What You Do Matters Series

The return of Jesus is perhaps one of the most talked about things by Jesus and subject of many parables, not just these in the these two chapter of Matthew 24-25. Jesus talked about the signs of His second coming in Chapter 24, which we covered over the past few weeks. The last three parables over the last two weeks dealt with the timing of Jesus’ return. We don’t know when it will be and when it does happen, it will be unexpected and quick. There will be a time that it will be too late for repentance and turning to Him. The parable we are looking at today, we will see that until Jesus does comes, what we do or what we fail to do really does matter

Is it enough to just say I believe in Jesus? Herein is the spiritual problem of many people today. They claim salvation, but there is no evidence, no fruit, no true repentance. Listen to me carefully, I am not preaching that you must have good works to be saved. No, we are saved by the grace of God and the saving work of Jesus alone. But if by that grace if we are in fact saved, then we ought to be producing evidence or fruit coming out of that salvation and that faith we have in Jesus. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). To say you are saved because you merely believe, yet live no different from the rest of the world, something is dreadfully wrong. Jesus Himself ask the question:

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

It does matter what we do. When Jesus comes, what will we have to show Him that we were faithful servants? This parable will examine the true and false servants, or slaves of Jesus.

Matthew 25:14–30

There is a very similar parable recorded in Luke 19:11-27. I preached on this parable from Luke a year ago, and the message was titled “Do Business Until I Come” from Luke 19:13. That was the command given to the servants while the nobleman went away to receive the kingdom.

The message in Luke is was similar to our passage today in Matthew in the sense that we are called to be faithful servants, doing the will of the Master until he returns.

The Parable of the 10 Virgins, we covered last week (Matthew 25:1–13) stressed the need for preparedness for Christ’s return. This Parable of the Talents stressed the need to serve the King while He is away.

Matthew 25:14–15 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

In this parable, Jesus is clearly the man who went away on a journey, and he gave his slaves talents. A talent was the largest unit of weight in the ancient world – about 60-80 pound of silver. As far as value was concern, one talent was worth about 20 years wages of a common laborer. Even one talent was a considerable amount of money.

And so the master gave talents to his slaves “each according to his own ability.” This is an important point to make here. God does not call us to do anything that He has not equipped us to do. If you have great abilities, much is expected.

Luke 12:48b From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Remember, even the slave with one talent was given a large amount to work with.

Matthew 25:16–17 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.

Notice the word “immediately.” The one slave with 5 talent went to work right away. Same as the slave with two Talents. These slaves were encaged. They did not mess around and went right to work for the master. They were all about doing the master's business. However, the third slave was not.

Matthew 25:18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

This third slave took no risks. He hid it away, no one knew he had these funds (a great deal of money). From the Greek, the word we translate as money we could translate as pieces of silver. We have many so-called christians like that today; they are members of the church and warm a pew every Sunday, but during the week, no one outside of church knows what they are or what they claim to possess.