Matthew 25:14 - 30
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,[a] 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.’
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Is God such a harsh master?
2. What does the modern "1-bag" servant look like?
http://www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Matthew/Matthew%20Chapter%2025%20Continued.html says:
ReplyDeleteThe parable of the talents further emphasizes the need for personal preparation and faithful service to the Master (see also Luke 19:11-28). The “talents” represent large units of money and are distributed according to “ability” (verse 15). “Far country” indicates the time during which Jesus is in heaven, between His first coming and His final return.
The three “servants” are typical of three types who are entrusted with various tasks in accordance with their own ability. Not all are expected to produce the same results, but all are to be faithful with what they have had entrusted to them. Thus, the first two double their money, while the last one hides the “one … in the earth.”
The phrase “after a long time” gives a veiled indication of the length of Christ’s session in heaven during the present age. Each of those producing results is commended by the Master: “Well done … good and faithful servant” and is promised to be a “ruler over many things,” with a view to continued service in the millennial kingdom.
Verses 14-30: The parable of the talents illustrates the tragedy of wasted opportunity. The man who goes on the journey represents Christ, and the slaves represent professing believers given different levels of responsibility. Faithfulness is what he demands of them, but the parable suggests that all who are faithful will be fruitful to some degree. The fruitless person is unmasked as a hypocrite and utterly destroyed (verse 30).
Who called his own servants before he took his journey, to entrust them with Talents. These were not wicked, slothful, graceless, which is not true of anyone of the elect: but ministers of the word are here meant, who are eminently the servants of Christ, his own, whom he has called, qualified, commissioned, and sent forth.
You see, Jesus has gone away into heaven, and is now sitting at the right hand of God. He has left His church in the care of His ministers (servants) until He returns.
A talent of silver (the word translated “money” in verse 18, is literally silver) was a considerable sum of money. The modern meaning of the word “talent,” denoting a natural ability, stems from the fact that this parable is erroneously applied to the stewardship of one’s natural gifts.
The very first thing that we must note about this is that they were given talents according to their ability to handle money. Some people cannot handle large sums of money. God cannot trust some people with money. God knows where their ability lies.
The problem is not to have money; the problem lies in what you do with it. This Scripture is not only in having money, but in the spiritual sense, is speaking of the congregations of the people God entrusts to the pastors. Some have large congregations, some medium, some have very few.
http://www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Matthew/Matthew%20Chapter%2025%20Continued.html (continued):
ReplyDeleteThe ministers of the Gospel are traders; not in their own name, nor on their own stock, and for themselves, but for Christ, and for the good of immortal souls that they closely attend unto, and worked at. By constant reading and diligent search into the word of God.
And by studious meditation on it; by frequent prayer; and continual preaching the Gospel, and administering ordinances; and their success.
He buried it; that is, he neglected the gift that was in him, he made no use of it, either to his own advantage, or to the good of others, and the interest of his Lord.
The phrase seems to point out the earthly mindedness of the man, his worldly disposition, and his eager pursuit after the things of life; which were the reason why he disregarded his talent, and made no use of his ministerial gifts: he could not deny worldly self, nor leave all to follow Christ; but rather than drop the world, he chose to bury his talent in it.
You see, we all know it has been a long time since our Master came and checked on us, close to 2,000 years. There is going to be a day of reckoning. A day will come when we and our works will be judged of Jesus. Just the fact that we belong to Him will get us into heaven.
Our faithfulness to the task that He has left us to do will determine what we will do when we reign with Him here on earth.
Life is pretty much like a monopoly game. Some people get Baltic and Mediterranean, and others get Boardwalk and Park Place. You can be a winner just as easily with Baltic, as you can with Boardwalk. It is how you play the game that is important.
The great mistake of the unfaithful servant is in misjudging the character of his Master: “thou art a hard man.” He could not have known the Master well to assume him to be severe and merciless. He fails to understand the real generosity of his Master, who wanted him to experience the joys of service.
Whereas the parable of the 10 virgins emphasizes personal preparation for the coming of Christ, the parable of the talents stresses the importance of faithful service during His present absence.
http://www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Matthew/Matthew%20Chapter%2025%20Continued.html (continued):
ReplyDelete“An hard man”: His characterization of the master maligns the man as a cruel and ruthless opportunist, “reaping and gathering” what he had no right to claim as his own. This slothful servant does not represent a genuine believer, for it is obvious that this man had no true knowledge of the master.
“That is thine”: There is what properly belongs to thee. There is the original talent that thou gave me, and that is all that can be reasonably required. Observe here:
1. This expresses exactly the feelings of all sinners. God, in their view, is hard, cruel, and unjust.
2. All the excuses of sinners are excuses for indolence and sin, and the effect is to cheat themselves out of heaven. The effect of this excuse was that the reward was lost, and such will always be the result of the excuses of sinners for not doing their duty.
3. Sinners grudge everything to God. They are never willing to be liberal toward him but are stinted and close; and if they give, they do it with hard feelings, and say that that is all that he can claim.
“Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not”: In repeating the servant’s charge against him, the master was not acknowledging that it was true. He was allowing the man’s own words to condemn him.
If the servant really believed the master to be the kind of man he portrayed, that was all the more reason for him not to be slothful. His accusation against the master – even if it had been true – did not justify his own laziness.
Some are so afraid they will do something wrong, that they are not doing anything at all. FEAR IS NOT OF GOD.
The recipients of divine grace inherit immeasurable blessings in addition to eternal life and the favor of God (Rom. 8:32).
But those who despise the riches of God’s goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering (Rom. 2:4), burying them in the ground and clinging instead to the paltry and transient goods of this world, will ultimately lose everything they have (6:19; John 12:25).
My 2 cents:
ReplyDeleteThis parable is about entrance into the kingdom of God. To enter the kingdom of God at judgment, we must have borne fruit. If we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. If we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we cannot help but bear fruit.
Those who reside in the community of Christians will fall into one of two camps: Those who bear fruit (are saved) and those who don't (are not saved).
1. Is God such a harsh master?
God is absolutely pure. He cannot abide with impurities. To enter His presence, we need to be purified by Christ's blood. If we are purified, we will bear fruit. Is it fair that someone who thinks they are saved are surprised in the end? It is, because God defines fairness and justice.
But if it helps us cope, we can imagine that the unsaved "Christian" had ample opportunity to repent. But, we risk putting God into a box. We have to be careful to not re-imagine God into something that's acceptable to our sensibilities (for what will happen when we can't). Instead, we need to trust God. However, there is no harm in wondering about God's justice and how it might work.
2. What does the modern "1-bag" servant look like?
We need to be careful here. What we value and what God values are different. And what God values in each of us might look different from each other.
In short, a 1-bag servant is one who does not bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If we are saved, the Holy Spirit lives in us. We are driven to bear fruit.
One might ask, "can we squelch the Holy Spirit and become unsaved?". That has been debated by Christian's for years. In the end it doesn't matter if we call the 1-bag servant a non-Christian or a Christian who is no longer a Christian. It comes to the same end.
How do we make sure we are bearing fruit? By walking in the Holy Spirit. We need to pray, listen to God, ask Him what He wants of us, and then joyfully go out and do it. Doing good works on our own power is NOT bearing fruit. Doing good works because it pleases God is bearing fruit.