2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 15 To one he gave five talents,[ b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. See, I have gained two more.' 23 His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! If we seek to shun the work our Lord has given us, it betrays a wrong attitude and relationship with our Master. ), [Rom. 16He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. And so it is that those who over time work with what they are entrusted, in order to make a profit for their master, are rewarded for their faithfulness. Neuter of a presumed derivative of the original form of tlao; a balance, i.e. Those who are unfaithful lose not only their reward, but their stewardship. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place a limitation on you, but so that without distraction you may give notable and constant service to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32-35). He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. And part of the reward the faithful slave is entering into is the joy of his Master in bringing salvation to men. This slave does absolutely nothing with the talent that has been entrusted to him, nothing but bury it, that is.277 We need to distinguish between his excuses and the masters assessment, both of which are conveyed in our text. However, Jesus claimed kingship in a way that confused many people, and the way his kingdom operates often offends our sense of propriety. Literal Standard Version And he who received the five talents, having gone, worked with them, and made five other talents; Majority Standard Bible The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and made five more. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. The joy that was before our Lord would seem to include the salvation of lost sinners (Luke 15:4-10). master. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. "Parable of the Talents" Bible Craft Demonstration Use these hands-on learning activities when teaching from Matthew 25:14-30, where Jesus told the Parable of the Talents. If this is the case, and we are to be at work until He comes, then why do we think that reaching a certain age entitles us to cease our labors for Him? man allocates his resources to servants, expecting them to make a profit in his absence. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. 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. In this show, one boss brings several employees into a room, gives them each cash, and tells them to invest to grow his corporation. Assuming, for the moment, that the slave was correct in his assessment, why would he not be motivated by his fear to seek a profit for his master? The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Rick Warren, Be Faithful in Small Things Look, there you have what is yours.. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Let me call your attention to the most important elements of the parable, as I now understand it. As a businessman takes pleasure in making a profit, so our Lord takes pleasure in the profit gained by His faithful servants in His absence. Our Lords emphasis here is not on putting the money to work, but on the servant going to work with his masters money. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. We should be careful to recognize that in this parable the mere possession of a talent is not evidence of salvation. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He does not require us to make bricks without providing both the clay and the straw. 20So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 21His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were (E)faithful over a few things, (F)I will make you ruler over many things. Return to your labor! 5 Pharaoh was thinking, The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor. 6 That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave masters and foremen who were over the people: 7 You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. I am suggesting that the way some Christians look forward to, or practice, retirement is a form of burying your talent. He contended that this is why he was afraid to take a risk with any kind of investment. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Talents? and Christians should not be molded by worldly standards (Romans 12:2). Theparable of the talents is told in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27. Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:20-21). When our Lord talks about the kingdom of heaven in our text and elsewhere, He speaks of it in terms of work, not of relaxation or of play. 274 If my concordance program is correct, this term occurs 526 times in the New Testament. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. if they get a '6' then they can pop the gloves on and try and unwrap the gift. 26But his lord answered and said to him, You (J)wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular. I wonder how many of us are simply giving back money that we have not put to use. It may be that you are not like the first two slaves, but like the third. In the Matthew version, he gives one servant 10 talents (or bags of gold), another five talents, and the third one talent. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Talents. Second, the faithful servants immediately went to work to increase their masters money (Matthew 25:16-17). 29(S)For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. The true believer is represented by the seed that grows, that endures, and that bears fruit. Pertaining to self, i.e. All rights reserved. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursedcut off from Christfor the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen, 4 who are Israelites. Our Lords teaching in the parable of the talents is that God expects profit that is the product of our labors. These rebels are slaughtered. What, then, is the root of this third slaves problem? The Parable of the Talents. Working hard for the profit of the kingdom and the King is entering into the joy of our Master. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you. While commentators differ somewhat over the approximate value of a talent in todays economy, all would agree that it was a large amount of money. 20 The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. 271. It is not meant that the improving of natural powers can entitle a man to Divine grace. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. Pharaoh was a harsh master. He demanded that the Israelites make bricks, but he refused to supply them with the necessary materials. To be away from home, go into another country, be away, be abroad. The whole parable is found in Matthew 25:14-30. What is the meaning of the parables of fasting at the wedding feast, the old cloth, and the wineskins? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Ten Virgins? Enter into the joy of your master. 24He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be (N)a hard man, reaping (O)where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. When the third servants excuses are set aside, it becomes evident that this man is lazy he didnt do any work. Some say that it was the equivalent to 20 years wages for a common laborer.275 We must remember, then, that a talent is a measure of money; it is not a reference to abilities. Luke there are ten servants; in Matthew, there are only three. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he . 278 Actually, the good slave is both morally good and useful, but his usefulness is emphasized most in the context. Yet is this not what our Lord is teaching us in this parable? Dont blame it on God. Each (of more than two), every one. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Seeking the Gospel in Malachi, the Last Book of the Old Testament. Faith Talk Ministries, Faithful to the End In the New Testament, the term "talent" meant something very different than it does today. Retirement is like the second stage of a rocket booster. Pressing this matter just a little further, if the church were to be considered a business and every member were to be viewed as an employee, how many of us should reasonably expect to keep our jobs? 276 Needless to say, bankers and banking were not the same in those days. The Parable of the Minas or Pounds (see Luke 19:11-15) also makes this clear. However, all creation was made very good (Genesis 1:31), and we must do all things to Gods glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). 15 To one he gave five talents,[ b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. In short, the talents represent what God has given usour monetary resources, our callings to positions within the church (Ephesians 4:11-16), our natural giftings. 17 In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. Enter into the joy of your master!' 24 Finally, the servant who had . Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular, Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular. The degree to which our earthly labor has been faithful and profitable will determine the degree to which we enter into joyful labor in heaven. The masters return presumably refers to the last days when Jesus will return, and at the final judgment unrepentant sinners will perish and those served God will be rewarded according to their actions (Revelation 20:11-15) (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). This is probably a sermon in itself perhaps even a book. He has granted the time and the resources for men to make a profit for the kingdom of heaven, until He returns. The third servant is lazy, because he does not go to work with the money. Is this not cause for rejoicing (see Acts 11:19-24)? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Sower? In the parable, the gifts are given according to natural ability, but all who increase equally are rewarded equally. 30And cast the unprofitable servant (L)into the outer darkness. If Adams sin brought about painful labor for mankind, the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ (the last Adam 1 Corinthians 15:45) brought rest: 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents (or the Talents' parable) to his disciples. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you werefaithful over a few things,I will make you ruler over many things. It is the real Christian's liberty and privilege to be employed as his Redeemer's servant, in promoting his glory, and the good of his people: the love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself, but to Him, that died for him and rose again. I was talking about this text with a friend, and he said, God expects the principle, plus interest. I think thats right. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. And so he simply hid the money, and now he returned it, without any gain. God expects a profit, and He holds us accountable for what we have done with what He has entrusted to us. Both of these faithful slaves are rewarded well for their faithful service. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). 277 There are those who would suggest that this slave buried the talent in hopes that the master might never return. In a similar way, in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) the mere germination of the seed does not seem to represent salvation. Mat Mt). The similarities between the parable in Matthew 25 and this parable in Lukes Gospel are easily seen: While the parable in Luke is similar to our parable in Matthew 25, there are some significant differences: The temptation is for us to carry details from the parable in Lukes Gospel over to Matthews account, but we should be careful about this, recognizing that these parables, while similar, were told on different occasions and contain significant differences. He doesnt even take the trouble to take it to the money changers, and let them work with it to gain something for his master. 13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. As I was teaching the parable of the virgins, I could not see how verse 13 served as any kind of conclusion to the first 12 verses. All three stories are about being given something which must be used well, and the consequences of neglecting or abusing it. I believe it is his view of his master, and thus the work his master has assigned. One man may design a church building, a cathedral. But the master did provide the means for his slave to make a profit. In Matthew, this is especially clear in 12:40; 24:27, 37.
