8

Fitting Rewards from the Returning King
(Luke 19:11–27)

While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’” (19:11–27)

The parables our Lord told were designed to move people from the realm of the familiar to the realm of the unfamiliar. He conveyed spiritual truth that was new and unfamiliar to His hearers by means of analogies, illustrations, and stories about things with which they were familiar. Jesus drew His stories from the customary experiences of everyday life.

This amazing story is no exception. It can be loosely connected to a historical reality, known to the people of Judea, particularly those in Jericho.

Israel in the time of Christ was an occupied nation, under the rule and authority of Rome. The Romans ruled their conquered lands through subordinate rulers, who had to be approved and granted the right to rule by Rome. Herod the Great, the founder of the Herodian dynasty, negotiated with Mark Antony to obtain the right to rule Israel. After his death in 4 B.C., Herod’s kingdom was divided among his three sons, and Archelaus was made ruler over Judea. Seeking to intimidate his subjects, he slaughtered three thousand Jews. Not surprisingly, the people hated him, and when he went to Rome to have his rule officially confirmed, they sent a delegation to appeal to Caesar not to make him their ruler. By way of compromise, Augustus granted Archelaus the right to rule, but not to use the title of king until he had gained the favor of the people—which, of course, he never did. Soon, Archelaus’s harsh rule created chaos, and the Romans removed him from power. They replaced him with a series of governors, of which Pilate was the fifth. That incident, with which all Jesus’ hearers were familiar, provided an historical experience to pave the way for this story.

The Lord’s invented story is about an imaginary nobleman who left for a distant country to receive a kingdom, leaving instructions for his servants to fulfill his business responsibilities in his absence. Some of his enemies, however, sent a delegation to the ruler who was to grant him his kingdom, expressing their desire that the nobleman not be appointed ruler over them.

The phrase while they were listening to these things refers back to verse 10 and the Lord’s comments after the salvation of Zaccheus. The brief statement recorded in that verse was not the entirety of the Lord’s sermon, but merely its thesis statement. As they walked along the road on the fifteen or so mile trip to Jerusalem, Jesus continued to teach the large crowd that was accompanying Him, expanding on the significance of His declaration that He had “come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The Lord Jesus did not come to overthrow the Romans and set up the earthly messianic kingdom as the Jewish people anticipated. He will do that when He returns again. Nor was it His goal to bring about social reform, as liberals wrongly believe. If that was His goal, He completely failed to achieve it. Rather, the Lord came to offer salvation to all who would confess their sinful lostness, repent, and believe in Him as Lord and only Savior. The recent healing of the two blind men (18:35–43) and the salvation of Zaccheus reveal Jesus to be the seeking Savior of the lost (as do the three parables He told in chapter 15), but the Jewish people failed to accept His mission and clung to the hope of an earthly messianic kingdom. Even after the resurrection the disciples were still confused. In Acts 1:6 they asked Him, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (cf. Luke 24:21). Because it ran counter to the Jewish messianic teaching that they had been taught all their lives, they would not accept the Lord’s teaching that Messiah’s kingdom would be delayed (cf. Matt. 25:5, 19).

Because they were near Jerusalem, the crowd supposed that the earthly kingdom of God they fervently longed for was going to appear immediately. Their anticipation was growing with each passing mile and is even suggested by the Greek verb translated appear, which is a nautical term for something becoming visible on the horizon (cf. Acts 21:3). But that earthly kingdom would be delayed, and Jesus would first be rejected by His people (John 1:11), killed, and raised from the dead to provide the sacrifice for salvation. At His return He will establish His earthly millennial rule (cf. Rev. 20).

To correct their erroneous notions, the Lord created this story about Himself to illustrate the delay in establishing His earthly kingdom. In this parable, the nobleman represents Jesus; his journey to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself represents Christ’s ascension and exaltation to the Father’s right hand (Acts 2:33, 36; Phil. 2:9–11) and, after a delay, His return to reign (Mark 13:33–37; Luke 21:25–36; Rev. 19:11–21). The ten slaves (doulous [slaves] in this case refers to trustworthy employees given high responsibility) who received the ten minas (about three months’ wages) represent all who profess to serve Christ. The nobleman charged his slaves to “do business with this until I come back.” Do business translates a form of the verb pragmateuomai, which is related to the noun pragma, from which the English word “pragmatic” derives. They were to do something productive and profitable with what he entrusted to them. In so doing they would show their love and respect for their master, and their commitment to the well-being of his household, and be rewarded for their faithfulness when he returned. In application, this is a call to live a life that honors the absent nobleman (Christ), who will hold people accountable for their actions when He returns.

Despite their similarities, this parable is not the same as the parable of the talents that Matthew records (Matt. 25:14–30). Darrell L. Bock outlines

The parable describes three distinct groups: the foes, the faithful servants, and the false servants.

THE FOES

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ … ‘But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’” (19:14, 27)

As had been the case with Archelaus in real life, the citizens in the story hated the nobleman and sent a delegation after him, saying derogatorily, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” Unlike the historical account of Archelaus, however, nothing in the story indicates that the nobleman gave his citizens any cause to hate him. That illustrates the reality that Jesus was hated without a cause (John 15:25; cf. Ps. 69:4). The Jewish people’s attitude toward Archelaus was reasonable; their attitude toward Jesus was blasphemous.

Despite their hatred and rejection of him, the nobleman’s enemies in the Lord’s story were nonetheless his citizens. Everyone—whether they accept Him, reject Him, or ignore Him—is under the sovereign rule of the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:8). The world is His domain, since He created it (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2), and all people are therefore His subjects.

Just as Archelaus’s enemies were unable to prevent him from taking the throne, so also Jesus’ foes will be unable to keep Him from taking His throne. He has been crowned, and will one day return as the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16). When the nobleman returned from being crowned king, he commanded his servants, “These enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay (the Greek verb is a strong word that means “to slay completely,” or “to slaughter”) them in my presence.” So also Jesus will judge (Matt. 25:31–46) and destroy (Rev. 19:11–21) His enemies when He returns.

THE FAITHFUL SERVANTS

When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ (19:15–19)

When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, the king not only destroyed his foes, but also ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. The two groups of servants picture true and false believers.

Verses 15–19 describe the faithful believers, and depict the future time when the saints will receive their heavenly rewards (1 Cor. 3:11–15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:9–10; Gal. 6:3–5; 2 Peter 1:5–11). When the first servant appeared before the king he did not boast of his accomplishment but humbly, respectfully said to him, “Master, your mina has made ten minas more.” Indirectly, he gave the credit for his success to the king for creating the economic environment that allowed the mina to grow so remarkably. The king praised him and said to him, “Well done, good slave.” Because he had been faithful in a very little thing, the king graciously, generously placed him in authority over ten cities—a gracious reward incomparably greater than his stewardship of ten minas warranted. In essence, the faithful servant was made a vice-regent ruling over a province or region under the king. That symbolizes believers’ responsibility and rule under Christ in His future kingdom (cf. 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:4, 6).

Displaying the same humility as the first slave, the second slave reported to the king, “Your mina, master, has made five minas.” Although his results were not the same as the first slave, he was no less faithful. Not everyone has the same gifts, opportunities, or outcomes for ministry. The issue is to faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ, maximizing in the power of the Spirit the spiritual privileges that the Lord grants for His honor and His glory.

The Lord is disclosing in this story that there is coming a glorious future reward for those who faithfully serve Him. When the Lord appears He will pour out lavishly on believers eternal blessings vastly and disproportionately beyond what they can ever imagine. In the words of the apostle Paul, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

THE FALSE SERVANTS

Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.’ (19:20–26)

The third slave was very different from the first two, as the Greek word translated another indicates. It is not allos, which refers to another of the same kind, but heteros (the source of the English word “heterodox”), which describes another of a different kind. Unlike the industrious first two slaves, this lazy, indifferent slave took the mina the master had entrusted to him, and kept it put away in a handkerchief. Not only was that an abysmal waste of opportunity to use the master’s money for profit, it also put it at risk of being stolen (valuable items were usually buried; cf. Matt. 13:44). He was careless, lazy, and thoughtless, and had no desire to honor or please his master. Instead of being motivated by love, he was driven by fear, and sought to defend himself by shifting the blame to the king. By saying to him, “I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting (Gk. austēros, from which the English word “austere” derives) man,” this wretched slave accused the king of being severe, harsh, strict, and unfair. Taking his blame-shifting one step further, he went on to say, “You take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.” Shockingly, he in effect accused his master of being a thief; of stealing crops that he did not plant.

This man had no love or respect for his master, and no real relationship with him. Like a typical legalist, he was merely putting on an outward show. He served him for the money, hoping to get rich from the nobleman turned king.

The king’s stern rebuke unmasked the slave’s true character. “By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?” That he represents false believers is obvious, since Jesus would never refer to any of His beloved children as a worthless slave. Continuing his rebuke, the king demanded, “Then why did you not put my money in the bank (i.e., take it to the moneylenders), and having come, I would have collected it with interest?” If he had any respect for the king, he would have at least invested for minimal gain. The truth is that the wicked slave was indifferent; he had no relationship with the king and did not care about him or his interests. This hypocrite stashed away the money with which he had been entrusted and went on with his own personal interests.

Then the king pronounced judgment on the worthless slave. Turning to the bystanders he commanded them, “Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.” Surprised by the king’s decision they said to him, “Master, he has ten minas already.” But illustrating the unceasing, lavish, undiminished nature of God’s grace, he declared, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given.” On the other hand, the king pronounced concerning the worthless slave, “From the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” He was stripped of every pretense, opportunity, privilege, and position to which he might have aspired.

The worthless slave represents the people who claim to be followers of Christ, are involved with the church, surrounded by the privileges and truth of the gospel, and even make a profession of faith. Yet in reality, they serve the Lord for their own selfish purposes and goals, and have no relationship with Him. Despite their claims, they will hear from Christ’s own mouth the shocking, frightening pronouncement of their eternal doom: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23; cf. 25:12; Luke 13:27).

The lesson of the story is clear. There will be rewards for Christ’s faithful followers, rejection for the false followers, and retribution for His foes. Every person falls into one of those three categories. The faithful followers are rewarded and lavished with spiritual graces and privileges forever. The day will come when the false followers will be unmasked and all their flimsy pretenses will be unveiled and discounted. The Lord will reject them, and sentence them to perish eternally with His enemies.