1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Very often we were told that the Parable of the Talents is referring to God requiring Christians to give an account of what He has given them when He comes back. Some have interpreted “talents” to mean either physical abilities, money, skills, time, or any kind of privileges. But we disagree with that interpretation. Let us analyze the Bible together and allow us to prove to you that the “talents” in this parable are not referring to what you have been hearing all these years.
2.0
ANALYSIS
2.1
Matt 25:14-30 (NASB95) states:
(14) “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. (15) 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. (16) Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. (17) In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. (18) But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
(19) Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. (20) 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.’ (21) 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.’
(22) “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ (23) 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.’
(24) “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 gather where you scattered no seed. (25) And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
(26) “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. (27) Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. (28) Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
(29) “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. (30) Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2.2
Please pay attention to verse 30. This parable needs to be read from verses 14 to 30. Verse 30 is part of the parable and cannot be read separately. Thus Matt 25:30 gives us the first indication that this parable cannot be about God giving His elect, individual abilities, skills, or privileges for His service before His return. This is because any failure to use those abilities or privileges for His kingdom will mean being cast out into outer darkness. Is it possible that salvation is by works or by the performance of works through those God-given abilities? Impossible. This is because salvation is never by works. It is by grace through faith. Eph 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is by grace through faith, it is God’s gift and not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. So how can the talents in the parable mean abilities and privileges given to the elect? God chose the elect before they existed (Eph 1:4-5). There was no way they could have worked and earned their way to salvation. The elect were already saved before they were born. Even the faith that they have to believe in God is a gift from God. We reiterate – salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift from God. Anyone who teaches salvation by works is a false teacher and a heretic. So if the talents in the parable are not abilities and privileges given to the elect, what could they be? Let us read Matt 25:29 and Matt 13:12.
2.3
Matt 25:29 (NASB95) states:
(29) “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
2.4
Matt 13:10-13 (NASB95) states:
(10) And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (11) Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. (12) For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. (13) Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
2.5
If we compare Matt 25:29 and Matt 13:12 together, it can be easily seen that both verses are very similar. And after reading Matt 13:10-13, what do you think Jesus is referring to in verse 12? Clearly, He was referring to the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. If we paraphrase Matt 13:12 it will become clearer – For whoever has (that knowledge), to him more (of that knowledge) shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have (that knowledge), even what (knowledge) he has shall be taken away from him. That knowledge is referring to the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And because both Matt 25:29 and Matt 13:12 are so similar, it can only be referring to the same thing. Hence, the “talents” in the Parable of the Talents is actually referring to the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
2.6
Therefore the word, “talents” cannot be referring to human gifts, abilities or privileges but referring to the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And where are these mysteries found? They are found in the Bible. They are mysterious because the world finds it difficult to understand as the true meaning is hidden from them especially those within the parables. Many have heard the gospel. For those who understood the gospel message, reacted positively and became fruitful in their spiritual growth. In the Parable of the Sower, those who received seed on good ground are those who hear God’s word, understand it and bore fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty (Matt 13:23). In the case of this Parable of the Talents, five talents gained another five and two talents gained another two. For those who could not understand the gospel message, there was no spiritual growth. In the Parable of the Sower, those who hear the word of the kingdom, and do not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart – no yield of crop. Similarly in the Parable of the Talents, the talent (God’s word to him) was “hidden in the ground” that is, nothing is done after he heard God’s word being preached or taught to him – there was no return on investment. No yield of crop and no return on investment, both parables point to the lack of fruitfulness in Christ. Fruitfulness in Christ refers to spiritual growth such as bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, pursuing holiness, godliness, conforming to the image of Christ, etc. To put it bluntly, it was wasted time and effort on the fruitless person.
2.7
John 15:5-6 (NASB95) states:
(5) I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
2.8
John 15:5-6 tells us that the lack of fruitfulness is the result of not abiding in Christ. In other words, they are outside of Christ. When a person is outside of Christ, he is no different from those who do not believe in Christ, the end result of both is also similar.
3.0
ANALYSIS OF THE MEANING OF ‘REAPING WHERE IT WAS NOT SOWN’
3.1
Matt 25:24-25 (NASB95) states:
(24) “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 gather where you scattered no seed. (25) And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
(26) “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. (27) Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
3.2
Matt 25:24 tells us that the slave accused the master of reaping where he did not sow and gathering where he scattered no seed. Matt 25:26 tells us that the master did not disagree with his accusation. So what is the meaning of those words? At first glance, Matt 25:26 seems to show the master of those slaves has admitted to being a thief. But this is not the case. Jesus also said something similar in John 4:37.
3.3
John 4:37-42 (NASB95) states:
(37) For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ (38) I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” (39) From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” (40) So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. (41) Many more believed because of His word; (42) and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
3.4
Jesus said in verses 37-38, that one sows and another reaps. And that He had sent His disciples to reap that for which they have not labored. That is, reaping where they did not do any sowing and gathering where they did not scatter seed. His disciples were sent to reap the harvest, even when they did not do any sowing of seeds. Thus in John 3:37-42, it was the Samaritan woman who did the sowing. She went into the city to tell people about Christ and they were coming to Him. Verse 39 tells us that many Samaritans in that city believed in Him because of the Samaritan woman. Hence the words, “reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed,” mean the act of benefiting or gaining from the labor of others.
3.5
So back to the Parable of the Talents. Thus the slave who was given one talent was accusing the master of benefiting from the labor of others. And in that parable that slave said he was afraid, so he went away and hid his master’s talent in the ground. But what this slave said did not make much sense, especially to the master himself. If he already knew that his master was a hard man and has no qualms about benefiting from the the labor of others, then he should have also known that his master would be adamant about seeing profits from his investment. Moreover, the slave was also implying to his master that he, the master was trying to benefit from his labor. It is obvious that the slave did not trust his master, had no fear of this master, and certainly did not appear to have any respect for him. To have the audacity to say to his master’s face that he was reaping where he did not sow and gathering where he scattered no seed” was really looking for trouble. Very likely that slave did not think that his master could have rewarded him much more than what his master could have benefited from his labor.
3.6
1 Cor 2:9 (NASB95) states:
(9) but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
4.0
ANALYSIS OF THE MEANING OF ‘BANK’S INTEREST’
4.1
Matt 25:26-27 (NASB95) states:
(26) “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. (27) Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
4.2
The master told his slave in Matt 25:27 that he ought to have put his money in the bank so that he would have received his money back with interest. many have wondered what the bank symbolized since this is a parable. But the focus here is not on the bank. The focus is on the bank’s interest. Clearly the master was well pleased with the performance of the first two slaves. But looking at the criticism of the third slave tells us that even a very small profit, as small as the bank’s interest, would have been acceptable to the master. This essentially tells us that the master is in fact very lenient and not at all demanding of his slaves. But zero return is not acceptable. The real Master (our Lord Jesus Christ) has indeed “gone on a journey” and left His “talent” with us – His word. He wants to see fruitfulness and spiritual growth in Him. All that He has taught us in His word, what have we done with it? Ignored it? Buried it in some corner of our minds? Failure to act on His word to us is unacceptable. That is equivalent to zero spiritual growth in Him. He is telling us that He is extremely lenient and that even a small amount of spiritual growth is still acceptable to Him. But zero growth is not acceptable. Zero growth means the branch is not bearing fruit at all. It means this branch is not connected to the Vine at all. This branch is outside of Christ and is no different from those who do not believe.
5.0
CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
5.1
The Christian can use his abilities and privileges to serve God in church or in the marketplace. This is good and he should serve as God directs him. But the Parable of the Talents is not referring to such individual abilities and privileges. The talent is referring to God’s word given to mankind. All mankind is subject to the Master (God) whether they like it or not. Those who understand God’s word, those who understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, will grow spiritually. Their talents will gain even more talents. Those who do not understand will do nothing with what they have been given. No return on investment, no spiritual growth. The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven still remains a mystery to them. They remain outside of the Vine, outside of Christ. And as such, they are no different from those who do not believe. This is the reason why this group of slaves (the one-talent slaves) are cast out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
5.2
The words, “reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed” is referring to the act of benefitting from the labor of others. Spiritual growth is no doubt laborious. Reading, hearing, understanding, analyzing, and remembering His word is certainly not a walk in the park. Consistently praying and conforming to the image of His Son requires effort. Dying to self requires discipline and dogged persistence. They are all laborious work. It can be said that God benefits and is well pleased when His elect conforms to the image of His Son. And what does God’s elect get out of all this laborious work? His reward far exceeds what they can possibly dream or imagine. It is written in Rev 22:12 (NASB95), “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
5.3
Finally, the words, “Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest” means that even a small return on the master’s investment is still acceptable. We all know that bank’s interest is usually only a very sad amount. But even a small amount of spiritual growth is acceptable to the Master. God is in fact very lenient and not at all demanding of us. But zero fruitfulness shows that that particular branch is not connected to the Vine. That branch will dry up and it will be thrown into the fire to be burned (John 15:6). The consequence of zero fruitfulness is very serious – outer darkness awaits.