This is the last parable of Jesus in Luke that
we will be reflecting on. As all the parables in Luke, this parable gives us a
picture of the kingdom of God and who we are to be as citizens of God’s
kingdom. In this parable, Jesus gives us a number of images that create
problems for many people today because they are harsher and stronger than many
of us want to hear or accept of Jesus.
Jesus and his disciples and followers are
coming close to Jerusalem when Jesus tells them this parable. Jesus
is approaching his death and he’s preparing the people for this, though they
have no clue about what’s coming. They’re expecting, or at least hoping that
Jesus is finally going to claim the throne, the kingship of Israel from Herod,
restoring Israel’s freedom and independence from Rome. They’re looking for a King
David type of king, ignoring most of what Jesus has been teaching them over the
past three years. Jesus now gives them a picture of the kingdom of God that is
familiar and yet still disturbs them.
Jesus begins with a noble man who
goes off to a distant country to have himself be made king. The people’s minds
go straight to how King Herod had to go to Rome to be made king of Israel by
Caesar. Jesus goes on to tell them that this man’s subjects can’t stand him so
they send a delegation to the distant ruler to ask him not to make the noble
man king, but they get ignored and the noble man is made king anyway. This
echoes what happened when Herod was crowned king, Caesar ignored a delegation
from the Jews asking Caesar to not make Herod king, again, this story is
echoing real life for the people hearing this story, but it’s not a happy story
for them, this is no happily ever after fairy tale.
It seems as if Jesus is going to push some
buttons here. Is Jesus referring to Herod in this parable, or is
he referring to himself and are the people listening to Jesus the complainers
who hate the noble man then? How do we fit into this story then, where do we
stand? Hard and difficult questions for us. The noble man calls 10 of his
servants before he leaves and he gives each of them a mina, about 4 months
wages, to put to work for him while he’s away. It’s not clear how long he will
be away, since there are a lot of things that could go wrong and force him to
be away for a long time before he’s able to get back. The servants will have to
work hard and be prepared for him to return at almost any time.
It’s not hard to see ourselves in this
parable at this point. God, through the Holy Spirit has given
each one of us gifts and Jesus expects us to use what we have been given for
our king’s benefit, not for our own, to increase God’s kingdom, not our own.
This life matters because our lives belong to Jesus because he paid for them on
the cross where he died for our sins. He died in our place so that we don’t
have to be afraid of sin and death, so that we can live lift completely and
fully for Jesus and experience God’s pleasure in us. We are assured of our
faith through the good works which we do that produce good fruit for God. This
becomes really clear as Jesus goes on with his parable.
The noble man, now king, comes home. When
he gets home he calls for his servants to whom he had
given the money, in order to find out what they had earned with it.
Accountability is an important part of our faith, of following Jesus. The first
servant comes and says, “Sir, your mina has earned 10
more.” The king is impressed and tells the servant, “Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy
in a small matter, take charge of 10 cities.” The second servant comes
and tells the king, “Sir, your mina has earned 5 more.”
The king is pleased and tells him, “You take charge of
5 cities.” The king has good loyal servants so far, people who use the
king’s wealth to increase the king’s wealth even more. Because they’re faithful
in small things, 1 mina each, they’re given greater responsibility which will
mean even more work for them, but they’re focused on pleasing the king. Why do
you work hard? Many people today work hard for more money, for more toys, for
more power and prestige, few people work hard today to please their boss. Yet when I think of Jesus as the king, I want to make him happy, I want him to be pleased with what I do and who I'm becoming; it's a heart thing, a relationship thing. It's like pleasing my wife and seeing her smile, I want that in my relationship with Jesus.
Then the story takes a sharp turn.
Another servant comes and tells the king, “Sir, here is
your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you,
because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what
you did not sow.” Wow, didn’t really see that coming. Why was he so
afraid when the others weren’t? He was so afraid that he didn’t even try to put
his king’s mina to work; he wraps it in a cloth and hides it until the king
returns. Then he tries to blame the king, saying he’s a hard man who takes out what he doesn’t put in and reaps where he
doesn’t sow and the king takes the servant’s words and asks him “Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I
came back, I could collected it with interest?”
A couple of things jump out at me; the
servant’s fear goes real deep. The song Fear
is a Liar was playing as I was reflecting on this part of the sermon, and
it’s true, Satan uses fear to give us a false picture of who God and Jesus is.
Satan wants us to see Jesus as an angry greedy king who wants to take
everything we have and force us to grovel before him. That’s what many kings
did back in Jesus’ time; it’s what most dictators still expect today. Then
there’s the king’s words, calling the servant wicked.
How does fear become wickedness? Does the fear come out because this servant is
one of those who hate the king and had tried to prevent him becoming king? Was
not using the mina to increase the king’s wealth his way of rebelling against
the king, or is it more about not really caring about the king, just putting his time in until he's older and then relying on the king to take care of him? There are lots of questions here that we can only wonder at and yet
they seem to be connected to the king’s harsh response.
Because the servant has failed to follow the
king’s order to put the mina to work for him, the mina is taken away and given
to the servant who has 10 already, prompting the people to say that’s not fair.
Who is it unfair to? The unfaithful servant failed to follow the king’s
commands while the servant who gained 10 minas enthusiastically followed the
king’s commands, doesn’t it make sense then to give him the extra mina to
increase the king’s wealth even more? Jesus is using the results of the
servant’s work to reveal the loyalty and faithfulness to the king that is in
each of their hearts. The more you love the king, the more faithful you are to
the king, the harder you will work to please him and make him even greater.
The king goes on to say, “I tell you that to
everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even
what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want
me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” Those
who listen to the king and do his will, they will be rewarded, while those who
hear the king’s desire and do nothing, such as the servant, will lose whatever
they have. More is not about money, in this parable; it’s about sharing in
the new kingdom. As for those who actively worked against the king, they will
be judged for they refuse to show loyalty to the new king.
This is a parable about judgement, Jesus
is getting close to his death and he is preparing everyone for what is about to
happen; his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven where he will be given
all authority in heaven and earth. Our words, our lives reveal where our heart
and loyalty is at, this is why our words and lives matter so much. I know for
myself that I want to hear Jesus say, “Well done, my
good servant.” I want to be given greater responsibility in his kingdom; I don’t want to squeak into his kingdom with the door hitting me on the behind
as I enter in.
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