Scripture: Matthew 25:14–30
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Questions
- If we do not believe in works-based salvation or righteousness, how does this parable with its works-based rewards apply to God?
- What do the talents represent and why is the third slave reprimanded for not doing more with the money?
Background
Related Scriptures: Mark 13:32-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Origen: Notice too that the servants did not go to the master so they might be judged and receive their just deserts. Rather, “the master came to them” in due course. “After a long time” he came and “settled accounts with them” on everything they had done, compensating them for the gains of their good works and the losses of their sins. Settling “accounts” and scrutinizing everything, he dealt with each one individually. It behooves us, then, as those who by sinning have done evil and by doing good reaped a profit, to keep a guard on our hearts. In this way, when our Master comes to settle accounts with us, we may not be found to have done evil, even through idle words.[1]
Reflection
What kind of lunatic is going to leave slaves in charge of a fortune equivalent to one hundred years salary for a skilled laborer? But that is what the man in Jesus’ story does. Even the third slave receives 60 lbs. of silver enough to pay a person for twenty years. At this point you might be forgiven for siding with the third slavery, when he took this sum and buried it where no one was likely to find it. After all, what right does a slave have with such wealth? You would also be forgiven for thinking that the master did not leave instructions for the slave to turn a profit and so what is wrong with the man securely hiding the money and avoiding loosing it. So, is the slave right to accuse the master of being cruel when he chides the slave for not turning any profit with the money?
The difficulty with parables is that they are not straightforward and are left to our own interpretations. And there are scholars and pastors whose interpretations do attempt to vindicate the third slave and chide the wealthy for expecting the poor to grow their wealth. And as I said, I think one can be forgiven for adopting such a mindset (at least to some degree), but I do not think that is the message of the parable. Rather, I think this parable is about character.
To begin with the master entrusting this wealth to his slaves is clearly done with the purpose of investing or in some way growing the wealth. There is no other reason a person would entrust these sums to individuals the way the master does. The first two slaves clearly understood the assignment and used the wealth to produce a profit. The third slave, however, clearly did not care about the plan and did not want to be bothered with the work. As the master points out if the slave truly believed what he said about the master, then the slave would have behaved differently and securely invested the money instead of simply burying it where it could be forgotten. The first two slaves are showing character, as John Wooden said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” This is that test, the master is gone with no set timetable for his return. The slaves are answerable to no one for the wealth in their possession and the first two prove their character by working diligently at the task left to them. The third slave by contrast does not, he shows no concern for the task given him and simply ignores the master’s duty, then when caught he provides a thin excuse. The first two slaves took charge of what was in their care and even though they were not watched, worked hard to double what was left with them, and so received the commendation of their master.
I know many who want to relate this parable to our use of physical aptitudes (talents) and while this interpretation is old, I do not think that is exactly what Jesus meant. Instead, we should ask what Jesus would consider as insanely valuable as one hundred years of wages. The answer is God’s kingdom, the one possession that Jesus has left in our care. The parable is not saying that we have to double the investment entrusted to us, but that we must work at improving God’s kingdom. The third servant is the one who did not have enough character to build the master’s wealth. We emulate this servant when we show no concern with promoting God’s kingdom on earth. This slave showed no concern for his master’s business and so was caste out. In the same way we who have been entrusted with God’s kingdom are subject to being caste out if we do not show concern for it.
Like so many of Jesus’ parables, this one is about vigilance and character. He wants us to recognize that we need to be the kind of people who are ready when no one is watching. We should be the people who are disciplined enough to be trusted. We are people who have enough integrity to do the right thing when it is not necessary or even inconvenient. The kingdom Jesus has entrusted to us is far more valuable than the wealth left to the slaves in the parable and because of that it will be even sweeter when our master says to us, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.
[1] Manlio Simonetti, ed., Matthew 14-28, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 224.
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