This is the manuscript of the fourth and final sermon in the "Responding to the Parables of Our Lord" series.
Jesus used parables to present to us powerful pictures about God, humans, and life. By means of these stories, he communicated life-changing truths to his disciples and to those who are willing to listen and learn today. The parable of the talents, is a parable that emphasizes the importance of faithfulness. This parable does not emphasize equality, which is important but it emphasizes the importance of faithfulness. This parable points out that we will be rewarded on the basis of our faithfulness in using what has been entrusted to us.
Matthew 25:23 RSV His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’
By means of this parable our Lord lets us know that in the final analysis our lives will be judged not on the basis of our fame but on the basis of our faithfulness. We will be rewarded not on the basis of our genius but on the basis of our integrity. This parable should encourage and challenge us.
God has given you specific gifts and talents, and He will regularly give you opportunities to use them, don’t bury them.
Scripture Reading:
Matthew 25:14-30 RSV [14] “For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; [15] to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. [16] He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. [17] So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. [18] But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. [19] Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. [20] And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ [21] His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ [22] And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ [23] His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ [24] He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; [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 answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? [27] Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. [28] So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. [29] For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [30] And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’
Introduction
Jesus used parables to present to us powerful pictures about God, humans, and life. By means of these stories, he communicated life-changing truths to his disciples and to those who are willing to listen and learn today. The parable of the talents, which we read in our scripture this morning, is a parable that emphasizes the importance of faithfulness.
By means of this parable our Lord lets us know that in the final analysis our lives will be judged not on the basis of our fame but on the basis of our faithfulness. We will be rewarded not on the basis of our genius but on the basis of our integrity. This parable should encourage and challenge us.
This parable, calls our attention to the possibility that we can blow our opportunity for God and for ourselves. We can waste our opportunity to minister to others.
We are the children of God by grace through faith and at the same time, we are servants of God with the privilege of inviting others to join us at God’s Great Banquet which we’ve talked about the last two weeks. We are to be the servants that go out everywhere to invite everybody to God's Banquet.
So let’s take a look at this parable. Talents were measures of money, or weight depending on the context. In the context of this parable these talents are money. For our purposes today let’s just say that a talent is $1,000 so the master gave one servant $5000, one $2000 and one $1000.
These talents represent the means God has entrusted to his people for carrying on his kingdom work in the world today. They are the gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12–14, and Ephesians 4. We've talked about the gits before so I am not going to get into them today but read Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12–14, and Ephesians 4.
We could also say that these talents are the gospel itself, the truths Christ preached, the training we have received, the energy available to us, the education and skills we have acquired, along with Christian experience, health, wealth, time, opportunities, and effectiveness in preaching and teaching. God has entrusted to us all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. From the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been giving us, His children, the talents and gifts needed for doing His work in the world today.
Now our text for today;
Matthew 25:23 RSV His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’
I. First of all notice that the talents were given to “each according to his ability”
Matthew 25:15 RSV to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
This parable does not emphasize equality, which is important but this parable emphasizes the importance of faithfulness.
We know that we all have at least one spiritual gift from God. We’ve had sermons and talked about the fact that the Holy Spirit has distributed gifts to every believer. We also.
know that we don’t all have the same talents and gifts, some may have more talents, or spiritual gifts than others.
We are all genetically different and therefore have various levels of potential. God created us that way, and our parable illustrates this fact of life.
Yet each of us has an equal opportunity and charge to become a good and faithful servant of God. This parable points out that we will be rewarded on the basis of our faithfulness in using what has been entrusted to us.
God is the one who makes the decision as to how many talents that we have and we cannot change the will of God for us. What we are to do is to go on to serve God with what we have and serve Him the best we can.
Nothing in this parable is clearer than the fact that the one-talent servant was expected to be just as faithful to his master’s interests as the five-and two-talent servants. The point is that everybody is important.
Now let’s look at what these three servants did with what they were given to manage;
Matthew 25:16-18 RSV He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
The five talent-servant performed well. He was true to the Master’s trust. His investments proved immensely profitable, his work returned a profit of 100 percent.
The two-talent servant performed well also. He also showed a profit of 100 percent.
What about the one-talent servant?
This servant neither invested or blew the money given to him. He simply put it in a hole in the ground. He was afraid to risk it. He avoided the responsibility of managing what the Master entrusted to him. “But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.”
The one-talent servant did nothing. He treated the gift with contempt, and hid it in the ground. He took the responsibility given to him and ignored it, and instead of expanding his effort in the growth of his Master’s estate, he dug a hole, dumped it in, and walked away and lived his own life for the entire time that the Master was away.
Every Christian should have the ambition to be a successful servant of God. Success, as God sees it, has nothing to do with how much money you have, how successful you are, how talented you are, or how many gifts you have. Success is measured in terms of faithfulness.
Let’s look at what happens when the Master returns and each servant has to give his report and receive his evaluation from the Master.
First, there was the accounting with the five-talent servant.
Matthew 25:19-21 RSV Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’
He had been faithful to the trust. He was rewarded. He was commended with his “Well done.” He was promoted to greater responsibilities, a great reward.
Then, there was the accounting with the two-talent servant.
Matthew 25:22-23 RSV And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.
This two-talent servant was just as faithful to his trust as was the five-talent servant. Like his more gifted fellow servant, his increase was also 100 percent. That the master’s commendation was in exactly the same words for the two-talent servant as for the five-talent servant is not accidental.
‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.
Jesus deliberately constructed his story to show that though there may be degrees of talents and gifts, every person is required to make the most of his or her gifts.
Then comes the one-talent servant. Here’s his report
Matthew 25:24-25 RSV He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’
The one-talent servant basically says "I know you (or at least I think I do), I was scared, so I did nothing.”
What was he afraid of?
He was afraid of losing some of the money, he was afraid that if he didn’t “perform” a certain way he might see a decrease and then get into big trouble. He was afraid of taking a risk with what had been given to him, and so he decided it is safer to hide it in the ground and walk away.
What he missed is this: the Master expected him to take those risks. He empowered him to take those risks, He equipped him with the capital to go out and use it in a profitable way. Yes, the Master expected a profit and He had a right to, that is why He entrusted the money to His servants.
Remember what I said last week when we studied the parable of the fig tree. In that parable Jesus speaks of God’s right to expect an appropriate return.
Luke 13:6-7 RSV [6] And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. [7] And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’
Notice this very significant statement in the Master’s reply to the servant that hid his talent in the ground:
Matthew 25:27 RSV Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Even putting the money in a savings account would have been a whole lot better than digging a hole! It would have been ok for him to be conservative, as long as he had still been productive.
What was the master’s evaluation of the one talent servant?
Matthew 25:26-30 RSV But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’
II.We all need to beware of the possibility of becoming or doing what this one-talent servant did.
A. This servant failed to trust in the goodness of his Master.
From the beginning of human history, Satan’s strategy has been to question the goodness of God. In the Garden of Eden, he dropped the hint that God was not really good, that he was restricting Adam and Eve from entering into what they had the right to experience.
Genesis 3:4-5 RSV [4] But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
1. The sin of no faith, not trusting God and taking Him at His word has been the undoing God’s people throughout the ages.
2. Little faith causes us to not attempt to do the big things God wants us to do.
B. This one-talent servant was not a bad person. He is not described as cruel and merciless. He is not described as a wasteful person or as a slave to his passions. No, this servant just counted his one talent as being of no real importance. He failed to appreciate that every talent is precious in God’s sight.
D. This servant lacked the faith and courage to take a risk. He decided to be cautious and play it safe.
1. We must trust God to fulfill his promises if we are to do something significant.
2. We must expose ourselves to possible embarrassment and loss if we are to do anything worthwhile.
What if Abraham had played it safe and had refused to risk leaving his home and going to a far country for God?
Moses wanted to play it safe and tried every excuse possible to avoid responding to God’s call. Finally, he took the risk and became a great deliverer.
If Paul and the other apostles had played it safe and had never risked failure, we probably never would have known about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And we can be grateful that Jesus did not play it safe.
Many people are tempted to think that their talent is so small that it does not matter, and therefore they neglect to respond to their opportunities. When we do this we become like the one-talent servant.
III. The good news in this powerful parable is that;
A. Each of us has been given abilities. The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each believer. No one is left empty-handed.
B. We can improve our own usefulness and fruitfulness, in using what God has already placed in our hands.
C. We can receive the Lord’s approval and praise, if we are faithful in the use of the gifts he bestows upon us. All of us would like to hear him say, “Well done.”
D. We can enter into the joy of the Lord. All of us want to enter into the joy of our Lord after we die we love the scripture
2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV [8] we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,
but this parable teaches us that it is possible for us to enter into the joy of our Lord in the here and now.
Matthew 25:23 RSV His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’
Ours can be the joy of doing God's will.
Ours can be the joy of showing God’s love to others.
Ours can be the joy of seeing people come to know Jesus Christ as Savior.
Ours can be the joy of becoming what God wants us to be.
Conclusion
Let’s not think like the one-talent servant. We need to recognize that the little person with a great gospel is mightier than a great person with no gospel.
Let us use what God has given to us so that we can bring glory to him and that he might be glorified in us. Works don’t save a person, but they are good evidence that a person is saved.
Ephesians 2:9 NLT says “ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
While it is true that we are saved by faith, it is also true that if we are really saved, then there will be good works because as the next verse, Ephesians 2:10 NLT says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”.
God has a plan and a purpose for your life. He has work for you to do. And He is going ahead of you, preparing the way. God is manipulating all the resources of the universe so that the work you do will fulfill the plan He has for you.
God uses little things to test your integrity. It’s not just the big things that count—even though that’s what the world wants you to focus on. But the Bible tells us that God is looking at the smallest details of our lives to see if we are faithful to him.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT).
You are the steward of your talents, and God is watching to see if you use what he gave you on earth to bless other people. If you use them effectively on earth, then he’s going to give you more responsibility in heaven—and those responsibilities will bring you joy forever!
Jesus’ words cause us to examine ourselves. If the man who kept his talent intact, returning it undamaged and unused, received such heavy judgment, what do we expect when we squander the gifts, talents, and resources that He has given us? God has given you specific gifts and talents, and he will regularly give you opportunities to use them, don’t bury them.
Let’s pray.
God - my Father, my Savior, and Holy Spirit with me, You are the true light, as the Bible proclaims. I am so glad to know you, and it is a privilege to be given the task of making you known to others. Forgive me for being distracted by things that aren’t so important. We commit today to witness about you: the True Light.
Amen.
