You delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more. Matthew 25:20b
In Matthew 25’s Parable of the Talents, a man [Jesus] went on a journey and entrusted his property to his three servants. “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away” (v.15).
Now, a talent was not just one small coin, but the equivalent of twenty years’ wages. Some say one talent of refined gold is worth over four million dollars by today’s standards. The master in essence handed each servant a fortune and walked away, trusting them to handle it well while he was gone.
Hasn’t the Father also done that with us?
We can see that the first servant had already proven himself to be hardworking and trustworthy. He received five talents according to his ability, which means the master knew he could handle more responsibility than the others… for to whom much is given, much is required. This servant stood the test and did well with what he was given, doubling its value. In response, his Master gave him a gift… “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.”
The second servant received two talents according to his ability. Maybe he was less experienced, maybe he was still in training. Whatever the reason, the servant knew his master’s wishes and did well with what he was given, doubling its value. As a result, he also received his master’s gift… “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.”
The Servant in Question
The third servant received one talent, according to his ability, but he did not do well with it. Why was his ability smaller than the other two? Was he new? Did he just not have the time or opportunity to know any better? Judging by the master’s severe response, I highly doubt that…
Just by the simple act of entrusting the servant with one talent, the master proved ahead of time that he had the ability to make his talent grow, but the servant did nothing. Instead of investing what he was given like the other two servants, he buried it in the ground. Sat on it, neglected it.
He resisted the work. Why would he do this? The Bible says he buried it out of fear.
When it was time to settle his accounts, he said to the master… “I knew you to be a harsh and demanding man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.“
Let’s think about this for a minute…
Had the master not “sown” and “scattered” seed by giving each servant a number of talents? Had his freely entrusted gifts not proven the goodness of his heart? He could have kept his money to himself if he wanted to keep it safe, but he took the risk of investing it into his chosen servants so they could do a good job and enter into the joy of their master.
It was the servant’s one job to make the talent grow. The other two servants knew what was required and immediately set off to do the job well. This brings me to the conclusion that this servant also knew his job, but chose not to do it.
Did He Really Choose?
We don’t know if all three servants started their employment with this master at the same time. All we know is that two of them did well, and one very much did not. Did they all start out with one talent and build from there? Was the current one-talent man just a new guy who didn’t know what he was doing? For the answer to that question, we can look at Luke 12’s Parable of the Faithful Steward…
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he returns.
Luke 12:42-43
The Luke 12 parable is about one servant who is faithful and sensible, and another who is lazy and irresponsible. The first is rewarded with much, and the second is thrown into outer darkness like our one-talent man. The clue to answer our question is found in verses 47-48…
“And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly.“
That is similar to James 4:7, which says, “So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.”
I don’t believe these stories are about two unique “masters” who dealt with their servants in two different ways. I believe these two parables are about THE Master, our Father God, and the importance of not only being faithful to Him in our obedience, but also seeing Him correctly through the lens of scripture.
Because of the Luke 12 parable, we can deduce that the servant who had been entrusted with one talent, but ended up not using it out of unfounded fear, was at fault simply because he knew what the master wanted him to do, but refused to do it. If this was not the case, then he would not have been punished so severely. If he had been innocent in all of this, not knowing the right thing to do and burying his talent out of sheer ignorance, then he would have only received a slap on the wrist with correction and another chance to get it right.
He misjudged his master’s heart and it ultimately led to his demise.
GotQuestions.org says this...
Fear of failure and lack of faith kept the third servant from obeying his master with the gifts, talents, and responsibilities under his care. These verses reveal that the unfaithful, lazy servant did not truly know His master’s heart. He saw him as a hard and shrewd taskmaster. His description of his master as “reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed” paints a picture of one who expects a return where no investment has been made. In other words, the servant felt his master expected too much from him.
The lazy servant feared harsh punishment if he lost the master’s talent. So, rather than taking even a tiny risk and investing the talent he had been given to advance his master’s estate, he buried his treasure in the ground. Because he played it safe, he became an unprofitable servant. Jesus’ point is that readiness for His return involves being active, responsible, and obedient. It means doing good works that produce fruit and please Him. (see Matthew 5:14–16; James 2:14–26).
The Outcome of His Choice
To this the master responded by saying, ‘‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.”
He’s saying, “Don’t just do nothing with what I have given you! At the very least, invest it in something useful!” Even the smallest action of faith will be rewarded. [The Widow’s Mite, the Mustard Seed, the Loaves and Fishes, the Hem of His Garment.]
We can see from scripture that this was a good and loving master. He generously gave each servant a number of talents, but not more than they could bear. He trusted each of them to do what was right and fully expected that they would. He believed in them.
The first two servants both seemed to have a positive understanding of their master, and a good working relationship with him. They saw His deeds, they knew His heart, they trusted Him enough to do things like He would do them. He did not need to give them further instructions… it was their right relationship that informed their actions and led to His rewards.
Unfortunately, it was the third servant’s wrong perspective of his master that got him off course. As a result of his laziness, the final servant was stripped of his one talent and thrown into outer darkness, “where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So we must each ask: what are we doing with our talents — with the grace God has given to us? It’s a sobering and liberating question.
“God himself supplies us with everything we need, both our talents and our strength to manage them.” It’s sobering because we know our own selfishness, that we are prone by our sin nature to act like the worthless servant who neglected his stewardship. But even such sobering reflection is a grace, because it can shake us out of our self-centered stupor and motivate us to greater diligence.
But the question is also wonderfully liberating, for at least two reasons: 1) God himself supplies us with everything we need, both our talents and our strength to manage them — both our abilities and our capabilities. 2) Realizing this frees us from comparing ourselves with others. We can be free from envying servants who are more talented and/or have greater capacities than we do. And we can be free from judging servants who are less talented and/or have lesser capacities than we do. God is the talent and power-giver, and he holds each of us accountable only for the “grace given to us.”
You have been given talents. They are valued very highly by the Lord. What are you doing with them?
Jon Bloom, Desiring God
Fast-forward to Today
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Psalm 32:8
Obedience is worship. Obedience comes from love, and is an act of love. It says, “I believe You and I trust You, so I will follow You with my whole heart.” If we struggle to believe that God knows what’s best and has our best interests at heart, then we will struggle to obey Him.
Spending time with the Father in prayer and in His Word leads to a greater desire to obey Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He sees all our yesterdays and all our tomorrows, and He LOVES us unconditionally. He knows exactly what we need to have abundant life, which is why He came here in the first place [John 10:10].
He is constantly pouring out His grace on us so that when we make our moment-by-moment mistakes, we can run to Him for help [Hebrews 4:16]. He waits expectantly and longs to be gracious to us, He waits on high to have compassion on us [Isaiah 30:18]. That knowledge alone makes obeying God a reward in itself. Our trust gives Him great joy, and His joy becomes our strength. Even if that’s all we got out of it, it would be enough… but the rewards for following Him are endless.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24
Broken & Sown 