Olivet Discourse #16

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

Matthew 25:14-30

This is the last parable that the Lord gave on the mount. It is similar to the one in Luke 19:11-27 and often confused with it. The parable in Luke is known as the parable of the Pounds. The two are different.  The differences are clear, as Baker points out:

“Comparing the parables, in one there are three servants and in the other ten; and instead of giving five, two, and one talent, the noblemen gave one point to each ten. In Matthew the one who received five talents doubled the money by trading, as did the one who was given two, but the one who received one talent hid it in the ground. In Luke one man gained ten pounds and another five, and another hid his pound in a napkin.”[1]

The two are not the same, but are “independent stories, based on a common theme and spoken on different occasions.”[2]

The parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents are linked in the text through verse 13. The conjunction “for” (v. 14) makes the link. Verse 13 is the key to the meaning of the parable. The parable reveals the same truth as the preceding parable, but in a different form.

WHAT IS A TALENT?

A talent in contemporary language refers to a special or outstanding ability of people to do certain functions such as a talent for music, art, or sports. This is not the meaning of the word in this discourse. The Greek word is “talanton” and was originally a balance, a measure of weight. Unger notes that it is the “larger weight among the Hebrews, being used for metals, whether gold, silver, lead, bronze, or iron.”[3] It came to be a unit of money. By the time of Christ it was a great sum of money.

To put its value in perspective, we are told that the Roman-Attic talent comprised 6,000 denarii or drachms.[4] According to Matthew 20, one “denarion” was the wage for a laborer in the vineyard for one day. If a laborer in the vineyard worked every day of the year it would take that person 16 years to earn one talent. That is no small amount of money by any standard. However, the point of the parable is not the amount involved, rather, what was done with the talent received.

THE PARABLE.

The parable has a very natural and simple outline.

First, the master and the distribution given to his servants (Matthew 25:14-15). The master is rich and is leaving for some time. Upon leaving he gives his servants some talents. To one he gave five, another two, and the third he gave one.

Second, the use made of the talents (25:16-18). Upon receiving the money, we see that two of the servants put their talents to work. They acted wisely knowing the master would hold them accountable for what he had given them. In contrast, one servant dug a hole and hid the master’s talent. Knowing he would be accountable, he was afraid to use it, for fear he would lose it.

Third, the accounting for the use of the talents (25:19-27). The accounting was upon the return of the master. The master was gone for some time, enabling and expecting the servants to produce gain.. Two of the servants produced gain; the other lacked gain. He had been unfaithful to the trust placed in him. The parable turns now from being prepared to giving an account. The point now centers upon accountable for the service.

The important principle seen is the relation between accountable and faithfulness. Those who received a reward did so because they were good and faithful servants, not because of how much they had gained. Because of their faithfulness with putting their talent to work, not because of the gain they made. Faithfulness is the key to rewards (2 Corinthians 4:2).

The one-talent servant is seen as wicked and slothful because of his unfaithfulness. He is judged not because there was no gain, but because he did not try to be faithful. He was slothful in his responsibility, which is evident by his actions. Like many being caught short when accountability comes, he blames the master.  The master is hard and selfish! He implies that the master is not honest (25:24-25). In reality he was not honest with himself. He was unfaithful to the task and responsibility given to him. In fact, he proved not to be a servant at all.

THE JUDGMENT.

Faithfulness and service goes hand and hand. To be prepared, a servant must be faithful and serve the Master. A major element of faithfulness is obedience. The unfaithful servant is condemned and thrown out from the master’s household (25:26-30). Both parables of the ten virgins and the talents illustrate the truth that Israel will be judged at the second coming of Christ. This judgment will determine who enters the kingdom from heaven and who will be excluded from that kingdom. The parable shows both the rewards for faithfulness and the judgment for unfaithfulness that await those who are anticipating Messiah’s coming.

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[1]  C.F. Baker, UNDERSTANDING THE GOSPELS, 229-230.

[2]  R.V.G. Tasker, MATTHEW, 238.

[3]  Merrill F. Unger, “Metrology,” UNGER’S BIBLE DICTIONARY, 722.

[4]  W.E. Vine, EXPOSITOR’S DICTIONARY, 4:108.