Talents and the Judgement Ps 85:1-2; 8-13; Isa 40:1-11; 2 Pet 3:8-15a; Matt 25:14-30 st Marks 9.30 10.12.23
(Explanation on extra section at conclusion) *
Like many of the parables of Jesus, that of the talents includes us all, you are either the first servant, given much, the second servant, given less, or the last servant, “wicked and lazy”. But all of us will come to Judgement. Since we need revelation from heaven to understand the teachings of Christ, we need to pray.
Introduction
The context of today’s Gospel reading, is well suited to the Advent season theme, being ready for the Return of Jesus. Having heard Mark preach last week on the wise and foolish bridesmaids, you might ask, “Why do we have to hear the same theme again?” Since warnings about the sudden Coming of the Lord “to judge the living and the dead” appear throughout the New Testament (e.g. Luke 12:42-46; 21:34; 1 Thess 5:2-6), it is plain that few disciples live consistent lives formed in the light of the certainty of the Second Coming. A straightforward approach to the “parable of the talents” will avoid speculation about the precise nature of a talent, whether Jesus approves the taking of interest on loans and so on. Nothing must be allowed to take the edge off Christ’s central message. Nevertheless, dealing with money is the most common theme in the parables, so a more precise title for this one might be, “Money in Trust”. The master stands for God, and the servants are disciples i.e. us.
The Master Entrusts
“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.
The very first word, “For”, connects this story with the preceding parable of the ten bridesmaids, the delay of the bridegroom in the former is equivalent to the lengthy journey of the master. There is an element of unpredictability woven into the timetable of the world. A talent was worth around 6000 denarii, a denarius being the average daily wage (Matt 20:9), (about 16 years wages) so in each case the master makes a significant investment in the servants. [As such some commentators label them as “Industrious and lazy Managers”.] We must note that the servants did not earn their talents, they were given to them. Each is given according to his “ability”, (Gk: dynamis δύναμις), each had within them the God-given power to do something with the talents. The first two servants understood the dynamic nature of the gift they had received, elsewhere in the New Testament called, “grace gifts” (charismata) (1 Cor 12). Paul expresses the foundational reality about God’s giving when he embarrasses the Corinthians by teaching, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Cor 4:7 cf. Rom 12:7; Eph 4:7). When my house painter shared how he’d had an operation that saved his life from cancer and boasted in the skill of the surgeons I couldn’t but remark, “Who gave the doctors those abilities?”, to which he was speechless. It is deeply humbling to remember that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).
The Servants Rewarded
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.’
That after a long time the master returned to “settle accounts” points to a Last Judgment scene. Plainly, the talents were given to be actively traded, which the first two servants had faithfully proceeded to do. This parable teaches us that God is an entrepreneur, who loves to multiply things. From Genesis 1 onwards, multiplication is embedded into the very fabric of creation (Gen 1:26-28;6:1; 9:1; Ex 1:7 etc.). The identical response of the master to the obedience of the first two servant is the climax of this story, “‘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.’ The master’s response is a sign of the vast love of God and of his supreme justice which rewards each servant proportionality to their service. The master’s happiness lifts the parable out of any sterile commercial applications into the realm of the heavenly Father.
Serious Bible readers will immediately be reminded of Hebrews 12:1-2; “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:1-2). Jesus’ entry into the extravagant overwhelming joy of the heavenly Father shows he perfectly exemplified what he taught.
The great truth of God’s generous Fatherly joy is articulated by Peter, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pet 1:8-9). The vast truth pointed to in this parable is that the Father’s joy in Jesus will be shared equally with all the children of God at the Last Judgement. Hallelujah. PTL. Amen! But our parable is only part way through.
Distrust Reaps Consequences
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 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.’
The “lazy servant” has no care for his master’s agenda, fails his master’s trust and goes on to insult him. He is a legalistic religious fatalist so concerned with not doing the wrong thing that he plays life safe and by substituting security for service, is never empowered by an anticipation of final joy (Neh 8:10). His assessment of his master as a “hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,” portrays him as a grasping capitalist so he is paralysed from achieving anything at all. If his idea of the character of the master were correct, he should have been more diligent. Being ignorant of Christ’s word, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 10:39), he fulfils another decree of the Lord, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matt 13:12) He epitomises useless religion. Let me tell a story.
Back in 1994 I was returning from a few weeks in Argentina witnessing the productivity of a revival there, somewhere over the Pacific the Lord drew my attention to this parable, and I sensed him saying that the third servant is a…typical Australian. Despite all the talents and gifts poured out on our nation, our ungodly “fear” (Matt 25:25 φοβηθεὶς/phobeo) renders us paralysed as far as multiplying the talents of the Lord. The wicked servant treated the gift as though it was a possession and, in the end, lost everything. Our Master and God expects all his servants to be industrious.
Application and Conclusion
You will hear this parable through the lens shared by the two faithful servants, or the lens of the wicked lazy servant. Over the course of his life Jesus repeatedly heard, “behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matt 3:17 cf. 12:18; 17:5), and especially distributed at resurrection [“disbelieved for joy and were marvelling” (Luke 24:41 cf. 24:52; Matt 28:8), by faith and anticipation,] This affirmation is meant to be a regular feature of our lives. Alternatively, we can be the sort of disciples described by a famous atheist, [ Friedrich Nietzsche], “They would have to sing better songs to make me believe in their Redeemer: his disciples would have to look more redeemed. [Surely their Redeemers themselves did not come from freedom or the seventh heaven of freedom!] ”.
Jesus teaching invites us to share the Joy of the Master excited about the revelation of his coming profit in us, excited as Jesus put it, about sharing with us in an eternal “marriage feast” (Matt 25:10; Rev 19). (If it is natural to look forward to a wedding, each of us should be excited about our coming marriage with Jesus.) I remember chatting with a man who did a lot of evangelism in old-people’s homes. His main emphasis was inviting the frail and dying to Jesus great eternal banquet.
Since God has given to each of us abilities to be used before our Master Returns this parable highlights why do we see so much spiritual passivity in the Church. First there is the useless ungodly practice which plagued my earlier life, comparing ourselves to others. No matter what fruit I saw of the Lord’s work I always thought of someone who saw more.
Secondly, [and far more foundationally], there is a popular confusion about rewards at the Last Judgment. I used to teach that Jesus would justly reward each of us in heaven in proportion to our faithfulness in this life, so that some would eternally receive more than others. However, if the main message of the parable of the talents (as in that of the 10 bridesmaids) is to distinguish between believers and unbelievers, and as the unmistakeable message of the earlier parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt 20:1-16) is the equality of reward of all the workers this teaching cannot be true. [Whilst some will be more excited than others when they first see the Lord,] the eternal reward of all God’s people is the joy of Jesus himself. Those who do not see eternity through this lens, will inevitably, [however subtly and covertly,] live stingy lives reflecting a view of God as “a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed”*. Of this we can now repent.
*Extra Note on Equal Eternal Rewards (not preached)
To teach otherwise implies:
a. this worldly differences continue into the “new” creation e.g. hierarchy.
b. some of the “old things” are remembered (Isa 65:17), this implies eternal regret (Rev 21:4)
c. there are degrees of participation in the life of Christ in eternity.
- salvation is a gift of grace, but rewards are earned or merited.
- that infinite rewards can in some way be correlated with finite works
- believers are not perfected at death (Heb 12:23)