The third slave is just the opposite. The Chapel believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of Gods Word. A small gain could have been obtained without great risk or effort on the part of the slave, but he chose to do nothing at all. And,. Matthew 25:14-31 NKJV;ESV - The Parable of the Talents - "For the Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular, Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular. We often mix up the word talent in the currency sense with our modern English word talent meaning gifts, and its important to understand the money context of what Jesus was saying. In this show, one boss brings several employees into a room, gives them each cash, and tells them to invest to grow his corporation. I will put you in charge of many things. 276 Needless to say, bankers and banking were not the same in those days. Assuming, for the moment, that the slave was correct in his assessment, why would he not be motivated by his fear to seek a profit for his master? In other words, the third slave looks upon his master as wicked, harsh, and impossible. This slave does absolutely nothing with the talent that has been entrusted to him, nothing but bury it, that is.277 We need to distinguish between his excuses and the masters assessment, both of which are conveyed in our text. This is the reason I was critical of the translation of verse 16 (see footnote 1 above). Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Faith Talk Ministries, Faithful to the End See, I have gained five more. 21 His master answered, Well done, good and faithful slave! Here, as in what was said to the faithful servants, our Saviour goes out of the parable into the thing intended by it, and this serves as a key to the whole. Neuter of a presumed derivative of the original form of tlao; a balance, i.e. 275 See William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973), p. 879. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:12-14). Talents. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry (Matthew 11:28-30). Then he went on his journey. What is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares? Is this not fruit? Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. And part of the reward the faithful slave is entering into is the joy of his Master in bringing salvation to men. Today a talent might be worth a million dollars! 26 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: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Jaye Martin, How to Know Your Life Purpose Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Sunday School Lessons and Wells The Invisible Man where a foolish theologian suggests a strangers problem is he only has one talent. Matthew 25:14-30 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. This parable is paired with the parable of the 10 virgins, who made the mistake of not having enough oil when the bridegroom arrives. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. In short, Jesus is a master who uses methods we dont always understand, which might even seem unfair. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats? Luke 19:13,14 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come, Personal / Relative Pronoun - Dative Masculine Singular, Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. In the parable of the talent, there are two clear references to time. But none of them adequately explain it. They returned to their master with double the talents! Sometimes it is merely a connective, a virtual conjunction. 270 I hate to have to disagree with the NET Bible translation here, but it seems to me that this translation does not adequately emphasize the force of our Lords carefully chosen words, especially in context. 20 For the creation was subjected to futilitynot willingly but because of God who subjected itin hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of Gods children. It has taken a while for the thrust of this parable to come into focus for me. 28 Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again (John 12:27-28). It appears in Matthew 25:14-30, and another version of the parable can be found in Luke 19:11-27. The Parable of the Talents - Matthew 25 - KJV - eBible At this point we would probably do well to look at work from a broader perspective; we should consider work from the beginning of time to eternity future. See 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. There is no end to our labors for our God. ), [Rom. This was paradise, my friend, and thus their work was not drudgery; it was a delight: 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 15 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. God expects to see a profit. Just as a businessman expects to make a profit, and rejoices when his employees increase his wealth, so God expects a profit and rejoices in it. 16 The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work270 and gained five more. This may be applied to the blessings of this life; but rather to the means of grace. Seeking the Gospel in Malachi, the Last Book of the Old Testament. 21 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. Parables of Jesus by James Montgomery Boice. Unfaithful service led to condemnation, the removal of ones stewardship, and an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness, away from the presence of our Lord. 25And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. It is also found in Jude 1:15 to describe the harsh words the unbelieving have said against God. The Parable of the Talents. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once . A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. All three stories are about being given something which must be used well, and the consequences of neglecting or abusing it. Those who think it impossible to please God, and in vain to serve him, will do nothing to purpose in religion. From dunamai; force; specially, miraculous power. He gives each of them some money. First, the master stayed away for a long time (Matthew 25:19). 18But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lords money. It is a usual way of expressing the miseries of the damned in hell. Our Lords emphasis here is not on putting the money to work, but on the servant going to work with his masters money. parable in Luke is told when Jesus was near Jerusalem, before His triumphal entry; in Matthew, the parable is told when Jesus was in Jerusalem, a few days later. Let us go a three-day journey into the desert so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword. 4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? What, then, is the root of this third slaves problem? The talent of silver (taking silver as worth a little over 5s. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them (Ephesians 2:8-10). [15]And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every . This servant offered a feeble excuse for his conduct. All rights reserved. Enter into the joy of your master. 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting 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. Its also interesting that when the third servant returns his money, he accuses the master of being a hard man who reaps where he did not sow (Matthew 25:24). Too often we think of our Lords words in Matthew 6 in terms of the offering plate. The slaves excuse was that his master was a harsh man, and this caused him to be afraid of his master, thus doing nothing with the money entrusted to him. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and Jesus tells the story of a rich man who has three slaves. 16 Then he that had received the five . 5 The third slave is an entirely different matter. He provides the money and the ability, but we are expected to work hard with what He has given us, for the profit of the kingdom. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. Therefore, the master represents Christ, while the three servants represent those who serve him. Inductive Bible study of Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. The masters dealings with the third servant is a very different matter. Both minas and talents were units of currency in the ancient Roman world. He has richly provided all that you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:1-4). So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them., I will make you ruler over many things. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. 18 But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his masters money in it. To the first he entrusted five talents, to the second two talents, and to the third one talent. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, # 25:15 Greek five talents two talents one talent; also throughout this parable; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer's wage. In the New Testament, the term "talent" meant something very different than it does today.