The King Is Returning Home With Expectations

November 7, 2004 Luke 19:11-27

While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them —bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

People could tell that Jesus’ ministry was coming to a head. All of the indicators were there. On the journey to Jericho, Jesus said that all prophecies concerning the Son of man would be fulfilled IN JERUSALEM. On this very day Jesus accepted a blind man’s praise of Him as the Son of David, which He didn’t always like to promote. Now Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. As much as Jesus tried to tell them that this was not going to be a glorious thing - that he would actually be put to death in Jerusalem - the many followers of Jesus couldn’t help but hope that Jesus would establish some sort of heavenly kingdom on earth - so that they also could gloriously take part in a dominance over the Romans and a powerful and everlasting reign. They had great expectations of Jesus.

On this Last Judgment Sunday, a day in which we talk about the Second and Final Coming of Jesus - our Savior talks about Judgment Day in a parable about a man who goes to be delegated as king. This parable of the man is obviously symbolic of Jesus. Yet you’ll notice in the parable that the focus isn’t necessarily on what JESUS would do - on the expectations of HIM - but on what the King would expect of the people. You see, Jesus turns the table - instead of focusing our eyes on the skies for the Second Coming - Jesus gives a hearty reminder that what HIS eyes will be looking at when He comes back. So the theme for today is -

The King is Returning Home with Expectations

I. Don’t send a delegation after him

If you stayed up to watch the elections this past Tuesday, you’ll have to admit that it was quite a spirited fight to the bitter end. Nobody knew what to expect. Late Tuesday night, John Kerry’s press secretary forwarded a note to the networks that he would not concede until ALL the votes were counted. Thinking there were 250,000 provisional ballots available, they entertained the thought that he could still win, even though he was 140,000 behind in Ohio. Finally, early on Wednesday morning, the statistics showed that they just couldn’t win, so Senator Kerry gave up the fight and conceded graciously. The nice thing about America is that there is not going to be a Civil War now. President Bush is not going to get revenge on these people who voted against him, and the Kerry supporters aren’t going to start a rebellion. They may complain and lobby against his decisions - and they probably will. That’s ok, because that is what Democracy is all about. We all still live together under the President that is elected - like him or not - in the same country - and still call ourselves AMERICANS - enjoying the same freedoms - whether we’re Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian.