He Came To Bring Gifts

He Came To Bring Gifts- Luke 19:11-27

March 25, 2007

The first section of this chapter shared the story of Zaccheus’ salvation. Now Jesus was approaching Jerusalem and it was Passover time. The Passover season was always an emotionally charged time for the Jews, because it reminded them of their deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. They wanted God to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and send them their promised King.

Jesus knew that many of the people in the crowd were hoping to see Him establish the kingdom, so He gave this parable to clarify things. We must not confuse this parable with the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.

In this parable Jesus explained that the kingdom would not come until a future time, but that His servants had better be faithful now to do the job assigned to them. In the

parable, you see three different responses to the Master.

Faithful obedience (vv. 16–19, 24).

In the Parable of the Pounds, each servant has the same deposit, which is the message of the Gospel (1 Thes. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; 6:20).
Our gifts and abilities are different, but our job is the same: to share the Word of God so that it multiplies and fills the world (1 Thes. 1:8; 2 Thes. 3:1).
In time, the Jewish leaders accused the disciples of “filling Jerusalem” with the message! (Acts 5:28)
When it comes to witnessing, all believers start on the same level.

Unfaithful disobedience (vv. 20–23).

At least one of the ten men did not obey his master and as a result lost even the pound that the master gave him.
It is a basic principle of the Christian life that wasted opportunity means loss of reward and possibly loss of the privilege of service. If we do not use the gifts God gives us under His direction, why should we even have them? Somebody else can make better use of the gifts to the glory of God (see Matt. 13:12 and Luke 8:18).
This servant was unfaithful because his heart was not right toward his master. The servant had no love for his master; in fact, he feared him and dreaded to displease him. Rather than lose the pound and incur his master’s anger, he guarded it so that he would at least have something to give the master if he returned and asked for an account.
It is sad when a Christian is motivated by slavish fear instead of loving faith. “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God,” wrote Dr. A.W. Tozer. How important it is that we do the will of God from our hearts (Eph. 6:6).

Outright rebellion (vv. 14–27).

The “citizens” or “enemies” are mentioned at the beginning and the ending and are an important part of the story, for most of the people in the crowd that day were in that category.
Jesus was near Jerusalem, and in a few days He would hear the mob shout, “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15) In other words, “We will not have this Man to reign over us!”
The faithful servants obeyed because they trusted their master and wanted to please him. The unfaithful servant disobeyed because he feared his master. But these citizens rebelled because they hated their king (Luke 19:14). Jesus quoted Psalm 69:4 and told His disciples, “They hated Me without a cause” (John 15:25).

We are living in the period between Luke 19:14 and 15. We have been given a task to perform, and we must be faithful until He comes.

· What will the King say to us when He returns?

· Will His words mean reward, rebuke, or possibly retribution?

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2).