The Parable of the Talents I. Opening Prayer II. Base Text: Matthew 25:14-30 III. Context A. Jesus is in Jerusalem during the final week of His earthly life and has been teaching in the Temple (Matthew 21:1-23:39) B. The disciples pointed out the various buildings of the Temple; Jesus declared that not one stone would be left upon another; on the Mount of Olives, the disciples asked Him three questions about these matters: when would these things be, what would be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the age (Matthew 24:1-3) C. The rest of what Jesus would declare in Matthew 24:4-25:46 is sometimes called the "Olivet Discourse" D. Matthew 24:1-35 are consumed with the question of when the destruction of Jerusalem would take place: many would be led astray to follow false Christs; nations would rise and fall; the Gospel of the Kingdom would be proclaimed around the world; the abomination of desolation would be made evident; a great tribulation would come to pass; the kingdoms of the world would be shaken; it would be a day of the Son of Man; as the fig tree displays the season, they must understand what they see; all of this would take place within a generation E. Matthew 24:36-51 speak of signs which would be true of the destruction of Jerusalem, any other Day of the Son of Man, and the final Day of the Son of Man: only the Father knows the day; it will be as the days of Noah and would come quickly; one would be left, and another taken; they must watch because they do not know when their Lord would return; if the master knew when the thief would come, he would have been waiting; blessings for the faithful servant keeping the house; condemnation to the outer darkness for the wicked servant who oppresses others when the lord is away, and will be judged when the lord returns unexpectedly F. Matthew 25:1-13 is the parable of the ten virgins, reinforcing the importance of watching and being prepared since no one will know when Jesus will return, and particularly the importance of remaining vigilant and prepared despite what seems to be a delay G. A vision of the judgment scene is displayed in Matthew 25:31-46 H. The parable of the talents, then, is firmly in the context of Jesus’ admonitions regarding a Day of the Son of Man, leading up to the judgment description IV. Interpretation and Application A. Before we examine the parable of the talents proper, it is good to remember how parables work 1. A recognizable physical, “real life” situation is mapped upon a spiritual message 2. The nature of seed dispersal, whether to weed a field or no, how to make money: are these the concerns of Jesus? 3. No; a recognizable situation is used to explain spiritual truths about the types of people who receive the Gospel, the destruction of the wicked at the same time as the vindication of the righteous, and, as we will see, the necessity of making use of whatever God gives us B. We are presented with a master and his three servants (Matthew 25:14) 1. Master = God/ the Lord 2. Servants = God’s servants, Christians C. He gives to each servant talents according to their abilities: 5, 2, and 1 (Matthew 25:14-15) 1. Talents represent a large sum of money, representing well over one thousand dollars in cash but worth far more in buying power 2. We must remember, of course, that the money represents something in spiritual terms 3. The English language happily has another use for the word “talent” that fits the bill a. The physical, monetary talents = spiritual characteristics, “talents” b. We can understand the talents, therefore, in terms of spiritual gifts 4. “each to his ability:” we will return to this later D. The servants go out with their talents (Matthew 25:16-18) 1. The one with 5 makes 5 more; the one with 2, 2 more; the one with 1, buries it in the ground 2. The image of making money with the talents can represent a few things a. Basic concept: adding to what already exists b. Attractive idea: bringing people to faith in Jesus c. Yet also participating in the work of God in Christ and bearing fruit in Him E. The master returns to settle accounts (Matthew 25:19-23) 1. The master returns “after a long time” (Matthew 25:19) a. Well, we’re still here after 2000 years... b. ...yet it has been a “long time” c. What would happen if the master settled accounts today? 2. The settling of accounts is similar for the 5 and 2 talent servants a. Both come forth with their 5+5 and 2+2 talents b. Both hear the same message, “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.” 3. We now return to “each to his ability” from Matthew 25:15 a. In the parable, one servant has the ability to make 5 talents 10, and another to make 2 talents 4 b. Since both lived up to their ability, they both receive the same reward c. What does this teach us in spiritual terms? 4. We all have different abilities/different levels of abilities (1 Peter 5:10-11) 5. We strive to do the best we can in Christianity... 6. ...yet we all naturally are better at some things than others 7. Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-31 a. Paul here explains the differences between brethren b. We’re not to think higher of ourselves than we are, but we are to use what we have! c. Some may be more effective at teaching, others preaching, some in giving, some at encouraging d. We all can preach at some level, give at some level, encourage at some level (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-14, Hebrews 10:24-26)... e. ...yet we all have strengths and weaknesses in all these areas 8. Encouragement for us all a. Yet even though all of us have different levels of ability, if we live up to that ability, we receive our reward b. God expects us to live up to our abilities: and when we do, we are rewarded E. The Third Servant and the Master (Matthew 25:24-27) 1. If we follow the same logic as the five and two talent servants, the one talent servant was expected to make another talent 2. He did no such thing, and begins by accusing his master! a. Calling him a “hard man” b. “Reaping where he did not sow” 3. The master does not deny this! a. Does this mean that we should charge God with these attributes?! b. We must recognize again that this image maps onto spiritual truths c. In Christianity, who does the work here? d. Jesus ascended to Heaven, and left His message to the twelve disciples to spread throughout the world (Acts 1:1-18) e. Even to this day, if we do not sow the seed, and do not scatter the seed, the seed is not sown nor scattered! f. In a sense, therefore, this statement is true 4. The servant is severely chastised for his actions a. The master condemns the servant for wickedness and slothfulness b. ...even though he returned to the master that which was his! c. God, therefore, expects us to not just remain as we are, but to further His cause d. The servant could have put the talent in the bank to gain interest e. Does this mean that we should take the money in the church treasury to the bank to gain interest? No! This is a metaphor mapping onto spiritual truths 5. “Making interest on a talent” most plausibly refers to development of spiritual gifts, abilities 6. Even though we are charged to convert souls, and we ought to convert as to our ability, but even if we fail in that endeavor we must be at least developing in our own faith (Hebrews 5:14) F. The Conclusion (Matthew 25:28-30) 1. The 1 talent of the third servant was given to the first servant who had 10 a. The idea of more being given to those who already have made much and the loss of even the little of the one lacking: the same as in Matthew 13:12 b. The spiritual benefits of eternal life are magnified for the righteous, doing the will of God, yet those who work in wickedness will lose everything 2. The wicked servant is cast into hell a. This is a point where the parabolic language breaks down into more unambiguous fare b. Masters cannot really cast servants into the “outer darkness” while on earth... c. ...but God can certainly cast His wicked servants there! d. By not working for the Lord, at least developing our own faith, we put ourselves at risk for condemnation! G. Why would God condemn for not developing or enlarging the Kingdom? 1. James 4:17 2. If we know to do good, and do not do it, we sin H. Consider 2 Peter 3:11-12 1. Just as the parable of the talents is contextually tied with the last days... 2. ...so 2 Peter 3:11-12 contextually is tied to the last days I. Our Master could return to settle accounts at any times; is our conduct becoming of Him? J. Prayer, invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey" (Matthew 25:15). According to Matthew Jesus continued exhorting the disciples regarding the signs of His coming and the end of the age with the parable of the talents. A master gave talents to three servants according to their ability. A talent was an impressively large amount of money, worth as much as 6000 days of work for a laborer. The master then left and expected his servants to make money with their money. May we trust in the Lord Jesus and work in His Kingdom until He returns! 2: "His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord' (Matthew 25:21). In Jesus' parable of the talents the master eventually returned to settle accounts. The five and two talent servants had made five and two talents more, respectively; they received the same commendation from their master. God in Christ gives gifts according to ability; He expects development and profit from those gifts, each according to his or her ability and what he or she has been given. May we serve the Lord Jesus faithfully and bear fruit for Him! 3: "And I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own" (Matthew 25:25). The one talent servant of Jesus' parable of the talents did not honor his lord or his purposes. He judged the master a harsh man, reaping where he did not sow. He buried the talent and gave it back to the master. He did not gain his master's favor. His fate was not good. May we faithfully serve the Lord Jesus and glorify Him in all we do! 4: "And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30). The end of Jesus' parable of the talents dropped the parabolic pretense: the unprofitable servant is cast into the outer darkness, an illustration of hell spoken in terms of the covenant people of God. Thus Jesus explained the parable: He would go away, and would return and expect some kind of profit from His servants. Profitable servants would enter into His joy; unprofitable servants would be cast out into the outer darkness. May we trust in Jesus but also serve Him well, bearing fruit in our service as profitable servants, and obtain His joy in the resurrection of life!