Stories Told by Jesus
Stories Told by Jesus
The parables of the Talents, the Wicked Tenant Farmers, and the Unrighteous Steward, are collected together in this lesson because they picture people who were given stewardship. A steward was a trusted bondslave or hired manager put in charge of a business, property, or estate. The steward was expected to make profits and capital gains for his master.
The three parables in this lesson again teach us about the importance of obedience to God. This is theme 3 of the seven themes of the parables that Jesus told.
We also observe in these parables, themes 1 and 2, namely the mercy and severity of God. In the parable of the wicked tenant farmers there is an allusion to the crucifixion of Christ (Mtt 25:14-30, Mtt 21:33-46, Lke 16:1-13).
Mtt 25:14-30(There's a similar parable in Luke 19:12-28)
Matthew 25:14 reflects the responsibility Jesus Christ (the rich man in this parable) has entrusted to us as "his own slaves" in his kingdom. Jesus long ago "went on a journey" to heaven. He has entrusted us with the treasures of his kingdom here below, and we are expected to make the most of those treasures for him.
Matthew 25:15 shows that the Lord entrusts more to some than he does to others, and expects more of them, "each according to his ability". Christ is entirely fair about that. However he does not allow any of his slaves to be slack. Even one talent was considerable capital. A talent was a weight of about 30kg. That much gold or silver is a lot of money. So even "the one talent man" was given much more than just a token responsibility.
Matthew 25:16-17 show how the two slaves entrusted with multiple talents "went and traded" —and there is the strong sense here that they did this with urgency and focus, and were both astute and confident in going about their master’s business.
Matthew 25:18 presents a complete contrast. The contrast is not in the amount of capital entrusted, one talent as against two, or even five. No, the contrast is rather in what was done. This slave could think of nothing better to do with the capital entrusted to him, than to bury it in a secret place! I am sure that when Jesus told that part of the story, the disciples must have laughed. What a foolish man. We have already been assured that he had the ability to trade with his master's treasures and make profit. Instead he chose to be a poor steward indeed, doing as little as he could with that treasure, short of throwing it into the rubbish bin. He did not even bother to arrange an interest-bearing deposit at the bank for his master’s benefit.
Matthew 25:19-23 describe the master's return and the day of reckoning. The slaves were summoned and asked to give an account. Two of them had done well. They had made one hundred percent profit for their master. Therefore they saw their master smile, and they heard him say, "Enter into the joy of your master". Having been faithful stewards "in a few things" they were given charge "over many things". We have already noted that the talents represented large amounts of capital and considerable responsibility. Yet the work, responsibility, and authority, that awaits the servants of Christ in heaven is going to be far greater. We will not be given anything however, unless we can give a decent account of ourselves at the end of this life.
Matthew 25:24-27 show how the useless steward fared. On the day of reckoning all he could offer his master was the one talent returned and an insult. I have heard his statement to the master described as an "excuse". However if you care to listen to the man, he was actually not making an excuse, he was casting blame. He was saying in effect, "Master it's your fault that I did nothing for you. You are a hard and powerful man. You scared me. So what else could I do but dig a hole?" Well that did not wash with the master. He called the servant "wicked and lazy" —he had done wrong by doing nothing at all.
The condemned steward said to his master, "You reap where you do not sow, and gather where you scatter no seed". The master acknowledged that this was true. "I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scatter no seed". This saying applies to someone who receives a kingdom or an estate and takes it over, being granted absolute ownership and authority over it. Christ receives the kingdom which his Father built, and will gather the harvest from the fields and vineyard his Father planted. The Father has given Christ authority over the kingdom of heaven. Now he wants to share all that with us. Therefore he entrusts us now with a few things, according to our ability, so that he may later grant us much. By being good stewards at present, we will in the future, enter into the joy of our Master. That is something far beyond anything we deserve, yet to receive it we are expected to make the most of our present stewardship.
Matthew 25:28-30 are chilling and awful words. I simply suggest that we read them over and over again, until the truth sinks in that Christ gives us an opportunity either to enter into his joy or be cast into outer darkness. We have to make up our minds which it will be, and what we are going to do with the rest of our lives. Will it be to do our Master's business, or will it be to dig a stupid hole?
Wicked Tenant Farmers, the Unrighteous Steward