Faithful with a Few Talents…
Lately I have been meditating upon the parable of the talents. Jesus’ earthy story communicates a pretty much straight forward divine message about being faithful with every blessing that comes from God until the end. In this parable, each servant was given a portion of the master’s wealth for the sake of investment. When the deadline came for each servant to settle accounts, the servants who invested their money according to their master’s wishes were commended and received greater responsibilities, but the one who buried the money against his master’s wishes was condemned.
Since this is a parable, and earthy story, we need not think there is a one-to-one correspondence between the master and The Master. The wicked servant may have had good cause to point out some of the possible flaws of the master (25:24), which really did not help his case, anyways, there are things about the master in the story that are not really the case with The Master—God.
Matthew’s Gospel unveils many truths Christ unveiled to His followers. The Lord taught them about the kingdom of heaven and the intent of the law (cf. Matt. 5-7). He performed the works of God, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead. In the same way Yahweh gave manna and quail to the Israelites in the wilderness, Christ gave bread and fish to His people (Matt. 14:8-21; 15:32-39). He wanted to show His followers that He was indeed the very incarnation of God. He also directed His followers to see God’s plan of redemption. Jesus Christ would go to the cross, give His life as a sacrifice for sin, and rise again on the third day, so that those who believed could have eternal life (Matt. 16:21; 20:17-19; 26:20-35).
Jesus’ emphasis upon the importance of being faithful to what has been entrusted to us by God is undeniable. He understood that His followers would experience great tribulation, and He encouraged them to remain faithful until the end when they would be vindicated.
The sinful people who rejected the message of Jesus committed a great sin. Jesus spoke many woes against the apostate Jewish religious leaders, and lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Matt. 23:37, ESV). God revealed Himself in the flesh to them, but they turned their backs to God. Their day of reckoning came to pass in history with the destruction of the city and the temple of Jerusalem in AD 70. Yet, the near future judgment was also interwoven with a far future judgment when all people would come out of the graves and give an account for their lives to God (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Dan. 12:2).
I think this parable of the talents works out in very practical ways. Sadly, there are some who shall exchange the truth of God for a lie, and find themselves in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yet, it does not have to be that way. We do have an opportunity to be in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We can worship our God with time, talent, and treasures, yes through our very lives. We can yearn to hear those words from the Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (25:14, ESV).
Since this is a parable, and earthy story, we need not think there is a one-to-one correspondence between the master and The Master. The wicked servant may have had good cause to point out some of the possible flaws of the master (25:24), which really did not help his case, anyways, there are things about the master in the story that are not really the case with The Master—God.
Matthew’s Gospel unveils many truths Christ unveiled to His followers. The Lord taught them about the kingdom of heaven and the intent of the law (cf. Matt. 5-7). He performed the works of God, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead. In the same way Yahweh gave manna and quail to the Israelites in the wilderness, Christ gave bread and fish to His people (Matt. 14:8-21; 15:32-39). He wanted to show His followers that He was indeed the very incarnation of God. He also directed His followers to see God’s plan of redemption. Jesus Christ would go to the cross, give His life as a sacrifice for sin, and rise again on the third day, so that those who believed could have eternal life (Matt. 16:21; 20:17-19; 26:20-35).
Jesus’ emphasis upon the importance of being faithful to what has been entrusted to us by God is undeniable. He understood that His followers would experience great tribulation, and He encouraged them to remain faithful until the end when they would be vindicated.
The sinful people who rejected the message of Jesus committed a great sin. Jesus spoke many woes against the apostate Jewish religious leaders, and lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Matt. 23:37, ESV). God revealed Himself in the flesh to them, but they turned their backs to God. Their day of reckoning came to pass in history with the destruction of the city and the temple of Jerusalem in AD 70. Yet, the near future judgment was also interwoven with a far future judgment when all people would come out of the graves and give an account for their lives to God (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Dan. 12:2).
I think this parable of the talents works out in very practical ways. Sadly, there are some who shall exchange the truth of God for a lie, and find themselves in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yet, it does not have to be that way. We do have an opportunity to be in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We can worship our God with time, talent, and treasures, yes through our very lives. We can yearn to hear those words from the Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (25:14, ESV).
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