The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-18:
Parables can be as exciting and challenging as detective stories. Even more so, for in the end they turn out to be dealing with real life, while detective stories can be pretty far-fetched. Also parables, like detective stories, are filled with half-hidden truths and secret meanings and yet with clues to these secrets scattered liberally throughout. So parables found in the bible are God's exciting way of challenging us to a mystery hunt, and the treasure we are after is a new insight into the nature of the kingdom life which will enrich us in a thousand ways if we act upon it once it is discovered.
The parable of the talents is the last in a series of three which Jesus gave his disciples to illustrate what he meant by the command, "Watch!" (Matt 24:36-44 ; 25:1-13) Its opening words link it to the same time period as the first two, and it reflects the same basic pattern of a master who goes away and leaves a certain company to fulfill a task till he returns. Here is the text from Matthew 25:14-18:
"For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money."
In many ways this is a deeply puzzling parable. The central question of course, is: What do the talents represent? There is a common, but quite shallow, understanding of this parable that it teaches the need for us to put our natural gifts to work for God. Someone says, "I play the piano and I would like to devote my talent to the Lord." Another says, "I think I have a gift for speaking (or teaching, or making money, etc.,) and I would like to develop that talent and devote it to Christ."
But 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 possess. But it definitely did not mean that in biblical times. In the Bible a talent was a unit of measurement for weighing precious metals, usually gold and silver.
Another easy pitfall we must avoid is to interpret this parable as though it dealt only with the matter of ultimate rewards for service. This concept often accompanies the idea that the talents represent natural gifts. We must use our natural gifts to the full for Christ, we are told, lest in the end we lose our reward, though of course, we will not lose our salvation. But salvation is the very thing that is at stake in this parable. It is the ultimate destiny of a professed servant of Christ which is the issue. The last line of the story makes this crystal clear. Of the man with one talent, the returned master says, "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." The final scene therefore reveals that the worthless servant was not really a believer at all.
Now, having gotten our perspective straight, we turn to the inevitable question, "What are the talents, in our experience?" There are several clues given to us in the account which will guide us in this search. We shall discover and assess them one by one.
The first clue is found in the opening verse, "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property." The last two words are the key: "his property." That is another term for the talents which are distributed. They are the Master’s property, God's property. They are then, not something which man can give, but something which God alone controls. The talents are not distributed, like natural gifts, to all men freely, but are given only to those who in some fashion have the relationship of a servant to the Lord
The second clue is found in the next verse, "to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability." Again, the last phrase is extremely helpful. Here we learn that the talents are clearly not natural abilities but are actually distributed on the basis of natural ability. To one man the Lord gave five talents because he was a man of great natural ability. To another he gave two talents because he was not as gifted as the first, and to the third man he only gave one talent because he had few abilities.
The third clue is not stated in the text but is clearly implied. It is the unspoken implication the Lord expected these servants to invest the talents he distributed in such a way as to produce gain. The talent, then, is something that can be invested, be risked, with the possibility of producing gain or loss. The decision to risk is wholly the servant's. He can choose to take this risk, as the first two servants did, or he can utterly refuse to do so, as the third one did.
The fourth clue is likewise implied. It is that the investment must be made wholly for the benefit of the absent Lord. The talent is not given to the servant for his own use. It remains the property of his absent Lord and if it is risked it must be on the Lord's behalf. There is no promise made to the servants that they will share in any way in whatever profits may be made. They have no right to deduct a broker's percentage. As far as the servant could see, all the loss would be his, all the profit would be the Lord's. The Lord alone would benefit by this transaction.
Let us now sum up these four clues and ask ourselves a question. What do we professed Christians have which is God's peculiar property,
The God-given opportunities which the talents represent are clearly part of each professed Christian's life. They are distributed to each, according to his ability. But inevitably there will be an accounting. Jesus describes it for us in verses 19-21:
"Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.'"
This first man has gained a one hundred percent return. In terms of the application of this parable to our lives it means that he made full use of his opportunities, not for his own advancement but for his Lord's. He sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - Matt 6:33. He made each crucial decision about the investment of his God given ability, not ultimately to profit himself but that the work of Christ might be advanced. He risked the possibility of loss to himself. He took the chance that he might never have the place of prominence, influence or power which he had wanted, but deliberately invested his opportunity along a line that would give God what he wanted: to bind up the brokenhearted, comfort the fatherless, set at liberty the captives, and proclaim the gospel to the poor.
To this man, whose God-given talents were all at Christ's disposal, not in an empty commitment of word only but in actual deed, Jesus says, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Obviously Jesus Christ would never say "well done" unless it had indeed been well done. This is not empty praise, made meaningless by being spoken to everyone alike, regardless of how well or poorly he has done. Then the Lord sets him over much, which in the estimation of Christ must be a great deal indeed, and adds, "Enter into the joy of your master."
What is this joy? It is the joy of achieving the results for which blood, sweat, and tears have been shed; the joy of having satisfied the heart of God. It is an eternal joy, not passing in a moment as do our excitement, but remaining fresh and glorious forever.
Jesus continues the story of the final accounting:
"And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.'"
The man with two talents had gained two talents more. Is that fifty percent? No, that is one hundred percent, too. That means that to the limits of his ability he, too, had chosen to put Christ's cause first. He had risked loss to himself that his Lord's work might prosper. To him, therefore, the Lord says, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master." There is not one syllable of difference between what the Lord says to the man with two talents and what he said to the man with five!
Inevitably, Jesus moves to the climax of his story. One man yet remains to give his accounting:
"He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'"
At first we may be a bit bewildered by what seems an unduly harsh treatment of the man with one talent, who at least had a sense of responsibility to see that his master got back the money that he gave him without any loss. But the matter is put in proper perspective when we hear Jesus' words: "For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The basic purpose of life is growth, increase, return. To fail in this purpose is to be fundamentally unprofitable. All life grows, and if it does not, it has already ceased to live and is no longer worth keeping. That is what Jesus means.
This servant had gained nothing because he had risked nothing. There was no increase because there was no investment. He had one great (and long-continued) opportunity to risk himself on behalf of his master but he deliberately ignored it. The outcome of the story tells us the nature of that opportunity. It was the opportunity to give himself to God; the opportunity to be redeemed. That one supreme venture was a present possibility all through the time of his master's absence. But he had deliberately put it from himself, and rather early in the game. He had gone and hid it in the ground! When it was safely buried he could forget about it and go on about his own affairs. It was not there to make him uncomfortable by constantly reminding him of his master's expectations. But since he took no risk for Christ's sake he had also no spiritual influence, no impact for eternal good. His life counted for nothing; there was no spiritual power. It had all been lived for himself.
When the master returns, the man has a little speech carefully prepared to justify it all. Evidently he had rehearsed it many times. "You are," he says, "a basically unreasonable man. You expect other people to do the dirty work while you get all the benefits, and if they should fail to satisfy your expectations you are quite ready to accuse them as thieves. So I was afraid to risk what you gave me, lest I should lose it and would have to face your wrath when you returned. But I have outwitted you. I have kept your talent safe for your return. Here is exactly what you gave me. You and I are even."
The master does not attempt to debate his character with the man. He takes him at his own appraisal of his master. "You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gathered where I have not winnowed?" The master is not agreeing with what the servant says, he is saying, in effect, "So that is your understanding of my character, is it? All right, then, out of your own mouth will I judge you. If that's what you thought of me, then you ought to have known that you couldn't possibly please me by failing to get some kind of gain. In that case, you could at least have put the money in the bank and I would have had some interest on it when I returned."
Of course, the real problem is that the man had no intention of really being the servant he was pretending to be
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The master's argument is: No matter what his opinion of his master was, whether true or distorted, as a true servant he should have acted in accord with what he knew his master would expect. But this the man refused to do. He had his own life to live and it was really nothing to him that a servant's fundamental task is to serve, not himself, but his lord. He was therefore a phony, a hypocrite, pretending to be what he was not.
What is the final message of Jesus in telling this story? It is: Step out! Risk! Live dangerously! Take constant chances with your life and goods for His name's sake. Don't try to bottle up your life so as to hang on to it at all costs. If you do that you will surely lose it. But surrender yourself to his cause, again and again. That is the way to find life. That is the way to watch for his coming. Having risked yourself to become a Christian, now risk yourself again and again as opportunities arise. Live dangerously! Or that also could be written, love dangerously! To live for Christ is to love men with His love. And that is always a risk.
One must surely conclude that this parable is not just an interesting story, but a message of eternal significance. Let us listen carefully then, looking to God’s Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds, and to empower our service, to the glory of God and our eternal good.
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. Let me call your attention to the most important elements of the parable, as I understand it.
The element of time. Time has been a significant factor in our Lord’s teaching concerning His coming and the end of the age, beginning in chapter 24. Jesus made it clear that His return would not be immediate, but after much trouble and the passing of a considerable period of time. While there would be sufficient evidence for His followers to discern the general “season” of His return, neither the day nor the hour would be known (Matthew 24:32-36, 42). Beyond this, His return would come at a time when it was not expected (Matthew 24:44). In the parable of the talent, there are two clear references to time.
First, the master stayed away for a long time (Matthew 25:19).
Second, the faithful servants immediately went to work to increase their master’s money (Matthew 25:16-17).
The element of money. It is indeed unfortunate that the term “talent” means something very different today from what our Lord meant when He told this parable. The talent was the largest measurement of money in those days. And as a talent was actually a measurement of weight, it did not have a constant value. A talent of gold, for example, would be worth a whole lot more than a talent of bronze. While commentators differ somewhat over the approximate value of a talent in today’s economy, all would agree that it was a large amount of money. Some say that it was the equivalent to 20 years’ wages for a common laborer. We must remember, then,
(a) that a talent is a measure of money; it is not a reference to abilities.
(b) the talents were distributed on the basis of ability, not as the bestowing of ability.
We should be careful to recognize that in this parable the mere possession of a talent is not evidence of salvation. The one-talent slave is clearly not saved; he is condemned to outer darkness . In a similar way, in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) the mere germination of the seed does not seem to represent salvation. It would appear that only the fourth soil represents the true believer. 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. The true believer is represented by the seed that grows, that endures, and that bears fruit.
The element of work. The text is quite clear here – it is the first servant (and we assume the second, as well) who immediately sets to work with his master’s money. It is not the money that goes to work, as such, but the worker. When the third servant’s excuses are set aside, it becomes evident that this man is lazy – he didn’t do any work. He didn’t even hand the money over to bankers, to let them go to work with it.
The element of profit. I have often been puzzled over these words, repeated several times in the New Testament:
“For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:29; see also 13:12; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26).
How is it that the one “who does not have” has something taken from him? How can you take something away from a person who has nothing? I now see the answer, which appears to be consistent with all of the places where this principle is set forth. The one “who does not have” but yet does “have” (because what he has is taken away) is the one who has his master’s money, but has made no profit from it. The third servant has no profit, no gain, to give his master, so his talent is taken away and given to the one who went to work with his master’s money and made great gains for him.
We find this same principle stated in connection with the parable of the soils (Matthew 13:12; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18). The soil which produces no grain (in other instances, no fruit, or no profit) is bad soil. Only the soil that produces a crop is “good” soil. And so it is that those who over time work with what they are entrusted, in order to make a profit for their master, are rewarded for their faithfulness. Those who are unfaithful lose not only their reward, but their stewardship.
“For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away” (v. 29). We should be careful not to read this as “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”—good news only for the wealthy. Throughout the Gospels Jesus shows concern for the poor, a concern most dramatically illustrated by his conclusion to this lengthy discourse (25:31-46). There he commends some and condemns the rest—the dividing line being whether they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, took care of the sick, and visited the prisoner. It is inconceivable that Jesus would bless a “rich get richer” theology.
In verse 29, Jesus is concluding the story of the three servants. His point isn’t that one of the three was poor, because even one talent is a considerable sum of money. It is rather than the two servants (“everyone who has”) were faithful and productive, while the third servant (“him who doesn’t have”) was not.
“Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness” (v. 30a). The master, although a generous man, can muster no generosity for this lazy servant. He gave this servant a smaller amount than the others, but it was nevertheless a small fortune. It had great potential for good, which this servant failed to harness because of his selfishness. Therefore, the master takes the money from him and banishes him to outer darkness. The irony is that the one-talent servant, concerned only for his personal security, loses that security because of his unwillingness to take even a small risk or to make even a small effort. As Jesus said earlier, “He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it” (10:39).
The servant is put out to outer darkness “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v. 30b). This is a standard formula in this Gospel, often used by Jesus to describe the fate of those who receive harsh judgment (8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 24:51).
This parable tells us that God will hold us accountable for what we have done—and for what we have failed to do. That, of course, seems incompatible with the emphasis on grace that we find elsewhere in the New Testament. However, both judgment and grace are part of God’s plan. Yes, God will forgive us for our sins. But yes, he will also hold us accountable
The story reminds me of something that Jesus said earlier in Matthew (16:25), “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Investing our time, our talents, our lives, our very souls will cost us something and it will demand trust in a good Master. However, hiding it in an attempt to keep it will only cause us to lose it. What a paradox. Jesus’ Kingdom seems so upside down sometimes, Yet, his Kingdom is good and he is the Good Master whose rule does not instill fear. Fear of losing is a lie. Joy in gaining because of trust is what Jesus’ followers can experience.
Today’s passage shows what it means to expect the second coming of Christ and ready ourselves for it. Jesus exhorts us to stay awake and be prepared for His return in 24:36–25:13, but those verses give few specific, practical directives for how to wait and equip ourselves properly. The parable of the talents makes it plain that the waiting and preparation Jesus expects is ethical and active. We must work, putting our God given gifts to use for His glory, which means nothing less than the love of God and neighbor (Micah 6:8; Matt. 22:34–40).
Even though the master assigned a different degree of responsibility to each slave, he did so understanding each slave’s ability, therefore when the first and second slave performed faithfully, the master awarded each slave equally. The master’s commendation to each slave in v.21 and v.23 was identical and emphasized each slave's faithful service rather than the magnitude of his achievement. Only the third slave received a rebuke for failing to provide faithful service to his master.
In summary, Matthew’s parable teaches that faithfulness in service to Christ will determine our inheritance in the Kingdom. Believers may be assigned different opportunities to serve Christ, but faithful service will be rewarded equally.
This also has a clear implication: we must not undervalue what we have been given. Some are given more, some are given less, but all are given according to our abilities.. And Jesus tells us “everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48).
This is why the master was so angry at the servant who did nothing with the talent he was given (Matthew 25:26–27). The servant blamed the master’s character for his lack of diligence (Matthew 25:24–25). But the master saw through this smoke screen and called the servant what he was: “wicked and slothful” (Matthew 25:26).
