God's Economy Series

Series: When Does It End? [#11]

GOD’S ECONOMY

Matthew 25:14-30

Introduction:

We have studied several parables in Matthew 24-25 relating to Jesus’ return. In the last parable we studied, the Parable of the 10 virgins, we were told to be watching and ready for the Bridegroom’s return. The focus was on waiting. In tonight’s parable, the focus shifts to working. In this parable, we see a picture of God’s economy.

Matthew 25:14-18 (NIV)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

1. What does the talents represent?

Some believe that this parable teaches the need for us to put our natural gifts to work for God. When we think of the parable in this way we are being misled by the modern meaning of talent. To us the word means ability- A natural gift which we have; but to the disciples, this was an amount of money. The NIV says bags of gold, while the KJV says talents. The talent was a specific weight of silver and was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wage. In today’s terms, if a person made $20,000 a year, then 1 talent would be worth $400,000. Though it was a definite amount of money in the parable; it does represent something other than money in our lives. We will see why it cannot represent the natural gifts we possess. The main question is, “What has the Lord given to us to invest, which corresponds with the bags of gold given to the servants in the parable”?

We must also avoid interpreting this parable as if it only deals with receiving rewards for service. This concept often accompanies the idea that the bags of gold represent natural gifts. We must use our natural gifts for Christ, or we will lose our reward. This would be tying our works to keeping our salvation. Because at the end of this parable we find out that 1 of the servants will face eternal destruction; we can see that the bags of gold are distributed to believers and make-believers. What is done with the talents distributed is very important.

We must treat this parable personally. This is intended for us. To each 1 the Lord has given 1 or more bags of gold. We are either trading with it or burying it in the ground. So, what are the bags of gold in our lives? There are several clues given to us in this parable in order to answer our question.

* “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.”

There is 2 key words here- "His wealth." These bags of gold are the Lord’s property. That means that this is not something that man can give; but something which God controls. The bags of gold are not given, (like natural gifts) to all people freely; but are given only to those who in some fashion have the relationship of a servant to the Lord. To them He is willing to distribute his property.

* “To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability.”

The last phrase is extremely helpful. Here we learn that the bags of gold are not natural abilities; but are actually given on the basis of natural ability. To 1 man the Lord gave 5 bags of gold because he was a man of great natural ability, he had many gifts. To another he gave 2 bags of gold because he was not as gifted as the 1st, and to the 3rd man he only gave 1 bag of gold because he had few natural abilities. Whatever the bags of gold are, 1 thing is clear- They are not natural abilities. Rather, the number of bags of gold given is determined by the number of natural gifts possessed.

* This clue is implied. The Lord expected these servants to invest the bags of gold in a way to make money.

The bag of gold is something that can be invested, be risked, with the possibility of producing gain or loss. The decision to risk is the servant’s decision. He can choose to take this risk, as the 1st 2 servants did, or he can refuse to do so, as the 3rd servant did.