Beginning from Chapter 24 (p.9), Jesus started to talk about the “signs of the end times”.
• He will return one day, but just before He does, what can we expect to see. The disciples asked Him in 24:3.
• Jesus went on describe the signs of the end times. Until 24:36 He says no one knows the day and time of His return.
• We need to be watchful (last part of chapter 24). 24:45 – and be the faithful and wise servants.
For the day He returns (surely He would), it will not be to save the world but to judge mankind.
• End of chapter 25 says He will differentiate the sheep and the goats (25:32), those who belong to Him and those who have chosen to reject Him.
• So when we have the opportunity, we put our trust in Jesus. He alone can save us from our sin. He is the way, the truth and the life. Apart from Him, no one can be saved.
So before He returns, while we are living on earth, what are we supposed to do?
• We are to be watchful and to be faithful and wise servants
• Sandwiched in between Jesus shared TWO parables in Chapter 25 - the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Parable of the Talents.
• Both emphasize how we ought to PREPARE ourselves to FACE God.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins highlights the need for us to be always prepared, be watchful, because we do not know when He will come.
• And then He went on to the 2nd Parable – the parable of the talents – which explains more what God expects to do.
• This parable reveals a few truths we can remind ourselves of.
(1) WHAT WE HAVE IS GIVEN TO US; THEY ARE NOT OURS
We are like these servants. The Master has left us but will return.
• Verse14 – the Master entrusted his property to his servants
• It was common in those times for wealthy businessmen to entrust their property and business to trustworthy employees.
What we have today are gifts from God. We don’t own anything. He gives us everything.
• We don’t always feel that way. We work hard every day, we toil, we expense our energy and time, and we get our pay at the end of the month to buy what we need.
• It looks like that, but we know it is not. We depend on God for everything we have.
The floods in Thailand cause us to fear we do not have rice to eat. Economic recession make us fear we will lose our job. A mosquito bite can strike us down with sickness.
• What we have today comes to us because God has given us good health, so we can work. God has given us a good mind, so our boss employs us.
• In the minds of these servants, they are clear – what they have in their hands belong to their Master.
• They are just stewards and not owners. So are we.
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
• Actually we don’t own anything. We bring nothing into this world, and we will bring nothing along with us.
• Solomon wrote about this in Eccl 2:18-22 (p. 658)
18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
Life without acknowledgement of God is meaningless.
• Until we recognize this truth, we cannot be happy in life.
• Our days are in God’s hands. Our gifts and abilities are on loan from Him. Our money is an “advance” from the Almighty. Only Jesus can give us an abundant life!
(2) WE ARE GIVEN WHAT WE CAN HANDLE, FOR WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT
In verse 15 we see that the master gave some talents to 3 of his servants:
“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”
• We do not know exactly how much a talent is – it could be copper, silver or even gold. Although scholars differ on the exact amount, most agree that it was of great value. One even estimated it to be worth $300,000 in today’s currency. So the one talent did receive a lot.
• But why did the Master give them different amounts – because they have different abilities.
This is the truth – we are all made differently.
• According to 1 Cor 12 we are like the members of a body, we cannot be the same; we need to play different roles with different functions.
• The Master knows his servants well. He knows who can handle how much of his talents.
• Like the way a parent would treat his children, not all in the same way, because he knows each of their strengths and weaknesses.
• Do we trust that God knows more about us than we even know about ourselves?
So the Lord gives us differently – our gifts, our abilities, our experiences – according to how much we can handle.
• You notice something odd in this parable – the servants did not compare, or quarrel over the seemingly unfair distribution. We thought of that.
• They know that they have different abilities and the Master assign to them different works.
The important thing is not “why are we different” (nothing was mentioned about this) but HOW THEY USE what God has given them.
• What is most important is to FOCUS on DOING OUR BEST with what God has given us!
• (1) We do not have to see what others have. Don’t need to COMPARE.
• (2) We do not need to see what we do not have. Don’t need to COMPETE.
• We need to see WHAT WE HAVE, and use it for His glory. God has given us gifts, talents, life and good health; so let us use these well to serve Him.
(3) WE MUST INVEST WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN
What makes the Master most happy, and most unhappy, is how his servants use what He has given them.
• We do not want to waste our time, nor our God-given potential.
• In order words, are you a faithful and wise servant (24:45)
Verse 16 tells us that the man who received five talents went “AT ONCE and put his money to work and gained five more.”
• He didn’t waste any time but immediately went to work on his investment strategy and doubled his master’s portfolio.
• The guy who got two talents did the same thing. We do know that he worked hard however, because he also doubled his master’s money, ending up with four talents.
Verse 18 describes the different approach of the third servant: “But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
• Even though we don’t read about any specific instructions for what to do with the money, the first two guys went to work and multiplied their investment.
• The one-talent guy was a slacker who went off and buried his blessing. The practice of hiding valuables in the ground was quite common back then. It was one of the safest—and least profitable—ways of protecting possessions.
The Master believes in him. If not, he would not even give him ONE talent.
• He believes that he can still do something with it, but he did not.
• The Master did not expect him to do like the other two servants, but at least, if he would think and try his best, he could at least earn some interest in the bank.
• But even the simplest job wasn’t done. The servant did not really make an effort.
You can sense that the first TWO servants were eager to see their Master and show him what they have done. They were not asked to work for Him; they wanted to please Him.
• The 3rd servant wasn’t as happy. In fact, from his words to the Master, he has a wrong understanding of His Master.
• He felt the Master is like a task-master, and that he is being used. He is hard and harsh, and not loving and gracious. The servant says he is afraid of him.
Do you believe that God can do great things through you? That’s the question.
• If you don’t believe it, nothing will be accomplished.
• 1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Antonio Stradivarius’s voice was high and squeaky; he did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbours persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
Antonio was good at whittling (shaping wood with knife). When he was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker. His hobby became a job and soon a career, because of his excellent skill in carving. His violins were branded “Stradivarius” and became synonymous with excellence and world famous.
By the time he died in late 1600s, he left over 1,500 violins. At a recent Tarisio Auction in 2010, his violin was sold for US$3.6 million. They are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 each. Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but his responsibility was to use his ability, and his violins are still making beautiful music today.
