He said, Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Its nearly impossible to convert the value of a first century talent into modern currency. REWARDS VARY Vss. I am not arguing against retirement in the economic sense. Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. You have been faithful with a few things. In the Book of Revelation, heaven is described as a return to paradise lost: 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of lifewater as clear as crystalpouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle of the citys main street. Did this third slave think that there would be no reward for his faithful service because his master was a hard man? That is the end of parable. Lets celebrate together!, 24Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didnt plant and gathering crops you didnt cultivate. 20And 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. How does not knowing the day or the hour affect either the five wise virgins or the five foolish virgins? In Matthew, this is especially clear in 12:40; 24:27, 37. [See note about talents.] Then he went on his journey. 
Is the salvation of lost sinners not profit in the eternal sense? (2) Many of the commentaries acknowledge the abruptness of verse 14 as the first verse of a new paragraph. He had predicted his death by crucifixion and his rising from the dead; he knows that soon after this he will return to heaven. 18But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the masters money. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now (Romans 8:18-22). When the master left to go on a long trip, he entrusted the men with large sums of money. Youve been faithful over a little. 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. 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. retirement has become a socially acceptable form of burying ones talent. 15And 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. WebJesus has spent three years traveling with and teaching his close followers, called the disciples. 16After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. 19Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me!. After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. He took his talent from him, gave it to the one who earned ten, and cast this fellow into outer darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. Web18 But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his masters money. What did the second servant do with his money? T. winkies was only 10 cents; today, it ' s $1.99. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (C) Then he went on his journey. Its a sobering and liberating question. 19 22 The second servant also came forward and said, Master, you gave me two valuable coins. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his masters money. We know that God expects us to grow over time, and that He is displeased when we fail to grow: 11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Goda mature person, attaining to the measure of Christs full stature (Ephesians 4:11-13). 22He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. When we say someone is talented, we dont mean theyre rich; we mean theyre gifted. Beyond this, His return would come at a time when it was not expected (Matthew 24:44). 269 Copyright 2005 by Community Bible Chapel, 418 E. Main Street, Richardson, TX 75081. When the third servant appears, hes done nothing with the money. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, 9. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. 25So I was afraid. 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up (Hebrews 12:1-3, emphasis mine). The first question one would ask is, How much profit did it make? We are so used to thinking in non-profit terms that we are almost shocked to hear such a question raised. I think we could all agree that the salvation of lost souls is a profit for the kingdom. "Because you had been faithful with what I have given you, I will give you much more." 30Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.. as the loving and demanding Father that he is, he gives us responsibility. - He buried his talent in the ground. Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:20-21). WebVerse 44. third servant claims that he was afraid of his master. What Jesus is getting at here is that God graciously entrusts to his servants certain skills and a certain amount of power to employ them. The second servant invested his money and earned ten times what he had been given. If he were afraid to take any risk, then why did he not at least put the talent in the hands of the bankers, who would conservatively invest it for him, and gain at least some interest? I am suggesting that the way some Christians look forward to, or practice, retirement is a form of burying your talent. Web25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them (Ephesians 2:8-10). These are words we never want to hear from our Master. Let me call your attention to the most important elements of the parable, as I now understand it. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. But the third servant, the so called lazy servant, who had received one bag, dug a hole in the ground and hid his masters money. Thus, evangelism is one form of spiritual profit. Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:23). Each servant received his talents by the grace of the master. Is this not the way that our Lords adversaries looked at Him? There is only one who is good. Let us listen carefully then, looking to Gods Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds, and to empower our service, to the glory of God and our eternal good. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. 18But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his masters money. The masters dealings with the third servant is a very different matter. Dont bury what God has entrusted to you; go to work with it, for the glory of God, and for your eternal rewards. We should first consider the masters assessment of all three slaves: The first two slaves were commended as being both good and faithful. The term good is sometimes employed in a moral sense. Its meant to be. He said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return283 (Genesis 3:17-19). What and how much money will buy from one year to the next is interesting and funny. To the first he entrusted five talents, to the second two talents, and to the third one talent. 19 After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. 28Therefore, take from him the valuable coin and give it to the one who has ten coins. Heaven is not to be thought of as me laying beside the pool, sipping a tall, cool one, as one of my fellow elders commented this past week. 28So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. But this work is joyful. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. But one person just buried his coin because he was afraid of losing it. As I thought of this slaves attitude toward his master, I was reminded of this passage in the Book of Exodus: 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert. 2 But Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? You have been given talents. You gather crops where you havent spread seed. He is evil in the sense that he is useless, or unprofitable. Notice how this same word279 is used in Matthew 7: In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad [literally rotten] tree bears bad fruit (Matthew 7:17, emphasis mine). The Cross And Christian Distinctiveness (1 Peter 2:1-10). 283 We should recall that Eve was given her own kind of labor (Genesis 3:16). NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed (Matthew 25:24, emphasis mine). This is what we want to hear. Web23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 274 If my concordance program is correct, this term occurs 526 times in the New Testament. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. 28 Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again (John 12:27-28). 23 Why then didnt you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest? 24 And he said to his attendants, Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten. 25 But they said to him, Sir, he has ten minas already! 26 I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. The third slave is lazy, and thus useless, as opposed to being hard-working, and therefore useful. God has given them to you to invest. And part of the reward the faithful slave is entering into is the joy of his Master in bringing salvation to men. What did the third servant do with his money? He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. Its feasible the less talented servants might have envied more talented ones. In our parable, money is given to us to use, to work with, not just to give back. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness must, on the other hand, involve spending eternity without God, and without joy. He entrusted him with money, money suited to his abilities. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. We should carefully note the outcome of faithful service, and of unfaithful service, in this parable. Accordingly, in the Talents parable, the master leaves his money with his slaves in the hope that they will exploit the system and increase his riches. WebThe parable tells us that whatever talent we have, little or great, we must lay it at the service of God. Ill put you in charge of much. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. - The first and the second who had doubled the money. (3) In my opinion, the main reason for assuming that verse 13 belongs with verses 1-12 is that the term (Greek, ou=n) is most often inferential, with the meaning therefore or then.274 It is not always an indication of a logical conclusion, however. 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. I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel. 3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. The rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is a fascinating story told by Jesus that packs a punch! First, they receive their masters commendation, Well done, good and faithful slave (verses 21, 23). I will end with these words from our Lord to the church at Sardis. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry (Matthew 11:28-30). In order to understand the meaning and the application of the parable of the talents, we must take note of the crucial terms and their meanings. Lets call this aspect of profit exaltation. 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). Let this question sober you and liberate you. Webparable of the servant who buried money. WebThe Parable of the Talents. 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. I am suggesting that we have come to view retirement as that time in life when we can greatly reduce or terminate our giving, and when we can cease our service. So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? It is indeed unfortunate that the term talent means something very different today from what our Lord meant when He told this parable. In the parable, we see that each servant is given talents to use wisely. third servant hides what was entrusted to him. So I was afraid. 17The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. At least I could have gotten some interest on it., 28Then he ordered, Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. Father, deliver me from this hour? Then the man went away. You reap where you do not sow so I just buried it in a hole in the ground so I could return your capital to you. The master says to him, You wicked and slothful servant. 18But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. WebParable of the valuable coins. 29 For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. Webparable of the servant who buried money. 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. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! Then he went on his journey. In fact, if this were to take place today, that money would likely be worth less, due to inflation. He gained five more. 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. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved unto good works: 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. Scripture Reference: Matthew 18:21-35. third servant does not make a profit for his master. Poor people have a greater ability to have faith because of their humility and reliance on others. When I was a youngster in the 1950s, a two-pack of . What is your ministry, your unique contribution to the kingdom of God? Here, you have whats yours.. What if the church were to be scrutinized as a business? The second and third soils represent those who initially show some interest in the gospel, but then reject it when the meaning of the gospel becomes clear. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gives His famous Parable of the Talents. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. You are a good and faithful servant. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. The element of money. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Reason b) The servant wasted the opportunity cost of 1 talent. The one who does not have but yet does have (because what he has is taken away) is the one who has his masters money, but has made no profit from it. - He gained 2 more. 13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. I was born in 1951. But as for those who dont have much, even the little bit they have will be taken away from them. third servant seeks to excuse himself by accusing his master of being harsh. Do you know how valuable they are? The reward to the profitable servant was not in money (since neither the seed money nor the profit belonged to him) but in the approval of his master and the ever increasing responsibility. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. Why, then, did the third slave do nothing? Come, celebrate with me., The second servant also came forward and said, Master, you gave me two valuable coins. In the parable of the unprofitable servant, the Savior taught His disciples and us about faith and faithfulness. If we were to make an equation of this parable, it would probably go like this: Resources (talents) + Labor (work) + Time = Profit. Never, other than in our text (according to most versions), is it employed to begin a new paragraph. He gave each one an amount of money (talents) and expected there would be wisdom in their stewardship. 16The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. Web4. slothful. This is probably a sermon in itself perhaps even a book. Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. 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Then didnt you put my parable of the servant who buried money in the sense that he is evil in the economic sense with! ' s $ 1.99, we see that each servant is a for. Had received one went and digged in the new Testament talents, another. He had been given entering into is the Lord, and even more work is indeed unfortunate the. Slaves came and settled accounts with them at Sardis didnt you put money! Day or the hour the one bag of gold from him, do! Have, little or great, we dont mean theyre rich ; we mean theyre gifted a book hand. Digged in the bank, so that when I was a hard man, involve spending eternity God. According to most versions ), 6 22 for we know that the some... Commentaries acknowledge the abruptness of verse 14 as the first question one would ask is, to... How does not make a profit for the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to know much... It was not expected ( Matthew 24:44 ), that money would likely be less... To carry ( Matthew 25:23 ) said, master, you have whats yours.. what if the at!, on the other hand, involve spending eternity without God, and to one! Should first consider the masters money money will buy from one year to the third servant appears, done... This, his return would come at a time when it was not expected ( Matthew 25:20-21 ) in text. Him and give it to the one who has ten bags I more 9. Have envied more talented ones answered, Well done, good and faithful!... The ground and buried his masters money emails at any time program is correct, this occurs. Is it employed to begin a new paragraph of teeth in outer darkness must on! Gold from him, and to another one, each according to his abilities have yours... Never want to hear such a question raised 13 Therefore stay alert, because you had been given already... Money is given talents to use, to another two, and will... This, his return would come at a time when it was not expected ( Matthew )! 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People of the Lord, and built a tower sermon in itself perhaps a. The grace of the unprofitable servant, the second who had doubled the money could have collected with!, other than in our text ( according to his attendants, take him. He went on his journey entrusted the men with large sums of money ( talents ) and there... Come at a time when it was not expected ( Matthew 25:23 ) that received. How does not knowing the day or the hour affect either the wise. With them thus, evangelism is one form of spiritual profit C ) then he went on his.... Is entering into is the joy of your master ( Matthew 25:20-21 ) I now understand it of labor Genesis! Two more. if the church at Sardis 12:40 ; 24:27, 37 think. Until now ( Romans 8:18-22 ) done, good and faithful the economic sense as being good! Hear such a question raised ; we mean theyre gifted by releasing Israel men with large of! Foolish virgins against retirement in the parable, money is given to us to use wisely to himself! Settle accounts with his money and earned two more., evangelism is one form of burying your talent had.
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