Today’s teaching is part of a series – ‘Story’
– Jesus’ parables

Jesus was arguably the world’s greatest story-teller – spinning tales that anyone could understand that reveal eternal truth about us, about the world an especially about the Father and his kingdom.

In today’s story our heavenly Father is likened to an investor who trust his investment to you and me

My aim today is to encourage you, to inspire you to live as if Jesus was returning by lunchtime.

“Be alert – the world needs lerts” >>>

How the Father invests

(see your notes etc …)

The big picture

Jesus was talking about what it’s like to be in the kingdom – and the question he leaves us to ponder is ‘am I in the kingdom?’ ‘Is God the Father genuinely my King in a meaningful way?’

In the parable we’re looking at today Jesus is revealing more about the kingdom, but here there’s something very different going on. But still the question remains ‘am I in the kingdom?’

The parable of the talents is the last in a series of 3 parables that all have the same punch line.

There’s the tale of the middle manager.

the owner of the business goes away on a trip and leaves all this assets in the care of a manager.
The manager has two options – either he can say ‘the owner’s going to be away for a long time so I can make a bit on the side, I can exploit my fellow workers – be rough with them, force them to do my work so I can go down to the pub every night and get plastered. (24:45-50)
BUT – the owner might come back at absolutely any time!
Alternatively our manager (that’s us, in the story) can say ‘I will keep the business going so that when the owner returns – and I have no idea when that might be – he will find a thriving concern! Earning our own keep and making a profit for him!
He might come back at absolutely any time!

So the way Jesus frames the story leaves me wondering – if I was the middle manager, what would I be doing? And we’re left … worried

So Jesus’ big point is … (you work it out)

Then there’s the tale of the ten bridesmaids.

it wasn’t the bride’s prerogative to be late, it was the bridegroom’s
The wedding is scheduled for midday (ish) at the town hall
All 10 bridesmaids were all ready for the celebration, each with fuel for their oil lamps – except that five of them thought the bridegroom was coming in a few minutes while the others prepared on the off chance of a long wait – just in case.
He didn’t arrive at midday. Three o’clock came and went. Six o’clock came and went. Nine o’clock came and went and (of course there was no electric lighting) everyone started getting tired and dozing off.
At midnight someone shouts “the bridegroom’s on his way!” and all 10 bridesmaids wake up with a start.
The trouble is, 5 of the lamps had already burned down and run out of oil while the other 5 are still going strong. So the five women with dead lamps come to the other 5 and plead with them “this is so embarrassing – give us some oil!”
Now at this point we might expect the prepared 5 to be nice a friendly and help the others out of their predicament
“Sorry, but you should have thought of that earlier!”
So, rather miffed, they go off to try to find some more oil – which they succeed in doing. But by the time they’ve bought it, loaded their lamps and got back to the town hall, the feast has already started and the 5 prepared bridesmaids are in the celebration, dancing the night away!
When the other 5 knock at the door and ask to come in. and the bridegroom comes to meet them, with their lights now burning brightly, and says “Who are you? This is a private party. Go away!” “You’ve missed you chance”

And the way Jesus frames the story leaves us asking ‘if it was me, which group of bridesmaids would I be in?’ – and we’re left … worried.

And Jesus’ big point is? … you work it out!

Because now we come to the parable of the talents.

The tale of the business investor

In many ways this is a deeply puzzling parable.

We’re thrown into the story by asking “What do the talents represent?

The English word ‘talent’ describes our natural gifts. One person plays the piano, another is an entrepreneur, another is a carer and so on. I should put my ‘talents’ at the Lord’s disposal and use them to build his kingdom. And it would be easy for us (because the English word happens to sound like the Greek one) to assume that’s what the story is all about.

in part that’s true, but only in part. And to leave it there is a shallow understanding of the tale.

The original meaning to the word ‘talent’ was a unit of weight E.g.

Exodus 38:24 (the people bringing their gifts to the Lord) The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

Exodus 38:27 (building the tabernacle) The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain – 100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base.

By the time Jesus was on earth it had become a unit of currency – and quite a high value – £1000 note.(!)

recap story

The owner of a company is planning a long journey

He’s got three employees

Alex is very smart – he’s given £5000
Bill is not as bright – he’s gien £2000
and Colin – well Colin struggles a bit, but it’s well within his ability to handle £1000

The owner says ‘it’s yours for now – just do what you can with it!

Alex doubled his value
Bill doubled his value
But Colin put it in a current account with no interest and went away to tend his garden.

All three were employed by the owner – all three were supposed to use their time investing for the owner’s kingdom (company). Alex and Bill did, but Colin didn’t

Now we can see why the owner was so cross when Colin came to him – he’d not used his time to make the most of what he’d got!

The Master came back at a time when he wasn’t ready and he’d been caught out!

What are the talents?

So the inevitable question is, “What do these ‘talents’ represent for us?” Once we’ve grasped that, we’ll hear what Jesus was saying to the – and is saying to us today

There are several clues given to us in the account which will guide us in this search.

Clue 1

The first clue is found in the v14,

“For it (the end of the age) will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.”

“his property (the talents)” belong to the master and are given to the servants. They are the Lord’s property, God’s property. Therefore they are not something which man can give, they are something which God alone controls.

So the talents are not distributed, to all people generally, but are given specifically to those who in some fashion have the relationship of a servant to the Lord. To them he distributes his property. To his people

clue 2

The second clue is found in the next verse,

“to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.”

Again, the last phrase is extremely helpful. Here we learn that the talents are clearly not common skills but are actually distributed on the basis of natural ability.

To one man the Lord gave five talents because he was a man of great natural ability, he had many gifts. To another he gave two talents because he was not as gifted as the first, and to the third man he only gave one talent because he had lesser capacity.
Whatever the talents may be, one thing is certain: they are not human skills. Rather, the number of talents given is determined by the number of natural gifts possessed (by the person receiving them)

clue 3

The third clue is not stated in the text but is clearly implied. It is the unspoken implication the the Lord expected these servants to invest the talents he distributed in such a way as to produce gain.

So, the talent is something that can be invested, (or grown) something that can be be risked, something that can produce producing gain or loss.
The decision to risk is wholly in the hands of the servant. He can choose to take this risk, as the first two servants did, or he can utterly refuse to do so, as the third one did.

clue 4

The fourth clue is also implied … that the investment must be made wholly for the benefit of the absent Lord.

The talent is not given to the servant for his own use or his own profit. It remains the property of his 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. They have no right to deduct a management fee. As far as the servant could see all the profit would be the Lord’s.

So a talent represent any precious resource that has been given to us by the Father

God has entrusted the kingdom into our hands and he expects us to grow it!

We are the master’s entrepreneurs, giving ourselves for the growth of his kingdom – and we know he could return any day.

Talents such as our time, our resources, our abilities, our homes – anything they have been given to us by our heavenly father to be used in his kingdom!

Suppose you can draw – you might think it was just a thing you found you could do – just grasp this! Your father gave it to you!
Suppose you’ve got a good job or you’ve landed a deal that’s netted you a few quid – that’s fantastic! – You think it’s just money you’ve earned to get you by on – the father gave it to you!
What’s on your to-do list? You may feel that your time is just another day, or another hour, or another year – the father’s given it to you!

and instead of just fluff – they’re high-value talents!

And here’s the rub – just imagine the reaction of Jesus Christ when he returns, finds you (and us) growing his kingdom – what will happen?

Christ’s well done

… and we never know when the Master will return and call us in!

‘well done, good and faithful servant.”!

Once again, we must apply this parable to ourselves. We must see that it is intended for us. In Mark’s account of this same parable (Mark 13:32-37), the Lord says, “What I say to you [disciples] I say to all people: Watch out!.”

that’s what is in common will all the tales – one day there will be time when the master will meet us – so be on your guard – be alert!

Because, assuming we’ve done our investment of life’s precious resources there will be a message on its way

And when we see Him and let him look in our lives at our walk with him, He’s not going to say ‘you could have done better’ he’s going to say ‘well done, good and faithful servant.”!

Unless …

No risk, no gain

Then we come to the other servant – Colin.

He had gained nothing because he risked nothing. There was no increase because there was no investment.

The one supreme adventure of investing his life (or the things in his life) for the kingdom was never even started.

He even has a little speech ready to justify it all. “You are,” he says, “a basically unreasonable man. You expect other people to do your hard work while you get all the benefits, So I was afraid to risk what you gave me, lest I should lose it and would have to face your wrath when you returned. But I have outwitted you. I have kept your talent safe for your return. Here is exactly what you gave me. You and I are even.”

The master does not attempt to debate his character with the man. He takes him at his own appraisal of his master.

“You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gathered where I have not winnowed?”

The translators of the text have done right in ending this statement with a question mark. The master is not agreeing with what the servant says, he is saying, in effect,

“So that is your understanding of my character, is it? All right, then, using your own words I will assess you. If that’s what you thought of me, then you ought to have known that you couldn’t possibly please me by failing to get some kind of gain. In that case, you could at least have put the money in the bank and I would have had some interest on it when I returned.”

It’s a stark warning to everyone who thinks they’re a Christian to be sure to invest their lives for God’s glory

The rewards are enormous! Other people’s lives transformed.

Live dangerously for Christ! >>>

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