequence of their unbelief or lack of faith.

into the outer darkness Elsewhere, darkness refers to distance from the light of God’s gracious presence (4:16). The place of God’s wrath is depicted as the gloom of darkness, probably signifying departure from His presence (2 Pet 2:17; Jude 13).

weeping and gnashing of teeth Reflects the unspeakable anguish of being separated from God (compare Matt 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30).

The Gospel of Matthew (d. The Parable of the Slaves Entrusted with a Lot of Money (25:14–30))

What matters is that, however

precisely the “talents” are interpreted,

each disciple should live and work in

such a boldly enterprising way that the

returning master will say “Well done,

you good, trustworthy slave.

Matthew 22:13 “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 12:50 “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Matthew 13:12 “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”