Matthew 25:14–30

Bible Studies for Life
Assistant Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

USE IT OR LOSE IT
Matthew 25:14–30
After He explains His return as the Son of Man, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes watchful discipleship. Jesus hammers home the point that the delay of His return must not result in a lack of diligent discipleship. In this parable of the talents, Jesus makes this point in a most striking way.

Resources Entrusted (14–18)
This is the last parable in Matthew’s Gospel. It does not begin with the familiar phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like …” Still the characteristic comparative aspects are present. A man is described as going away on a journey and leaving his property to his slaves. This man represents Jesus and the slaves point to Jesus’ followers who are left in charge while the Master is away.

The master entrusted these slaves with talents according to their ability. Jesus referred to talents earlier in His parable about the unforgiving slave (Matt. 18:21–35). A talent was worth more than a laborer’s wages for 15 years.
Thus even one talent was a tremendous amount with which to be entrusted. Jesus says the man gave one slave five talents, two talents to another and one talent to a third slave.

When the master left, the slave with five talents and the slave with two immediately went out and multiplied their talents. These slaves showed a sense of urgency. The other slave, however, was content to bury and hide his one talent.

Watchfulness Rewarded (19–23)
Jesus says the master returned to settle accounts after “a long time.” This again highlights proper discipleship during the delay of Jesus’ return (see previous parables). The first two slaves showed they understood the master’s expectations, and they were rewarded for doing so. The master told them, “You were faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter your master’s joy.” Jesus again indicates that joy is an essential element in the Kingdom. This pronouncement also echoes Jesus’ earlier statement to Peter, when Jesus says those who have taken risks for His name’s sake will receive a hundredfold in the age to come (Matt. 19:27–30).

Opportunity Squandered (24–30)
Unfortunately the third slave would not experience his master’s joy. Although he apparently understood the master’s expectations, he did not increase the master’s talent. Immobilized by fear, he was unwilling to take risks.
He was more concerned about self-preservation than enhancing the master’s estate. Accordingly he suffered the loss of his one talent and he was cast into outer darkness.

Like the other parables in this context, the fate of this slave represents those who show themselves ultimately unchanged by the King and the Kingdom’s requirements. They identify with the Kingdom for a time, but their claim to faith is invalidated because of a lack of corresponding fruit. While this parable is set in the context of Jesus’ return, it parallels the parable of the sower in many respects. The seed of the gospel is scattered and initially accepted by many, but only a few bear real fruit. The test of time proves the gospel has not been truly planted in everyone who professes faith (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23).

In appropriating this parable, it is easy to focus on the importance of faithful stewardship. This parable often leads to discussions about money management, at institutional and personal levels. There is a place for calls about consistent church giving, a church building project or better family budgets. Too often, however, such things become ways in which we soften Jesus’ demands to fit our culturally conditioned preferences. We risk losing the urgency of Jesus’ message. When things like diseases, natural disasters, poor health care and poor education create so much suffering for many, perhaps we should spend more of our resources on them and less on us.

Focusing on others more as an appropriation of this parable is confirmed by the very next section (Matt. 25:31–46).
There Jesus says the Son of Man will judge the nations by how they treated “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40). May God enable all of us to be better stewards for the sake of greater generosity.