Lesson Focus:
Much
is required of those who have been given things of great value.
Catch up on the story:
After
Jesus pronounces woes and judgment on the Jewish religious leadership, the
disciples ask him what the sign will be that will indicate his return and the
coming of the end of the age. Jesus
responds with a series of warnings and parables about what it means for those
who believe to be prepared for Christ’s second coming. The first parable was about a faithful slave,
who worked hard to prepare for his master’s return, even when he did not return
immediately. The other slave failed to
continue to look after the house’s affairs when it became apparent that the
master would not soon return. The
unfaithful slave will be tossed out when the master returns.
The
second parable depicted ten bridesmaids who were waiting to usher the
bridegroom into the wedding banquet.
Five of the bridesmaids were thoughtless and did not bring enough oil to
ensure that their torches would burn brightly.
The other five were thoughtful and had enough oil. They were prepared when the bride eventually
returned. The first five were excluded
from entering into the joyful wedding banquet.
The
themes running through these first two parables are present in the third
parable. There is an important person, a
master and the groom, for whom the parties in the parables are anxiously
waiting. Those who acted properly in the
absence of the important person are rewarded with being able to continue in the
presence of that important person. These
themes will also be present in this week’s passage.
Critical Questions:
1.
How
does this text reveal to us the nature and character of God/What is God doing
in this text?
- What does holiness/salvation look like in this text?
- How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
The Text:
Jesus
begins this parable with a “For it is as if…” (NRSV) or “Again, it will be
like…” (NIV), and this connects this
parable with the preceding one.
Matthew’s Jesus wants to connect this story with the one that went
before in a specific way. In other
words, the parable of the bridesmaids and this parable about investment are
very similar. They both deal with
discussing what it looks like to be prepared for Christ’s return.
The
main character in this parable is a master who owns land, has a good amount of
liquid capital and has a fair amount of people who work as stewards of what he
owns. The master calls his slaves,
literally, his own slaves. For us the
word “slaves” carries with it distinct imagery that is derived from America’s
cultural history. It’s important to
remember that slaves could refer to a wide range of workers involved in the
daily operations of a wealthy household.
While the life of a slave was not always easy, slaves could work up the
household ladder and gain positions of power and responsibility. That a master would have given some of his
assets into the hands of slaves so that they might be invested in the master’s
absences would not have been uncommon.
Jesus is, however, highlighting the fact that these slaves belong to
him. Stressing the fact that the slaves
belong to the master also indicates that the parable is dealing with those who
are already a part of God’s family. For
Jesus’ original hearers, especially in the immediate context, this points to
Israel and her leadership. For us, who
hear this story today, the slaves are those who confess to be followers of
Jesus Christ.
The
master calls three slaves before he sets off on his journey. He takes and gives the first slaves five
Talents. A word about Talents is
appropriate here. A Talent was the
largest denomination of money in Jesus’ day.
It would have been equivalent to a year’s wage for about 100 day
laborers. It was a substantial amount of
money in the form of silver.[1] The Talents in the story do not refer to our
“talents” as we commonly understand them.
The
master gives five Talents to the first slave, to the second slave he gives two
Talents and the third slave he gives one Talent. Jesus tells us that the master gave “each
according to his ability,” literally, their own “power.” Let’s be clear, the money that is given to
the slaves is still the property of the master.
The master has judged his slaves and has entrusted his money to them in
accordance with how he thinks they will respond to the responsibility.
The
master sets out on his journey, and immediately the slaves go out and begin to
use the money they have been given to make more money. Both the NRSV (went off at once and traded
with them…) and the NIV (put his money to work…) translate verse 16 in a rather
passive way. The force of the Greek
paints a bit of a different picture. It
could be translated like this, “The one who had received five talents went off
immediately and began to work his money hard and it produced five more
talents.” Upon receiving the money the
first servant actively and immediately went and worked hard so that the money
he had been entrusted with worked hard as well.
We are told the second servant does the same thing. Each of the first two servants doubled their
money.
The
third servant, on the other hand, received his Talent, dug a hole in the ground
and hid his money. Digging a hole in the
ground and hiding a treasure was a common way to safeguard things of value. In fact, rabbinical teaching often suggested
that this was the safest way of protecting your valuables.[2]
The
master returns from his voyage and calls his servants together to get an
account of how they have used the money he gave them. The first servant comes forward and calls his
master to look at what he has done. The
action, according to the Greek, could be considered to be quite formal in the
context of a religious setting, as in one bringing a sacrifice before a
deity. The first and second slaves are
bringing the fruits of their labor before their master in joy and
reverence. Both slaves offer the same
words. In joy they call upon their
master to look at the fruit of their labor.
The
master responds to both slaves the same way.
Because of their faithfulness and hard work, the master is pleased with them. Their hard work and responsibility will earn
them greater responsibility. Not only
that, they are invited to “enter into the joy of your master.” Being a slave could be a thankless job, even
for slaves who were trusted with great responsibility. Entering into the master’s joy may invite us
to think back to the joy the bridesmaids’ experience at the coming of the
groom. Faithfulness is rewarded with
inclusion in the celebration that comes with the return of the master.
It’s
interesting to note that the reward for being faithful and bearing fruit is
more responsibility. Often we have
imagined the reward for a well-lived Christian life to be entering into the
rest of heaven when we die. And that is
partially true. But the reality is that
the reward for the faithful and fruitful Christian life is more
responsibility! The more we work hard
with the capital that God has entrusted to us, the more capital we will be
given.
The
third slave, however, is an entirely different matter. He has not acted with zeal and ambition;
rather, he has acted safely. The reason
for his hiding the money in the ground becomes apparent as he addresses his
master. Missing in the slave’s address
to the master is any sense of joy and religious devotion. Rather, there is fear. The third slaves tells his master that he was
afraid to work with the money because in doing so he might lose it and incur
his master’s wrath.
The
picture of the master that the third slave presents can be troublesome for us
if we are to consider that the master represents God. Is Jesus depicting God as a “harsh man,” one
who reaps what he did not sow and gathers where he did not plant? Some think that the slave is giving a
backhanded compliment all the while placing the blame for his inaction on the
master himself.[3] In the same vein, John Wesley believes that
the slave blamed the master because the master would expect more from him than
he alone could deliver. Instead of
trying, the slave merely rolls over and blames the master, as Wesley believes,
“every obstinate
sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.”[4]
The
master is none too pleased with this third slave. In fact, where as the other slaves entered
into the master’s joy, the final slave is called wicked and lazy! At the very least, the master says, the slave
could have invested his Talent with the banks so as to earn a little
interest! The result is that the third
slave has the money for which he was responsible taken from him and given to
the slave with 10 talents. Not only
that, but the third slave is tossed out into the outer darkness!
John
Wesley brings the uncomfortable point of the parable into focus,
“Cast ye the unprofitable servant into the
outer darkness—For what? what had he done? It is true he had not done good.
But neither is he charged with doing any harm. Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to
outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked
[servant], because he was a slothful [servant],
an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build
their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation! There shall be the weeping—Of the careless thoughtless sinner; and the gnashing of teeth—Of the proud
and stubborn.” [5]
The
third servant is rejected from service and excluded from the joy of the master
merely for being unfruitful! Keep in
mind that this parable is directed at those who profess to be followers of
Jesus. Some, it seems, are zealous for
the work of the Lord, they have been given a thing of great value, God’s gospel
of grace, peace, love, friendship, hospitality, justice, forgiveness and
redemption, and they have taken those things and have invested them in the
world around them and have been fruitful.
Others, on the other hand, are scared or lazy and have done nothing with
the good news we have received.
So What?
What
does it mean for us to be prepared when Jesus comes back? As ones who have received the gift of Jesus’
love and grace we are to immediately go out and work those gifts to produce a
return on Jesus’ investment. I fear,
however, that all too often we are like the third slave in this story. We have received this great and valuable gift
from God through Jesus and, for whatever reason, we fail to do anything
worthwhile with it. It is not that we
are bad or immoral people. We are
not! It is not even that we are lazy,
for many of us work very hard. Maybe its
because we are apathetic. Maybe we have
been defeated by the magnitude of the work before us, as we survey the world
and only see scenes of hurt and tragedy.
Maybe we believe that the gift God has given us to invest is only good
for our own personal salvation. Whatever
the case is, we have not, as Wesley says, done harm, we just have not done the
good we should do.
One
commentator sums up the passage nicely,
“Thus to be ready for his coming
is to be active on behalf of the kingdom of heaven and to have results to show
for it. It is to show initiative and to
take risks in order to achieve something for God. Those who had cause to fear his coming are
those who have not made use of the opportunities and privileges entrusted to
them, who have buried their money in the ground and so achieved nothing for the
kingdom of heaven –or, to echo another parable, who have hidden their lamp
under a meal-tub, with the result that no one has been able to see their light
and so been drawn to give glory to their father in heaven (5:15-16). For them there will be no ‘Well done!’”[6]
Critical Questions:
1.
How
does this text reveal to us the nature and character of God/What is God doing
in this text?
a.
God
desires accountability. Like the slaves
in the story, we have been given the Gospel, a thing of great value. God expects that we take that Gospel and put
it to work so that it might bear fruit.
God is not idle in his dealings with the world he created, and so it
seems, God intends that we should not be either.
b.
I
think this text also reveals to us how God would like us to present the fruits
of our labor back to him. I think God
wants us to work so that we can say with joy and gladness, “Look! With what you have given me I have produced
so much more!”
- What does holiness look like in this text?
- Holiness looks like working hard with the gifts of love and grace that God has given us so that fruit might be produced in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Holiness, as we Wesleyans are prone to describe it, is our growth in grace and in the likeness of Jesus Christ. There is no idleness or contentedness with the status quo in holiness, only intentional forward movement in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
- We must examine ourselves and determine if, as individuals and as a church, we are properly investing the resources God has given us.
Specific Discussion
Questions:
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself
quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were
very unfamiliar with the story.
1.
One Talent was equal to about a year’s wages for 100
day laborers. Why does the master
entrust his slaves with such a great deal of money?
2.
Jesus tells us that the first two slaves went off and
worked their money hard so that it would bring a sizable return. In the Christian life, what might it look
like to work the gifts of salvation, love and grace that God has given us hard
so that we might gain a sizable return?
3.
The first two slaves are not afraid that they have not
done enough, rather they present their money to the master with joy and
pride. How could this be a model for
what we do together as we work in and for our church?
4.
The third slave buried his money in the ground. What do you think he was trying to
accomplish?
5.
Have you ever buried the gifts that God has given you
in the ground? What might that look
like?
6.
The third slave has not really done anything
wrong. He has not wasted the money the
master has given him, yet he is called wicked and lazy. Why does the master call him that?
7.
Are you content with just doing no harm, or are you
seeking to do all the good you can as well?
[1] John Nolland, The Gospel
of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Bletchley: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2005), 1014.
[3] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew:
A Commentary: The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28, Revised & enlarged edition
(Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 559.
[4] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament,
Fourth American Edition (New York: J. Soule and T. Mason, 1818), 85.
[5] Ibid., 86.
[6] Longenecker, Richard. The Challenge of
Jesus’ Parables. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000). 187-88
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