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Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the talents)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Jesus in Jerusalem, and we are in a section of our series that focuses on the various aspects of Christ’s return. So far, we have talked about the signs of Christ’s return, being ready for Christ’s return and waiting for Christ’s return. Today’s message is about preparing for Christ’s return. (Read Matthew 25:20-21 and pray.)

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One of the things we have seen throughout this series is that there is a progression in Jesus’ teaching about his return. First, Jesus teaches about the signs of his return. Once we know the signs, we learn that Jesus could return at any time, so we need to be ready for Christ’s return. However, even though Jesus could return at any time, no one knows when he will return, so we also need to be ready to wait for Christ’s return.

That’s what we talked about last week – waiting for Christ’s return. This leads naturally to the question: what do you do while you wait? Should you just go up on a hillside and wait, doing nothing? No, today’s passage tells us that we should be preparing for Christ’s return by being faithful stewards of the resources and abilities God has given us.

Jesus teaches us this important truth using the parable of the talents. A talent was a unit of weight and represented a considerable amount of money in those days. We actually get our English word “talent” from this parable where the talents of money in the parable represent the various resources and abilities God has given us to use for his glory. As J.C. Ryle rightly says: “Anything whereby we may glorify God is ‘a talent.’ Our gifts, our influence, our money, our knowledge, our health, our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affections, our privileges as members of Christ’s Church, our advantages as possessors of the Bible – all, all are talents.” (John Charles Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. Matthew)

So, what do you do while you wait? You need to be working for Christ and his kingdom. You don’t need to whistle while you work. But you do need to be working while you wait. So, let’s look at the parable of the talents together and see what Jesus teaches us about preparing for his return.

I. God has entrusted you with certain resources and abilities (14-18)

First of all, God has entrusted you with certain resources and abilities. Look at verses 14-18:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 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. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 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)

In this first section of the parable, the master goes away and entrusts the servants with his property. And we learn several things from Jesus’ teaching in this first section.

   A. Everything you have comes from God and belongs to God (14)

First of all, everything you have comes from God and belongs to God. When the master goes away, he doesn’t entrust the servants with their property but with his property. Everything you have comes from God and belongs to God. We must begin here. God is the owner. We are only stewards. We are servants of God and stewards of his property. All your money, all your belongings, your work, your skills, your abilities, your time – everything you have comes from God and belongs to God. Until you acknowledge that God owns it all, you cannot move forward.

   B. God gives to each of us according to our abilities (15)

Another thing we learn from this section of the parable is that God gives to each of us according to our abilities. Notice how Jesus says the owner gave different amounts of money to the three servants. The first servant received five talents, the second received three and the third servant received one. The owner didn’t give the same amount to each servant. Rather, he gave to each of them according to his ability.

It’s the same with us. God gives to each of us according to our abilities. There’s a reason not all of us are rich or famous or in positions of power or authority. God knows what you can handle and what you cannot. Some of us are more limited in our abilities. Some of us can handle much more. God is sovereign over your life and the resources and abilities he has given you.

Charles Spurgeon describes the master this way: “He was the judge of the ability of each of his servants, and he made no mistake in his allotment of the talents to them. We may rest assured, if we are the Lord’s servants, that he has bestowed upon us as many talents as we can rightly use, and quite as many as we shall be able to account for when he returns.” (Charles Spurgeon; The Gospel of the Kingdom: An Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew)

We need to be careful not to envy those who have more than us or be prideful over those who have less. Rather, we should be grateful. We need to trust God’s sovereignty and be grateful for whatever he has given us and determine to use whatever God has given us for his glory.

   C. What are you doing with what God has given you? (16-18)

Which leads us to the question: what are you doing with what God has given you? In the parable the man who had received the five talents put his money to work and gained five more. 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 talent.

What are you doing with what God has given you? Are you putting it to work for God and his kingdom? Are you learning and growing and developing the resources and abilities that God has given you? Remember, God owns it all. You are just a steward of what he has given you.

So, we can sum up the first section of the parable like this: God has entrusted you with certain resources and abilities. 1) Everything you have comes from God and belongs to God. 2) God gives to each of us according to our abilities. 3) What are you doing with what God has given you?

II. The good and faithful servant gains more for the master (19-23)

This leads us to the second section of the parable where Jesus describes for us the good and faithful servant. The good and faithful servant is the one who gains more for the master. Look at verses 19-23 where the master returns from his journey to settle accounts with his servants.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 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.’ 21 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!’

22 The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 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)

In these verses the good and faithful servant is represented by the first two servants, both of whom took what the master gave them and gained more for him. This section of the parable teaches us several things.

   A. God expects you to be faithful with what he gives you (19)

First of all, God expects you to be faithful with what he gives you. You are responsible for the resources and abilities God has given you in this life. You are responsible to use the resources and abilities God has given you for God’s glory and for his kingdom. When Christ returns, it will be time to settle accounts. If you have misused what God gave you or used it all for yourself or you didn’t use it at all, you will have to answer to God for your actions.

The first two servants were both faithful with what God had given them, and God commended both of them for it. That’s the first thing we learn from this section. God expects you to be faithful with what he gives you.

   B. The more God gives you, the greater your responsibility (20,22)

Secondly, this section teaches us that the more God gives you, the greater your responsibility. The servant who was given five talents was expected to gain more than the servant who was only given two talents. And the servant who was given two talents was expected to gain more than the servant who was given one talent. We all seem to want more in life, but you need to remember, the more you have, the greater your responsibility before God. We don’t always realize it, but sometimes it’s a blessing to have less!

God only holds you responsible for what he has given you. Notice that both the first servant and the second servant were commended equally before God. The master says the exact same words to each of them! Although they were not given equal amounts, they were both faithful with what God had given, and so they were equally rewarded. What better reward than to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

   C. When you are faithful with little, you will be entrusted with more (21,23)

Finally, this section of the parable teaches us that when you are faithful with little, you will be entrusted with more. Jesus said to each of the first two servants: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Do you want God to entrust you with more in this life and the next? Then be faithful with what you’ve got! If you’re not being faithful with the resources and abilities God has already given you, why would you expect God to give you more?

And so, this second section of the parable teaches us that the good and faithful servant gains more for the master. 1) God expects you to be faithful with what he gives you. 2) The more God gives you, the greater your responsibility. 3) When you are faithful with little, you will be entrusted with more.

III. The wicked and lazy servant does nothing for the master (24-30)

We now come to the third and final section of the parable which deals with the wicked and lazy servant. The wicked and lazy servant is the one who does nothing for the master. The wicked and lazy servant is represented in the parable by the third servant, who instead of using what the master gave him, digs a hole and buries it in the ground. This third section of the parable also teaches us several things.

   A. Don’t think bad thoughts of God (24-25)

First of all, don’t think bad thoughts of God. Look at verses 24-25:

“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. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’” (Matthew 25:24-25)

Don’t think bad thoughts of God. The third servant in the parable thought bad thoughts of the master. He calls him a hard man. He accuses him of harvesting where he has not sown and gathering where he has not scattered seed. Now, we know this was not true of the master in the parable, and it is certainly not true of God. The master in the parable didn’t take away from the first two servants who gained more for him. Instead, he rewarded them by giving them even more. The third servant thought bad thoughts of the master.

In the same way we sometimes think bad thoughts of God. We think if we give our lives to God and use what God has given us for him and his glory that God is somehow going to make our lives miserable. We think we will enjoy life more if we live it for ourselves and our own pleasures. We think bad thoughts of God, and as a result we miss out on the many blessings God wants to pour into our lives. That’s the first thing we learn from this section of the parable. Don’t think bad thoughts of God.

   B. Doing nothing for God is unacceptable (26-27)

And then the second thing is that doing nothing for God is unacceptable. Look at verses 26-27:

“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? 27 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 25:26-27)

Doing nothing for God is completely unacceptable. The third servant tried to use his bad thoughts of the master as an excuse for why he had done nothing with the one talent the master had given him. Notice how the master takes the servant’s own words and uses them against him.

Even if what the servant said about him was true (and it’s not!), that still does not excuse the servant’s behavior. If the servant was afraid of the master and thought the master was that harsh, he should have at least put the money in the bank and earned some interest for the master. As it is, he did nothing, and that was unacceptable.

What have you done for God? What are you doing for God? What are you doing with what God has given you? Are you willing to take risks for God? The third servant tried playing it safe, but by doing nothing he ended up with nothing.

Jesus is coming back, and when he returns, it will be time to settle accounts. Please know that doing nothing for God is unacceptable.

   C. Not only will you not receive a reward, you will lose all that God initially gave you (28-30)

In fact, by doing nothing, Jesus says not only will you not receive a reward, but you will also lose what God initially gave you. Look at verses 28-30:

“‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:28-30)

This final part of the parable seems harsh to us at first and even unfair. Why take the one talent away from the third servant and give it to the first? The first servant already has ten! Why give him the third servant’s talent as well? Well, first of all, remember Jesus already told the first servant he was going to give him more. And then you need to remember that the third servant did nothing with what God had given him.

Doing nothing for God is unacceptable. Not only will you not receive a reward, you will also lose what God initially gave you as well. We have a saying for that don’t we? You’ve got to use it or lose it! God expects you to use the gifts he has given you for his glory. Sadly, the parable of the talents ends the same way as the parable of the two servants, with the unfaithful servant being thrown out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

CONCLUSION: How do you prepare for Christ’s return? You prepare for Christ’s return by being faithful stewards of the resources and abilities God has given you. We are not to sit around waiting for Christ’s return and doing nothing. God has given each of us certain resources and abilities, and he expects us to use them for his glory. He expects us to be productive for his kingdom during this time of waiting for Christ’s return.

When the master returns, it will be time to settle accounts. The good and faithful servant will be rewarded with even more. The wicked and lazy servant will lose everything he has. So, be working while you wait! Everything you have comes from God. God expects you to use the resources and abilities that he has given you for his glory. So, let us seek to be good and faithful servants, working productively for God’s kingdom while we wait for Christ’s return.

© Ray Fowler

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