For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, “Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, “Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.” But his master answered and said to him, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall betaken away. And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (25:14-30)

In his poem Maud Muller, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote the well-known lines, “For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’ ”

Scripture is replete with admonitions to take advantage of opportunity while it is available. Solomon wrote, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days,” and, “Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good” (Eccles. 11:1, 6). That same man of wisdom wrote, “He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully” (Prov. 10:5). His father, David, had written, “As for me, my prayer is to Thee, O Lord, at an acceptable time” (Ps. 69:13). Another psalmist wrote, “Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Ps. 95:6-8).

Isaiah exhorted, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (Isa. 55:6). Jeremiah reminded his readers that “even the stork in the sky knows her seasons; and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration; but My people do not know the ordinance of the Lord” (Jer. 8:7; cf. Heb. 3:7-8). Paraphrasing his preceding quotation from Isaiah, Paul admonished the Corinthian believers, “Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’” (2 Cor. 6:2; cf. Isa. 49:8).

Jesus repeatedly called on men to make the most of spiritual opportunities. “For a little while longer the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light” (John 12:35-36).

The tragedy of wasted opportunity is the theme of Jesus’ parable of the talents, the second of two parables relating to the kingdom of heaven and, in particular, to men’s readiness for Jesus’ coming to establish the kingdom at His second coming (see Matt. 25:1). The parable of the virgins (vv. 1-13) focuses on readiness manifested in waiting, whereas the parable of the talents focuses on readiness manifested in working. The five virgins who had oil for their lamps represent believers who possess saving grace; the two faithful servants who invested their talents represent believers who exhibit the serving life. Together the two parables depict the balance of believers’ looking forward to His coming with anticipation while living in preparedness for His coming through faithful service.

Frequently, one or the other of those precepts either is lost or overemphasized. Although believers are to rejoice continually in the prospect of their Lord’s coming again, they are not to sit back in idleness and do nothing. Saving faith is serving faith. On the other hand, they are not to become so caught up in serving the Lord that they forget to contemplate and rejoice in His return. It was perhaps because they thought the Lord was coming momentarily that some of the believers at Thessalonica fell into undisciplined, careless living and decided to do no work at all. Consequently they became busybodies who did nothing productive and even disrupted the church. Paul rebuked them severely and commanded them “to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.” He then admonished the whole church not to “grow weary of doing good” (2 Thess. 3:10-13).

Peter challenged mockers who had the opposite problem. They were so convinced that the Lord would not come soon that they abandoned all moral restraint and lived in selfish profligacy (2 Pet. 3:3-4). Peter reminded them that the people of Noah’s day responded in the same way to Noah’s prediction of the Flood, which came upon them suddenly and at a time they did not expect. In the same way, the apostle declared, Christ will appear suddenly in the end time, bringing the “judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (vv. 5-7).

It should be noted that, despite some resemblances, the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11-27) are not variations of the same story. The mina parable was given several days earlier, and the two accounts have as many differences as similarities.

Though the parable of the talents has relevance to every generation, the Lord was still speaking directly about the generation that will be living just before His return in glory (24:34), the exact time of which will not be known in advance but the imminence of which will be manifested by spectacular and unmistakable signs (24:3-29).

The parable of the talents illustrates four basic aspects of spiritual opportunity: the responsibility we receive, the reaction we have, the reckoning we face, and the reward we gain.

THE RESPONSIBILITY WE RECEIVE

For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. (25:14-15)

The antecedent of it is the kingdom of heaven (see v. 1), of which this parable is another illustration. Some translations add “the kingdom of heaven” to verse 14 in italics to make the connection clear. Even the phrase it is appears in italics in the NASB, being added because there is no main subject or verb in the Greek text of this verse. Both subject and verb are understood to continue over from verse 1, namely, “the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to,” making it obvious that Jesus is continuing to teach about the kingdom.

As frequently mentioned in this commentary series, it is important to understand that in the New Testament the kingdom of heaven and its synonymous phrase, the kingdom of God, refer to the sphere of God’s dominion in Christ. But while maintaining that basic meaning, the expression is used in two distinct ways. Sometimes it designates the invisible body of all redeemed people. The Lord used it in that sense when He declared, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3; cf. 25:34). That is the kingdom in its pure, exclusive sense.

But sometimes the kingdom of heaven refers to the visible, outward body of those who profess to know and serve Christ. Jesus made clear that in that outward manifestation of the kingdom both the true and the false will be found, the genuine Christian and the imitation (see section on Matt. 13).

It is in this visible, outward sense that Jesus refers to the kingdom both in the parable of the virgins and in the parable of the talents. The foolish virgins and the faithless slave do not represent professed pagans, atheists, agnostics, or reprobates but those who profess to belong to Christ. In each account, both genuine and counterfeit believers are depicted.

The man who was about to go on a journey obviously was planning to be gone for a long time, perhaps for many months or even a year or more. In order for his estate to be well managed in his absence, he called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them.

The fact that these were his own slaves reinforces the idea that Jesus was illustrating the outward, organizational church, composed of those who allege to belong to Him, and not to mankind in general. Many people in the gospels are referred to as Christ’s disciples although some of them proved to be false. Such were the disciples who were offended at His teaching about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (see John 6:52-66). The traitor Judas not only is called a disciple but an apostle (Luke 6:13-16). Even those false followers, by virtue of being attached outwardly to the church, have been entrusted with certain of the Lord’s possessions.

Doulos, the singular of slaves, was a general term that referred to any kind and level of bondservant. It was used of common laborers and menial household servants as well as of skilled craftsmen and artists and highly-trained professionals. Their commonness was in being the personal property of their owners, who often had the power of life and death over them.

A wealthy person would often have special slaves who functioned as overseers of his household and managers of his business. In many cases some of a man’s slaves were much better educated and skilled than he was. Highly trusted slaves sometimes had a virtual free hand within proscribed areas of responsibility even when the owner was at home. When he left town for any length of time, they acted almost in his full authority, having the equivalent of what we now refer to as power of attorney. They were responsible for handling all the assets and business operations of their owner for his benefit and profit.

The man in Jesus’ parable had three such trusted slaves to whom he entrusted certain of his possessions while he was away. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability. Satisfied that his money was in capable hands, he then went on his journey.

The numbers of talents given to the slaves have no significance in themselves but simply illustrate a wide range of responsibilities, from the very high and demanding to the relatively low and easy. It is significant, however, that the responsibilities were given to each according to his own ability. The owner knew his slaves intimately, and he entrusted each one only with the responsibility he reasonably could be expected to handle.

Used in a context such as this, talents always referred to money, but the word itself simply represented a measure of weight. The value of a specific coin depended on its weight and its composition. A talent of gold, for example, was extremely valuable, a talent of silver less valuable, and a talent of copper or bronze much less valuable still. But as with the number of talents given to each man, the metal content of the coins, and therefore their actual worth, is irrelevant to Jesus’ point. He was emphasizing common accountability for differing levels of responsibility based on individual ability.

Because the parable illustrates the kingdom of heaven, the man in the story obviously represents Christ Himself, and the going on a journey represents the time He is away from earth between His first and His second advents. The slaves depict professed believers, members of the Lord’s visible church whom He has entrusted with various resources to use in His behalf until He returns.

Jesus mentions only three levels of responsibility, but those are suggestive of the extremely wide range of individual abilities among people, who vary greatly in natural talent, intellect, and other capabilities. They also vary greatly in opportunity and privilege. Some church members have heard the gospel and studied Scripture since early childhood, whereas others know only the rudiments of the faith and have had little opportunity to learn more. Those who are true believers are also given spiritual gifts that vary widely from person to person (see Rom. 12:4-8;1 Cor. 12:4-11). Some Christians are privileged to live and work closely with others of like faith and are continually encouraged and corrected by fellow believers. Other Christians, however, are the only believers in their families or even in their community or town. God knows intimately the abilities, gifts, opportunities, and circumstances of every person, and He graciously assigns responsibilities accordingly.

Even among the Twelve there were different levels of responsibility. Peter, James, and John were clearly the inner circle, and of that group Peter was the most prominent. From among the many devoted believers in the church at Jerusalem, James soon became the acknowledged leader, with commensurate responsibilities and obligations. The implication of the parable of the talents is that, even in the millennial kingdom and throughout eternity, the redeemed will continue to have different levels of responsibility.

The issue of the parable pertains to what each slave does with the fairly assessed responsibility he has been given. The noblest motive in the heart of a faithful servant would be to accomplish as much as possible for the sake of his master during the master’s absence. That was also the master’s desire: not equal return from each of his slaves but relatively equal effort according to ability.

It is significant that, although the slaves with the five and the two talents did not produce equal profits, they produced equal percentages of profit, doubling what they had been given. In the same way, Christians with different capabilities and opportunities may produce differing results while working with equal faithfulness and devotion. The Lord therefore assures His servants that “each will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8).

THE REACTION WE HAVE

Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money. (25:16-18)

The slave who had received the five talents was eager to serve his master, and he therefore immediately . . . went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. This man represents the genuine believer whose supreme desire is to serve God, fulfilling what Jesus declared to be the first and greatest commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5; cf. Matt. 22:37).

In this context, traded carries the broad connotation of doing business over a period of time. The slave did not simply make one good investment and then sit back, but rather traded and retraded as long as his master was away. He may have been involved in a number of commercial ventures, some of them simultaneously. The point, however, is not in the particular type of work he did but in the fact that he used to full advantage all the resources his master had given him. His industry gained five more talents for his master, doubling the amount with which he had started.

In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. Although the second slave was given less than half as much to work with, he performed just as faithfully and industriously as the first. Like his fellow slave, he doubled his master’s money. Both men demonstrated supreme commitment to their master by making the most of what they had, by maximizing their opportunities.

The behavior of the third slave, however, was radically different. He who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money. Hiding valuables in the ground was a common practice in the ancient world, where there were no bank vaults or safe deposit boxes. It was a simple and sensible way to protect such things as jewels and coins (see Matt. 13:44).

But hiding working resources in the ground was hardly a sensible way to carry on a business and earn a profit. The slave had not received the one talent to protect it but to use it wisely for his master’s profit. Although he had been given fewer resources than the other two slaves, he had the same obligation to use what he had to his maximum ability.

THE RECKONING WE FACE

Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, “Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, “Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.” But his master answered and said to him, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.(25:19-27)

The exact length of time the owner was gone is not mentioned and is irrelevant, except that it was a long time. In the context of the Olivet discourse, in which Jesus repeatedly states that His second coming will be at a time when He is not expected (see 24:36, 42, 44, 50; 25:13), the implication is that the master of those slaves came back unexpectedly.

The first order of business upon his return was to determine what the slaves had done with his assets, and he therefore sat down and settled accounts with them.

In this discourse Jesus was addressing those who would be alive at the time of His return (24:34), and the statement in the parable that the master was gone a long time (cf. 25:5) suggests that He was indirectly telling the Twelve that His coming back would not be as soon as they anticipated (see Luke 19:11). He did not tell them that it would not be in their lifetimes, because that would have tended to decrease their motivation for diligence. The idea was that, whether He would be gone for a seemingly long or seemingly short time by their human reckoning, they would have opportunity to serve Him and were obligated to be about His work.

Some years ago, certain segments of evangelicalism became pre-occupied with Christ’s return, and some church members quit their jobs or sold their businesses and began watching for His appearance. One man I knew sold everything he had for about half a million dollars, some of which he used to buy thousands of New Testaments and distribute them around the world. He also bought and distributed various religious ornaments and trinkets he thought would arouse people’s interest in Christ. But soon he was bankrupt as well as frustrated and disheartened that his confidence in the Lord’s immediate return proved unfounded.

When the master called his servants together to settle the accounts, the first one reported, Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents. The man was not boasting but simply relating the truth of the matter. There is no hint of pride or self-congratulation. He knew that everything he started with had been entrusted to him by his master, and that he had only done what he should have done. He exhibited the attitude Jesus said every obedient disciple should have: “When you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:10).

Near the end of his life, Paul wrote Timothy, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). He was not boasting but simply expressing a deep sense of fulfillment and rejoicing. He was confident the Lord knew the integrity of his heart and would be faithful to reward Him according to His gracious promises.

When the master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave,” he was commending the slave’s attitude more than just his accomplishment. He first of all commended the man’s excellent character, which expressed itself in excellent service.

Because the master represents the Lord Himself when He returns in glory and power to establish His kingdom, it is remarkable to contemplate that the holy, just, perfect Lord of the universe will deign to praise His true disciples for their faithfulness, imperfect as it will have been. Yet that is the glorious prospect of every child of God who, like Paul, loves Christ’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).

The master not only highly praised his servant but highly rewarded him, declaring, “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”

Not only will the Lord entrust greater earthly tasks to those who prove themselves faithful, but their heavenly reward will be opportunity for greater service to Him throughout eternity. Christ’s faithful servants living on earth when He returns will enter into the millennial kingdom in their same earthly bodies and will be given responsibilities commensurate with their previous faithfulness. Believers who have died or been raptured will come to earth with the Lord in their glorified bodies, and they, too, will be given rulership in proportion to their faithfulness to God while they lived on earth. Both in the millennial and the eternal manifestations of the kingdom, those who have been faithful on earth will be put . . . in charge of many things much greater in significance than the few things over which they previously were faithful stewards.

Of the many things heaven will be, it will not be boring. Our heavenly perfection, for example, will not be a matter simply of never making a mistake. Nor will it be always making a hole in one or a home run, as it were. Rather it will be a time of ever-expanding and increasingly joyous service, and the saints who then will serve the most and rejoice the most will be those who have served the Lord most steadfastly while on earth. Every soul in heaven will equally possess eternal life and will be equally righteous, equally Christlike, and equally glorious. Everyone will be equally perfect, because perfection has no degrees. The difference will be in opportunities and levels of service. Just as the angels serve God in ranks, so will redeemed men and women, and the degree of their heavenly service will have been determined by the devotedness of their earthly service.

Heaven will not involve differing qualities of service, because everything heavenly is perfect. Everything done for the Lord will be perfectly right and perfectly satisfying. There will be no distinctions of superiority or inferiority, and there will be no envy, jealousy, or any other remnant of sinful human nature. Whatever one’s rank or responsibility or opportunity, those will be God’s perfect will for that individual and therefore will be perfectly enjoyed. In a way that is beyond our present comprehension, believers will be both equal and unequal in the Millennium and in the eternal state.

In the parable of the pounds, the nobleman who was going into afar country to receive a kingdom gave ten of his servants one mina each to do business with until he returned. When the nobleman came back, the servant who had multiplied his mina tenfold was rewarded with authority over ten cities and the one who had multiplied his mina fivefold was given authority over five cities (Luke 19:12-19). In that parable it is even more explicit that Jesus was speaking of millennial and eternal rewards, because they are specifically bestowed after the nobleman’s kingdom was established. And as in the parable of the talents, the kingdom rewards are given in proportion to earthly faithfulness.

Jesus also mentions a second reward the master gives to the faithful slave: enter into the joy of your master. Not only will believers be rewarded in heaven with still greater opportunity for service, but they will even share the divine joy of their master. In addition to sharing the Lord’s divine sinlessness and holiness they will also share His divine joy.

Imagine the consummate ecstasy believers will have when they fully comprehend the significance of having their sins forever abolished and their righteousness forever established! It was the joyful prospect of providing that gracious redemption that motivated Christ to endure the cross and despise its shame (Heb. 12:2).

The second slave made the same report as the first, the only difference being that he had doubled two talents instead of five, and therefore gained two talents more. The master’s response to the second slave was also identical: “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

The third slave, however, did not present the master with earnings but with an accusatory and self-serving excuse. Having done nothing with what he had been given, he said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.”

Like the other two, that slave was identified as belonging to the master (see v. 14), representative of his belonging to Christ’s church before the second coming. But in two distinct ways he proved that his identification with Christ was superficial and did not involve genuine faith or regeneration.

First of all, he produced absolutely nothing with the talent he had been given and did not even make an attempt to use it for his master’s benefit and profit.

As already mentioned, this slave does not represent an atheist or even an agnostic, because he recognized the master as his legitimate owner and no doubt made a pretense of honoring the master while he was away. He did not misuse his talent on immoral and selfish pursuits like the prodigal son or embezzle it like the unmerciful servant of Matthew 18. He simply disregarded the stewardship he had been given.

In much the same way, unbelieving church members live in the environment of God’s redeemed community and enjoy exposure to the teaching of His word and the fellowship of His people. But in spite of their spiritual privilege, they make no positive response to the gospel and therefore can render no fruitful service.

Second, this slave demonstrated his counterfeit allegiance by deprecating his master’s character, accusing him of being a hard man, reaping where he did not sow, and gathering where he had scattered no seed. He charged his owner with being unmerciful and dishonest.

That slave represents the professing Christian whose limited knowledge of God leads him to conclude that He is distant, uncaring, unjust, and undependable. Instead of judging themselves in light of God’s inerrant Word, such people judge God in the light of their own perverted perceptions. They not only justify themselves but do so at God’s expense.

His erroneous estimation of his master’s character was sufficient proof that this slave had no intimate or reliable knowledge of him. That slave portrays the unregenerate church member who has no spiritual fruit in his life and no spiritual worship in his heart. He is blind to the Lord’s kindness, grace, compassion, mercy, honor, majesty, and glory because he has never surrendered himself to the Lord’s sovereignty and grace.

Everything about that man contradicted his professed commitment to his master. In a certain way he was afraid of his master, but it was not the fear of reverential awe but of irreverent contempt. As his own words testified, he resented and despised the master and had no love or respect for him at all. His relationship to the master was one of enmity rather than peace, of hatred rather than love, of rejection rather than faith.

This slave represents a professed Christian whose view of God is corrupt because his unredeemed heart is still corrupt. He views God through the lens of his own depraved convictions.

In response to the unfaithful slave’s rationalization, the master said, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.”

The slave was wicked in that he unjustly besmirched the character of his master, and he was lazy in that he did nothing with the talent entrusted to him. By repeating the slave’s charge against him, the master did not acknowledge its truthfulness. He rather said, in effect: “You think I am a hard man, do you, harvesting crops that do not belong to me? If you really thought that, why did you not take the talent and put it in the bank, where it could at least draw interest?”

The ancient Roman Empire had a banking system that was in many respects like those of modern times. The maximum loan rate was 12 percent simple interest, and the interest earned on deposits was probably about half that rate. The slave with the one talent therefore could have reaped at least a 6 percent return by making virtually no effort at all. The fact that he did not attempt even to earn simple interest on the money confirmed his total irresponsibility and his indifference to the master.

Even if the slave’s accusation against his owner had been valid, it would not have excused his indolence. If anything, it would have made it more foolhardy. “If you thought I demand a return even on that which does not belong to me,” the master countered, in effect, “did you think I would not require a return on that which does belong to me?” The slave was verbally hanged with his own rope.

The truth of the matter was that the slave had no real concern for his master one way or the other, and his excuse seems to have been more spur of the moment than planned. He did not expect the master’s return and did not expect to be held accountable, and when he was caught by surprise he simply threw out an outrageous charge that made no sense.

The distinguishing mark of the first two servants was that they used their opportunity to serve the Lord before His return, which they eagerly awaited, and thereby proved the genuineness of their salvation. They were willing to invest everything they had in the service of their Master. The third servant, on the other hand, put aside what God had given him and went about his own selfish business. He called himself a servant of God but demonstrated conclusively he was not.

The master was angry with the third slave not simply because he lost a profit but because the slave wasted his opportunity. Jesus’ point was that having little to work with is no excuse for not using it at all. Even a person with limited exposure to Scripture and who possesses few talents and has few opportunities for service is fully obligated to use those blessings in God’s service.

In T. S. Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral, the chorus chants, “Yet we have gone on living, living and partly living.” Those words are reminiscent of the three slaves in this parable. Two of them were truly alive, whereas the other had only the appearance of life. Two of them built their houses on a foundation of rock, the other built his on sand. Two of them were wheat, the other was a tare.

The profit earned by the first two servants represents the accomplishment and satisfaction of a life that belongs to the Lord and is faithfully dedicated to His service. The failure of the third servant to use that with which he had been entrusted by his master represents the emptiness, uselessness, and worthlessness of a life in which profession of faith in Christ is proved false and meaningless by the careless waste of privilege and opportunity.

THE REWARD WE GAIN

Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. “For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (25:28-30)

Jesus made clear that the visible church will always include both genuine and spurious Christians. Every church has tares that, except to God, are indistinguishable from the wheat. Their true character cannot be determined by what they do outwardly, because unbelievers can be quite active in the church and seemingly interested in its work. As far as the Lord is concerned, however, the work they do is not in His service or for the benefit of His kingdom. Whatever such a person may do with the abilities he has from the Lord, they are spiritually unproductive and might as well be hidden away. In the kingdom of God, the realm of His sovereign rule—whether in the visible earthly church or in the millennial kingdom—there will be no acceptable service offered to Him except that offered by true believers.

Therefore when Christ returns, He will figuratively take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. As He had declared on at least one previous occasion (see Matt. 13:12), Jesus now said again: “To everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”

Those who demonstrate by their spiritual fruitfulness that they belong to God will be given even greater opportunity to bear fruit for Him. But those who demonstrate by their unproductiveness that they do not belong to God will lose even the benefits they once had. Such a person does not have any true blessings from God because he has made them worthless through disuse. But the reality of what those blessings could have been will be given to someone who has proved his genuineness. The divine principle is that those who trust in Christ will gain everything, and those who do not trust in Him will lose everything.

The third slave was not simply unfaithful but faithless. A true Christian who wastes his abilities, spiritual gifts, and opportunities will have his work “burned up, [and] he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). The person represented by this slave, however, has no faith at all and therefore no saving relationship to God. No matter how much he may appear to have been blessed by God and to have served Him, one day he will hear from the Lord’s own lips the devastating words, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).

The third slave was utterly worthless, and his fate was to be cast out . . . into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Just like the man who tried to crash the king’s wedding feast without the proper garment (Matt. 22:11-13), this unproductive, counterfeit servant was destined for destruction.

Outer darkness is a common New Testament description of hell. “God is light,” John declared, “and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Light signifies God’s presence, and darkness signifies his absence. Hell not only is eternal darkness but eternal torment. In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, signifying the unrelieved agony of being separated from God’s presence and goodness.