Bags of Gold

Bags of Gold

Matthew 25:14-30

This parable has been used mostly as an encouragement to use our abilities wisely. In some translations, it is labeled “the parable of the talents.” You have probably heard a hundred sermons about this parable, mostly talking about the abilities God give us and how we ought to use them, and the rewards that come from using our talents wisely. Most often, it has been individualized. That is to say, it’s been made to be about us. You have a talent for music, or poetry, or cooking, or business. You find that something comes easy to you. The sermon, then, is preached to you, that you use your talent for music in ministry, that you write poetry that honors God, or some such.   

But, what if we’ve got it all wrong? What if it’s not about our abilities at all? Or, what if our ability, or our talent, is only a part of the story, perhaps a minor part?   

Remember the first rule of Bible study: Context is ... ? King. Context is king. If we ignore the context, we will get it wrong.   

So the first thing we need to do with this parable is place it firmly into it’s context. What has Jesus been talking about?  

Matthew has placed two discourses together. The first, in chapter 23 was a warning against hypocrisy, and particularly the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Not only does Jesus warn against hypocrisy, but he proceeds to curse the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. The bulk of chapter 23 is a series of seven “woes,” or curses directed at the Pharisees. These theologians and scholars had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, with a special emphasis on the law. They believed that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people (Prov 14:34). The sin of the people, the sin of the nation, was the reason they were subject to one evil empire after another. From Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and the Seleucids, to Rome, the exiles and oppression were punishment from God for their sin. The remedy, according to the Pharisees, was a return to righteousness. That meant a return to the law. So they focused on obeying the very letter of the law. But, as with any radicals, no one is ever radical enough. But they did what holiness people seem prone to do – they focused on the behaviors as if the mere doing would make them righteous. It was all outward, the visible keeping (and in some cases, parading) of righteous behavior. Their deeds were right, but their hearts were wrong.

If I may illustrate from our own history. The Church of the Nazarene had a long-standing anathema on patronizing the cinema. My mother would not go to the theater even to see a Billy Graham movie. It didn’t matter what the subject was, to go to movies was to support the evil of Hollywood. But then we’d watch Disney movies on Sunday night on television. And when we could rent or buy movies on VHS (then DVD), we’d rent them and watch them at home. We still would not go to the theater – even though the exact same material was in our home. We had developed a morality of place: going to the theater to watch a movie was bad, but watching that same movie at home was okay. Do you see the problem? We had become Pharisees.   

But, like the Pharisees, we saw the behaviors as the cause of holiness. If we did the right things, we were the right sort of people. But that’s exactly backwards. Holiness results in certain behaviors. That is, holiness works from the inside out. The desire, the heart, is to please God. It is not the behaviors that makes us holy, it is the holiness that changes the behavior. The Pharisees thought that doing the right things, keeping the law, would make them righteous. But they, like us, had it backwards. A heart for God results in a change in behavior, but a change in behavior does not necessarily result in a heart for God. Jesus was cursing the Pharisees, not for their behavior, but for the condition of their hearts toward God.   

Okay, that’s the first part.  

Then, Matthew recounts for us what we call the Olivet Discourse, Jesus’ predictions about the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, and then about the “end of the age,” which we interpret to be about his Second Coming. Here’s a crucial point: this is about, or at least partly about, Jesus himself. It’s about the return of Christ. That is to say, what Jesus says about us is all in the context of his return. It’s about readiness. 

You see, part of the problem with the way this has been preached has neglected the fact that the return of Christ is the focus. We’ve gotten the focus off of Jesus and onto us – as we are prone to do – off of Jesus and onto our abilities. We have made it about us, and forgotten that it will all come to an end. Often this is preached as if this is the way you ought to live your life, and then, when you die, God will reward you for how you have lived. We’ve made it about heaven and forgotten that Jesus was trying to teach us how to get ready for his return. 

The principle point of the Olivet Discourse is this: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (24:36). The entire section, from verses 36-51 is about how life goes on as normal, eating, drinking, marrying, plowing fields, grinding grain, servants serving, until the very last moment when Christ returns. As in the days of Noah, people lived their lives normally until the flood came and swept them away. We don’t know when, and we aren’t meant to know when. The point is living in readiness, not looking for signs or making up calendars. Jesus did not intend for us to know when he would return; he intended that we live ready. We are meant to be busy doing as he has commanded us to do.   

That is the context.  

“At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ... a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.” 

First, he entrusted his wealth to them. What has God entrusted to us? What did Jesus leave behind? According to Matthew, Jesus came to inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on earth. He gave us a constitution of sorts in the Sermon on the Mount. There we find what kingdom citizens look like and how they act. It is a kingdom of the heart that works its way out into our behavior. All sin begins in the heart: anger leads to murder, lust leads to adultery. That means that in the kingdom, something more than a change in behavior is needed. In the kingdom, there is a change of the heart, and we become transformed by the Spirit of God. But (and we will get there in time), Jesus ended with a command – that we go into all the world to teach what Jesus taught. Jesus entrusted us with the message and with the kingdom.  

“To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag.” That’s the NIV. Most other translations render it talents. One, the Good News Translation renders it five thousand gold coins, two thousand gold coins, and one thousand gold coins. The point we need to understand is that, in the parable, the servants had responsibility for immense amounts of money. But each was given responsibility according to his ability. You see, ability is already factored in. So it isn’t really about ability, but about responsibility. It’s not about your talents or how you use them. He already knows your ability. The real issue here is why you do what you do. The real issue is where your heart is. And the question we have to ask is, is our focus on our abilities, or on the kingdom and what God wants of us.   

In the parable, two of the stewards put their master’s wealth to work. They invest and turn a profit. That is, they work toward results. The third does nothing. He buries the money and leaves it. No investment. No profit. Just buried in the back yard in a tin can. Maybe he’s afraid of getting ripped off by the banks, making a bad investment in the stock market, or fearing a financial collapse. He’s playing it safe, taking no risk.  

J. B. Chapman wrote, “Men of genius who made no worthy choices nor built lives of moral and spiritual worth serve principally to show succeeding generations the folly of their course. Their greatness was a house built on sand. Their genius was a sharp razor in the hands of an untutored child. Their reputation was a heavy laden wagon on a miry road. They came into the temple of honor without passing through the temple of virtue. Their crowns faded because they did not strive lawfully.”¹

Playing it safe is not what the Master wants of his stewards. Keeping the faith is not what the Master wants. He wants investment. He wants sharing the faith. He wants his servants to put their genius to work building the wealth of the kingdom. God knows your ability and entrusts his “wealth” to you in measure according to your ability. Someone said that God has already factored in our stupidity into his plans. He knows what we are capable of and calls us to the work of the kingdom. And know this: the parable is not about what you have, but about what God has entrusted to you.  

But the day will come, Jesus said, when the master returns and the stewards must give an account. “After a long time the master of the servants returned and settled accounts with them.” I want you to notice this: it was upon the master’s return that the account was settled. It was not after the servants died and went to heaven that they receive their reward. I want you to notice, also, that this is not about worldly prosperity. It’s not that we work hard for the kingdom and then retire to live in luxury because “we earned it.”   

The first, with five bags of gold, had doubled his money. The second, with two bags of gold, had doubled his money. He was as successful with his two as the other was with his five. So it’s not really about what you have, is it? And to both, the master honors them with a promotion – actually with more responsibility – “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” “Enter into the joy of your lord!” “Share your master’s joy!” We long to hear those words, and anticipate hearing them in heaven when we die. But remember, this isn’t about us. It’s not about when we die. It’s still about Jesus and about the kingdom. It’s about the Master’s return.  

The third, who buried the money in a tin can in the back yard, dug up his trust and brought it to the master, “See, I kept your money safe. Here it is.” But right away there’s a problem. “I knew you were a hard man ... so I was afraid.” He knew what the master expected. He knew what was supposed to happen. He was afraid of taking a risk and losing what had been entrusted to him. He was afraid of being embarrassed, afraid of what people might think. He held the Master’s wealth in his hands. Instead of doing anything risky or productive, he hid. Risk always entails the possibility of failure, but it also holds the possibility of great success. By fearing failure, we almost guarantee it. 

But the Master demands accountability. Remember, it’s his wealth. It’s his kingdom. And by entrusting his wealth to us, God knows he is risking failure. The thing we need to understand, though, is the word the angel spoke to Mary in Luke 1:37 – “No word from God will ever fail.” We may fail, but God’s plan never fails. And Jesus spoke to our fear in the Kingdom Sermon: “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Mt 5:29-30). We only really fail when we fail to try. 

 The greater message of this parable, though, is this: the Master is returning. Jesus’ message through the entirety of the Olivet Discourse is that he is coming back. His return may be delayed, but he is coming back. And when the Master returns, there will be accountability. The underlying message is that we are to live ready, prepared for his return, doing the work he set us do, fulfilling his commands, and with our hands at the plow when he arrives. He wants to find us busy at the work w hen he returns. If we are busy, like Stewards numbers 1 and 2, the Master will reward us. And if we are lazy, like Steward number 3, the Master will punish us. He will take from us what he has entrusted to us. “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

Notice, once again, that all three were servants of the Master. Not enemies, not outsiders, but servants, belonging. This holds a warning for us. Our faith demands our obedience. Disobedience is sin, regardless of your faith. But I don’t want to end on a sour note. Our Master trusts us with his wealth, with his kingdom. God believes in us, in you. He gives you opportunities, and he guarantees that all things (will) work together for the good of his kingdom. No word from the Lord will ever fail. Which means that if you try, if you are obedient, even if you think you are failing, God is working out good and there will be success. With success, with obedience, comes the Master’s blessing. Step up. Be of good courage. Be strong. Give of your best to the Master. He will be well pleased with you.

¹ James Blaine Chapman, Singing in the Shadows (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1943), p. 39