Matthew 25:14-29 – The Parables

The reading today is from Matthew twenty-five, fourteen to twenty-nine.

So the parable of the talents.

For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

To one he gave five talents, to another, two, to another, one, to each according to his ability.

Then he went away.

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them, and he who had received the t the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents, here I have made five talents more.

His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over more.

Enter into the joy of your master.

And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents, here I have made two talents more.

His master said to him, 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.

He also, who had received the one talent, came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard 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.

But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have gathered no seed, then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was mine with interest.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

For to everyone who is mo who has will be more will be given, and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who is not, even what he has will be taken away.

And so reads God's word.

My name's David, and over the last couple of weeks um I've had the great joy of being with you in City Church.

Um so if you'd like to turn in your Bibles or if you're opening up your apps to Matthew chapter 25, that's where we're going to be spending the next 20 or so minutes looking at the parable of the talents.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

So you go away for the weekend and uh you have some friends who are coming to stay, perhaps they're they're looking after the house, or or maybe you've got pets, they're looking after some pets.

I don't think any parents might leave their children, um, or maybe you would, I don't know.

Um, but you leave instructions.

You go away for the weekend and you come back, and what do you expect?

Well, you expect those instructions to have been followed, right?

Over the last three weeks, we've been looking at Jesus' parables, and each of the parables, really from Matthew 22 up until this point, have been spoken three days before he knows he's about to leave.

Three days before he knows he's about to go to the cross and die.

And of course, we've got Matthew 28 in our minds as well, the Great Commission as Jesus departs this world and uh goes to be with his Heavenly Father only to return again.

And what does Jesus expect?

Well, what he's been doing in these parables has been um alerting us, alerting his church to the true nature of the kingdom and the true nature of any subject in that kingdom.

And that's what we're going to be looking at this morning.

Uh we've three things to consider as we come to this parable, the parable of the talents that I want to bring to your attention.

There's probably so much more that we could say in this uh subject, and perhaps you might like to come and chat to me afterwards if you've got uh other insights as these, uh, other than the ones I give you.

But three things for us to look at this morning.

And I think they almost act, at least they have in some ways in done this in in my life, they almost act like a little bit of a spiritual defibrillator, right?

Every church, absolutely necessary for every church, and it's important that everybody knows how it works.

Because we've got to be very careful with it.

But what I think Jesus is seeking to do as he tells these parables is shock us, um, is alert us, is waken us up so that we know the true nature of his kingdom and the true nature of every subject in that kingdom.

So three things for us to consider this morning as we look at the parable of the talents.

And the first is this kingdom resources.

Explore more about what those are in just a moment.

But kingdom resources are not earned by anyone, but given to everyone who's a true subject of the kingdom.

True, um, the true subject of the kingdom.

Kingdom resources are not earned by anyone, but given to everyone who's a true nature, true uh uh uh subject in this kingdom.

Let's be clear.

A lot of people, especially outside the church, but even inside the church, think that the church really is only after one thing.

And I've heard this passage butchered along these lines, because it a lot of people outside, but even inside the church think that actually when it comes to something like this, the church is only after one thing, and that's your money, right?

But Jesus paints a completely different picture here.

Because as we look at the parable of the talents, the first thing I think we really need to see is that Jesus is interested not in what we are giving to the church, but he wants us to see first and foremostly what it is that has been given to us.

And let us also be clear.

Something in this parable has been given to everyone, right?

There are three servants, but each and every servant gets something.

So let's be clear about that.

And in giving, what the master actually gives is incredibly generous.

Incredibly generous.

So we're told that one person got five talents, another person got through two talents, and uh the last person got one talent.

But a talent, it's it's difficult to pin down exactly, but a talent could be, could be um roughly the equivalent of 20 years of salary.

Okay, so even the person who just got one talent was ridiculously spoiled.

So when it comes to the kingdom, kingdom resources are not earned by anybody.

Because look at this.

What does it say in verse 14?

For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

Entrusted to them.

And what are we told in verse 15?

To one he gave.

Now we'll look at this in just a moment.

He gives as he sees fit as to how much each person gets.

But what I really simply want to underline at this point for you is this one point.

Kingdom resources are not earned by anyone when it comes to the kingdom.

Kingdom resources are given, and given ridiculously generously to everyone.

Now, come back, come back with me to the defibulator.

What is it that Jesus actually wants to shock us out of?

What is the hardness of heart that he wants us to be alert to as he tells this parable?

Well, I think, and I think it is something that uh many, many, many Christians struggle with, and it is in danger of ruining their lives.

The spiritual disease, the hardness of heart to which Jesus I think is is drawing our attention to here is simply this, and that is ungratefulness.

Ungratefulness.

And it is lethal.

Look, the master, what did he do?

He entrusted.

He gave.

Um, someone I was reading in preparation for it this week, um, put it like this.

What might those talents be?

Right?

What uh what is it that uh all of us have been given?

Somebody put it like this.

What could these gifts be?

Well, they might be things like this our influence, our money, our knowledge, our health, our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affections, our privileges as members of Christ's Church, our advantages, even simply down to the possession of our Bible.

We all have talents, gifts, the uh the aptitudes that God has seen fit to give to each one of us.

We all have them.

All have talents.

Where did they come from?

Well, what hand gave them?

Why are we what we are?

We've already been singing about it today.

It's all because of grace, it's all because of what God has given.

The true nature of the kingdom, kingdom resources are not earned, they are given and given generously.

And so we need to be careful, really careful of ungratefulness.

Because they are given to everyone.

And what might that ungratefulness look like?

Well, you might look around a church such as this, a church family such as this, and think, well, you've nothing to offer.

Um, or you might look around and be jealous, maybe even despise someone who apparently, in your eyes, at least anyway, has a greater spiritual gift.

That's ungratefulness.

And it's lethal.

Because the master, according to he as he sees fit, gave five to one person, two to another, one to another.

Ridiculously generous nonetheless.

But he has given to absolutely everyone.

You know, I love the the embed season um that I've uh been privileged to um hear about that's going on in City Church.

Guys, I know that some of you are new in this church, um, and some of you are are wondering where you fit in.

This parable speaks to you this morning and says, Well, you have been given something, and perhaps you have been brought to this church for a very particular reason.

You may not be up the front, you uh you may not be in the the foyer in the welcoming team, you may not appear to wear one of those t-shirts.

But absolutely every single one of you, if you're a true subject of the eternal kingdom, have been given something for the encouragement and the build-up of perhaps even just one other person in here.

So don't despise what you've been given.

Don't be jealous as to what others may have.

You haven't earned it.

You've been given it for the building up and service of others.

That's the first thing we've got to see.

The uh kingdom resources that Jesus talks about here, and be that as as they may, in terms of your time, your talents, your influence, your gifts, your affections, the uh privilege of simply belonging to a group like this, your Bible, opening it up, doing a one-to-one, whatever, has not been earned by you but given.

That's the first thing we need to see.

Secondly, kingdom resources, and I'm simply really in one way underlining this, kingdom resources are to be used by everyone and not wasted by anyone.

Perhaps that is actually the main point of this passage.

You haven't earned them, they've been given for you to use and not to waste.

So our generous benefactor goes away, and there are two reactions we see in our parable as to the way that people receive uh his um uh gifts and how they treat them.

The one with five talents, the one with two talents, they go about immediately.

Did you rick uh did you pick that up?

He who had received the five talents in verse uh 16 went at once and traded with them.

Don't delay.

Don't wait for you know three months, six months, a year to roll by before you actually start investing in people's lives here.

He went at once.

He didn't know when his master was going to return, so he went at once and invested them.

Similarly, so did the one who received the two talents.

But verse 18, here's the second reaction.

The one who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

Now it appears in our parable, and I think this is um we'll come back to this at the end, but I think it is to encourage us that the master goes away for a long time.

So there's plenty of runway for you to use in terms of employing your talents.

He went away for a long time, and when he came back, we see his verdict and the way in which these um servants of his used the talents that he gave.

And to the one with the five talents and the one with the two talents, what does he say?

He looks at them and says, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Look how abundantly rich he is, because note, he says, You were faithful with just a little.

A little?

Look at the twenty years of salary.

You were faithful.

That's like nothing to him.

That's like the drop a drop in the ocean.

That's how generous and abundantly rich he is.

And wouldn't it be wonderful to hear from a person like that?

Well done.

My good and faithful servant, you were you are faithful with what I gave you.

But to the other, to the one who received the one talent and who did nothing, well, he doesn't pull his punches.

Again, spiritual defibulator guys.

He's trying to waken us up.

He looks at this person and he tries to make excuses, right, doesn't he?

The one, well, I knew you were a hard master.

Um we'll come back to that again at the end.

Um, and so I took what you'd given me and I dug a hole in the ground and I buried it.

And what does Jesus say to such a person as that?

Well, have a look at um at verse 26.

No, you need to look at this.

He says, the master says to him in verse 26, you wicked and slothful servant.

This is a huge, I think, problem for all of us.

I think this is so important for us to come to terms with.

One commentator I was reading this week put it like this This this person who received the one talent made some fundamental errors in his judgments on the nature of the master.

And this commentator said this he, that is the servant, he let the natural disinclination for work cooperate with a dislike for getting some gain for his master.

With the result that he did nothing.

Let me read that to you again.

He let the natural disinclination for work cooperate with a dislike for getting some gain for his master, with the result that he did nothing.

Now, this is so important that we come to terms with economically.

We are living through what I have been told, at least anyway, what we're living through at this moment in time is called the great resignation.

Right?

That's what we're living through at the moment.

The pandemic has not made us afraid of death, the pandemic has made us afraid of boredom.

So people are just, you know, living for themselves, for this moment, for their own pleasure and satisfaction.

Economically, we're living through the great resignation.

Um my wife Honor was at a concert not too far away from here, actually, just on Thursday night, with the script.

And as with all pop stars these days, they feel as though they have to voice their opinion and preach a sermon in the middle of their concerts.

Um and he was explaining how he had struggled with the pandemic and how he had turned to food and drink to try and get through it.

But now he was out, and he said he had realized that this with his life it was just a click.

So that's all your life is.

Click.

You're here today and you're gone tomorrow.

But that didn't make him scared of death.

That made him petrified of being bored.

And so he said there were three things really that he was living for now.

He was living for his own enjoyment and uh prioritizing his time for himself.

He was less patient with the inconveniences of life, be that people or or work, although I'm sure he's not inconvenienced by his work.

Well, you never know.

Um less uh tolerant for inconveniences in life.

And he wrapped everything in love.

Of course, I mean that's what you must do, right, today.

That's what you must begin with and end with.

It's all about love.

Love is all we need, whatever that means, especially in the light of the first two, that he's going to live more for himself, his own time and pleasure, and less um patient with those who who get in his way.

But what's happening culturally, socially, economically, I think can happen spiritually.

It can happen spiritually too.

That commentator, you know, I don't imagine he was thinking of the script or indeed the great resignation when he wrote this, but I think he put his finger right on our problem.

Because this is absolutely true, I think, for many of us, spiritually speaking.

He let the natural disinclination for work cooperate with a dislike for getting some gain for his master.

And so he did absolutely nothing.

Jesus looks at him and says, the master looks at him and says, You wicked and slothful servant.

I mean, what is going on here?

I think if we unlock this passage for ourselves, if we really grasp it, this could waken the church to do marvelous things in our day.

I look even just in the short life of City Church and see what God has done, and it is wonderful.

He's grown up from a small handful of people to now meeting in the cinema something like this.

Only itself now to go off and plant somewhere else.

It's wonderful.

But do you know what that takes?

It takes a lot of hard work.

It takes a lot of hard craft.

Takes a lot of employing what God has given and investing in the life of others.

But might you just have a natural disinclination to work?

I think we all do.

Do you begrudge somebody getting richer because of your labors?

The gospel turns all of that on its head, doesn't it?

It should.

Because the gospel tells us that God didn't stand aloof aloof.

He entered in and he worked hard.

He labored long for your life.

And he didn't count what he was doing to his own credit, he only wanted to increase yours.

That's the gospel.

That's the nature of the king, and it ought to be the nature of.

Every true subject of the kingdom.

It was the case, actually, when uh when the church first grasped this.

And so you could go back into the early pages of church history and find that people were doing not necessarily extraordinary things, but just ordinary things.

Nonetheless, they were working.

Kingdom resources are to be used by everyone, not wasted, not neglected by anyone.

And so a guy called Athanagarus, I think I'm pronouncing that correctly, he wrote this about the early church.

He said, Among us you will find uneducated persons and artisans.

So we can all breathe a sigh of relief, right?

It doesn't matter.

You don't have to have a PhD in theology to be useful for the church.

There are those who are needed like that.

There are those who need to spend time crafting and articulating the reasons for the gospel.

Absolutely.

But they're only part of the team.

They are not the team.

We cannot, you cannot rely on people like that.

Not anymore.

Getting someone simply to come to a church like this is probably maybe a year, maybe even two years of effort.

It didn't happen like that in the early church.

Among us you'll find uneducated persons and artisans who, if they are unable in words, to prove the benefit of their doctrine, yet by their deeds exhibit the benefit arising from their persuasion.

They go about their ordinary lives, living it as Christians, taking what has been given to them as a resource of the kingdom and investing it in the lives of others.

These do not rehearse speeches, but exhibit good works.

When struck, they do not strike back.

When robbed, they do not go to the law.

They give to those who asked of them and loved their neighbors as themselves.

And as far as I know, from my little knowledge of church history, it exploded across the face of the known world at that time.

Let me just press this in one more time before we move on and wrap things up with our third point.

Because this really set me back, actually, as I was preparing for this sermon this week, when I read these words from another commentator.

Let us leave this parable with a solemn determination, by God's grace, never to be content with a profession of Christianity without its practice.

These parables, at the very beginning of chapter 25, we're given the parable of the ten virgins, and then we run into the parable of the talents, and then we're given the final judgment.

In the first parable, it's all about waiting.

In our parable today, it's all about working.

The first parable is all about vigilance, staying awake.

This parable is all about diligence, going to work.

So let us leave this parable and not be content simply with a profession of Christianity without its practice.

Let us not only talk about religion but do something too.

We are not told, now listen to this.

We are not told that the unprofitable servant was a murderer or thief, or even a waster of his Lord's money, but that he did nothing.

And this was his ruin.

Let us beware of a do-nothing Christianity.

Such a Christianity does not come from the Spirit of God.

So kingdom resources, they are not earned, but they are given and given generously.

They have been given to be used by everyone, not to be neglected or forgotten by anyone.

And lastly, kingdom resources will be multiplied to some and lost completely by others.

Remember the reason why Jesus is saying this.

He knows he's leaving, he knows he's going away.

He knows that it is only his people, filled by his spirit, who will be able to continue his mission.

He knows that.

And it cannot, it cannot rest on just a few.

Some of you will be feeling very heavy put upon this morning.

And it's in my experience that you're the type of person who actually is already doing too much.

Because you're sensitized to things like this.

You already know.

You're pouring yourself out.

You have heavy burdens on your heart.

You are preparing and delivering, perhaps helping behind the scenes.

You're cooking meals for others, you're trying to invest in one another's lives.

You're the type of person, if you're feeling guilty, so I want to take that from you.

You're the ones who are probably already at this point doing too much.

Let me show you the expectation that you should have.

What is it that Jesus says?

He says to the one with five talents and the one with two talents, he says, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful with a little.

I will place you over much.

And then he says, Enter into the joy of your master.

Here's the expectation that you ought to have.

Now you may be thinking, Oh goodness, you know, I can't wait for heaven because heaven is where I get to put my feet up.

Right?

You've been working so hard in the kingdom here now, you think when I get to heaven, it's going to be it's going to be a breeze, Lilo type Christianity, right?

You just lie there and everything's just perfect.

But no, because Jesus knows actually that, well, the whole Bible speaks to us about the fact that we've been made in God's image.

And God's image, God is a worker.

He takes great joy in being creative and producing things and helping one another.

And so he says, You've been faithful over a little, I will place you over much.

The only thing I think that can mean really is to say that, well, the work that we enter into, come heaven, will fit each one of us so perfectly that it will feel like a joy, that it actually not even feel, it will be a joy for us.

And so here and now, little drops of joy may enter into your life and your heart as you go about your business of the kingdom.

Little drops of joy may enter into you.

When you get to heaven, you will enter into joy.

It will be.

Perhaps you feel like you're parched here and now.

And occasionally you get a little drink along the way, which just keeps you going.

And maybe it will be, perhaps I'm spoiling the analogy here now, but maybe it will be.

It's like diving into a swimming pool.

Where you don't simply have a sense or a taste of joy, but you enter into the fullness of the joy of the master.

That's your expectation.

Well done, my good and faithful servant.

You're faithful in a little.

I will put you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

But there's another expectation that I must bring before you.

And that is the expectation that some of you perhaps need to have who have taken your talent and buried it.

Because did you notice what Jesus says?

It is devastating.

We've looked at the fact that he calls him a wicked and slothful servant.

But then he goes on to say, verse 28, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.

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

To the ones who have, who have faith, who have loyalty, who have a sense of joy in their service, in the service of the Master, more will be given.

But to the one who is not, to the one who has no faith, no loyalty, no sense or even desire to enjoy working for the Master, even what he has taken away, and it will be worse than nothing.

A person will be left with worse than nothing.

Cast that worthless servant into the darkness.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What is the spiritual disease being tackled here?

I think it's simply unexpectancy.

As Christian people, we're supposed to be expectant.

And if you live with a sense of unexpectancy, if you're not looking to the future, if you're not thinking that, you know, um there is a day when the Lord Jesus is going to be going to return and there will be a reckoning.

If you're living with an unexpectancy, it's lethal.

We just put our heads down, don't we, as Christians, and just try and get through one day to the next.

Lift them up.

Look.

He is returning.

What words do you want to be spoken over your life and for all of eternity?

Umte that it is only when the master comes is it abundantly clear where any of the servants stand.

Right?

It's not, in other words, it's not for us to judge one another now.

It's only when the master comes.

You are to be determined and diligent.

You're not to be critical or condemnatory of others.

It's only when the master returns.

That's his business.

It's not yours.

So so live as a true subject of the kingdom.

See that you have been given not earned, you haven't earned it for yourself, you've been given it, which should make you it should make it all the freer for you to give away.

You've been given this.

You already use it.

Whatever you've been given, time, affection, empathy, a Bible.

A moment to pray.

Use it.

Don't neglect it.

Because as this parable says, to some kingdom resources will be multiplied and others they'll be lost forever.

And like I said, as we come to remember the king of this kingdom, this is the nature of the kingdom because it's the nature of the king's heart.

He he gave of himself in such a way so that all of us could be made eternally rich.

He died.

He knew Jesus is speaking this, facing the cross.

He knew what building others up, continuing the mission was going to involve.

He didn't do that simply at the risk of his life, but at the cost of his life.

He embraced poverty.

Emotional, social, psychological, physical, spiritual poverty so that we could be made everlastingly rich.

So let us walk in his image and invest what we have been given for the increase of his kingdom.

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