Bereansearching Bible Studies

Among the parables spoken by Jesus, which have been given varying explanations by various theologians, is the one that we find reported in both Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27 (with additional insights provided in Mark 13:34-37).  Before expounding on the spiritual meaning of this parable, let us review each of the verses in full, as found in the King James Version of the Bible.

Matthew 25:14-30^“For [the kingdom of heaven] is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made [them] other five talents. And likewise he that [had received] two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, [there] thou hast [that] is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, [Thou] wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and [then] at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give [it] unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“

Luke 19:11-27, “¶And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.  He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this [man] to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, [here] is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give [it] to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me.”

Mark 13:34-37, “[For the Son of Man] is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.“

Expositions of the Parable of the Talents…What Others Have Said

Anyone can now search the Internet for the meaning of this parable, and as might be expected there are differing explanations as derived by persons with varying viewpoints.  One such explanation begins by claiming, “Jesus told this story to represent the gifts that we have been given by him to further advance His Kingdom on this earth.“ While that explanation is certainly valid as far as it goes (there is indeed more to say on this as will be detailed below), that expositor then goes off on a tangent to discuss “earthly” talents like “playing the piano”, which, if one does not use that talent, then one will lose it through neglect.  Is that really what this parable is about? Earthly talents?!? Absolutely NOT!

Other expositors suggest that the lessons to be learned from this parable are:

1. Success is a product of our work,
2. We are given all that we need to do that work,
3. We are not all created equal,
4. We work for the master, not ourselves,
5. We will all be held accountable

Another explanation posted on the Internet is that the parable provides an exhortation to Jesus’ disciples to use their God-given gifts in the service of God, and to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  Moreover, that these gifts have been seen to include personal abilities (“talents” in the everyday sense), as well as personal wealth.

While all of these explanations seem to have some validity, they miss the critical points, such that that this teacher has found it necessary to take a closer look at this parable to show what is true meaning that we can find from the Bible and… “not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

What is a Parable?

Before we begin, we must first remember…What is a parable?  A parable is the means that God uses to tell an earthly (material) story that is intended to convey a heavenly (spiritual) meaning.  Some parables are easier to understand than others, but Jesus provided us with the key to understanding “all” parables with His own exposition of the meaning of the Parable of the Sower (Please see the the separate post: https://bereansearching.com/2018/03/20/the-parable-of-the-sower-the-bibles-rosetta-stone/).  

It should be noted that there are two types of parables.  One is of the type that Jesus spoke, which involves the use of an earthly “story” to convey a heavenly meaning.  The other type of parable involves the use of “real historical accounts” as precisely recorded in the Bible to convey additional, but nonetheless complementary, spiritual meanings, and are therefore “historical parables”.

The Kingdom of Heaven

Remember also what Jesus said regarding this comparison in John 3:12, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” In the Matthew version of the Parable of the Talents, Jesus begins the parable by describing the “Kingdom of Heaven” in a simile. Jesus begins by saying that the Kingdom of Heaven “is like“…and then Jesus immediately provides an “earthly” story.

Who Do the Persons Mentioned In the Parable Represent? 

1) The Man/Nobleman

We know from the Bible (e.g., Mark 13:34-37) that the man/nobleman in the parable who traveled to a far country is Jesus Christ Himself.  Jesus was raised from the dead, spent 40 days on this earth, and then was taken up into a cloud (and by implication, to Heaven, where Jesus currently sits at the Right Hand of God the Father) according to Act 1:1-9, together with John 20:17 and Acts 2:32-34. We also know that Jesus, like the man/nobleman, is also going to return as He left…as we read in Acts 1:6-11 (but Jesus’s return will be on Judgment Day, which will occur at some point in the future, perhaps very soon). “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ¶ And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”  

Jesus went to the far country, Heaven, and entrusted His servants with the Gospel of Salvation to be spread abroad.  Moreover, Jesus (The True Nobleman) is most certainly coming back on the clouds of glory at the end of the world, and “shall so come in like manner“ as He went into Heaven, to call for a final accounting on Judgment Day, when the books are opened as we read in Revelation 20:12, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.“

It should also be remembered, and God specifically tells us to remember, that in Isa 46:9-11, “Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken [it], I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do it.” Again, Jesus is the man of God’s counsel and Who will execute it Who is coming from the “far country” representing Heaven. Jesus is being also likened to a bird of prey coming from Heaven, and God is assuring us that it absolutely will happen!

2) the Servants

It is clear from the parable that there are two different types of servants. The servants, as a combined group, are those who identify themselves as servants to Jesus Christ, hence, at least outwardly, they are all people would appear to be “Christians”.  However, as the parable goes on to show, there are “faithful” and “profitable” servants (or true, saved Christians), and “unfaithful” and “unprofitable” who identify themselves as Christians but who are not really saved.

3) The Rebellious Citizens 

The citizens who hated the nobleman (in the Luke version of the Parable of the Talents), “…sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this [man] to reign over us.” But we know what the nobleman did to those rebellious citizens, because the nobleman said, “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.”  In Psalm 9:17, we read, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” 

1. In the first instance, Jesus’ parable was aimed directly at the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees of National Israel (at the time of Jesus’ First Coming), who not only said that they would not have Jesus reign over them, they killed Him. Thus National Israel came under the wrath of God for its rebellion and apostasy.
2. In the second instance, Jesus’ parable speaks now to all people who hear the Gospel message and yet still reject Jesus, the Beloved Son of God, the Savior, and will not worship Him accordingly.

Those who are not God’s servants are opposed to God. They hate God (and His servants), and therefore are the open enemies of God, and they will all be destroyed at Jesus’ Second Coming.  Their end will be the same as for those who were described as the enemies of the certain nobleman, who we read about in the Luke account of the Parable of the Talents. They will be literally slain, and worse, sent to an eternity in Hell.

What Do the Talents Represent?

In the English language, the use of the word “talent” usually is taken to mean a natural innate ability or skill, for many people immediately think of earthly skills.  But that is definitely not the kind of talent that Jesus was describing in the parable, because it is clear that the items mentioned, which were identified as “talents“, related to a monetary exchange of some type (specifically “money“*) as is indicated when we compare the accounts of Matthew and Luke together (e.g., gold, or as in indicated in the King James English translation in which the translators interpreted the money as being equal to the English currency of a “pound” in the Luke passages).  What is also significant is that those talents were never a possession of the servants, but rather they were counted as the possessions of the man (whom Luke describes the man as a “nobleman”) to whom the servants were responsible with its safekeeping.   The talents were only entrusted to the servants until such time that the man/nobleman would return from his excursion to a far country, and, according to Luke, where he would “receive for himself a kingdom.” (Jesus Christ is coming back again to receive His Kingdom, and Jesus is coming back soon!)

* The word in the original Greek for “talent” is τάλαντον (talanton)^G5007. We know that it is an extremely valuable sum of money, given that it has been reported that a talent of gold in Israel weighed about 200 pounds in weight (91 kg), which today would be worth $8 million! We can also determine that in Biblical times, a talent was likely equal to 1000 shekels, given what we read in Exodus 38:24 where 730 shekels was less than a talent. The word in the original Greek for “pound” is μνᾶ (mna)^G3414. One reference states that, in the New Testament, the sum of money equal to a talent of gold was 100 “pounds“. So, if the “pound” were of gold, then a pound then would be equal to ~$800,000 today. In any case, Jesus was making clear, in terms of earthly monetary value, that the treasure that was placed into the hands of the servants was extremely valuable. The spiritual point that Jesus’ was making is that the Gospel of Salvation is of immeasurable value!

But we must step back a moment and ask the question: if the talents are 1) NOT earthly talents, and 2) the talents are equated to money (a large sum of money each) that can be increased through investment, then what is the spiritual meaning of the talents in the parable?  If Jesus Christ is spiritually represented in the parable as a nobleman, then we have to ask what is spiritually represented by the talents, exemplified by money that should be increased? 

Moreover they were entrusted with the talents “according to his several ability“, e.g., based on their individual ability as servants to handle the talents.

We are reminded that Jesus made it clear that if we have the Gospel of Salvation, as specified in the word of God, the Bible, we are to share it and multiply it. The idea of multiplying the talents/pounds through investment is similar to bearing fruit. We must be fruitful branches of the Vine (Who is Jesus). As we read in John 15:1-8 where Jesus said,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

The Monetary Connection: God’s Word is Precious Beyond Measure!

In Proverbs 2:1, we read where God says, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;  So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;  Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding;  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures;  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”  We also know from Colossians 2:2-3 that in Jesus Christ are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” 

Also, regarding this spiritual wealth, we read in Isaiah 55:1 that it is clear that these treasures are freely given by God, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.“

Hiding the Talent or keeping it in a napkin…What does that mean?

God expects us to share the Gospel message as found in the Word of God (the Bible) such that many might be saved through the hearing of it.  We are told by Jesus in Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.“

Among Jesus’ last words to the disciples in Acts 1:8 were, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.“

We are not to keep the Word of God locked up, or hidden, within ourselves, but rather we are to proclaim it so that others can be saved through the hearing of it.  

We are not to keep the Word of God locked up, or hidden, within ourselves, but rather we are to proclaim it so that others can be saved through the hearing of it.  

Romans 10:17 , “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“

Matthew 5:15&16,  “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.“

Mark 4:21:  “And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?“

Luke 11:33: “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”

We must allow the light of the Gospel (the Good News), Jesus’s (the Saviour’s) Words, shine forth from us into this darkened world. We are not to keep it to ourselves, as though it were money to be buried in the ground, or wrapped hidden in a napkin, to keep it from being productive.  Moreover, 2 Corinthians 5:11 reminds us that, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

Faith Without Works Is Dead

We should also remember that “preaching” involves more than just words, but living a life that exemplifies those words. There is a saying that, “You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips”.  While we are never to neglect the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ unto Salvation, we need to be mindful of what our walk, our lives, are also messaging to the hearers.  Do they reinforce the words, or do they contradict the words?

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.“

James 2:20-26, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him forrighteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ¶Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way? ¶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.“

Also in James, we are told this quite clearly, James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.“

“Hard Man”& “Austere Man” and “Reaping Where He Did Not Sow”…What do those mean?

We also learn from this parable, as both the wicked servant and the nobleman knew, that the nobleman was an “hard/austere” man who could “reap where he did not sow”. The word that the King James translated from the original Greek as “hard” is σκληρός (sklēros)^G4642, meaning “fierce” or “harsh“, while the word that they translated as “austere” is αὐστηρός (austēros)^G840, meaning “rough” or “severe“.

We read in Matthew where the wicked servant said, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:” whereupon the man replied, “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.”  and we read in Luke, where the wicked servant said to the man, “thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.” Whereupon the man said to the servant, “And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?”  

What did it mean to reap where he did not sow? The Parable of the Sower is one source of those insights where it is made clear that the seed that is sown is the Word of God, because Jesus explicitly said so in Matthew 13. We also know that God declared that His Word is like a seed spread by a sower in Isaiah 55:10&11, God makes clear that He will use the distribution of His Word (the Gospel of Jesus Christ for Salvation or the “word of the kingdom” as Jesus described it in Matthew 13:19) as He sees fit, some will be saved and some will be the more condemned: “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” We do not, and cannot, know the end result, that is entirely God’s business, but as faithful and profitable servants we must continue to distribute the seed (The Word) no matter the end result. In fact, even if everyone a person witnesses to dismisses the Word and does not want to hear it, it will still have served God’s purposes in that the Word was sent forth. We should never be “afraid” of either rebuke from the hearer, or rejection by the hearer, as God’s purposes will still “prosper” regardless. And this will still be true up to the end of time and even in the darkest days of the Great Tribulation before Jesus comes back on the clouds of Glory on Judgment Day.

We also should remember what Jesus said in John 4:35-38, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”  

Moreover, we read in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”  And in 2 Corinthians 9:10&11, “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” We know that the work that God is talking about is the people who believe as the result of faithfully preaching and teaching the Truth (Jesus Is The Truth) of the Gospel of Salvation.  This is clear in1 Corinthians 9:1, “¶Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?“

We know several things regarding God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan. It is clear that God can and will save anyone who He wants to save, regardless of the means that God uses in order for that person to be saved.  We know that it will come through the hearing of the word (the good seed sown in the field) as we are told in Romans 10:17 “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  We also know that God Is the One Who determines who will become the good fruit (wheat) arising from that good seed versus the weeds (tares) sown by the devil whom God does not save, which are allowed to grow together until the harvest at the end of the world (Matthew 13:38&39).

We also know that while God has predestinated all those who will be saved (the elect of God, see Romans 9:11 and Ephesians 1:5 and Ephesians 1:11), He still chose to carry out each individual’s salvation through the “hearing of the Word”. Romans 10:13-17 makes clear to us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias (Isaiah) saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“

Therefore, while it is outside the power of any one person to save another… as only God can do the saving, it is still a command that believers pass along the Word of God and the gospel message it provides (which each Christian have themselves individually received) along to others.  Yes, while indeed we do know that God can save anyone without any particular individual’s help (God can indeed reap where He doesn’t sow), we can NEVER be presumptive (never “second-guess” God) in thinking that regardless of whatever we do, all those who God plans to save will be nonetheless still be saved.  We therefore are instructed from this parable that we cannot remain slack in sharing the gospel message, despite being given the knowledge that God is Supremely Sovereign and will save those whom He intends to save.  By being slack, we will thus be considered “wicked servants” and destroyed (and sent to Hell just like any unbeliever…and worse still, we also know that according to Luke 12:47, Jesus said, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”)

To further underscore the above point, God tells us in Proverbs 24:11&12, “If thou forbear to deliver [them] that [are] drawn unto death, and [those that are] ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every] man according to his works?” The believer clearly has a duty to perform, and again the believer must be diligent and must not be slack in delivering the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to those that are lost (those who are otherwise on death’s road to Hell). Whether anyone receives The Word or not, it is simply not our business (as we are told in  Isaiah 55:11).

And regarding the unfaithful servant, the slothful person, who likes to make excuses as we read in Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful [man] saith, [There is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.“

And here we are reminded of another of Jesus’s parables discussing a disobedient “servant” as found in Luke 12:35-48, “¶Let your loins be girded about, and [your] lights (λύχνος (lychnos))^G3088 burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.“

Note to the Reader: The original Greek word translated as “lights” is  λύχνος (lychnos)^G3088 and is not the same word that is translated as “lamps”, λαμπάς (lampas))^G2985 in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, but they do relate, particularly given the similar context being ready for the Lord’s unexpected return. λύχνος (lychnos)^G3088 is more frequently translated as “candle” as we read in Luke 11:33, “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, ^G3088putteth [it] in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.” (See also Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16 Jesus was saying that we must not hide the light of Christ, the light of His Gospel, from the world, but boldly proclaim it such that people meeting us will have the opportunity to see and hear it. And also note what we find in the Book of Revelation concerning Heaven: Revelation 21:23, “And the city (the New Jerusalem in Heaven) had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light^G3088thereof.” and Revelation 22:5, “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,^G3088 neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Jesus, The Lamb of God, Is The Light! As this parable teaches, we must be profitable servants!

Moreover, regarding the unprofitable servant, we read in Proverbs 10:26, “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so [is] the sluggard (עָצֵל (ʿāṣēl))^H6102 to them that send him.” and in a similar vein, the unprofitable servant, “which knew his lord’s will”, and “neither did according to his will”, can be viewed as the person described making excuses that we read about in Proverbs 20:4, “The sluggard (עָצֵל (ʿāṣēl))^H6102 will not plow by reason of the cold; [therefore] shall he beg in harvest, and [have] nothing.” But look at the “virtuous woman” in Proverbs 31:21, “She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.”  The virtuous woman is the Bride of Christ, the elect of God, the Eternal Church, who clothes her household with the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ and is not afraid of the cold.

We also should remember what God told the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:8, “Be not afraid of their faces: for I [am] with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”

Finally, God Is the final arbiter of Justice and Judgment. While God will bless the wise servants, God’s wrath will be upon the wicked servants, as we see in Proverbs 14:35, “The king’s favour [is] toward a wise servant: but his wrath is [against] him that causeth shame.” and Proverbs 19:12, “The king’s wrath [is] as the roaring of a lion; but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass.“

The Unprofitable Servant was “Afraid”…What Are the Implications?

From an earthly, temporal, human (carnal) perspective, we can understand (to a degree) how someone, who is entrusted with a thing of high monetary value, might be “afraid” of losing the talent out of fear of what might happen to him or her if they lost it. Particularly when we are told that the owner was a “hard man” (“fierce, harsh, rough, and/or severe”). We can therefore readily understand how someone might want to hide that thing to keep it safe. However, by doing so, it also becomes impossible to increase the talent’s value going forward.

But the “Talent” in this parable is not just a thing of high monetary value, it is spiritually depicting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Salvation that is to be faithfully spread abroad, and which is requisite for increasing the number of souls saved thereby through its hearing. The unprofitable servant, when viewed from a spiritual perspective, is depicting someone who claims to be “Christian”, but is actually fearful of the rebuke of men in response to the sharing of the Gospel. Moreover, that unprofitable servant might also be rationalizing, as an excuse, that the election program of God is such that God promises to save whomever He Wills to save, regardless of what anyone individual might contribute in sharing the Gospel, and therefore it will ultimately not matter whether the Gospel is spread by that person or not. However, such an attitude only compounds the sin!

Isaiah 51:7,8, “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.“

Isaiah 51:12&13, “I, [even] I, am he that comforteth you: who [art] thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man [that] shall die, and of the son of man [which] shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where [is] the fury of the oppressor?“

Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.“

Note that this is also entirely consistent with what Mordecai (an allegorical type of Jesus) told Esther (an allegorical type of the Believers) in Esther 4:14 (Please see this study: The Book of Esther), “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  By implication, if Esther had not faithfully taken up the instruction to go forth to the king as Mordecai had commanded, she would have been destroyed as a wicked and unprofitable servant. And note what kind of destruction is reserved for the wicked and unprofitable servant as we read in Mark’s version, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”   We know from elsewhere in the Bible that outer darkness is equated to Hell.  Hell is for the unsaved sinners who reject Jesus and His Gospel message as found in the Bible. Jesus is equated by God with God’s Word, the Bible, and hence rejecting God’s Word is rejecting Jesus.

Moreover, God warns us very clearly.  There is no reason to be “afraid” of what mankind might say or do to us when we stand up for the Truth through the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but rather we should fear (show reverence and obedience) to God.  In Matthew 10:28, Jesus proclaimed, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  That latter “him” is God Himself! 

Job 31:34, “Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, [and] went not out of the door?” The point being that Job was not afraid or terrified, and Job did not keep silent before a great multitude. Job was unafraid to speak, just as the believer should never be afraid to share the Gospel of Salvation through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know from Psalm 27:1 “¶[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” and Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who [can be] against us?”

We must be willing to also die, if it were to become necessary to remain faithful in preaching the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ. However, even if we continue to live, we must do so in keeping with Romans 12:1, “¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.“

God gives us a glimpse of how God views those who are “afraid“. To God, those who are afraid are like the “slothful” person in Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful (עָצֵל (ʿāṣēl))^H6102 [man] saith, [There is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.“, and again in Proverbs 26:13, “The slothful (עָצֵל (ʿāṣēl))^H6102 [man] saith, [There is] a lion in the way; a lion [is] in the streets“.

Moreover, if we read and ponder what we find in Mark 8:38, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.“, then we will see that being “afraid” is much as being “ashamed” of Jesus and His Words, the Word of God.

And for additional proof, note what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” and in 2 Timothy 1:12, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

We also know that as we share the Gospel, The Word of God Who Is Jesus Christ, we are NOT to be “afraid” of how it might be received by the hearer, because as we read in Isaiah, 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”  So then, even if no one becomes saved through a person’s sharing of the Truth from God’s Word, it will still serve God’s purposes and glorifies Him in the process.

Conclusion

The overriding, basic message is clearly that the “unprofitable” servant is one who did not produce a profit with his master’s, loaned, goods. Given that the end of this parable specifically points to Judgment Day and the casting out of the unprofitable servant, it cannot be any other than that the good(s) bestowed upon the servants is (are) the treasure(s) in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.“), which is Christ in you the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27&28 “To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:“).

The multiplication of the talents means multiplying the number of believers who enter into God’s Kingdom of Heaven through the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore the unforgivable sin of the fearful steward is for not spreading the gospel, and instead being only concerned for his own soul. This indictment is what is the focus of the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5. This church was doctrinally sound (knowing God could reap where He did not sow) and protective of its status, but lost the love for the lost brethren. The seeming separation of the focus of talents and the statements about reaping and sowing in this parable may not be a separation, but a continuation of the focus of the process and results at Judgment Day. A clue might be found in the parable of the tares (Matthew 13:36-43). Here God states the reaping incudes both the just and the unjust. Satan sows the weeds, but God reaps both the wheat and the tares at the same time (at harvest time) then separates (judges) them both on Judgment Day (because Jesus said in Matthew 13:39, “the harvest is the end of the world“). Please see the post on “The Great Division“

The unprofitable servant in the Parable of the Talents was:

1. Arguing, in effect, that God was capable of saving, and would save, whomever He wanted to save (“reaping where God did not sow”), regardless of what that servant did with the talent entrusted to him, and moreover,
2. That he was also afraid (of men, rather than God) But Jesus warned in Matthew 10:28.  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.“

The result was that the unprofitable servant was being cast into Hell.  Luke 12:48 “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

The more wisdom and understanding God graciously grants a person from His Word, the greater the responsibility that person will have to use it to His Glory! 

Postscript

Proverbs 10:4&5, “He becometh poor that dealeth [with] a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer [is] a wise son: [but] he that sleepeth in harvest [is] a son that causeth shame.“

We should also remember regarding God’s Equity what Jesus said in:

1. the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:12, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” and again later in 
2. the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:29, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. and this also
3. Luke 8:18, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” And that word “seemeth” is from the original Greek word δοκέω (dokeō)^G1380, which is better translated as “thinks”. Many people “think” that they are right with God, by taking upon them the name of Jesus Christ (hence “Christians”) for their salvation, but sadly they are not truly saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ Alone.

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