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.
* This clue is also implied. The investment must be made for the benefit of the absent Lord.
The bag of gold 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. For the servant, all the loss would be his and all the profit would be the Lord's.
2. How do Christians make investments?
Let us now sum up these 4 clues to answer this question. As a Christian, all of your life belongs to God. The talents you have are God given. Recognizing that you have a particular talent, what do you seek? It should be an opportunity to use that gift. The bags of gold in the parable are those moments of opportunity.
Opportunities to display gifts come to all kinds of people, Christian or not; but those opportunities which involve the possibility of gain to Christ come only to professed Christians. Such opportunities are moments of decision when we must choose to play it safe and get what we can for ourselves; or risk our reputation or even our life in order that God may have what He wants. These moments can occur when we are confronted with moral choices.
Matthew 25:19-21 (NIV)
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
3. What is it that every Christian should want to hear from God?
The 1st man had gained a 100% 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 put 1st the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He made each crucial decision about the investment of his natural 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.
What he heard was, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Matthew 25:22-23 (NIV)
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
The man with 2 bags of gold had gained 2 more bags of gold- That is also a 100% return. That means that to the limits of his ability he, too, had chosen to put Christ's cause 1st. He was not naturally as able as the other man; but he was equally committed. 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 with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ There is not 1 syllable of difference between what the Lord says to the man with 2 bags of gold and what He said to the man with 5. These 1st 2 men each had double the bags of gold they were given. What do the additional talents represent? Many scholars believe that these additional bags of gold represent spiritual gift.
Matthew 25:24-30
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
4. What happens to the person that risks nothing?
This servant had gained nothing because he had risked nothing. There was no increase because there was no investment. He had 1 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.
What he did instead, was to bury that opportunity. He didn’t really care what was going to happen and he was prepared to give a speech when the master returned. It was too late. His punishment was to be cast into eternal punishment.
