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The History of the Ages – Lesson 123

It’s usually not my purpose to give an exhaustive presentation on any subject. It should be clear by now that Jesus uses most of the parables to warn against religion and religious thinking, either in the context of teaching the disciples and others, or confronting the religious elite. I’ve used a variety of parables in this series to illustrate this similarity, to the point I fear I would be simply repeating myself were I to continue. On that note, I have one more parable I would like to look at; important, I believe, because of its application to anyone who is serious about his or her pursuit of God.  

The parable of the minas is found only in Luke 19:11-28, though it is similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. To establish the context we need to go back to the previous chapter, where we see Jesus making His way towards Jerusalem for the last time (Luke 18:31). A huge crowd was following Him (18:36, 19:3), and anticipation was building that He would initiate His kingdom as soon as He reached the city (19:11, 37-38).

And, on His way as He comes into Jericho, we see the record of His encounter with Zacchaeus (19:1-10). The conversion of Zacchaeus is also important in establishing the context of this parable. The key to understanding the connection is found in verse 9, where Jesus says, “Today deliverance is come to this house.” The verb “is come” is in the aorist tense, used to indicate simple, undefined action with no reference to the time of the action. Based on what Zacchaeus says to Jesus about giving people back all the money he had cheated them out of (which Jesus recognized as a repudiation of the ways of the world and an acceptance of eternal, spiritual values) (verse 8), Jesus makes this simple statement of fact regarding Zacchaeus’ deliverance. Yet, we know deliverance is not based on a single act in the past, but on a present lifestyle of submission and obedience.   

Here I make another argument for the precision found in the Word of God and the way in which the Holy Spirit inspired the writers not only in their choice of words, but in the arrangement of their thoughts. When you follow the text Luke is describing events as Jesus makes His way towards Jerusalem. Jesus is fully aware of what the people are saying, what they are thinking and what they are anticipating as He nears Jerusalem. In addition to that, He has just spent a good portion of the day with the local tax collector in Jericho and had witnessed a wondrous transformation.  

Then, Luke immediately launches into the parable of the minas, deftly crafted by Jesus to deal with two separate issues. The first, though it becomes obvious the people weren’t listening, is that His kingdom would not be forth coming, but delayed. The second is that Zacchaeus, even though the Lord had pronounced his deliverance, now had a responsibility to serve his Master and grow in the spirituality he had now begun to demonstrate.

Let’s look at the parable and I’ll show you what I mean. This is Luke 19:11-28.  

1. “Now as they listened to what Jesus was saying, He told them this parable, because He was getting close to Jerusalem and everyone was thinking the kingdom of God would be brought forth immediately.  
2. Then He said, A certain nobleman went into a distant country, there, to obtain for himself a kingdom and then to return.
3. But before he went, he called ten of his servants and to each he gave one mina, then told them, buy, and sell with these till I come back.
4. But his citizens detested him, so they sent an embassy after him to say, We will not have this man to rule over us.
5. Now when he returned after having received the kingdom, he called the servants to whom he had given the money so he could find out how much each one had gained by buying and selling.
6. The first one came and said, Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.
7. And he said to that servant, Well done, you’re a good servant! Because you have been faithful in this little matter, you shall be given authority over ten cities.
8. The second one came and said, Lord, your mina has gained five more minas.
9. And he said to this servant, You would be in charge of five cities.
10. Then another came and said, Lord, here is that one mina, which I have kept hidden in this sweat cloth.
11. I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You pick up what you did not lay down; and you reap where you did not sow.
12. He said to that servant, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant. If you knew I was a harsh man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow;
13. Then why didn’t you at least put my money in the bank, so when I returned I could have it back with the interest?
14. And he said to those standing there, Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.
15. And they said to him, but Lord, he has ten minas already!
16. Then Jesus said, I’m telling you that to everyone who gains, more will be given; but from the one who does not gain, even what he has will be taken away.
17. But, as for my enemies who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence!
18. And after He had spoken these things, Jesus went ahead of them, on towards Jerusalem.”

  

Before we go any farther, it’s interesting to note that this parable mirrors actual events familiar to those living in and around Jericho. Archelaus (Matthew 2:22), the son of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1-19), went to Rome to ask that his father’s kingdom be restored to him, as it had been divided between Archelaus and his brother Herod Antipas. The kingdom was not restored to its original size until several years later, during the reign of Herod Agrippa II (Acts 25 and 26). Though there are obvious double meanings here (the spiritual ones, I’ll explain later), Jesus describes in the parable what actually took place. While Archelaus went to Rome, the citizens sent an embassy to Augustus Caesar promising open rebellion against Rome if Archelaus got what he wanted (verse 14). Rome, stretched to the limit of its ability to govern the lands it had previously conquered, began the process of replacing Archelaus, who did everything he could to exact revenge on the people who rejected him before he was eventually deposed (verse 27).

Now that we’ve established some context for this parable, in the next lesson we’ll look at the applications and explain the spiritual principles it holds.