I have given this message the title: “The Parable of the Servants.” In all my favorite old Bibles (I don’t believe that I have ever thrown away one of my KJV Bibles) – In every single one of my Bibles, either at the top of the page or in the margin, the publisher has called this scripture “The Parable of the Talents.” And that was the title of our message last Sunday afternoon. But I have deliberately deviated from the normal, because I want you to think a little bit this morning. Who says that this is “the Parable of the Talents?” Did the Lord Jesus give that name to this scripture? Did Paul or Peter later refer to it and call it “The Parable of the Talents?” As I read and re-read this parable, I couldn’t detect the talents doing anything in particular. The talents didn’t take on life of their own and multiply or bury themselves. I didn’t read that the talents were eventually punished for their deeds or their misdeeds. They appear to me to be nothing more than props or tools in a greater story. And even though the Man who travels into a far country is a very important character, it is the servants who are the primary focus of the parable. So I’m calling this morning’s message “The Parable of the Servants.”
Before we get started, I want to assure you that I’m not trying to merely inform you about this parable. I’m far more interested in seeing you come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, than for you to go away saying, “Well, now I finally understand the Parable of the Talents.” I have a direction and a goal to which I want us to travel this morning. And if we can engage our hearts as well as our minds, we’ll all reach that destination together. I’d like us to be wiser, but also I’d like us to be stirred.
First, let’s notice the SCENE.
The Lord Jesus is teaching us once again about “the Kingdom of Heaven.” Since Matthew 4 He has given us MANY descriptions or definitions about “the Kingdom of Heaven.” As I have said many times, it is a huge subject with lots of different facets. And this time, it is dealing with judgment. “the Kingdom of Heaven” is the rule of God, and therefore it is a rule of justice and truth. The righteous will be blessed, and eventually the wicked will be punished. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So “the Kingdom of Heaven” apparently includes what takes place at the Great White Throne. When we study Revelation 20, where “the dead small and great stand before God,” before they are cast into “the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” – that is a part of “the Kingdom of Heaven.” But the context of this parable doesn’t suggest the final judgment, but a judgment of living Gentiles. We shall look at the last verses of this chapter this evening, but notice verse 32 – “And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another.” “the Kingdom of Heaven” includes the Lord’s Millennial rule on earth and beyond that into eternity. But it also includes what precedes that glorious Kingdom – the Tribulation and even today. We are living under the Lord’s rule today – we are in the Lord’s kingdom at this very moment, even though there are other aspects of the kingdom yet to come. “Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” But Jesus also said, “If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” – Matthew 12:28.
So included in this scene are the travels, the going and coming, of the Man to whom the servants belong. We’ll get to His identity in just a moment, but I hope that you already see Who He is and the Kingdom belongs to Him. Earlier we read from Luke 19 – the so-called “Parable of the Pounds.” Clearly, that was different parable, presented on a different occasion, but primary lesson was same. And we could say the same about the parable of the King who made a great feast, but nobody came. They all had lame excuses for coming to His marriage supper. And then finally He sent His servants into the highways and hedges to bring in the poor and lame. Whether we speak of a king, a nobleman, or a master, “the Kingdom of Heaven” hinges on Him. And Whoever He is, He has gone away – BUT – He is coming again.
So Who exactly is THE SOVEREIGN over this Kingdom?
There can be no doubt but that it is the Lord Jesus Christ. The clues are too numerous not to reach that conclusion. First, there is His presence, then His departure and His return. This doesn’t prove anything, but we see the similarity with the Lord Jesus. “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” – Acts 1:11. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, Which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” – Hebrews 9:24, 28.
Then also in this parable we see this Man, apparently going away – in order to receive a promotion. When He comes back He has the authority to reward his servants with rulership over various cities. In the parallel “Parable of the Pounds,” the Nobleman went away to receive a kingdom. I see no reason to say that the Man of this parable hasn’t gone away for the same reason. One of the things that will take place upon the return of the Lord Jesus is the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom. And included in this is that Jesus will return in power and great glory. Jesus told the Jewish High Priest after he had said, “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether THOU be the Christ, the Son of God.” “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man (ME) sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” – Matthew 26:63-64. By the way, the “Parable of the Pounds” indicates that the Messiah will to use force to bring the wicked into submission. The Bible teaches the pre-Millennial return of a militant Christ. Neither the church, human government, education, nor anything else will be able to bring about righteousness upon this earth.
And another indication that this Man is none other than Christ, is the judgment which He pronounces.. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I find it interesting to read on into the next paragraph in Matthew 25: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” – Matthew 25:31-34. And then there is verse 41 – “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
There is no doubt in my mind that the Sovereign of this parable is the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And that brings us to what might be the most controversial part of the parable – THE SERVANTS.
What makes a person a servant of God? I don’t mean, what are the characteristics of a servant of God? I mean, who are the servants of God, and how does one become a servant of the Lord?
It is the opinion of the average professing Christian today that a man is a servant of Jesus Christ by choice. Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that says, “All of God’s Army are Volunteers”? There is probably more heretical ink spilled on bumper stickers in a single day, than there is true ink printed on bumper stickers in a year. The fact of the matter is – There are no volunteers in the service of God in the true sense of “volunteer.” Each and every servant of the Lord is a draftee. Someone might argue by saying, “You are wrong preacher, because I volunteered.” No, what you actually did was to willingly report to the draft board after your number was called. (You people born before 1960 might understand that principle better than the rest.)
Listen to Psalm 100: and notice that it begins with a series of commands – “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” In Acts 17:30 where “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent” – it that tells me that Jehovah has authority over all those people everywhere. And Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 67:4; Psalm 68:32; Psalm 117:1; Zechariah 14:9; Romans 15:10 and a dozen other scriptures command all peoples and all nations to serve and praise the Lord. By what right can God order people to serve or praise Him? By sovereign right – that means the same thing as say that it is His right as a King.
The Bible teaches that Jehovah is God over ALL of His creation, not just those who choose to submit. You can search the Bible until the day of the Great White Throne Judgment looking for a verse which says that when man sinned he ceased to be a servant of the Creator. You will certainly find lots of examples where there is no service, or where sinful service, was rendered, but you will not find where God ever told anyone, “Oh, I see you’re a child of the Devil, so I give you permission to spit in my face and to sin against me.” Because of the faulty idea that we are only servants of Christ if we choose to be servants of Christ, there exists the idea that we are only responsible to Him, if we are Christians. Hog wash. “The times of this ignorance,” this foolishness, and this rebellion, “God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.”
When the Master of these servants went away, He left them all with various responsibilities. Those servants didn’t get to pick and choose their duties. They had no right to quarrel with the Boss and argue that they wanted more or less talents. They weren’t given a right to opt out of the program. It was as if the Man said, “You are my property, and you are involved whether you like the idea or not.” And like them we are all responsible to God; He has charged you – and me – with certain things, and that is all there is to it. You might say that you don’t want to repent and trust Christ. You can certainly bury the talent He has given you – but I wouldn’t recommend it. You might say that you don’t want to be a part of one of the Lord’s churches. You might say that you worked hard for your money and you refuse to tithe. You might say that God has given you the talent to sing, but you’re going to become a rock star. Then you may die in a fiery plane crash just like Baptist Buddy Holly. (Again, you might have to be born before 1960 to understand that.) You might say that as soon as you escape your mother’s house, you’re going to avoid the Father’s house as well. You might say that no one is going to talk you into baptism. You might say lots and lots of things. And you certainly have the ability to refuse to serve the Lord, but that refusal doesn’t mean that you were not born to be a servant of God. And it doesn’t mean that you will escape the judgment of God.
In this parable the Master had three servants. There was the five-talent servant, the two-talent servant and the one-talent fella. The five-talent man was no more a servant than the two or one-talent men. And the one-talent servant was no less responsible to serve his Master than the five-talent man.
Was the man who buried his master’s talent a Christian? Clearly and emphatically, he was not, and he never was. He certainly was not a Christian who volunteered to be a servant of Christ, but then sinned and the Lord was forced to reluctantly cast him into Hell. There is no such thing as the winning and losing of saving grace. There is no such thing as temporary or intermittent eternal life. There is no such thing as a coming and going of God’s salvation. Either that man was a Christian, and I don’t understand a word of verse 30, or that man was a servant but not a Christian. There is no doubt in my mind that he was a servant who was not a Christian.
That brings us to the matter of the SERVANT’S SERVICE.
As I said last week the word “talent” is not referring to an aptitude or ability. It’s not speaking of an innate ability for music or acting and story-telling. It was actually a measure of weight, and it became almost exclusively a unit of silver or gold. Things developed until it basically referred to a certain sum of money. And that is clearly seen in the way that it is used here. In the parallel “Parable of the Pounds” this is made even more plain. “And it came to pass, that when (the Master) was returned, having received the kingdom, Then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, That he might know how much every man had gained by trading.” In both parables there was some trading done.
Now, remember that this is a parable, and care has to be used in applying all the details. What this parable teaches is simply that we have a work to do for the Lord. It doesn’t matter whether you have been placed in a position of greater or lesser responsibility than someone else. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have been given more talents in the other sense of the word. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. What matters is that each and every person in this room has service to perform for the Lord. And it’s not a matter of whether or not you feel like it. God hasn’t issued a call for volunteers. Both you and I are under orders. Judas has been given talents just like Paul and Peter.
And this is where we come back to the theme of the kingdom. The servants who did as their Master commanded proved themselves to be good servants and good subjects. The servant who buried his talent, no matter what excuse he wanted to plead, was wicked and unprofitable. That wicked and slothful servant, could just as easily have said, “I will not have this man to rule over me.” One of the “Kingdom of Heaven” parables is about wheat and tares. The difference between wheat and tares is seen their fruit. The Book of James argues against the idea that there are carnal Christians, who are going to heaven, but who refuse to serve the Lord. He says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Do you ever wonder whether or not you are a true Christian? Ask yourself this question: “Do I really love the Lord, and do want to serve Him?” Forget about the question, “Do I want to go to Heaven when I die.” Every sane person wants to spend eternity in Heaven versus any other option. The real question is: “Am I serving God in the way that He would like?”
Because you need to also consider my last point – the SORROWFUL END of the unprofitable servant.
The Master of the servants, the One who is the Creator and God of the Universe said, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And in Luke 19, He said, “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” Those who are not servants of God, are rebels against God and servants of Satan. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
No man is justified by works. Titus says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” – Galatians 2:16.
One of the rudimentary doctrines of the Word of God is that: No sinner is delivered from the punishment for sin through any of his own labors. And that includes his use of the talents which the Lord has given to him. We are not saved from sin by generosity, magnanimity, solemnity or gravity. But God could very easily judge us all according to our works as proof of the condition of our souls. He could look at us and see lazy, slothful, wicked, self-seeking servants. He could conclude that we are not WILLING servants of Him, and therefore His enemies. He could tell just by looking that we really would like to say: “I will not have this man to rule over me.” Or He could see struggling, poorly trained, half-educated subjects and servants, striving to obey Him out of love and to glorify His Name, and He could conclude that we are people with regenerated hearts and the presence of the Holy Spirit. You and I don’t have the wisdom to make that determination, but the Lord certainly could. And the fact is – that appears to be part of the judgment at the Great White Throne in Revelation 20. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
If you are not a profitable servant of the Lord, then you are an unprofitable servant. If you are not a profitable servant of the Lord, then you prove yourself to be a rebel and an enemy. You are on the escalator to Hell, my friend. It’s time to jump off and run to the crucified Saviour. There is still time to repent of your sin and to present yourself to the King to receive His orders. I implore you to repent and to trust the LORD Jesus Christ this morning. The Master is coming back, and it could be this very afternoon.