Matthew 25:14-30 – Be diligent and faithful in service

This parable is often seen as Jesus preparing believers for works in His absence. It had been suggested that He would be going away for a long time and would come back eventually, to require them to give an account of all that had been assigned to them to do. Then they would be judged and rewarded based on their performance. Some might even be sent into eternal condemnation based on their non-performance. This upholds a merit-based salvation. Such a view would contradict all that Jesus had come to do. He came to call the sinners not the righteous. He came to draw the prostitutes and tax-collectors, the outcasts of the society into the Kingdom. They were called not on the merits of their works but on the generosity of God’s grace.

Besides, such a story told in the days of Jesus would be understood as talking about God and Israel. To understand this parable better, we should see it in the context of Jesus issuing a challenge to the people in His time and the time immediately following. This parable has a message similar to Matthew 23, where Jesus rebuked and denounced the scribes and Pharisees for their failure to do what was expected of them. In this parable, the third slave who hid the one talent given him was probably referring to the scribes and the Pharisees. A talent by the way is roughly equivalent to what a person would earn in 15 years. 

The scribes and Pharisees had been given the Law of Moses and the Temple, an indication of God’s presence. They were the recipients of God’s wonderful promises that God would not only bless them, but also the nations of the world through them. But they had buried what was given them to do. Instead of being light to the world they had kept the light under a bushel and refused to let it shine. The master would soon come back and call them to give an account. The impending destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple would be their judgement, for that servant who did not do the will of God. Since this third slave refers to the scribes and the Pharisees, then who do the two other slaves represent?

They are those who recognized Jesus and heeded His call. They collaborated with Him to develop what had been given to Israel and make something new out of it. Jesus had now come to Jerusalem to force the final confrontation between the Kingdom of Heaven and the system that opposed and resisted it. Those who are loyal to Him are like those who had put to wise use the talents assigned to them.  

Christians who are given the privilege of the Kingdom experience are to be like those wise slaves who had put the talents given them to good use. They must shine the light of the Gospel. It is in this context that Paul in 1 Corinthians said that stewards must be found faithful. So let’s be found faithful and diligent in doing the ministry entrusted to us.