The Parable of Talents…
Introduction:
1. Christian stewardship is one of the most important subjects of the Christians life as a disciple. What is a Christian? A Christian is someone who has given their own life over to Jesus to let Him rule their heart and mind. What is a Steward? A Steward is someone who oversees someone else’s property or business.
2. So, a Christian Steward is someone who has given himself or herself through the Gospel of Christ and are now overseeing their Lord’s business and affairs. In this series I have spoken on the subjects of being a good steward of time, influence, of our mind, and what a steward is in general. There are many aspects of being a steward and in today’s lesson we are going to look at the parable of talents.
3. We are not our own and are bought with a price. When a sinner comes to Jesus through the Gospel, they give themselves and everything they have over to Jesus to have and rule. By giving all we receive the best of gifts that being salvation and eternal life.
4. Each of us has gifts or abilities that we can use to increase our Lord’s kingdom. Now let us examine this parable and see what we can learn from it.
I. The Master
A. Going away
1. The master of the slaves goes away to another country.
a. Our Lord has gone into Heaven and from there he reigns until he comes back.
b. There is no reason given as to why the master went away to another country.
c. He did, however, entrust his servants to handle his business while he was gone.
d. He left them unsupervised, showing trust and confidence in them to be loyal and true to him.
2. He owned the servants.
a. He was not hiring someone to handle his business. He was in fact the owner of these people.
b. This was a time when slaves and servants were common, and this is not the case today.
c. These servants or slaves could have been sold like Joseph was or they could have given themselves freely to their master. We today have to give ourselves freely to the Lord.
B. He Gave Gifts
1. Each received according as the master sees fit.
a. It was the master who obviously knew the servants well enough to know what they were capable of accomplishing.
b. The Lord is omniscience or knows everything. He knows what we can handle and what we cannot. He is not like our supervisors or bosses of today that may give us tasks that we are not able to perform.
c. None was left empty handed everyone of these servants received some talent.
2. What is a talent?
a. The word talent in today’s term means ability.
b. The word used in Jesus’ day was that of weight.
c. There are two forms of weight measure, one called Troy, which has 12 ounces in a pound and the one that we use today, which is based on 16 ounces in a pound.
d. So, the talent in a troy system was about 120 pounds of silver or possibly gold.
e. The talent in our system today is about 96 pounds of silver or gold.
3. They each had different abilities.
a. Each one received differing amounts of money.
b. This implies that one could better manage what the master gave than the other.
c. It also implies the fairness and justness of the master. He did not give them something they could not handle. He considered each individually and gave according to each one’s ability.
C. He called their accounts in
1. He went away, in the immediate context this parable falls in the middle of Jesus teaching on the suddenness of the day of Judgement. It falls between a parable of preparation, the ten virgins and the judgement scene.
a. Jesus was drawing a difference between being prepared to enter and using our time for Him.
b. Each of us has the choice of doing something for God or doing nothing.
2. The master was a long time in coming.
a. The master did not tell the servants when he would return.
b. He was not required to inform them but trusted them to do what was right by Him.
c. It was a long time before the master returned, this shows the trust of the master in his servants, because he did not come and supervise them every second he was gone. He left it in their own hands thinking they would do him right.
3. His Return
a. His return was sudden or unannounced. He did not call to say I would come in three months.
b. He expected his money to be increased. He wanted some fruit from what he had given.
c. He placed responsibility on each individual. He did not look at the overall outcome but at each individual.
d. He judged each one properly with correct judgement.
II. The Faithful Servants
A. They Belonged to the Master
1. They were not their own.
a. 1 Cor 6:20, “Ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and spirit which are God’s.”
b. We are not are own we have given ourselves over to follow the will of our master Jesus.
c. They had either been bought and paid for by freely offering themselves as we do today, or they had been sold into slavery. We are the ones who freely give ourselves to the Lord.
2. They were trusted to manage without supervision.
a. This implies that they had enough sense or knowledge to please their master.
b. The master gave them enough freedom to do as they wished, only to follow his will as they went about furthering the kingdom of their Lord or Master.
B. The Rewards of Faithfulness
1. The Ten Talent Man
a. The 10-talent man had a whole lot of silver and gold given to him.
b. He had anywhere between 960 pounds to 1200 pounds of money given to him.
c. You and I know that if our master gave us 1000 pounds of silver or gold, we will be held responsible for what happens to that money.
d. He used it faithfully. He went and invested it somehow in some way and by his efforts he doubled the Lord’s money.
2. The 4 Talent Man
a. The 4-talent man also had a whole lot of money entrusted to him.
b. The estimated amount is between 480 to 600 pounds of silver or gold.
c. He knew too that he would hold accountable for that which he had received.
d. He also took what he was given and began to further the kingdom of the Master.
3. Each faithful received a reward for their efforts.
a. The servants were not left empty handed for their work or efforts.
b. They served faithfully and they were entrusted with more of the Master’s goods.
c. The servant lives off of the wealth they oversee. So, they were provided for by the gains of their serving the Lord. As they served the Lord faithfully, they had to provide for their own mouths with the money they made.
d. They were not rewarded based on results. They were rewarded based on their efforts.
e. Each received, each tried, each succeeded.
f. Can we imply that if we are working with God and His ability, he will cause us to succeed?
III. The Unfaithful Servant
A. He also is not his own.
1. This guy also is bought and provided for by the Lord.
a. He is in the same boat as the other two servants.
b. The Master also knows his abilities and does not give him something he cannot handle.
2. He was left to manage the Master’s business without supervision.
a. He did nothing with the opportunity the Master gave him.
b. How many of us are in his shoes, sometimes I wonder if I am walking in this man’s shoes.
c. He knew his master’s character well enough to make a decision about what to do.
B. His Rewards of Unfaithfulness
1. He was not left empty handed.
a. He, like the other servants, had been given money to grow or further the Master’s wealth.
b. He was given 1 talent, which is estimated to be 96 pounds to 120 pounds of silver or gold.
c. A hundred pounds of silver or gold is still a lot of money, he knew he was going to be held responsible for what he had been given.
d. No one will give a hundred pounds of silver much less gold and not expect anything back.
2. He was slothful.
a. What his reasons are for not doing anything we are not completely sure
b. He says he was scared and did not want to risk losing any money, is this an excuse or reason I cannot say.
c. He did not do what he thought the Master expected him to do.
3. He was rewarded by his own judgement.
a. He called his master a hard man, one that would reap whatever was available and this seems to have scared him because he did not want to lose anything.
b. How many unbelievers are in his shoes? They say well if I become a Christian then I will be expected to fulfill Christian duties. So, they like this man hide their heads in the sand and do nothing with the opportunity of salvation.
c. The Master judged him by the unfaithful servant’s own standard. He said, “Well if you knew I would be a hard person why did you not even more do what you thought I expected?
d. Sent to the darkness were weeping and gnashing of teeth.
e. Weeping is the action of sorrow and gnashing of the teeth are symbols for enduring pain.
IV. How can we apply this to our lives?
A. Faithfulness is Required
1. The Faithful Two
a. The two faithful servants seen the gifts given to them as a chance to please their Lord.
b. They knew the Master to be kind, giving, trusting, and forgiving. They were not worried about being punished for trying to help their master.
c. They had a proper idea of their Master’s character.
d. They were faithful in gaining the master’s wealth. They put forth the effort and received an increase for it.
2. The Unfaithful Servant
a. The Unfaithful servant said, “O man what have I got myself into.”
b. He also seen this as an opportunity but a negative one. He seen himself being punished for having responsibility.
c. He had an improper view of his Master. He seen his master as mean, handing out heavy burdens, making his life hard, full of punishment. He did not understand our master rewards effort not success.
3. We have to be faithful.
a. The two-faithful had knowledge of what would please the Lord and set out about doing it.
b. You and I have the Bible to read and study to know what God wants out of us.
c. They set out, they put forth the effort and their labors were rewarded.
d. If we step out in faith we also will be rewarded. There is a saying go out on the limb that is where the fruit is.
e. The unfaithful were scared to go out on the limb.
f. The unfaithful was busy minding his own business and not the business of the Lord.
g. We can get caught up in furthering our own wealth, position, or pride instead of pleasing God.
B. Faithfulness Rewarded
1. It was the faithfulness that was rewarded and not the results.
a. If the servants were rewarded according to their results, then the ten-talent man would have received twice the reward of the 4-talent man.
b. Each of them was given the same reward.
c. It is clear that the Joy of your Lord refers to Heaven and not to anything else.
2. The Unfaithful Servant Did Not Try
a. Had the unfaithful servant put forth effort he would have been rewarded just the same?
b. He was like so many today; he said the burden of serving the Master is too hard, I will just hide and hope that will be good enough.
c. How many people today think that being a Christian requires perfection?
d. I hope this idea does not scare many from becoming a Christian. Christians are not perfect only forgiven. If we put faith in humans, it will fall through. Someone once said it is human to error but divine to forgive.
e. When we become Christians, we are entering into a partnership with the Lord. He actually helps us in our time here. It could have been because of the Master’s wealth and name that the faithful servants were given the opportunities they were to increase his wealth.
3. He that has more faithfulness will be given more faithfulness…
a. This is a hard saying; the idea is not results but effort or obedience to the truth…faithfulness.
b. If you are willing to try or put forth an effort, then you will be given more opportunity.
c. The man that had the most ability was given the talent from the one that would not use his. It was not because he would produce more, it was because the Master knew he would use it!
d. If we try and are faithful with no results, we still are successful in the eyes of our Lord.
e. We can plant, we can water, but it is God that gives us the increase.
C. Practical efforts
1. The Interest of the Unfaithful Man
a. The Unfaithful man had other interests than trying to please the master.
b. The Master told him he should have put his money in with the moneychangers and received interest. The Jews could not charge interest to other Jews, but they could charge interest to gentiles.
c. If he did not have a great ability to turn gifts into a huge amount the least, he should do is what would be expected of any of us.
2. What is the least expected of us?
a. Rom 12:1-2, “I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your body and mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
b. Live our lives as a sacrifice.
c. Do not be conformed to this world- if you fit in with the world instead of with Christians then you need to re-evaluate your lifestyle.
d. Renewing your mind- Do not think like the world, try to think about things that are good.
e. By thinking on what is good, you will know what God considers acceptable, good and his perfect will for your life.
3. What is our 1 talent?
a. Each of us can come to Church. It takes a minimum of effort to wake up in time for services. It would have taken a minimum of effort to put the Master’s money in the bank too.
b. Each of us can show our compassion for our fellow brethren and fellow mankind.
c. Mat 25:31-46
4. Pitfalls to avoid.
a. Do not be upset because you are not an elder or have a high position. Most people want to serve God but only in an administrative capacity.
b. Do not be upset because you do not have great abilities. To those with great abilities more is expected, and besides most people are not converted with a great sermon or lesson but with the kindness or love that anyone can show.
c. Let us love others more than ourselves instead of being upset about what we can or cannot do.
d. Remember God does not pick the smartest people then makes them Christians. In other words, God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
Conclusion:
1. Jesus illustrates this parable with the judgement scene… Matthew 25:31-46 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. 46 And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
2. We all have abilities. Each of us can go to Church, and help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, help a stranger and visit those in prison. All of us can do the minimum of showing love to our Lord. We each can please God.
3. All of us will receive rewards for our efforts when we get to Heaven. We do not need to be like the unfaithful man who hid his gifts and did nothing. We all can do good wherever we are. You can make every situation better by being a person committed to love for the Lord.
4. We are held responsible for our actions. Our Master will call each in account in Heaven.
Comments