A PARABLE OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Luke 19:12-15 NET Therefore he said, "A nobleman went to a
distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. (13)
And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to
them, 'Do business with these until I come back.' (14)
But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We
do not want this man to be king over us!'
(15) When he returned after
receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money.
He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading.
Background
Information
As Jesus and the disciples neared Jerusalem, many thought
the Kingdom of God would appear immediately.
Their understanding of the Old Testament scriptures, at this point, led
them to understand the Messiah would appear and miraculously and instantly
create the kingdom of blessings and prosperity for the nation of Israel. All the descendants of the scattered twelve
tribes would be brought back to the land.
The kingdom of Israel would extend to the boundaries given to
Abraham. All foreign powers would be
removed from the land and Israel would be the controlling empire of the world. The Passover celebration was a reminder of
their deliverance from the slavery of Egypt and many desired deliverance from
the Roman Empire.
The Jews only expected one climactic historical coming of
God through the Messiah and the setting up of the Age of Righteousness with
Jews in charge. Many thought this would
happen when Jesus came to Jerusalem at Passover.
The Nobleman to
be King
Jesus tells a parable describing the Kingdom of God as it
begins with Him, then He leaves and becomes King, and last He returns and
judges His servants. The nobleman is
Jesus, who ascends to heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father as king
of the Kingdom of God (or heaven). In
His absence His servants are given talents and resources to further the affairs
of the kingdom. Those who despised Him
were not His servants and refused for Him to be their King. At His return, His servants are required to
explain their use of the talents and resources given them by the absent King. Jesus explained that the kingdom would not come
until a future time, but His servants should be faithful during the interim period
to do the job assigned them.
The Settings of
the Parable
The storyline of this parable had historical
significance. When Herod the Great died
in 4 BC, he left Judea to his son Achelous, who had to go to Rome to have the
inheritance approved. Not wanting Archelaus as their ruler, the Jews sent fifty
men to argue their case before Augustus Caesar, who did ratify the inheritance
without giving Archelaus the title of “king.”
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The First Two
Servants
The king returns to His kingdom, calls His servants, and
inquires as to their dealings with the money given to them. The first called servant states that the
master’s mina increased by 10 times its original value. The master was pleased and rewarded him
authority over ten cities.
So the first one came before him
and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.' And the king said to him,
'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter,
you will have authority over ten cities.'
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| Denarias |
The second servant declares the mina entrusted to him has
increased by five. The master rewards
him with authority over five cities.
Then the second one came and
said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' So the king said to him, 'And you
are to be over five cities.' (Luke
19:18-19 NET)
These men did their job faithfully even though they were
promised no rewards and had no assurance that their master would even return,
let alone secure the kingdom that he sought.
The Third Servant
The third servant approaches and hands the master his
original mina without an increase because he hid it for safekeeping. (Note:
some versions translate as cloth while others translate as the
ground) His reasoning is that he was
afraid of the master because he was a severe (austere, hard, exacting, harsh) man.
This servant was unfaithful because his heart was not
right toward his master. He saw his master as a hard man who was demanding and
unfair. It could be said the servant did not love his master, but feared him
and dreaded to displease him. Rather than lose the pound and anger his master, he
guarded it so that he would at least have something to give the master if he
returned and asked for a reckoning.
This third servant did not obey his master and as a
result even lost the mina he was given. 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? Perhaps someone else can make better
use of the gifts for the Kingdom of God.
Then another slave came and
said, 'Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of
cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what
you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.' The king said to him, 'I
will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that
I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn't deposit and reaping what I didn't
sow? Why then didn't you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I
could have collected it with interest?' And he said to his attendants, 'Take
the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.'
(Luke 19:20-24 NET)
The Citizens
The “citizens” or “enemies” mentioned at the beginning
and the end of the parable are an important part of the story, for most of the
people in the crowd Jesus was talking to that day were probably in that category.
Particularly if Jesus failed to produce the outcome they expected. Jesus was near Jerusalem, and in a few days
He would hear the mob shout, “We have no king but Caesar!” In other words, “We will not have this Man to
reign over us” as the citizens of the parable.
The Parable of the Talents teaches us to be faithful to
use our different gifts as God gives us opportunities to serve. Some people
have a great deal of ability, so God gives them greater opportunity. The
important thing is not how much ability you have but how faithful you are to
use what you have for the Lord. The person with the least ability, if he or she
is faithful, will receive the same reward as the most gifted church leader.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon “It is always so, the gracious and faithful
man obtains more grace and more means of usefulness, while the unfaithful man
sinks lower and lower and grows worse and worse. We must either make progress
or else lose what we have attained. There is no such thing as standing still in
religion.”
God was gracious to give the nation of Israel nearly
forty years of grace before judgment fell on the temple and Jerusalem. But we must be careful to see in this a
warning to all who reject Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, for during this
time while He is away in heaven, the Lord is calling men everywhere to repent
and submit to the Kingdom of God (Heaven).
The faithful servants obeyed because they trusted their
master and wanted to please him. The unfaithful servant disobeyed because he claimed
to fear his master. But the citizens rebelled because they hated their
king.
We are living today in the period between Luke 19:14 and Luke
19:15 when our Master, the Lord Jesus is absent but will return according to
His promise. 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?
