The Parable Of The Pounds.

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS.

Luke 19:11-27.

A notorious collaborator, who had been both a tax-collector for the occupying enemy and a thief, had just had his life turned around by Jesus. ‘This day is salvation come to this house,’ announced Jesus. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:9-10).

The reaction of the people around Jesus was one of anticipation. ‘He is going up to Jerusalem,’ they reasoned. ‘Surely the kingdom of God is about to be manifested?’ (Luke 19:11). So Jesus added a corrective, known to us as the parable of the Pounds.

“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (Luke 19:12). “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this _ to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). The word ‘man’ is not in the text, indicating an undertone of disrespect.

Back in the days of empire, it was no strange thing for a man to have to go to a ‘far country’ in order to receive ‘a kingdom.’ Herod the Great went up to Rome to receive his kingdom in 40 B.C. Upon his death 36 years later, Herod’s son Archelaus went up to argue his case against his half-brother Antipas. A deputation followed him to file a petition against his claim. These matters were not settled locally, but at the Imperial court in Rome.

However, I have no doubt that the nobleman in Jesus’ parable is Jesus Himself. Contrary to the expectations of those around Him, Jesus was NOT about to set up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, but was going away to receive His kingdom from the hand of God, and to return at an unspecified time. ‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ He would later tell Pilate (John 18:36).

The words of the Creed just roll off our tongues: ‘And He shall come again with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead.’ But His words to those who refuse Him are these: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke 19:27).

This parable is different from the parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30. There three bondmen received varying large amounts, each according to their abilities. Here in Luke 19:13, ten bondmen each received a much smaller amount, the same as each other. But the money did not belong to the bondmen, but to their master.

All that we have comes from the Lord. Our gifts, our abilities; even that which we have earned through employment. Everything comes, ultimately, from the hand of grace.

“Do business until I come” (Y.L.T.) is probably the best translation of the unusual phrase at the end of Luke 19:13. In effect, ‘Hold the fort while I am gone because I am coming back.’ He is testing their faithfulness, and will hold them to account upon his return.

“On his coming back, having taken the kingdom” (Luke 19:15, Y.L.T.) he wants to know what business they have transacted. How faithful have they been to him while he has been away?

So the first reports, “Your” pound has gained ten pounds. The bondman is given authority over ten cities. This is about faithfulness, not profit (Luke 19:16-17). In like manner the second: “Your” pound has gained five pounds. Proportionately, he is given authority over five cities (Luke 19:18-19).

We are not given a full account of all ten, but only of one more. This bondman used the no-nonsense productivity of the master as an excuse for his own lack of industry (Luke 19:20-21).

There is a right kind of fear of God: we call it ‘reverence and godly fear’ (Hebrews 12:28). However, the fear of this bondman was a fear of doubt, replacing faith and faithfulness with a fruitless and pointless unproductive dread. How does that attitude honour God?

The master answered this excuse in kind: you think you know that I am a no-nonsense getter of results - so why did you not invest that which I entrusted to you, that I might at least have received my own with interest (Luke 19:22-23)?

In the end, the unproductive servant lost even that which he had (Luke 19:24-26). Be careful how you use that which the Lord has entrusted to you, or it may be handed to another who has proved themselves faithful, even amid cries of, ‘it’s not fair.’ This is the economy of heaven.

Our gifts, our talents - our resources, our time, our money - are not our own to do with as we please: they are still the possession of the Lord who gave them. He is not standing over us micro-managing every detail, but rather has honoured us with His trust: how do we repay that trust?