Matthew 25:14-30

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 25

The Parable of the Talents

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.’

This week we're looking at the final parable of the Olivet Discourse, the Parable of the Talents. This is probably one of Jesus’ more well known parables, however, what’s often overlooked is that it’s a part of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse that began in chapter 24. I mentioned this in our last time together, but it’s important that we don’t forget that these parables follow Jesus’ prophecies in chapter 24, and are borne directly out of his assertion that his second coming will be unexpected. You might recall that Jesus likened his second coming to the days of Noah, when everyone was drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were all unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, and so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. One taken, suddenly, in judgement, while the other is not. Jesus illustration is that his coming will be sudden and unexpected.

Therefore, the parables that follow are concerned with our readiness. They’re concerned, not with our ability to calculate the day and hour of his return (as if any of us could), but instead they’re concerned with whether or not we’ll be ready. The unexpected nature of Christ’s coming is intended to keep us on guard and to remain awake, to always be ready for his return. The unexpected nature of Christ’s coming should not cause us to think that he is delayed or that we should become slack or idle.

There are at least four parables in chapters 24-25 that follow Jesus’ assertion that no one knows neither the day or the hour. The first reiterates the unexpected nature of his coming, the second emphasizes our need to remain faithful, and the last two emphasize our need to be prepared.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins we learned that the oil in their lamps represented preparedness. Five of the women had brought with them additional flasks of oil to light their lamps, but the other five had not, so when the bridegroom came five of the women trimmed their lamps and went out to meet him, while the others had to go and buy more, but there was no time, it was too late. Again, the admonition for us is to be prepared. Then in the Parable of the Talents Jesus continues to drive this point home. In it he answers the question, ‘How must I be prepared?’ or ‘What must I do to be prepared?’

Our responsibility to Christ while he’s away

Now, I’m going to give you the answer to that question right out of the gate, so that you can think about it as we walk through this text. What must I do to be prepared for Christ’s second coming? Well, the answer we see in this parable is that God has given all of us certain resources, of one kind or another, that we’re responsible for putting to use, in his service for his kingdom and his glory, and so this parable is all about our responsibility to Christ while he is away.

Parable of the Talents

So, with that being said, let’s examine this parable together, and read again there in verses 14-19,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

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.

So, like most of Jesus’ parables, the parable is intended to describe a certain aspect of the kingdom of heaven. At the beginning of Parable of the Ten Virgins he says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins...” and so when he says, “For it will be like a man going on a journey...” it’s assumed that Jesus is again likening the kingdom of heaven to another parable.

And he likens it to a man going on a journey, a man who’s intended to represent Christ himself, but before he goes it says that he entrusts his property to his servants. And the imagery here is intended to be of Jesus entrusting his kingdom to his disciples on earth while he is away. And he also gives them talents, to one of them five talents, another two talents, and another one talent, each according to their ability.

Talents

Now, it’s important for us to stop here and realize that the Greek word talanton (tal-en-don), translated talent, isn’t referring to our modern definition and use of the word talent. We often think of the certain natural endowments or gifts that God has given us, we think of the natural abilities God has endowed us with, but here the word translated talent doesn’t have any of those meanings. In Greek the word simply refers a quantity of money, or more precisely a measure of weight. It’s believed that a talent would have been between 50-80 lbs. of a particular precious metal, like gold or silver. A talent generally represented an enormous amount of money, something like 20 years of an average labor’s wages. It would have been (as on commentator said), “what a laborer might hope to earn in half a lifetime.” (R.T. France, Matthew, p. 953) So, in this parable, the master has entrusted large sums of money to his servants.

Responsibility

And he doesn’t just give them these large sums of money to keep for themselves, but rather he gives it to them in order that they might put that money to work. The idea here is that they have a commercial responsibility attached to this money, they’re supposed to do something with it that will benefit their master, so that when he returns his wealth will have increased. Notice verse 15 again,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

The master divvies out these talents of money according to each of his servant’s abilities. The assumption here is that these servants will use their abilities to put this resource to work.

We should also note that their abilities are not the same, and therefore the amount of money their master gives to each of them is not the same. Due to their differing abilities their master entrusts them will differing amounts of money. He entrusts one with five talents, another with two and another with one. Therefore, their their responsibility to their master depends upon what they have been given.

And it’s at this point the central theme of this parable emerges. The talents, or the amount of money, given to the servants represents the amount of responsibility given to us as Christ’s disciples. The talents represent the opportunities, the privileges and resources given to us by Jesus. They represent the responsibility that we have to use those resources in service to Christ, for his kingdom and his glory until he returns.

Talents ≠ Abilities

It’s also important to note that these talents of money do not represent our natural abilities or giftings, but rather our resources. Remember, these talents are given according to our abilities (v.15). In other words, this parable is not about stewarding your natural abilities and talents, but instead it’s about your responsibility to use your gifts and abilities to put your resources to work. That includes your time, your money, your privileges and opportunities. We all have differing quantities of these things, but we’re supposed to use what we’ve been given in service to our Lord while he’s away. This is our duty until Christ returns.

Two responses

And so the parable goes on to tell us how these three servants handled their talents of money while their master was away. Let’s look again starting at verse 16,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

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.’

So, we have two basic scenarios, 1) the servants who put their master’s money to work and made a return, and 2) the servant who did not, and buried his master’s money. The first two servants are rewarded for fulfilling their responsibility, while the third servant makes excuses for not fulfilling his. Look again there in verse 24,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

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.

Like all of us this servant has a duty to his master, a responsibility to use the resources given to him to serve his master, to put those resources to work. However, he neglects to do so, and when his master returns to settle accounts the servant approaches and immediately says, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.”

Spiteful Excuse

Now, I hope you can see what this servant is doing, because at first it may seem like he has a valid excuse, that his master is a hard man, with unreasonable expectations and demands, and that this servant has been put in an impossible situation. That we should feel compassion for him, that his master should go easy on him because of the harsh demands put upon him, and that the best this servant could have done was bury the master’s money, so as not to (at the very least) risk losing it. You see, it’s an excuse, and we have to ask ourselves is it a valid excuse?

Is the accusation that his master is a hard and unreasonable man true? Is it true that Jesus has put unreasonable or impossible demands upon us? Well, the answer is obviously no! In fact, look again what the master says there in verses 26-27,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

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.

Notice the question mark at the end of verse 26. The master isn’t admitting that he’s a hard man, no, he’s challenging the servant’s accusation that he is. Then in verse 27 he tells his servant that if he is, in fact, the hard man that his servant claims, then he could have at least invested his money with the bankers to gain interest, but he didn’t even do that.

Wicked and slothful servant!

So, this is why the master says at the beginning of verse 26, “You wicked and slothful servant!” In other words, your inaction has nothing to do with me supposedly being a hard man, instead it has everything to do with your lack of concern for me, and your laziness demonstrates it. And this is important for us to realize, because usually our own laziness is rooted in a lack of concern. Laziness is a symptom of not caring. Therefore, our faithfulness of carrying out our responsibilities to God will reveal whether we care about him or not. Remember, the unexpected nature of Christ’s coming is intended to reveal our hearts, and in this parable the hearts of these three servants are revealed, and one is found wanting. One of the servants is found to be completely disinterested in his master’s business while he’s away, and his excuses will not suffice, and his accusations will not stick.

And so then we read there in verse 28,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

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.’

The servant is condemned for being irresponsible with the talent of money that was entrusted to him. He neglected his duty, he neglected his responsibility to utilize what he was given in service to his master. NT scholar, D.A. Carson put it well, “Grace never condones irresponsibility; even those given less are obligated to use and develop what they have.”

Rewarded

Now, while the one servant was punished, the other two were rewarded. We read that the master said to them, “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, the first thing we should notice is that these servants were not rewarded for their results, but for their faithfulness. We have very little control over the results of our faithfulness. Our faithfulness can result in all sort of differing outcomes. Outcomes to us that can sometimes appear significant and at other times insignificant, so we must remember that our responsibility is not to produce a certain degree or kind of results, but simply to be faithful with the resources the Lord has given us.

The second thing we should notice is that our reward will include greater responsibility. Now, given our modern sensibilities and proclivities, we might hope that our faithfulness will be rewarded with some kind of eternal retirement in the sky, but that’s not the biblical expectation. While we’re often worn down by the toil this fallen world entails, we were still created for work, and when the bondage of creation is finally removed our toil will no longer be by the sweat of our brow, but will become a blessing and a joy.

It’s also important that we realize that greater responsibility is a blessing and an honor. It was a blessing and an honor for Joseph in Egypt to rise and be put in charge of Potiphar’s entire household. It was a blessing when the Lord promoted him from prison to become Pharoah’s right-hand man. And so it will be at Christ’s return, a blessing and an honor to be entrusted with more responsibility by our King.

Responsible for our own talents

Now, before we close I want to mention a few other areas of application. The first, is that we must remember that we’re not responsible for what others have been given, but only for what we have been given, according to our own abilities. The servant with two talents was not scolded for having less talents than the one with five.

Secondly, we’re not all the same, we have different abilities and gifts, and consequently different responsibilities, therefore we must be careful not to hold others accountable to our own responsibilities.

Thirdly, we’re not intended to belittle those who have been given less, or to envy those who have been given more. God has purposefully given all of us differing amounts of responsibility and expectations, and these differences should never be an occasion for belittling or envying one another.

Closing

We’re all responsible for the work we’ve been given, each according to our ability and what the Lord has entrusted to us. Our Lord expects us to put what he has given us to good use. It’s expected of us to use the resources given to us for God’s glory, so that upon his return he would be able to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of you master.”

Prayer

Thank you for this parable, Lord. I ask that you would give us hearts that adore you, hearts that care deeply for you. That our love for you would spill over in obedience to your word. That our hearts would be motivated to dedicate all that you’ve given us to your glory, and in the service to your kingdom. I pray that we would be found about your business at your Son’s return. That we would be found maximizing the opportunities you’ve given us, not wasting them.