Devo 66: The Parable of the Talents
August 31, 2010
I really got some significant revelation today concerning the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. In college, I remember this parable really stuck out to me and I had this fear because I knew I had been given many gifts, calllings, talents, and a very good Christian upbringing, and it made me nervous because I was afraid that there was no way I could sow everything I have been given.
As a result, I have been feeling for the last four years that I must always be sowing every gift and talent I have or I am not being a faithful steward. Because of that, I continue getting into cycles of overcommitting, working myself into the ground, and trying to do too many things at once. A friend called me out last week and said that I cannot possibly focus on everything I am called to at every moment of my life.
So last night, I realized that this mindset I had was a result of a wrong view of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and the minas in Luke 19. This morning I was asking the Lord about it and got some major revelation. I’m going to unpack it here.
So the context of the parable of the talents in Matthew is within the chunk of Matthew 24 & 25. This is about the endtimes and how Jesus was actually not going to take over the kingdom on earth right then, but he was going to wait a while, and the people needed to watch, pray, and be faithful until He comes.
He gave many different signs that would happen before He came and made it clear that it wasn’t Him unless they saw the flash across the sky.
Then, he shifted into talking about faithfulness until He comes. The parables of Matthew 25 are in the context of waiting for His return.
There are three parables in Matthew 25. The first one is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13). The second is the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30). The third is the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). (It is actually more of a real story of what will happen).
The first parable is about watching for the Lord’s return, not being burned out when He comes, but being full of the anointing that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
The third parable is about taking care of the poor, oppressed, blind and naked. It is about works of justice. The master said that he threw the goats out of the kingdom because they thought they knew Him, but they did not take care of people, therefore he cast them into hell.
The first parable is about intimacy and the third parable is about works of justice. And right in the middle is the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents is not just about DOING good works, nor is it just about BEING intimate with God and the knowledge of God, but it is about both. It is about being faithful in being intimate with Him and doing works out of that intimate relationship with Him. This parable is about being faithful in all that he has commanded us to do until His return—being faithful to sow in the Spirit in relationship and deed.
I read David Pawson’s commentary and it was saying that the primary focus of Matthew is the balance of word and deed. He says that we must balance the indicatives of what Christ does for us with the imperatives of what we do for Him. If we only focus on what God does for us, it can lead to license (how I live does not matter), but if we only focus on what we do for God, it leads to legalism.
The parables of Matthew 25 balance intimacy and works of justice, which shows us where the grace for what we do for God comes from.
John 15 talks about abiding (Gk. menene; abiding, being verb) in the Spirit and the love of Christ which is where we find the grace to do what He did in giving up His life (in John 15:13). This is the “being” of remaining in His love.
Galatians 6 uses the word “walking” in the Spirit which incorporates the act of doing (Gk. peripateo; walking, action verb). Walking in the things of the spirit comes out of being in the Spirit. This is what the first and second commandment is about and what the first and third parable of Matthew 25 is about, and the parable of the talents right between them ties it all together. Be faithful in what He has given you while you are waiting for His return.
The statement Jesus keeps coming back to throughout these parables is reference to the coming of the Son of Man and eternity. The beginning and end of each new thought in Matthew 24-25 occurs with the reiteration of looking for His coming and a perspective of eternity. We have to realize that what we are sowing is not just for this age, but also the age to come.
A parable similar to the talents in Matthew is the minas in Luke 19, and this parable gives perspective on the relationship between this age and the next. The owner gives each servant minas and sees how they invested it, then when he returns, he gave them each authority over the number of cities that corresponded with how much they gained from their investment.
This is what the reign of Jesus will be like when He returns and gives authority to those who sowed into the kingdom in this life. He will give them authority over cities and nations.
Another similarity between the parable of Luke and Matthew is that the Lord told this parable in both instances to reveal to His disciples that He was not going to take over the kingdom and overthrow Rome at that exact moment. He was warning them that it would be a while before He comes back and does that, and that they needed to be faithful in the meantime because they might lose their way in the waiting.
Even though he was giving this revelation in Luke, he still got on the donkey right then and had the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But, he still warned that he will not be taking over now but it was a picture of His coming return. All of the followers were crying out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When the Pharisees protested and told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said no that even the rocks would cry out if they were silent.
The basic point of all three parables is to be faithful until He comes, and that He is not coming until the events of Matthew 24 happen. Right now, we are in the waiting period and we must be faithful to “get oil” in a relationship with Him and also do the works of the kingdom until He comes. Basically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Written on August 31, 2010
August 31, 2010
I really got some significant revelation today concerning the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. In college, I remember this parable really stuck out to me and I had this fear because I knew I had been given many gifts, calllings, talents, and a very good Christian upbringing, and it made me nervous because I was afraid that there was no way I could sow everything I have been given.
As a result, I have been feeling for the last four years that I must always be sowing every gift and talent I have or I am not being a faithful steward. Because of that, I continue getting into cycles of overcommitting, working myself into the ground, and trying to do too many things at once. A friend called me out last week and said that I cannot possibly focus on everything I am called to at every moment of my life.
So last night, I realized that this mindset I had was a result of a wrong view of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and the minas in Luke 19. This morning I was asking the Lord about it and got some major revelation. I’m going to unpack it here.
So the context of the parable of the talents in Matthew is within the chunk of Matthew 24 & 25. This is about the endtimes and how Jesus was actually not going to take over the kingdom on earth right then, but he was going to wait a while, and the people needed to watch, pray, and be faithful until He comes.
He gave many different signs that would happen before He came and made it clear that it wasn’t Him unless they saw the flash across the sky.
Then, he shifted into talking about faithfulness until He comes. The parables of Matthew 25 are in the context of waiting for His return.
There are three parables in Matthew 25. The first one is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13). The second is the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30). The third is the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). (It is actually more of a real story of what will happen).
The first parable is about watching for the Lord’s return, not being burned out when He comes, but being full of the anointing that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
The third parable is about taking care of the poor, oppressed, blind and naked. It is about works of justice. The master said that he threw the goats out of the kingdom because they thought they knew Him, but they did not take care of people, therefore he cast them into hell.
The first parable is about intimacy and the third parable is about works of justice. And right in the middle is the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents is not just about DOING good works, nor is it just about BEING intimate with God and the knowledge of God, but it is about both. It is about being faithful in being intimate with Him and doing works out of that intimate relationship with Him. This parable is about being faithful in all that he has commanded us to do until His return—being faithful to sow in the Spirit in relationship and deed.
I read David Pawson’s commentary and it was saying that the primary focus of Matthew is the balance of word and deed. He says that we must balance the indicatives of what Christ does for us with the imperatives of what we do for Him. If we only focus on what God does for us, it can lead to license (how I live does not matter), but if we only focus on what we do for God, it leads to legalism.
The parables of Matthew 25 balance intimacy and works of justice, which shows us where the grace for what we do for God comes from.
John 15 talks about abiding (Gk. menene; abiding, being verb) in the Spirit and the love of Christ which is where we find the grace to do what He did in giving up His life (in John 15:13). This is the “being” of remaining in His love.
Galatians 6 uses the word “walking” in the Spirit which incorporates the act of doing (Gk. peripateo; walking, action verb). Walking in the things of the spirit comes out of being in the Spirit. This is what the first and second commandment is about and what the first and third parable of Matthew 25 is about, and the parable of the talents right between them ties it all together. Be faithful in what He has given you while you are waiting for His return.
The statement Jesus keeps coming back to throughout these parables is reference to the coming of the Son of Man and eternity. The beginning and end of each new thought in Matthew 24-25 occurs with the reiteration of looking for His coming and a perspective of eternity. We have to realize that what we are sowing is not just for this age, but also the age to come.
A parable similar to the talents in Matthew is the minas in Luke 19, and this parable gives perspective on the relationship between this age and the next. The owner gives each servant minas and sees how they invested it, then when he returns, he gave them each authority over the number of cities that corresponded with how much they gained from their investment.
This is what the reign of Jesus will be like when He returns and gives authority to those who sowed into the kingdom in this life. He will give them authority over cities and nations.
Another similarity between the parable of Luke and Matthew is that the Lord told this parable in both instances to reveal to His disciples that He was not going to take over the kingdom and overthrow Rome at that exact moment. He was warning them that it would be a while before He comes back and does that, and that they needed to be faithful in the meantime because they might lose their way in the waiting.
Even though he was giving this revelation in Luke, he still got on the donkey right then and had the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But, he still warned that he will not be taking over now but it was a picture of His coming return. All of the followers were crying out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When the Pharisees protested and told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said no that even the rocks would cry out if they were silent.
The basic point of all three parables is to be faithful until He comes, and that He is not coming until the events of Matthew 24 happen. Right now, we are in the waiting period and we must be faithful to “get oil” in a relationship with Him and also do the works of the kingdom until He comes. Basically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Written on August 31, 2010
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