THE SERVANTS MIND

Matthew 20: 25-28
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

28  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 Matthew 25: 14-30
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.

15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.

17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.

18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves ^*came and ^*settled accounts with them.

20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.

25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.

27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.  
28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR JOE

The context of this parable is the return of Christ.  The wealthy “master” is the Lord Jesus Christ whose “journey” refers to his departure to heaven after his resurrection.  The“servants” represent initially the 12 disciples and later all believers of every generation.  The “talents” symbolize all gifts, both natural and spiritual, which he “entrusts” or loans to his servants.  Different servants receive different gifts and different opportunities.  The master’s return “after a long time” refers to the end of this age of grace during which the servants should faithfully use their talents for Christ’s service.

The “settling of accounts” takes place at the “judgment seat of Christ” when the service of believers will be evaluated (Romans 14:12; 1 Corinthians 5:10).  The test is faithfulness or unfaithfulness, not popularity or apparent success.  Many will be commended but some will be condemned.  Degrees of punishment and reward are based upon privilege and opportunity, and our stewardship of them.

ABILITY (verses 14-15)

A talent represents any kind of resource (such as money) or ability (for example public speaking or any spiritual gift) or opportunity for service that we have.  God sovereignly distributes his gifts unequally according to his grace.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service… All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:4 –5, 11).  The Holy Spirit gives each Christian one or more gifts “as he wills.” (Verse 11 RSV)  Each believer has a different endowment of gifts.  The apostle Peter makes the same point: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  (1 Peter 4:10)  God’s gifts should be used for the welfare of the whole church and not used selfishly or for self-promotion.

The phrase “each according to his ability” indicates that the amounts given were in keeping with the abilities of the servants.  No matter how much or how little we have, we must always recognize that we are responsible to him for what he has given.  There is no ground for pride in those who have been given five talents and no cause for envy or discontent in those who have received one talent.  It is unwise to compare ourselves with others.  Possibly one-talent people, who use their talent, do most Christian work.

.RESPONSIBILITY (16-18)

“At once” indicates that the good servants promptly put the money to work.  The expected return was in proportion to the amount entrusted.  The response of the first two servants illustrates what Jesus required, an unhesitating and fruitful obedience from his disciples.  The two “trustworthy” (NEB) servants received the same commendation from the master, although their original responsibility was different, and their achievement was different.

But one servant, unwilling to work or take risks, simply dug a hole and buried the money.  This was safer than the deposit systems of the time. (In Luke’s parable, the money of the third servant is hidden in a piece of cloth.)  He decided to “play it safe” rather than serve the master.

ACCOUNTABILITY (verses 19-25)

The Day of Judgment is depicted as a master investigating his servants’ accounts (c.f. 18:23).  The accounting begins “after a long time” which implies that the fulfillment of the kingdom will be delayed.  “Settled accounts” (verse 19 NIV) is a commercial term.  The first servant, who doubled his five talents, is praised for his faithfulness and given two things: increased responsibility and a share in his master’s “joy”.  The second servant has also been faithful with what has been given him and hears the same words as his more able fellow servant.  The same commendation of “Well done” (verses 21 and 23) suggests that we will be rewarded by how well we have used our talents, rather than on the basis of how much service we have done.

The master rewards his slaves generously.  In heaven, God honours the earthly service of Christians by giving them more service.  The reward for good work is more work and increased responsibility.

THE EXCUSES OF THE THIRD SERVANT WERE NOT ACCEPTED

The emphasis in this story is on the third character that the master called “wicked, lazy and useless.”  He accused his master of being a “hard” man who exploited the labour of others (“harvesting where you have not sown”), and putting the servant in a difficult position.  Should he take the risk of trying to increase the one talent entrusted to him, he would see little of the profit.  If he failed and lost everything, he would experience the master’s wrath.  However, he misjudged his master’s character and distrusted himself; he did not understand his master’s generosity.  Perhaps he was annoyed at having been given much less than the other two.  In effect he did not care what happened to his master’s property.

CONDEMNATION (26-30)

The master condemned the servant as “wicked and lazy” on the basis of the servant’s own words.  If the master was so hard and grasping, should not the servant have put the money where it would have been relatively safe, earned interest, and required no work?  There is a definite contrast between the third servant and the first two servants whose loyalty and works indicate their relationship of trust with their master.  The third slave had no works, which in the NT is the same as having no saving faith.  James says, “Faith without deeds is dead.” (2:26)

The talent entrusted to this wicked servant was taken from him and given to the servant with ten talents.  The wicked servant was considered “worthless” (NIV) or “useless”(NEB) or “unprofitable” (KJV) for to fail to use what God has entrusted to us is a serious sin.  Having neglected opportunity, he was deprived of further opportunity (c.f. Matthew 13:12).  God is not a kindly father figure who tolerates laziness and disobedience; Jesus said that the servant’s laziness was wickedness.  God is not a hard taskmaster but his grace does not tolerate irresponsibility.