Matthew 25:14-30 NLT - Parable of the Three Servants
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
I don't know why this is just now being revealed to me that the servant who buried the money is like a Christian who didn't share the gospel. I always hear this section being preached together with finances. But Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by…”
Matthew 25:14 NLT
He is talking about the spiritual, not how we handle our finances on earth. Don’t get me wrong, I think investing is a great idea and using verses like this can be beneficial to get your point across. But I love that Jesus wants to explain the Kingdom of Heaven to us. I am such a visual learner; the Kingdom of Heaven can be a difficult concept for me. So, I really need to listen when Jesus is talking about it.
Quite often I get myself hooked on a particular point within religion and fixate on it and it actually leads me away from my focus being on the Kingdom of Heaven. That happens sometimes for myself when we talk about spiritual warfare. However, I know what my key in those situations is to do and that is to follow Jesus’ example. What is the example Jesus gives us in the situations where demon possessed people came up to him? He dealt with it quickly and with authority, then went back to teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. He always goes back to teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. And that tells me I need to as well.
I feel that what He is getting at with this parable is that if he gives us a bag of money (the good news), we should then invest and multiply (or share it with those around us). And if he gives us boldness and the good news (2 bags of money), then we should go and share it with more people. And if he gives us boldness, the good news, and a platform (5 bags). Then we should use that platform to share the good news.
We need to be weary to just hiding the gospel in our hearts for no one else to know. I believe investing in people and sharing the good news is a part of his will. I also believe we need to be alert and make sure we do not say to Jesus, I knew you were a powerful God but…
When I was going through the section where the lazy servant was trying to make his excuse, I was putting myself in the position as the lazy servant and Jesus as the good master to see in a practical way what that looks like.
‘Master (Jesus), I knew you were a harsh man (powerful God), harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate (using your people to share the good news, turning millions to the way). 25 I was afraid I would lose your money (I was afraid I would turn someone away from you even more), so I hid it in the earth (so I didn’t share your good news). Look, here is your money back.’ (Matthew 25:24-25 NLT with my emphasis added).
Sharing your faith with at least one person is a good investment. A good kingdom investment. There is another point that hit me when diving into this. Are we trying to gain treasure in heaven for us (see verse below)? Or are we investing what the master entrusted us with and multiplying it for Him? Am I trying to earn treasures in heaven for myself or am I trying to make that treasure grow in value for the good master. That is a spin on investment for me.
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
I always thought the idea of treasures in heaven was a little weird for me. I will be in Heaven; I won't need things, let alone treasure. But this makes more sense to me. I am not investing for myself to have treasures in heaven. Instead, I am investing in what God has given me so that there will be (a return on investment) more people in heaven. I am investing for Him. Well, that is beautiful.
In looking at the study notes of my Bible from Matthew 25:14-30, it shares the following, “This parable teaches that the Lord expects his servants to be faithful to the task given to them while waiting for his return. The delay of Christ's return will cause some to turn to evil deeds, some to inactivity, and some to fearful passivity.” (NLT Illustrated Study Bible). This is an important point, even if it’s a bit scary. This woke me up a little bit. None of those last responses to waiting for Jesus to return are good.
So, then I ask these questions for us to ponder. How are we waiting for Jesus to return? Are we waiting well and investing in the Kingdom of Heaven or are we being fearfully passive? Will his response be like in Matthew 25:26 to the servant who did not invest what the master entrusted him with, “You wicked and lazy servant.” Or will his response be, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21 NLT).
In these situations, I have to remind myself, He doesn't need us to fulfill his plans and purposes. However, our loving Father wants to work through us His children to fulfill His plans and purposes. He chooses us because He loves us. Are we investing what the good master has trusted us with? Are we investing for ourselves or for our Father? I would like to close with this note from my Illustrated Study Bible from Matthew 25:29,
“God gives abundant grace to those who are faithful with what they have already been given.”
NLT Illustrated Study Bible
Written by Mikaela Shipley