This parable serves in Luke's narrative as a conclusion to the section on salvation's recipients (18:9-19:27). It provides something of a denouement(i.e., a final unravelling of the plot) following the excellent example of Zaccheus' faith and the summary statement describing Jesus' ministry. In this teaching to the people who were observing his meal with the tax collector, Jesus taught several important lessons. He repeated His coming rejection and future return, and He clarified the time when the kingdom would appear. He also explained the duty of His disciples during His absence from the earth. Both the nation of Israel and the disciples had duties to Jesus. This parable summarizes Jesus' teaching on this subject.
The parable also prepared the people for the postponement of the kingdom. Most of the people who believed on Him expected it to arrive when Jesus reached Jerusalem. This teaching should have dispelled those hopes.
This parable is similar to the parable of the talents that Jesus gave later in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 25:14-30). However that one lacks the emphasis on the rejection of Jesus that was appropriate for the mixed audience that Jesus addressed in Zaccheus' house (v. 27).
19:11 The connection between Jesus being almost at Jerusalem and the kingdom appearing immediately implies that the believers in the crowd expected Jesus to begin the kingdom when He arrived there. Jesus had just told Zaccheus that salvation had come to his house that day (v. 9), but salvation would not come to Israel for some time. Even though the Son of Man had come to seek and to save the lost (v. 10), the national deliverance of Israel would have to wait. What follows is another of the many passages in Luke that records Jesus' teaching about the future.
"In 19:11 the disciples are pictured as expecting something that should have been and could have been apart from the rejection of Jesus. But because of this rejection, the messianic kingdom for Israel does not come immediately, as the disciples mistakenly hoped. We see that in Luke-Acts the problem of eschatological delay is intertwined with the problem of Jewish rejection."429
19:12 The nobleman represents Jesus. The distant country to which he went stands for heaven, and the place to which he would return is the earth. Jesus went to heaven to receive the kingdom from His Father. The correctness of these identifications becomes clearer as the parable unfolds.
A situation similar to the one Jesus described had happened not long before Jesus gave this parable, and He may have had it in mind. Herod Archelaus, one of Herod the Great's sons, had visited Rome after his father's death in 4 B.C. to receive Caesar's confirmation to reign over a section of Palestine bestowed on him in his father's will.430
Jesus was announcing a postponement of the kingdom (cf. Acts 1:6-7). Some time would elapse between His ascension and His return. This scenario suggests that the messianic kingdom will not begin until Jesus returns to the earth to rule.
19:13 Before departing the king entrusted ten of his servants (Gr. doulous) with equal responsibility for advancing his interests while he was absent. A mina was a Greek coin worth 100 drachmas or slightly more than three months wages.431In the parable it probably represents the life potential that each servant of Jesus has to invest for His glory. Ten is apparently a round number representing all His servants. Jesus did not mean just the Twelve. He pictured His servants in the role of modern investors who were responsible to increase the amount of money He had entrusted to each during His absence.
In the parable of the talents, each servant received a different sum representing the different gifts and talents that each has compared with the others. In this parable each servant received the same sum representing the one life that each has to invest for the Master.
19:14 The citizens of Herod Archelaus' territory opposed his reign, though his credentials were impeccable. They persuaded Caesar Augustus to give him only half of his father's kingdom and to award him the title ethnarch rather than king.432Similarly the Jews, and particularly their leaders, resisted Jesus' rightful claim to be their King.
19:15 Jesus was speaking of His second coming here. He will return having received authority to reign on earth from His Father (cf. Dan. 7:13-14). After His return and before He begins to reign, He will call His servants to give an accounting of their stewardship. Later New Testament revelation indicates that Christians, believers who have lived between Pentecost and the Rapture, will have to give their accounting at the judgment seat of Christ following the Rapture (1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:1-10). Other believers, mainly those who have lived in Old Testament times and the Tribulation, will give their accounting at the judgment in view here that precedes the Millennium. The basis of the judgment is not their saved or lost condition but the profitability of their lives for the Master's benefit.
19:16-17 The first servant reported a 1,000% return on the master's investment. This report earned the master's praise and a great reward. The servant had faithfully fulfilled his responsibility. The master considered what the servant had received in trust as a very little thing. His reward consisted of authority over ten cities in the future and was great compared to what the servant had received to invest. In view of the time of this judgment the reward would apply to the messianic kingdom that would follow and probably eternity after that. Authority to rule groups of other people under the King's authority during the Millennium and throughout eternity was the reward. Throughout history kings have rewarded faithful servants by giving them positions of significant responsibility over others in their kingdoms (cf. Dan. 6:3). Modern government leaders typically do the same thing. The Master's decision reflects the principle that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much (16:10-12).
19:18-19 The second servant had also been faithful, but he had only earned a 500% return on the master's investment. He did not receive as much commendation as the first servant or as much reward, but his reward was also proportionate to his service. This shows that rewards will vary depending on a servant's effectiveness.
19:20-21 Another servant revealed that he had not earned anything with the master's deposit. Keeping money in a scarf (Gr. soudarion) was a common practice in Jesus' day, but it was unsafe and unproductive.433This person represents someone who does nothing of eternal value with his life. The servant explained that his fear of the master was responsible for his lack of fruit (cf. Matt. 25:25). It was appropriate for him to fear the master since He would eventually bring His servants to account, but the servant's action in view of his fear of the master was improper. He should have gotten busy and served the master since he feared him. His assessment of the master was correct, but it did not have the proper effect on him.
God seeks a disproportionately high return on His investments, so the servant's conservatism was sinful. He appears to have felt that he would receive no reward for his work for the master if he ever returned. He should have taken some risks. Faithful stewardship involves taking calculated risks.434
19:22-23 The master said he would judge the servant on the basis of his own words, namely that the master was an exacting man who demanded much from his servants (v. 21). Rather than commending him the master condemned this servant calling him worthless, that is, unproductive (cf. James 2:14, 16, 20, 26). He had produced nothing of value for the master. The master's character should have moved the servant to productive service rather than passive sloth. Even by depositing his investment in a bank the servant could have earned some interest for the master with little risk. Probably the bank in the parable represents a safe investment with comparatively little risk.
19:24 The bystanders in the parable represent those who assist Jesus in carrying out His will, perhaps angels or other human servants. The unfaithful servant lost even what the master had given him. If the mina each servant received represents his life potential, this servant would lose that. The master gave it instead to the most faithful servant. This seems to mean that God's faithful servants will receive additional opportunities to glorify Him in the next stage of their service as well as authority over others. The next stage of these servants' service will be millennial service in the kingdom. It will be that for Christians as well.
19:25-26 This arrangement appeared unjust to the bystanders. They probably thought the unfaithful servant's mina should have gone to a servant with a smaller reward. They were looking at what was best for the servants. However the master was operating on the principle that faithfulness with little indicates faithfulness in much. Therefore it was to His advantage to give the unfaithful servant's mina to the most faithful servant because he would make the best use of it. The master expressed this truth proverbially (v. 26; 13:12). He was looking at what was best for himself. Obviously what is best for God is more important than what is best for His servants. Still the master's action was also fair to his servants since the servant who glorified the master most received the greatest reward.
Zaccheus, who was listening to this parable, had just promised to give half of his possessions to the poor and to reimburse anyone he had defrauded four-fold (v. 8). Jesus' teaching here would have encouraged him to follow through on his commitment. He would have a great reward, much treasure in heaven, if he so served the Master faithfully.
19:27 The master now dealt with a different group of people. These were the enemies who opposed his rule over them (v. 14), not his servants. They suffered a fate that was typical for such rebels in the ancient world. They correspond to unbelievers in Jesus. They would not only lose a reward but their very lives. Physical death in the parable represents spiritual death in reality.435This judgment will come after Jesus returns and rewards believers at the Second Coming. He will then also slay His enemies (cf. John 5:32; Acts 17:31).
"In Acts 3:13-15 the people of Jerusalem are accused not only of killing Jesus but also of denying him. This repudiation is emphasized in the story of the throne claimant [vv. 14, 27], an addition to the parable of the pounds found only in Luke."436
The teaching of the parable is quite clear. Jesus was not going to begin His reign as Messiah immediately. He was going away and would return later to reign. During His absence His servants, believing disciples, need to invest what God has given them for His glory. He will reward them in proportion to what they have produced for Him. This parable teaches that everyone is accountable to God, and everyone will receive what they deserve from the King. It provided a warning for the unbelievers in Jesus' audience as well as believers in view of the postponement of the kingdom.
This parable clarifies that while salvation and entrance into the kingdom come by faith in Jesus, rewards for service rest on the believer's works. Both salvation and rewards come as a result of God's grace. Christians have consistently confused teaching about salvation and rewards. Salvation does not depend on working for God but resting in what Jesus Christ has done. Rewards do not depend on resting in what Jesus Christ has done but on working for God. It is a misunderstanding of Scriptural revelation to conclude that because God has saved us by His grace we need do nothing but lie back and wait for heaven. Such behavior constitutes irresponsible stewardship that Jesus Christ will punish by withholding a reward. In view of what lies ahead for us we need to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58).
"We are all accountable to God for how we conduct our journey through his world. One day he will render judgment. This concept is not popular in some circles today, but it is a biblical concept."437
The parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) teaches us that God gives everyone a different amount to invest for his glory. Some people have more intelligence or talent or money than others. The parable of the minas teaches that God gives all His servants the same opportunity to invest for His glory. Everyone has only one life. Both believers and unbelievers play a part in both parables. Both parables advocate belief in Jesus, faithfulness, and preparedness, and they both show that God will deal with all people justly, graciously, and generously.
Amillennial and postmillennial interpreters typically view this parable as prefiguring the fall of Jerusalem and its attending massacres.438Posttribulationists view it similarly to pretribulationists.
This parable ends the long part of Luke's Gospel that deals with Jesus' ministry as He travelled to Jerusalem from Galilee (9:51-19:27). Luke's narrative highlighted Jesus' lessons to the multitudes and the disciples in view of His impending passion. This parable also concludes the section dealing with the recipients of salvation stressing their responsibility (18:9-19:27).
