PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
Please open your Bible to Matthew 25 as we continue with our eternal reward series with today’s message, “The Parable of the Talents.”
The parable of the talents is a behind the scene glimpse of what it will be like when we stand before Jesus Christ, the eternal King of the ages, to give an account of how we used God’s gift of eternal life. It is in this moment that He will reward us with eternal rewards that are exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think.
However, as wonderful as that is, this parable is also a stern warning for those who are not prepared for that moment. The judgment seat of Christ is the most serious moment in eternity, and one of the wisest decisions you will ever make, is to prepare for that moment. There are many possibilities of what will happen at the judgment seat, but one of the most profound moments in eternity will be to hear Jesus say…
'Well done, good and faithful servant;
I cannot stress enough how important it is to hear those words, and if is your desire to hear those words, and to do well at the judgment seat, then this message is for you.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. NKJV
WHAT IS A TALENT?
In verse 14 of Matthew 25, we find that Jesus entrusted each of His servants with a very special commodity called a talent, and then in verse 15 we read;
Matthew 25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability; NKJV
Some people have the ability to handle five talents, while others have the ability to handle only one or two. I am more of a one talent person myself. However, the point is, Jesus gave each of His servants a talent, but what is a talent?
The world defines talent as someone with super abilities, such as an athlete a musician, or a great speaker, or someone who has a knack for achieving wealth and fame.
Jesus however, defines a talent as a very special treasure or gift that represents a responsibility that God has entrusted to you. All of us have a God given responsibility, one of which is to love God and serve Him with all of your heart.
THE SERVANTS
Notice the word servants in verse 14. Who are these servants that received a talent? These servants represent all who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The point is, every servant who believes in Jesus Christ, is entrusted with unique talents of responsibilities that are designed to bring glory to God. With that in mind, look at the end of verse 15…
Matthew 25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability... NKJV
I want you to see that each servant received a talent. One servant received 5 talents, another
2 talents, and a third servant 1 talent. Regardless of our earthly status, every servant of Jesus
Christ is given some measure of a talent and responsibility, according to our ability…
The world says, it’s unfair that God gives one servant five talents, and another servant only one talent. Why? It is because God knows that no two people are alike. He knows that we all come from different backgrounds, with various levels of education and with different abilities and skills. But… and here is the power of this message; it’s not the number of talents or opportunities that you have compared to someone else that matters; it’s how faithful you are to the opportunities that you do have that matter most.
I realize there are many who say I have no talents and therefore there is nothing I can do.
That is absolutely not true, because Jesus said every servant… regardless of your stature and status in life has at least one measure of responsibility to bring glory and honor to His Name. Nobody is ever left out. Nobody…
FIRST AND SECOND SERVANT…
So, if the number of talents is not the most important, what then, is the big difference between these three servants? The answer is that these 3 servants fall into 2 categories; the faithful and the unfaithful. Every believer falls into one of these categories.
Listen to verse 16… Matthew 25:16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 Likewise he who had received two gained two more also. NKJV
Both of these servants were faithful with they had. These two servants put their talents to work by faithfully using the opportunities their master had entrusted to them. Faithfulness is the key to increasing your rewards in heaven. Faithfulness is what God is looking for.
THE THIRD SERVANT…
That brings us to the third servant who is completely opposite of the first two. Jesus said…
18 But he who had received one (talent) went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. NKJV
Out of His love and grace, Jesus entrusted this servant with godly responsibilities, but instead of using this sacred trust to produce eternal fruit, he refused to use it.
For example… He had a responsibility to live by faith, but he didn’t
He had a responsibility to live a godly life, in an ungodly world, but he didn’t
He had a responsibility to read God’s word, to pray, to be faithful, to prepare for and look for the return of His master, but he did none of these…
If he had just been faithful, in the little things, he could have easily doubled his talent. At the very least he could have put the money into the church as a tithe so that it could have at least brought some return for the master but he chose not to.
It’s possible he thought his 1 talent was not that important. And there are a lot of Christians who think the same way. He did not have 5 talents, or even 2. Why should he worry about only 1? Please listen very carefully... To have just one talent of the abundant life of Jesus Christ is far beyond what any of us deserve or should ever expect.
Your opportunities may seem small, but they are there, and God gave them to you to produce
eternal fruit that leads to eternal rewards. It is God’s great desire that we use what He has
given us for eternity so He can reward us with great rewards. The question is, are you willing to use the opportunities God gives you, no matter how small?
THE DAY OF ACCOUNTABILITY…
That brings us to this very serious point. Every servant will stand before Jesus and be held accountable for how we used our God given responsibilities.
Matthew 25:19 after a long time the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered (entrusted) to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Notice that the servant with five talents, and the servant with two talents both received the same praise and reward. Again, it’s not how many talents you have, but how you use what you do have. Because of their faithfulness the Lord rewarded them with one of the great promises in the Bible when Jesus said…
Matthew 25:21, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
Imagine standing before Jesus, the eternal King of heaven and earth, and hearing Him say to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…”
This is one of the great promises in scripture of greater rewards and responsibilities in His eternal kingdom. You really want to hear these words…
But there is also another part that is often overlooked. He also says… Enter into the joy of your lord. Not only will we share in the rewards and treasures and glory of His kingdom, but we will also experience the great and unspeakable joy of the Lord!
Imagine the joy of seeing Jesus our Savior face to face in perfect fellowship.
Imagine the joy of living in a perfect paradise where sin is forever destroyed.
Imagine the joy of no more sickness or pain or sorrow.
Imagine the joy that every day, is a perfect day to be enjoyed to its fullest.
This is the great joy God has in store for us in His perfect kingdom of glory.
These two servants started out as simple servants, but now, because of their faithfulness, the Lord Jesus has promoted them to the level of kings and rulers in His great kingdom of glory. And that is exactly what Jesus desires to give you in eternity. He wants to reward you with greater privileges, with greater responsibilities and honor, that is far greater than anything you could ever imagine. Glory to God, what an awesome promise!
THE THIRD SERVANT
Now it’s the third servants turn to stand before His master. This is the servant who hid his talent, and refused to use his God given responsibilities. This is the servant who criticized the master. Think of the number of Christians who complain and criticize God for…
Many complain against God for sending people to hell.
Many complain against God because they His terms for righteous and godly living.
Many complain against God because they reject the soon return of Jesus Christ.
Let’s read what Jesus said to this critical servant beginning in verse 26.
Matthew 25:26 “But his lord (Jesus) said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. NKJV
This is a very vivid description of what it will be like to stand in the presence of Jesus Christ for those who are not prepared and have nothing to show for the gift of eternal life He has given to you. This servant was entrusted with a talent of responsibility, but because of how he lived, His master, the King of kings, called him a wicked, lazy, and unprofitable servant. That is not what we want Jesus to hear Jesus say about us…
This servant is a witness to this generation. In no way was he looking for, or prepared for the return of the Lord. He had made absolutely no preparations and was clueless that His Lord would return. He made absolutely no preparations for eternity.
Jesus called this servant a wicked, and lazy servant, because he was absolutely unprepared for eternity. He was unprepared for Christ’s return. He was unprepared to stand before Jesus at the judgment seat. He was unprepared for the consequences of losing great rewards. The sad truth is there will be many Christians who will be utterly shocked at the terrible loss of great rewards that could have been theirs.
That speaks to our generation. Not only are the Christians of this generation not prepared for Christ’s return, they are not even looking for His return. As a result, Christians are totally unprepared to stand before Jesus at His judgment seat. And by God’s grace I refuse to let that happen in this church.
So many Christians say they don’t have any talents. They usually say something like, I can’t sing or play an instrument or teach a class or whatever else it may be. But remember, a talent is not about your abilities and skills, it’s about being responsible for what God has given you, and one of the most important responsibilities you have is to be prepared for eternity and Christ’s return.
HIS ETERNAL LOSS
The magnitude of rewards this man lost for eternity is staggering.
Listen to Jesus words in verse 28…
Matthew 25:28 take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. NKJV
This is not about the loss of salvation. This is about the terrible loss of rewards and responsibilities. Paul wrote…
1 Corinthians 3:15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. NKJV
It is very possible to be saved and in heaven, and to have little or no rewards. That’s what’s at stake here. Because he was unfaithful, with the resources God had given Him, he lost great rewards and privileges. As Paul said, he was saved, but he suffered loss…
The point is, if this one talent servant had loved His master and honored Him by using what he had, he would have been rewarded just like the other two servants.
The rewards and honors that could have been his were taken away, and given to the one who proved most faithful. What you do with your life now, will have great consequences for all eternity.
Revelation 21:4 speaks of tears in heaven which I believe is because of those who will weep with
great sorrow at the terrible loss of the great rewards they could have been theirs, had they been faithful to use what God had given them.
To hear Jesus words of disappointment and to not receive any praise from him, would be a great disappointment. To know that I hurt my Savior, the one who died for me, would cause me to weep in anguish. That’s why I believe there will be tears in heaven until the Lord wipes them away.
IN CLOSING…
In closing, five talent people make up about 1% of Christians. Three – four talent people probably make up about 2-3% of Christians. Two talent Christians probably make up about 5% of Christians. That means one talent people make up about 90% of the Christians. My point is, the vast majority of Christians are one talented Christians.
Remember this, a one talent Christian who loves Jesus and is determined to honor Him can accomplish incredible feats if you will simply dare to believe God and do His will. When one talent people apply themselves to obey Jesus Christ, they can accomplish extraordinary things.
Trey Wood was born with only one arm and most assumed he would never be able to play any sports. However, he not only learned to play football, but he received a full scholarship to Sam Houston State University, where he was a starting defensive back.
Dawuan Miller was also a one-armed athlete who received a full scholarship to play for Boise State University as a defensive back.
Both were outstanding at their positions. Trey Wood broke his school’s record by blocking 11 kicks. Dawuan Miller intercepted two passes in a playoff game.
On September 16, 1995, these two teams played each other, and both one armed defensive backs played the whole game. Here’s the point.
Start doing the small things that you can do. There are hundreds and thousands of ways you could demonstrate how much you love Christ and do wonderful things that would honor Him.
If you would live to honor God with your one talent, God will honor you and reward you far beyond your imagination. To hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant,” is one of the most important things you will ever hear in eternity.
What’s at stake is bigger than anything you can ever imagine. I encourage you to be faithful with what God has given you and make your life count for eternity.
If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, now is the time to do so. Romans 10:9 gives us the insight on what it means to have an eternal relationship with Jesus.
Romans 10:9 …if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. NKJV
