The Parable of the Talents
In Matthew 24, Jesus foretold
events that would happen before
His second coming. Then, in
Matthew 25, He told three
parables to amplify His warnings
and these parables are intimately
related to each other. For
example, the foolish virgins in
the first parable are represented
as the worthless servant in the
second parable and the goats in
the third parable.
“Again, it [the kingdom
of Heaven] will be like a
man going on a journey, who
called his servants and entrusted
his property to them. To one he
gave five talents of money, to
another two talents, and to
another one talent, each
according to his ability. Then he
went on his journey. The man who
had received the five talents
went at once and put his money to
work and gained five more. So
also, the one with the two
talents gained two more. But the
man who had received the one
talent went off, dug a hole in
the ground and hid his
master’s money.” (Matthew 25:14-18, insertion mine)
When a person becomes a born
again disciple of Jesus, He gives
each person a mission and the
necessary talents to accomplish
it. He will give some servants
just one talent and others will
receive many talents.
“After a long time the
master of those servants returned
and settled accounts with them.
The man who had received the five
talents brought the other five.
‘Master,’ he said,
‘you entrusted me with five
talents. See, I have gained five
more.’ His master replied,
‘Well done, good and
faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I
will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
The man with the two talents also
came. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘you entrusted me with
two talents; see, I have gained
two more.’ His master
replied, ‘Well done, good
and faithful servant! You have
been faithful with a few things;
I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
” (Matthew 25:19-23)
No one should feel either
superior or inferior because he
has five talents or only one;
remember, much is required of
those who receive much and little
is required of those who receive
little. (Luke 12:48) Jesus wants each
servant to use his talent(s) to
bless those within his sphere of
influence. Interestingly, the man
with two talents actually
received the same recognition as
the man with five. Both servants
received a 100% increase and
the same reward.
“Then the man who had
received the one talent came.
‘Master,’ he said,
‘I knew that you are a hard
man, harvesting where you have
not sown and gathering where you
have not scattered seed. So I was
afraid and went out and hid your
talent in the ground. See, here
is what belongs to you.’ His
master replied, ‘You wicked,
lazy servant! So you knew that I
harvest where I have not sown and
gather where I have not scattered
seed? Well then, you should have
put my money on deposit with the
bankers, so that when I returned
I would have received it back
with interest.” (Matthew 25:24-27)
This part of the parable merits
close attention because Jesus
will fulfill it soon.
Christ’s return will awaken
the world from slumber.
God’s wrath against
wickedness, displayed in the
first four trumpets, will
surprise many Christians (the
five foolish virgins) and they
will be shocked to discover that
they never had a relationship
with the Bridegroom even though
they believed they did! When
Christ turns them away at the
banquet door with the words,
“I never knew you,”
they will become bitter toward
Jesus. Their sentiment is
expressed in this parable when
the worthless servant confesses
to his master that he (the
servant) knew all along that his
master was evil. He said: “I
knew that you are a hard man,
harvesting where you have not
sown and gathering where you have
not scattered seed.”
The wicked servant did not have a
servant’s heart. He did not
want the talent lent to him. He
did not invest the master’s
talent, as little as it was. He
just buried the talent (forgot
about it) and lived as if he were
the master instead of the
servant. The master responded to
the wicked servant’s
accusation saying, “Well
then, you should have put my
money on deposit with the
bankers, so that when I returned
I would have received it back
with interest.” The
master’s response indicates
that each disciple will use the
talents lent to him, and each
faithful servant will have
something to show when the master
returns.
“Take the talent from him
and give it to the one who has
the ten talents. For everyone who
has [been faithful with what
was given him] will be given
more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not
have [anything to show for
the talent(s) lent to him], even
what he has will be taken from
him. And throw that worthless
servant outside, into the
darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of
teeth.” (Matthew 25:14-30)
The Master takes the wasted
talents away from the worthless
servant and gives more talents to
those who are appropriately using
what was already given to them.
The worthless servant is similar
to the foolish virgins in the
previous parable, and the Master
prevents the servant from
receiving His wonderful gifts.
The moral of the story is that
when a person is born again, the
Master’s business becomes
top priority. Otherwise, the
Master’s business is soon
buried with the cares of this
life, and the gift entrusted to
the worthless servant produces
nothing for Jesus.
The Parable of the Sheep and
Goats
“When the Son of Man comes
in his glory, and all the angels
with him, He will sit on His
throne in heavenly glory. All the
nations will be gathered before
Him, and He will separate the
people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats. He will put the sheep
on his right and the goats on his
left.” (Matthew 25:31-33)
Christians frequently abuse this
parable interpreting it to mean
that Jesus will judge human
beings on the day of His return.
Other Christians read the parable
and conclude that Jesus will save
them because of their charitable
deeds. They think if a person has
more good deeds than bad deeds,
salvation is assured. The Bible
does not support either
conclusion. We cannot put the
Bible in a state of internal
conflict by “cherry
picking” verses to reach a
preconceived conclusion.
(Internal conflict occurs when
one Bible verse is used to cancel
the meaning of another.) If we
understand this parable is an
object lesson that compliments
the two previous ones in Matthew
25, the message in the third
parable is quite simple: Our
conduct reveals our spiritual
DNA. If we follow the Holy
Spirit, our actions will be
selfless. If we follow the sinful
nature, our actions will be
selfish.
According to the parable, the
people of Earth will be divided
into two groups when Jesus
returns. The groups are not
separated by Bible knowledge or
an understanding of Bible prophecy. Instead, they
are divided based on whether they
have a genuine interest and love
for others. A few hours before
His arrest, Jesus said to His
disciples, “A new
command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved
you, so you must
love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one
another.” (John 13:34,35, italics mine)
Jesus made an example of His
sacrifice for sinners. He said,“Greater
love has no one than this, that
he lay down his life for his
friends.” (John 15:13)
“Then the King will say to
those on His right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since
the creation of the world. For I
was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty
and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you
invited me in, I needed clothes
and you clothed me, I was sick
and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit
me.’ Then the righteous will
answer him, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something
to drink? When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in
prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘I tell
you the truth, whatever you did
for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for
me.’” (Matthew 25:34-40)
Strangely, Jesus does not
identify the saints as sheep
because they showed kindness to
those in need. On the contrary,
each sinner is born with a
goat’s heart and when he
becomes a born-again Christian,
the Holy Spirit transforms the
goat’s heart into a
sheep’s heart. This is the
key point of the parable. God has
prepared His kingdom for those
whom the Holy Spirit has
transformed into sheep. Goats
cannot acquire eternal life
through good deeds or giving
money away, because their hearts
cannot produce genuine interest
in the welfare of others. Sheep,
on the other hand, are people
transformed by the voice of the
Holy Spirit, because every
born-again Christian receives a
pair of ears: “My sheep
listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch
them out of my hand.” (John 10:27,28)
The foolish virgins solved
charity problems by “giving
alms.” The wise virgins
solved charity problems by
“giving
themselves.” “If I
give all I possess to the poor
and surrender my body to the
flames, but have not love, I gain
nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)
Some people will say that they
can’t help others because it
takes everything they make to
live. A person may not be able to
help others financially because
circumstances can develop and
hold us in a financial bind for a
while. God certainly understands
this. However, the Master also
knows selfishness and greed when
present in a sinner’s life.
If a person spends everything he
makes on himself and deliberately
saves nothing to help others,
Jesus is not pleased.
If a person has no money to
share, he may be able to share
some of his time. Each born-again
Christian can help others with
words of encouragement and
genuine gestures of friendship.
Jesus knows that some people are
poor due to laziness and
stupidity. Others are
dysfunctional because of abuse,
addictions, being trapped by
poorly-made decisions, or being
emotionally and/or mentally
impaired. Given these various
situations, thoughtful insight is
required to help others. In some
cases, giving money (enabling
self-destructive behaviors) can
be more harmful than helpful. In
many cases, people do not want
help; instead, they want to be
sustained in their current state.
There is an old saying,
“Give a man a fish, and you
feed him for a day. Teach a man
to fish, and you feed him for a
lifetime.”
“Then He will say to those
on His left, ‘Depart from
me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels. For I was
hungry and you gave me nothing to
eat, I was thirsty and you gave
me nothing to drink, I was a
stranger and you did not invite
me in, I needed clothes and you
did not clothe me, I was sick and
in prison and you did not look
after me.’ “They also
will answer, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or needing clothes or
sick or in prison, and did not
help you?’ “He will
reply, ‘I tell you the
truth, whatever you did not do
for one of the least of these,
you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life.’
” (Matthew 25:41-46)
A goat does not become a sheep by
acting like a sheep. This parable
is not about “doing,”
it is about “being.”
Jesus said: “Because of
the increase of wickedness, the
love of most will grow cold, but
he who stands firm to the end
will be saved.” (Matthew 24:12,13) The truthfulness
of His words is evident.
Atrocities are occurring on a
daily basis. Demons are
possessing people at a greater
rate than ever before and the
proof of this is seen in
predatory violence inflicted on
unsuspecting people. Many
terrible things are happening,
but Jesus’ servants must
keep about their Master’s
business. Jesus has given each
Christian a mission and the
talent(s) needed to accomplish
it. The parables of the ten
virgins, the faithful and lazy
servants, and the sheep and goats
have a powerful moral. There will
be no room in Heaven for foolish
virgins, lazy servants and goats.
Are you ready for Jesus to come?
To prepare yourself, get into
God’s Word and start your
study with the gospels of John
and James. Do not wait! Do it
today!
Larry Wilson
