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If you knew you were going to die next week, how many of you would make some preparations this week? That’s what I thought! Jesus was no exception. During the last week of his life he made some final preparations.

On Palm Sunday Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem amid a myriad of waving palm branches and triumphant shouts of “Hosanna in the highest!”—thus declaring his Messiahship to the crowds for the final time. On Monday, Jesus cleaned his house one last time by charging into the temple and overturning the moneychangers’ tables. On Tuesday morning, Jesus engaged in his final debates with the religious leaders. On Tuesday afternoon, while sitting in the Mount of Olives, Jesus preached his final sermon to his disciples. On Wednesday, Jesus took his final bath as a woman poured an expensive bottle of perfume over his head. On Thursday, Jesus ate his final meal. And on Friday, Jesus breathed his final breath!

The purpose of Jesus’ final sermon on Tuesday afternoon was to prepare his disciples for life and ministry without him. His disciples had asked him what would be the sign of his coming at the end of the age. So, Jesus gave them some instructions and told them some parables about what to do while they awaited his return.

Have you ever wondered about that? What are we supposed to do while we await Jesus’ return? Well, he answers that question for us in the parable of the talents! Listen to the story again!

Scene 1- “A Long Journey” (14a)
The parable begins with Jesus painting a picture of a wealthy man going on a long journey. While he is gone, he entrusts his entire property to three of his servants. He doesn’t tell them where he is going or when he will return, but he implies that he will return one day.

The “long journey” in this parable represents Jesus’ physical absence from his church. Since his ascension into heaven, he has been physically away from his people for the last 2000 years. Like the servants in the parable, we have no idea when he will return. It could be at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon or it could be another 2000 years until he comes back.

It is rather easy for us to forget that Jesus will return someday. He has been gone for so long and we’ve sort of gotten used to his physical absence. In spite of the fact that Jesus promised us that he would return, our experience makes us wonder if he really is coming back. As the days and years of our lives pass by with the ticking of the clock, it is easy to get lulled into a spiritual sleep.

One of the purposes of this parable is to wake us up from our spiritual slumber and make sure we are ready for Jesus’ return. Yes, he has been gone for a long time, but he is coming back! Do you believe it? Are you ready for it?

Scene 2- “Stewardship of Kingdom Resources” (14b-18)
Before the wealthy master departed for his journey, as I mentioned, he entrusts his property and resources to three of his servants. He delegates 5 talents to the first servant, 2 to the second, and 1 to the third. This master is quite wealthy! The word “talent” is a monetary term that was equivalent to able 15 years of wages for an average day laborer in the Ancient Near East. By today’s standards, one talent would amount to somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000. The NIV’s rendering “more than $1,000 is far too low.

All three servants are entrusted with an extraordinary amount of resources and there is an implied expectation that the servants will use these resources to expand the master’s property. Although the resources are distributed according to the individual servants’ ability, they are each responsible for what they were given. The stewardship of these resources is an enormous responsibility.

Just as the master’s long journey represents Jesus’ physical absence, the servants in this parable represent us (Jesus’ servants) and the talents symbolize our giftedness and abilities. The definition of our English word “talent” which literally means innate personal giftedness or skill actually originated with this parable. As in the parable, Jesus has endowed every one of us with special talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. While he is away on his long journey, he expects us to be good stewards of these resources by using them to expand his kingdom. What an incredible responsibility he has given us!

Not only has God endowed us with different talents, but he has also endowed us different amounts of talents. Two people may be talented runners, but one may be faster than the other. Two people may be gifted cooks, but one’s food might taste better than the other’s. God holds us responsible for the amount of talent he has given us, not the amount of talent he has given someone else. Regardless of what talents he has given us or how much of them we have, God expects us to be using them to expand his kingdom. He wants us to be good and faithful stewards of the talents he gave us.

So, let me ask you: What are your talents? What skills and abilities has God given you? Are you a strong leader? Are you good teacher? Are you gifted in organization or administration? Are you a skilled musician, artist, writer, builder, or crafter? Do you excel in compassion, hospitality, or generosity?

What talents has God given you, and more importantly, are you using them for the Lord? Are you being a faithful steward of the resources he has entrusted to you? Are you using your talents to expand Christ’s kingdom while he is away? How are you doing it?

Scene 3- “The Day of Reckoning” (19)
Well, just as we expected, the master returned from his long journey and he wanted to settle accounts with his servants. This is a day of reckoning when each of the servants appears before the master to give an account of what he did with the resources that were entrusted into his care. This is where we find out if the servants are faithful stewards.

This is exactly what will happen with us! Someday Jesus is going to return to the earth for a great day of reckoning. We will each appear before him to give an accounting of how we used the gifts, talents, and resources he has given us. When we look into Jesus’ eyes, what will we have to say for ourselves? Will you say, “Oh, I had a talent, but I never really used it!”? Will you say, “I guess I used my talents for my own gain instead of yours!”? Will you say, “Well, I knew I have a talent but I was too afraid to use it or the right opportunity never came along.”? Or will you be able to say, “Lord, thank you for the talents you gave me! It was a pleasure to serve you! Here is what I did with them!”? What will you say on the day of reckoning?

Scene 4- “Good and Faithful Servants” (20-23)|
As each of the servants appear before the master, we learn that the first two servants immediately made effective use of their entrusted amounts, probably setting up some kind of business and making a capital return that doubled the original investment: 5 talents turned into 10 talents and 2 talents turned into 4 talents. Although the actual amounts are different, the master delivers the same response to the first two servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The identical statement of praise to both servants indicates that the point of the parable is not the total amount earned but on faithful responsibility to live up to one’s potential and giftedness. The reward of earnings bestowed may differ, but both servants received more joy in the master’s presence and more responsibility in his kingdom. (Wilkins 807)

So it is with us today! Jesus isn’t nearly as interested in the amount of gain we make for his kingdom as he is with our stewardship of his kingdom resources and faithfulness in his kingdom service. All of our service in his kingdom is inherently valuable, whether in the sacred or secular realms or whether it receives a greater or lesser return.

Likewise, if we are faithful stewards and servants, we will gain the same rewards described here. We love receiving verbal praise and adoration from anyone, but can you imagine what it would be like to receive verbal praise from Jesus our Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”? Wow, how overwhelmed would we be to hear those words!

Also, we all enjoy a sense of satisfaction when we fulfill our responsibilities, but can you imagine the sense of satisfaction we will experience when Jesus says, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things!”? So many people today want the reward but they are not willing to fulfill their responsibility. They want the glory but want nothing to do with the grit it takes to get the glory. If we want to be in charge of many things, we must first be faithful with a few things. That’s the way God’s kingdom works! The reward for faithful service is more responsibility!

In addition to verbal praise and increased responsibility, faithful servants of Christ receive more joy in the master’s presence. Can you imagine what it would be like to hear Jesus say, “Come and share in my happiness!”? What a day that will be!

Scene 5- “A Wicked and Lazy Servant” (24-30)
In contrast to the first two servants, the third comes to the master with a different story: he hid his one talent in the ground and gave it back to the master without any return. The master responds with the dreadful words, “You wicked and lazy servant!” The charge of wickedness stems from his attitude toward his master, which in turn led to his laziness and bad stewardship. The fact that he perceives his master as a hard and unethical man (harvesting where he has not planted) shows that he does not really know his master and therefore caused him to be ambivalent toward the talent he received and apathetic about seeking to advance his master’s kingdom. This misperception produced alienation, fear, mistrust, and personal sloth. Had he truly loved his master, he would have been faithful instead of blaming his master for his lack of productivity.

The master shows his displeasure by accusing him of being so lazy that he didn’t even deposit the talent with the money-changers to earn a little bit of interest, which would have required minimal effort. Then the talent is taken away from him and given to the one having 10 talents; fulfilling the promise that the faithful will receive abundance. And finally the wicked and lazy servant is called “worthless” and is thrown into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

As in other parables, the contrast is between those whose eternal destiny is salvation in the presence of the long-expected Son of Man and eternal damnation. The first two servants are true disciples; the third one is not. A person’s faithfulness is evidence as to whether he or she is truly one of Jesus’ own. True disciples prove it by being good stewards of the talents God has given them and faithfully working to expand Christ’s kingdom. (Wilkins 808)

Unfortunately, this wicked and lazy servant represents so many people in the world today. God has given us so much—more talents, gifts, and resources than we know what to do with, but all they do is blame God for what they don’t have. Their wrong attitude about God (God is mean or unethical or doesn’t care about them) results in excuses for disobedience, poor stewardship, and unfaithfulness. This type of thinking has grave consequences!

What is your view of God? Do you recognize that everything you have, including your talents, are gifts from God? Are you using them for him or for yourself? Don’t blame God for your laziness and lack of productivity. Don’t be like this wicked servant!

This parable teaches us that a correct understanding of God will bring about the productive investment of our lives. When we truly understand who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and that he will return one day, we will be motivated to be good stewards of the talents he has given us and be faithful servants of his kingdom. This should cause us to examine our lives! It should cause us to ask questions like: Am I really one of Jesus’ disciples? How do I show it? Am I using my talents to serve him? Am I faithfully attempting to expand his kingdom? And finally, if he returns today, will he say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”?