A Labor Day Message

(Based on a message preached at First Baptist Church, Chamois, MO on September 3, 2023; not an exact transcription).

Introduction: This is Labor Day Sunday and a lot of folks are taking advantage of this holiday. We’re going to take a look at a passage that deals with what people can do with something they’re given. It’s in Luke’s gospel, chapter 19, so let’s take a look at the text:

Text, Luke 19:11-26, New American Standard Version (NASV): 11 Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return. 13 And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

15 When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done. 16 The first slave appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second one came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.

22 He *said to him, ‘From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”

1 The background for this story

One thing to remember about our Lord’s parables is that there’s usually a real-world flavor or coloring that the audience would recall or maybe relate to. There’s also a germ or grain of spiritual truth in each of these; sometimes clear and other times hidden.

Well, the people living when Jesus walked this earth—or, maybe, their parents—would have known about this background. Now, let me take a moment and set the stage for this story. You’ll recall that the first several verses of this chapter speak of Zacchaeus and his desire to see Jesus. Some of us may remember that old nursery or children’s church song, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he . . .” Okay, anyway, I remember my children singing this one and it was good for them to learn it! Old Zach had climbed a tree, because he was a short man, and also because he wanted to see Jesus as the Lord was in the vicinity of Jericho.

Jesus saw Zacchaeus and told him, “I need to stay at your house today!” When Zacchaeus heard that, he probably set a record for tree de-climbing or exiting stage down in order to get to his house. Needless to say, the crowd standing nearby didn’t like it, but Zacchaeus proved he was a changed man. While he’s standing near the Lord (and, maybe near his own house?) he said he would give half of his goods to the poor and restore anything taken by fraud four times over. It’s interesting that there’s no record anyone ever took him up on his offer!

So now Jesus is close to Jerusalem. Jericho was southeast of Jerusalem and quite a bit lower in terms of elevation—Jesus pointed this out when He told of the man who “went down” from Jerusalem to Jericho in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 to include context). Luke also said Jesus was “going up to Jerusalem (verse 28)”, which is accurate.