Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and the cross. “Because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once,” Jesus told them a parable. Luke 19:11 I suddenly get a picture in my mind of a crowd of people following Jesus and the disciples into Jerusalem. This is just prior to the ‘Triumphal Entry’. The frenzy in the crowd is growing as they begin to believe that this is it! Jesus is going to rise up and conquer Rome and deliver God’s people once again.
The Parable of the Ten Minas, as we know it, was told then, to dissuade the crowds from their thinking that he was going to physically deliver them from Rome. I wonder if Jesus was thinking about I Samuel 8 when he described his king as being a “hard man reaping what he did not sow.” When the Israelites asked Samuel for a king, God told Samuel that it was not him (Samuel) that they were rejecting, but rather they were rejecting God as their king. Then he told Samuel to make sure the people knew what was going to happen with a king in control. So Samuel told about how the king would conscript their sons and daughters to serve him and that he would take a tenth of everything they own. The people still insisted on a king. I wonder if Jesus was reminding the people that it wasn’t a good idea then and it wouldn’t be a good idea now to appoint a king.
“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
“The first came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
“’Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
“Then the second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
“Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!”
“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them – bring them here and kill them in front of me.’” Luke 19:12-27
So what is Jesus’ story teaching about his kingdom of heaven? There are several pieces to this story we can look at.
First, each of the ten servants were given the same amount – 1 mina – and the same instructions – “Put this money to work until I come back.” But they all responded differently. One invested wisely and earned ten more. One invested pretty good and earned five more. But one hid it and only gave back the same mina he had been given. I wonder… am I investing what God has given me wisely? I woke up again this morning. He has given me another day. I have health, I have a job, I have his Word, I have possessions. How will I invest them today? Will their earn more? Or will I get to the end of the day and give back to God only what he has given me?
Secondly, we see there is a reward for good investing. It seems that when I use the resources God has given me well, he gives me more responsibility. I’ve always had his Word, but I haven’t always invested it wisely. When I take time to study and memorize Scripture, it seems that even that very day God gives me opportunity to encourage or instruct someone with his Word. The more I study it, the more people he brings into my life who need to hear it and are blessed by it.
Thirdly, there is punishment for not investing the mina that was given. If it is not used wisely, it will be taken away and given to someone who will use it wisely. I wonder how many opportunities I have lost because I was afraid to invest what I had been given.
Fourth, the king will reign! His enemies will be destroyed and he will reign. People can fight, ignore and try to undermine what Jesus Christ did, but it won’t change the fact that he will reign forever and ever. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:7
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