PARABLE 37 — LUKE 19:12-27 — TEN SERVANTS AND MINAS (POUNDS)
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Discussion Questions – Parable 37
PARABLE 37 — LUKE 19:12-27 — TEN SERVANTS AND MINAS (POUNDS)
1. Why did Jesus tell this parable of the ten servants and minas? (19:11)
[This is similar, but not the same parable, as the ten talents in Matthew 25:14-30.]
You will notice some scholars saying that this is just another version of the Parable of the Talents. But while the two stories are generally similar there are too many material differences to make them two versions of the same event.
(Vs. 12-13) “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy (trade) till I come.”
As will become clear the man of noble birth represents Jesus who after His resurrection went to Heaven to be made King of the whole Earth. And the servants represent His followers. In the monetary system of the day, a drachma was about one day’s wage. It took 100 drachmas to equal one mina, and 60 minas to equal 1 talent. Note that each servant in this parable was given an equal amount (one mina), but the servants in the Parable of the Talents were given an amount according to their abilities.
According to E.W. Bullinger’s “Number In Scripture” the number 10 denotes a completeness of order. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete. The 10 servants and 10 minas indicate that before the Lord left He gave everyone everything they needed to spread His Word through out the world.
(Vs. 12) “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Here’s another difference between the two parables. No such impression is conveyed in the Parable of the Talents. There the man was simply going on a journey. Here he’s going off to be made King.
2. How many characters are in this parable? What are their roles? And who do they represent?
The Parable of the Talents is spoken by Jesus just before he enters Jerusalem for the last time. There are six major characters. The characters are: (1) the man of noble birth, (2) the subjects who hated him, (3) ten servants (4) the servant who earned ten minas, (5) the servant who earned five minas, and (6) the servant who earned nothing.
A man of noble birth (Jesus) prepares to travel to a distant country and receive his kingdom (the kingdom of God). Before he leaves, he gives a single mina (responsibilities, abilities, opportunities, gospel message) to each of his servants (disciples) and instructs them to put the money to work (be fruitful with what Jesus has given them). A delegation of subjects who hate the man of noble birth (unbelieving Jews) protest his reception of the kingdom. Upon the man’s return (Jesus’ second coming at the consummation of the kingdom of God) he finds two servants (disciples) who invested (used their God-given abilities and opportunities) wisely. To these, he gives cities (heavenly rewards). The servant (disciple) who does not invest the mina (use the abilities or fulfill the responsibilities Jesus gave him) is reprimanded and has his mina taken from him and given to the servant (disciple) who earned ten minas. It is not clear what happened to the other seven servants (maybe unbelievers?). The parable is vague on this point because the center of attention is meant to be on Christians, not unbelievers. Finally, the subjects (unbelieving Jews) who hated the man of noble birth (Jesus) are executed (judged) for their rejection of the king (Jesus).
3. What did the noble man tell his servants to do until he came back? How can that be applied to Christians today?
Now, we need to be a little more specific. The key principle in this parable is found in verses 13 and 15. In verse 13 the word "occupy" or "trade" in many translations is pragmateuomai, meaning "to trade", from which we get our English word pragmatic. The explanation of where the word came from, I think, is important. The definition of pragmatic is 1. practical 2. testing the validity of all concepts by their practical results. Then in verse 15 the words "gained by trading" is translated from the word diapragmateuomai, "to gain by trading". This is a picture of spiritual growth. In the parable the servants (disciples) were told by the nobleman (Jesus) to take what he had given them and put it to practical use for one reason, gain. And I personally believe that was His Word. What are we to gain? Knowledge. We are to take God’s Word, gain knowledge from it and share it with others.
In verse 13 Jesus says, “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” In other words He was saying, “And he called his ten servants to him, delivered to each of them a Bible, and said, Work until I come back.”
In a vital, life-changing relationship with God, there is a reality that must not be ignored; it must be embraced. It’s the reality of His plan and purpose. The real experiences with Him that make us realize our shortcomings and underscore our dependence on Him. The trials and tests He brings force us to make choices. It’s the personal, individual participation of God in our lives. And in those personal experiences we take what He gives us, apply them to our lives through our submission and obedience and (if we’re wise pragmatists) pay close attention to the practical result – we’re being conformed to the image of His Son. This is spiritual growth, the gradual death to self, the slow, painful, and yet exciting and joyful crucifixion of the flesh. These are the necessary changes that will make us stronger in our spirit and weaker in our flesh, more loyal to God and less so to the things of the world. How does all this happen? By gaining spiritual growth that comes only by reading and studying God’s Word.
The nobleman in the parable is Jesus, who left this world but who will return as King some day. The servants the king charges with a task represent followers of Jesus. The Lord has given us a valuable commission, and we must be faithful to serve Him until He returns. Upon His return, Jesus will certainly find out the faithfulness of His own people (see Romans 14:10–12). There is work to be done (John 9:4), and we must use what God has given us for His glory. There are promised rewards for those who are faithful in their charge.
4. What of the servant that made no gain (no spiritual growth)? What was is assessment of the noble man’s character? How is that applied to Christians today?
The King was not agreeing with the third servant’s assessment of his character. Rather, he was saying, “If you think that’s the kind of person I am, reaping what I didn’t sow, then you should have made sure that my money would at least earn me some interest.” The contradiction between his words and his actions was obvious and became the basis for the king’s judgment against him.
By his own admission, the third servant proved he didn’t know his master. His perception of the man was all wrong, and while he called himself a servant, he didn’t do even the minimum that was asked of Him. He hid the money (Bible) in a napkin, he didn’t even try to take what he was given and gain from it. His excuse was “for I feared thee, because thou art an austere (hard) man”. There are still some today that refuse to grow spiritually because “they claim it is to hard”. They represent the “in name only” Christian who really has nothing, and will be surprised to find even that being taken away.
Notice: The servants were all given the same amount. Let’s make a couple of applications here. Those servants in the parable who traded (applied what they were given) and gained (grew) were accepted, approved and rewarded. The one who hid what he was given and did not gain was rejected. Then what he had been given was taken away and given to the one who already had much more due to his faithfulness.
This is the principle of Matthew 13:12. "For whoever has (the desire for spiritual growth), to him more will be given, so he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have (that same desire), even what little he has will be taken away." If you doubt the validity of what you see in parentheses above, look at the context in Matthew 13 and you’ll see that Jesus is explaining the fact that there are those who want to hear truth and know God and those who don’t really care. The contrast between the two lies in the fact that those who don’t care show it by their indifference to truth and their resulting failure to understand in a practical way what they have heard (Matthew 13:13-15). They hear it, but they don’t apply it.
They may even have some semblance of mental agreement, but no transforming experience. This is something typical in religion – they don’t disagree, they just don’t act on it. They do nothing to grow spiritually. Their religion has convinced them that God is nothing more than a mental concept; therefore, knowing God is nothing more than a mental exercise. They’re wrong! The process of spiritual growth is specifically designed by God to take us to ever-increasing levels of reality and intimacy with Him based on our very real experiences with Him. This is what Paul expresses in the first part of Ephesians 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge…”
And here quoted from the Amplified Bible: "[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]…"
5. Is it vital that Christians grow in Christ? What is the result of spiritual growth? Or the results of non-growth?
(Vs. 26) “For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
The same principle is expanded in Mark 4:24-25, “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”
(Again but paraphrased throughout) "And then He said to them, Give careful consideration to what you hear. The diligence you show in applying it to your life will determine the spiritual maturity you gain from it, and even more will be given to those who understand this. And to him who has grown in this way more will be given, but to him who has not grown, even what little he has will be taken away."
The point made in the parable, as well as the two references above, is that when we’re careful to apply what we hear, the result is spiritual growth. When we place no real importance on it, the opportunity for growth is lost, as are the potential for future opportunities in diminishing degree. In fact, this failure is much more serious than lost opportunities. Paul makes it clear the result of such failure is a downward spiral towards spiritual blindness and spiritual darkness (Romans 1:18-32).
So, why does Jesus tell us in Mark 4:24 to give careful consideration to what we hear? Because it should be obvious to us by now that He holds us strictly accountable for what He gives us. He expects us to use it and grow. And it’s just as obvious from this parable and many other places that there are consequences if we don’t.
And here I have to make the application: being a true disciple of Jesus is more than simply not rejecting Him; it’s an active commitment to serve Him and grow. Participating in religious programs and perpetuating religious institutions has nothing to do with being a disciple. Doing nothing, except an occasional act of lip service, is not being a disciple. Spiritual growth through real, personal experiences with God is the key. And I’m bound to ruffle a few feathers here, but opportunities for spiritual growth are not found in the pursuit of religion. They’re only found in the personal, individual pursuit of God Himself through His Word.
It’s amazing at the amount of Christians that do not ever or have never read the Bible. I have asked many why and these are the excuses I hear: I don’t understand it (the main one), It’s boring, I don’t have time, I hate to read, I get the Word through preaching, I read devotionals. I’m sure Christians find the Bible very valuable, but in order to gain from it – it has to be read and applied. The servant in the parable kept his mina (the Bible) in a napkin, evidently he found it valuable, but he gained nothing from it.
6. Will God hold us accountable to what He says in His Word? Is He austere (strict) in His ways?
And this brings us to another point brought out in the parable. Back to Luke 19, we see in verse 21 the man who hid his mina says that he feared the nobleman, saying he was strict (austere) and sovereign. Of course, in the symbolism of the parable these characteristics would be applied to Jesus. If they were merely the justifications of the servant trying to protect himself when his disobedience was exposed, that would be understandable. However, these characteristics, when applied to the Son of God, take on different meanings. God is strict and exacting (austere) in the way that He holds us accountable in the use of what He gives us. And, He’s sovereign (one that exercises supreme authority); so it doesn’t matter what we think about it, that’s still the way it is. When it comes to God’s plan and purpose, our opinions are irrelevant.
God says what He means, and He means what He says. Our flesh may want to twist and bend it, the thoughts of men may be more appealing, and religion will try to convince us organizations and programs are more important. But the simple, unchangeable fact is that God intends to hold us accountable for every shred of truth we hear, an accountability that affects both time and eternity. If you’re listening to it, but not doing anything with it; if you’re hearing it, but your only response is to make excuses why you can’t do it, then you’re like the disobedient servant, in the process of losing what little you have.
It’s up to you to make sure you’re always paying attention and always determined to submit and be obedient. It’s up to God to give you the opportunities to grow (your minas), but it’s up to you to make sure you take full advantage of those opportunities when they come along. You can’t put God on your schedule; He’s not interested in being fit in to your life whenever or wherever it’s convenient for you. You can’t quit. The question is, will you endure to the end (Matthew 10:22). Time is a test! God designed time, and He knows how to use it. And make no mistake; if you remain submitted, He’ll use time to mold and shape you into what He wants you to be, right up to the instant you draw your last breath.
7. Will you allow God to work in you? In what way can you take the mina (His Word) he has given you and occupy (grow) until He comes? Can you think of 10 things in ways that will help you grow spiritually?
1. Talking to God in prayer on a daily basis. (1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:1-4; Matt. 26:41)
2. Reading the Bible on a daily basis. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalms 119:105; Matthew 4:4)
3. Going to church to hear the preached word of God. (Romans 10:15-17; Hebrews 2:1)
4. Helping and loving others. (Hebrews 13:16; 1 John 3:17; Philippians 2:4; Galatians 5:14)
5. Helping the poor and visiting the sick (Prov. 19:17; Prov.14:31; Matt. 25:36; James 5:14)
6. Visiting widows and orphans in their distress. (James 1:27; Isaiah 1:17; Zech. 7:9-10)
7. Live a holy and godly life. (1 Tim. 4:8; 2 Peter 3:11; 1 Tim. 6:6; Romans 12:1; 2 Cor. 7:1)
8. Share the Word of God. (2 Cor. 2:14; Romans 10:15; 2 Tim. 4:2; Psalms 96:3; Mark 16:15)
9. Keep yourself from the idols of this world. (1 John 5:21; Col. 3:5; 1 Cor. 10:14; Psa. 16:4; 1 Cor. 10:7; 1 Sam. 15:23; Deut. 7:26; 1 Cor. 6:9)
10. Separate yourself from the world. (1 Cor. 15:33; 2 Cor. 6:14-17; Proverbs 13:20; 1 John 2:15-17; Eph. 5:11; Psalms 26:4-5)
See on blog – God is Good and Kind
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