2nd Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 14, 2004
Luke 19:11-27

^19:11While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. ¹²He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. ¹³So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' ¹⁴"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' ¹⁵"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. ¹⁶"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' ¹⁷"'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' ¹⁸"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' ¹⁹"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' ²⁰"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹I 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.' ²²"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? ²³Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' ²⁴"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' ²⁵"'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' ²⁶"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. ²⁷But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-- bring them here and kill them in front of me.'" (NIV).

Don't Worry; Just Be A Faithful Servant!

  We are at the end of the Church year. The appointed lessons for today and next Sunday focus our attention on Jesus' return to judge the living and the dead. And that presents us with two concepts that often confuse us. On the one hand, we know full well that we are saved by grace through faith. We're not waiting for Jesus to return in order to learn whether or not we will enter heaven. We know that we will inherit the kingdom. We hold fast to Jesus' word: I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24). That gives us confidence!

  On the other hand, in our Epistle lesson Paul just said, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Now that certainly sounds like a judgment! It may not be a question of whether or not you or I will go to heaven or hell, but certainly God will evaluate what we do in this life and reward us accordingly. That is also the subject of Jesus' parable in the Gospel lesson. Jesus makes it very clear that when he returns he will judge our works.

  But Jesus didn't tell this parable to fill us with fear and doubt either about our salvation or his judgment of our works. Yes, the knowledge of this judgment of our life should certainly sober us up and cause us to live holy and godly lives. But it should not crush us under fear and doubt. It does not nullify the Gospel! Therefore, the point I want to make today from Jesus' parable is that you should not worry about the judgment of your Christian life. Instead, concentrate on being a faithful servant and you will have your reward.

  As I said, Jesus didn't tell this parable to scare us into fear and doubt about our salvation. He told it to correct a very troublesome misunderstanding. While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

  Jesus did many amazing things. So many people, especially Jesus' disciples, had come to believe that he was the Messiah, a king sent by God. They expected him to be crowned king in Jerusalem. They had no idea of what Jesus was really going to do there. They were focused on Jesus taking power, and consequently, people were already starting to do some bizarre things. For example, James and John had just asked for the two top spots in Jesus' kingdom! They were going to Jerusalem ready to fight! Their focus was wrong and so Jesus told this parable. Heaven, or the kingdom, will not begin as soon as Jesus gets to Jerusalem. And Jesus does not want his followers to get ready to fight or jostle for position in his cabinet.

  He said: 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." In the weeks leading up to this moment, Jesus taught his disciples a great deal about being servants. But it went in one ear and out the other. They were bedazzled by power and glory and by expectation of God's judgment on pagan Greeks and Romans and faithless Jews. They were ready to see some heads roll. That's what they had in mind!

  But Jesus had something else entirely in mind. This was not yet the time for heads to roll, except for his own. He was not going to mount a throne, but a cross. Then he was going to go away and receive his kingdom, a kingdom not of this world. While he was gone, he needed his disciples—and now you and me—to be servants in his house and take care of his business. The power and glory thing will come later. Right now, we're house-sitting! Jesus has given us the keys to his house, some money and this charge: Put this money to work until I come back.

  Now there are other people in the parable. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, "We don't want this man to be our king." In this parable, there are only two different types of people, servants of the king and subjects of the king. The servants of the king have a good relationship with the king. They serve the king yes, but they also live off the king. His prosperity is their prosperity. His power and glory is their power and glory. They live in union with the king, in a symbiotic relationship if I may. The promise of their master going off to receive a kingdom fills them with joyful anticipation, like a child just before Christmas or an adult just before vacation. The nobleman is their friend not their enemy. And they know that when their friend receives his kingdom, then they will reign with him.

  Brothers and sisters, we are those servants of the king. This parable is not about how we became servants of the king; it's about what we do as servants of the king. Jesus does not say to us, "Put this money to work while I'm gone and if you do a good job, I'll keep you on." It's not like being an employee of a company that is sold to another company and then wondering if the new owners will let you keep your job. We were born into the king's house through his work of baptism. We were born into the kingdom through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, we're not just servants, but sons and daughters. We stand to inherit the kingdom! So if we put the money to work until he returns, we are building up our own inheritance!

  These subjects of the king, on the contrary, live in opposition to him. They hate and oppose him. They want his kingdom for themselves. That's why they send the delegation after him to say that they didn't want him. This is what the world outside the Christian Faith has done. It opposes Jesus. The world does not want Jesus for its king. The world is under the power of the devil and like the devil wants to be its own god. The cry of the world is "Give me my rights and my fair share and leave me alone!" They don't see that they are trying to kill the only one who can give them what they really desire: peace with God and eternal life.

  He was made king, however, and returned home. Jesus was made king. Christ rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Now we are waiting for him to return and settle accounts, to judge the living and the dead. What will that be like?

  There are three possible scenarios in this parable. First, the king will reward his faithful servants. 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 one 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.' "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'

  This is not a scene to fear. This is not a harsh, vengeful tyrant squeezing the blood out of his slaves. A mina was about a pound and a half of gold or silver. Some scholars suggest a value today of about $1000 dollars. So the nobleman gives his servants about $1000 each with which to do business. The one who does the best earns ten times as much, about $10,000. That's a nice return and a good chunk of money. But in return, he is put in charge of 10 cities! There is no comparison between the what the servant earned and what he received from his Lord. The king is not a tyrant. He is a very generous man looking only to find faithful servants to whom he may entrust the management of his kingdom.

  To both the servant who earned ten times and the one who earned five time as much money, the response was the same: "Well done, take charge of these cities!" He was not more pleased with one than the other. Each served according to his ability and each was rewarded according to his ability. In both cases the reward was exceedingly gracious. There is the character of our God and Saviour. He is not looking for you to impress him and earn his favour. He only wants to know if you are faithful. Can he trust you? Will you use what he has given you now to serve him? If so, then he will entrust you with great things at his return! That is not something to fear; that is something to eagerly anticipate! That is a reason to be faithful and work hard in God's house now. You are building your inheritance!

  What then is the money with which you and I have been entrusted? And what is the increase for which Jesus looks? The money is all that you have and all that you are. It is you, your time, your possessions, your family. And all that Jesus is looking for is for you to faithfully use those things according to his will. He wants you for example, to be the best parent you can be and raise your children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. He wants you to be the best son or daughter you can be, to "fear and love God so that you do not despise your parents and other authorities, but honour them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. In short, Jesus wants you to keep the Commandments, to love the Lord your God and your neighbour as yourself. If you do that you will be faithful no matter what your earthly vocation, no matter what your wealth or health or intelligence. You have nothing to fear.

  The second possible scenario is this. "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.

  Unfortunately, there are lazy, unfaithful servants. They do not love their Lord and care not to do his bidding. They do not enter into their Lord's life. They really only want appear like servants so they can be in the house and steal things, like Judas who kept the money bag and stole from it. They completely misunderstand the nature of the king. They think he too is just out to get what he can, an austere, greedy even evil man! So on that basis he will judge them. They show their complete wickedness in the fact that they did absolutely nothing with the money. They knew the king would demand something, but they did nothing.

  These are would be Christians who deceive themselves. They think they can fool God the way they fool themselves and others. They visit the Church at Christmas and give their Loony all the while expecting Jesus to think that they faithfully served in his house. Let them hear the word of the Lord. '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. No one mocks God. We either serve and obey him or we oppose him.

  Finally, there are the subjects who hated the nobleman from the very beginning. 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. There's nothing difficult here. There is a God! Either we receive his gift of forgiveness through faith in Christ and serve him, or we reject his gift and remain his enemies. God will have the last word. No human can oppose him no matter how many degrees or how much money he may have, no matter what his title in this world may be. Jesus is Lord. There is no other. And he does not run a democracy that allows everyone to do as he pleases. God is not all-inclusive and tolerant of everything. Either he saves you through the blood of Jesus or he rightly condemns you for your sin. Assuming that none of us hate Jesus, that is good news. His enemies are our enemies. They will fall. We will reign!

  Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus told this parable to guide you and to encourage you. Here he shows you what is pleasing to him, to serve him with all that he has entrusted to you. And here he shows you that he will return to reward you for your faithful service. To all who faithfully follow Christ, the judgment holds no dread. So serve Christ and anticipate his return when you too will hear, Well done, my good servant!