For [it is] as [if] a man going away out of a country called his own bondmen and delivered to them his substance.
This is the second of two parables about the Lord's absence. A master leaves home and hands his property to his servants. Everything turns on what they do with goods that are not their own.
The traveller is Christ. The journey is His departure from earth, after His own people refused Him as their promised King.
Here our Lord is pictured as leaving this world and going to a far country. This is a remarkable way to present Him. In Matthew His home is thought of as on the earth, for He is the Messiah who came to His own. His own did not receive Him. As the rejected Messiah He leaves His home. He goes as the suffering but glorified Son of Man to the far country, which is clearly heaven. And while He is away there, He has servants. He has entrusted some of His goods to them, and with these they are to labour.
Why does the Lord tell two parables about the same absence?
In both parables the Lord is absent. In the first, the possibility of His return at any moment is in view. In the second, His long absence is regarded as possible. "For it will be like a man going on a journey" (v. 14). "Now after a long time the master of those servants came" (v. 19).
That delay is not an accident of the story. It is the test.
The question is the faithfulness of the servants when they are left, to all appearance, to themselves — and left for a long time. Their heart is put to the proof. Is it truly the Master's? Do they identify themselves with His interests when there is no sign of His return?... It is not simply the fact of being ready in grace. It is the activity which confidence in the Lord inspires — the activity of service in love, by people who have made the interests of Christ their own.
So what did the Master hand over?
The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.
The gift is not the same as natural ability, and it is given to be used.
It is plain that what the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind... They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." They are a gift from the Lord suited to the ability of each as the vessel... The reception of a gift was the ground for exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.
The master called his servants himself. No one else appointed them, and no one else can call them to account.
The Lord Himself called the servants and gave them the talents. Each servant is responsible to the Lord Himself for fulfilling his calling... It is a serious and solemn thing for anyone to interfere with Christ's claims on the service of His servant. To touch this is to set aside responsibility to Christ. It overthrows the basic principle of Christian ministry.
The Master measures each servant before He gives.
So we may distinguish between the gifts that may be given to us and the abilities we have. Always remember that the Lord adjusts the relation between the two. Our abilities cover our natural powers as well as our spiritual ones. If these are not very large, five talents, or even two, might be only a burden to us. If that is so, the Lord knows it and He gives us only one. Whether the gift given is large or small, the great thing is to use it with diligence.
The matching parable in Luke is not a repeat of this one.
Matthew presents the sovereignty and the wisdom of the giver, who varies His gifts according to the ability of His servants. In Luke it is more the responsibility of the servants, who each receive the same sum.
What separates the two who traded from the one who buried is not talent size but what they thought of their Master.
As He is sovereign, so confidence in Him is what separates the "good and faithful" servants from the wicked and slothful one... When we know Christ — and the unprofitable servant claimed to — such unbelief is deep wickedness. When confidence in Him is missing, everything goes wrong. It may show itself in being afraid to use what He had given for profit. Had he truly known the Lord, he would have served Him gladly.
- He goes. The rejected Messiah leaves earth for heaven, and His servants work through the long stretch of His absence.
- He gives. He hands over spiritual gifts, not money or natural talent. The goods stay His own.
- He measures. Five, two, one: He fits the amount to each servant's capacity, so a small gift is never an excuse.
- He owns. He alone called His servants and gave them their gifts. So He alone holds them to account.
- He returns. The long delay is the test, and confidence in the Master is what turns His goods into gain.
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to each according to his particular ability, and immediately went away out of the country.
A master leaves home and puts His property into the hands of His own servants — but not in equal shares. That uneven division, and the phrase "to each according to his ability", raise the questions commentators press: what does He hand out, who fixes the amount, and what does He expect from the servant who gets the least?
The journey to a far country stands for the Lord's own departure from earth. His absence shapes the work He leaves behind.
Here our Lord is pictured as leaving this world and going to a far country. In Matthew He is at home on the earth, because He is the Messiah who came to His own, even if His own did not receive Him. As the rejected Messiah He leaves His home and goes, the suffering but glorified Son of Man, to the far country, which is clearly heaven. And while He is gone there He has His servants to whom He has committed certain of His goods; and with these they are to work... It is trading, or going out to others. This is a characteristic of Christianity.
A talent was a sum of money, so the parable is often applied to wealth. Commentators reject that reading.
The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.
Nor are they simply the servant's own capacities polished up.
It is plain that the substance which the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind... These gifts differ from each man's natural ability, and are suited to it. They are not merely "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning", but a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each man as the vessel.
The verse holds two things together: what the Lord hands over, and what the man already is. Neither cancels the other.
Natural ability is recognised as given by God. In grace God gives spiritual gifts, but He does so "to each according to his ability" (Matthew 25:15). It is true, as one has said, that "no ability is in itself a gift; but the spiritual gift does not set aside natural ability". In giving Paul his gift, God recognised his natural ability, so that he can present doctrine in an orderly way. Peter was probably better fitted by natural ability to deal with everyday practice. So God gives him a gift that matches it, and his ministry is almost wholly practical.
The match between gift and man is no accident. It goes back to how the man was made.
The Lord knows what use He means to make of a man. He knows the kind of gift He means to put into the vessel. So He shapes the vessel and forms the man to match... If God designs a man to be a public speaker, He gives him lungs. He gives him a voice. He gives him a body suited to the work He designs him to do. The gift is from God; but there is always the most distinct reference to the ability of the man.
The Lord Himself calls, and the Lord Himself gives. No human authority stands between the servant and his Master.
If the Lord calls someone to service, He also gives according to the ability of each. The character of the gift put at our disposal is suited, in the Giver's wisdom, both to the object and the vessel. There is sovereignty, and all is wisely ordered. How could it be otherwise, seeing that it is the Lord who calls?... It is entirely a question between Christ and His own servants.
The uneven amounts fit each man, and the reward at the end does not follow the size of the trust.
The parable of the pounds speaks of the opportunity; the parable of the talents speaks of the ability. All have an opportunity, but all do not have equal ability. The master knew that, and shows it in the parable of the talents... No one was expected to do more than he could, but each was expected to do all he could. The one who had five and the one who had only two both did this, and both received equal praise from their lord.
That leaves the smallest trust under the same claim as the largest.
One may receive five talents, another two, a third only one. But the man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man entrusted with five.
- Departure. The far country is heaven. While the Lord is away, His goods are in His servants' hands to trade with.
- Deposit. The talents are gifts He gave on going away, not money and not merely polished natural capacity.
- Design. He forms the vessel before He fills it — natural ability is recognised, and the gift is fitted to it.
- Direct. The Lord alone calls and gives, so each servant answers to Christ Himself.
- Duty. Trusts differ, so no one is asked for more than he can do — but each is asked for all he can do, one talent included.
And he that had received the five talents went and trafficked with them, and made five other talents.
In the parable of the talents, the master goes away and the first servant acts at once, trading with his five talents until they are ten. What did the master hand over, and what made this man move so fast?
Commentators first rule out money, brains and health.
The Lord on His going away leaves talents with His own servants. Note that these are not natural gifts, however responsible we may be for using those. They are what Christ gave to His own servants when He went away. The Lord gave spiritual gifts on His departing. What were the talents given, and given to servants, for? To serve with.
Verse 15 adds that the master gave "to each according to his ability." Natural ability is the vessel; the talent is what the Master pours into it.
The talents are different from each man's own ability, which was natural, and they suit it. They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." Each is a gift from the Lord, fitted to the ability of the man as the vessel that holds it... The reception of a gift was the ground of exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.
Nobody stood over this servant. He traded while the Master was away, and that absence was the test.
The question is whether the servants stay faithful when they are left, to all appearance, to themselves — and left for a long time. This tests their heart, to see whether it is truly the Master's. Will they take up His interests as their own when there is no sign of His return?... The point is not simply being ready in grace. It is the activity that confidence in the Lord inspires: the activity of service, in love, by people who have made the interests of Christ their own.
What divides this man from the one who buried his talent is not skill but how each read his master's heart.
He did not know the blessedness of the grace that is in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. So I find that the responsibility of service rests on knowing the heart of Christ... He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them; if a cup of cold water, trade with it.
Because the talents came from His hand, no one else can claim authority over how they are used.
The Lord Himself called the servants, and gave them the talents, and the servant is responsible to the Lord Himself for the fulfilment of his calling. The use of a gift, inside the house of God or outside it, depends on Christ only, the true Head of the church. It does not depend on the will of a ruler, a priest, or the people. It is still subject to the directions of the word, and it must always be used in love and for blessing.
This servant did more than keep the money safe.
The deposit itself increases by wise use of it. The sphere of service grows larger as we serve, and the parable insists on this. The five talents grow to ten, the two to four. Capacity grows with experience too, as we know well. How little any of us are really limited to being ordinary in spiritual things! We imagine we are, and we suffer badly for the imagining.
The same principle reaches the servant whose share looks too small to bother with.
One may receive five talents, another two, a third only one. But the man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man who received five.
The five-talent man gains no advantage over the servant who started with two.
There was a difference in their gifts. But each showed the same devotedness in doubling what his master put in his care, and their reward was the same.
- Entrusted. The talents are not natural ability or money. They are gifts Christ handed to His servants when He went away, fitted to the ability each already had.
- Trusted. The servant traded because he trusted his master's heart. The one who buried his talent did not know the grace in that heart. Service flows from knowing Christ.
- Traded. The Master gave the talent to be used, and used while He is away. Then nothing but love for His interests keeps a servant working.
- Grew. Five became ten. Gift and capacity both grow in the using. No one need settle for being ordinary, and no one may look down on a single talent.
- Rewarded. Five doubled and two doubled receive the same welcome. The Master weighs faithfulness, not the size of the trust.
In like manner also he that [had received] the two, [he also] gained two others.
Verse 17 gives us the second servant, who doubles what his master gave him just as the first did. A master is away on a journey, his goods are in his servants' hands, and a reckoning is coming — so what makes a servant "good and faithful" when the amounts are so unequal?
What does the second servant have to trade with? Commentators tie the talents to what Christ handed His own when He left the world.
On His departure the Lord leaves talents with His own servants. Note that this is not natural gifts, however responsible we may be for the use of them; it is what Christ gave to His own servants when He went away. The Lord gave spiritual gifts when He departed. What were the talents given for, and given to servants for? To serve with... The gift is different from natural capacity, which the parable recognises here. The vessel was fitted and prepared, and the gift put into it.
Because the Master Himself handed out the goods, no one else stands between the servant and Him.
The Lord Himself called the servants and gave them the talents. Each servant answers to the Lord Himself for carrying out his calling. The use of a gift, inside or outside the house, is subject to the directions of the word, and it must always be in love and for blessing. But it does not depend in any way on the will of ruler, priest, or people. It depends on Christ only, the true Head of the church.
What set the servants who traded apart from the one who buried his talent? What they thought of their master's heart.
The third one comes: what marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character... He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and so were good and faithful servants... He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle; He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them; if a cup of cold water, trade with it.
The man with two talents hears at the reckoning exactly what the man with five hears.
Reward is not handed out according to the number of talents a man has, but according to his FAITHFULNESS. The man with one talent, who hid it in the earth, gets two adjectives: "WICKED AND SLOTHFUL." The man with five talents and the man with two talents were EQUALLY diligent in doubling their stock in trade. They get two adjectives: "GOOD AND FAITHFUL"... The reward for each "good and faithful" servant has exactly the same wording.
At the reckoning, the second servant stands no lower than the first.
The servant who had five talents has gained five. The one who has gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other. His lord receives him with the same approval into his joy. It would even be possible for the one with the smaller trust to win the higher approval. And it is something for the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve with the same cheerfulness in a humbler position as in a higher one.
A similar parable in Luke 19 works the other way round.
Here, though the gift is different, the reward is the same. In Luke, where the trust is the same, the reward is different, because there are different measures of gain (ch. 19:16-18)... The reward is an incentive, but it is not the motive of service: the motive the Lord rewards is love toward Himself.
Nothing in the parable locks a servant into the size of his first trust.
Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way toward two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in, and by hiding our talent in the earth lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more.
- Given — the talents are what Christ handed His servants when He went away, to serve with. They are not our natural ability.
- Trusted — the two who traded knew their Master's heart. The one who buried his talent misjudged Him and did nothing.
- Traded — five talents or a cup of cold water, the servant puts the trust to work while his Master is away.
- Rewarded — two doubled and five doubled draw the same words. Reward follows faithfulness, not the size of the gift.
- Growing — daily believing use of one talent carries a servant toward two. Only hiding it costs both the gift and the power to gain more.
But he that had received the one went and dug in the earth, and hid the money of his lord.
Two servants took what their master handed them and went straight to work. The third took a spade instead. His one act, burying money in a hole, shapes everything that follows.
Before asking why he hid it, ask what he hid. Commentators are clear that the talents are not literal money:
The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit that money carries responsibility, but that is not the point here.
Kelly adds that a gift is not the same as a man's natural ability:
He gave to each according to his own ability. The gifts are distinguished from each man's ability, which was natural, and are suited to it. They are not merely "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning," but a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each as the vessel. ... Receiving a gift was the ground for using it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.
Later in the parable the man calls his master hard. Commentators trace the buried talent back to that thought about the master:
What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well. When someone does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, that person always forms a completely false idea of Him. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always turns the true God into a picture from which the heart recoils. Knowledge of the rights of God, as well as of His love, is missing. If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people accepted His authority, they would act to match that idea. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.
It is tempting to read this man as a Christian who did too little. Commentators reject that reading:
The teaching usually drawn from his case is positively unscriptural. It is taught that he was a believer and servant of Christ who failed to use his talent. It is taught that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate. On this idea, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness and on the use he makes of what he received. ... There is no need to try to reconcile this with the gospel of grace, because the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.
One writer states the contrast, then weighs the excuse the man gave:
The contrast is not between true servants who are more or less faithful. It is between servants who were true, though their measure of ability differed, and the one who was no true servant at all. He claimed to know that his master was a hard man, taking more than his due, someone to be afraid of. His lord took him up on the ground of the knowledge he claimed to have, and showed that his plea only made his guilt worse. If his master had been a hard man, there was all the more reason to use the talent diligently.
Some older translations say he hid the money in "the earth" rather than in the ground. One writer draws a warning out of that word:
The man hid his talent in the earth instead of using it for his Master. For some people the "earth" may be a greater snare than the "world." A Christian man may have no appetite for the world's concert halls or theatres. Yet he may let his business affairs so absorb his heart and life that every moment goes to the things of earth. He can then find neither time nor interest for the things of the Lord.
That the smallest holding was the one buried is not an accident of the story:
It is worth noticing that the man who hides his lord's money in the ground is not the one who received five talents, or even the man who received two. And we understand well how natural this is — that the one with the smallest gift should be the one who makes no use of it. ... It is the little gift that tends to be despised as little, to the great harm of the people and the cause of Christ. In this way the mass of Christians almost drop out of responsibility and drop into inactivity. They hand their talent over to those they think better qualified than themselves. But those people cannot do the work now loaded onto them, so it stays undone. And this is the largest part of all the Church's work!
- Given. What the servant buried was not his own money. It was a gift from the Lord, fitted to the man who received it, and given to be used in dependence on the Giver.
- Distrusted. He picked up the spade because he did not know his master's heart. Unbelief drew a false picture of God, and his heart recoiled from it and disobeyed.
- Exposed. The line is not between strong and weak believers. It runs between true servants and one who was never a servant at all. Salvation rests on Christ's work, not on our trading returns.
- Buried in "the earth." Respectable absorption in business can hide a gift as effectively as open worldliness.
- Smallest, and so despised. The one-talent holders are the many. When they hand their share to the "better qualified," most of the work stays undone.
And after a long time the lord of those bondmen comes and reckons with them.
In this parable a master gives his property to his servants and goes away for a long time. This verse is the moment he returns and opens the books. Why the long wait? What gets counted? Who has to answer?
The long gap is not just background. It is what puts each servant's heart to the test.
In fact, all this would be like a man who goes to a distant country. He trusts his goods to his servants according to their ability. Then, after a long interval, he returns. So the question is whether the servants stay faithful while they are left, to outward appearance, to themselves, and for a long time. Their heart is put to the proof. Is it truly the Master's? Do they identify themselves with His interests when there is no sign of His return? Or do they forget Him, as Israel did at Sinai when they believed it was all over with Moses? But note this: it is not simply a matter of being ready in grace. It is the activity that confidence in the Lord inspires.
One writer notes both sides of that delay:
It shows that the Lord meant to keep the church waiting and expecting Him. Even so, there are clear signs that the Bridegroom's delay was intended.
The "goods" are not money, and not natural talent either. The Lord gives them, and He fits them to what each servant already is.
It is plain that the substance which the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind. For He delivered to each according to his respective ability. They are different from each servant's own ability, which was natural, and they suit it. They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." They are a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each servant as the vessel... The reception of a gift was the ground of exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.
The master calls in every one of those servants — a wider group than we might expect.
Every professing Christian takes the place of being a servant of Christ. The Lord will treat him as one in the day of reckoning. He is surely coming, even if it be "after a long time."
The reckoning decides reward and place, not whether a person is saved. One writer sets this scene beside 1 Corinthians 3.
The Lord's servants should keep their Lord's return before them. On that day He will look into all that they have done... This corresponds with 1 Corinthians 3. There we have some commended and rewarded, and others who have missed the reward; and a third class of servants who are destroyed because they are evil. Service does not affect the salvation of our souls, since that rests on the accomplished work of Christ. But it will greatly affect our reward at the Lord's return, and our place in His kingdom during His thousand-year reign.
What divides the servants is not the size of the trust. It is what they thought of the Master while He was away.
Here it is the Lord working through a variety of gifts. He is sovereign. So confidence in Him is what separates the "good and faithful" servants from the wicked and slothful one... Zeal that flowed from that confidence was followed by blessing and fruit... When confidence in Him is lacking, all is wrong. It may show itself in fear to use what He had given for profit. Had he truly known the Lord, he would have served Him gladly, especially as he had a gift of power.
A similar parable in Luke names the reward exactly. Matthew's account does not.
When the day of reckoning comes, in Luke we find a definite reward that matches the work. In Matthew the word is, "I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your lord." They are not told what they are to have, or how many things they are to rule over. The master is sovereign both in His gifts and His rewards. The crowning point of all is, "Enter into the joy of your lord."
The words from verse 21 quoted there follow an older translation.
- Trust given. The Lord hands out spiritual gifts. Each one matches the servant's own ability, and each servant uses his gift in dependence on the Giver.
- Trust tested. The "long time" is the test. Does the servant's heart stay with the Master's interests when there is no sign of His return?
- Trust owned. Everyone who takes the place of a servant of Christ will answer as one on the day of reckoning. No one opts out.
- Trust reviewed. This reviews service, not salvation. Reward and place in the kingdom are at stake. The soul itself rests on Christ's finished work.
- Trust rewarded. Confidence in the Master marks the good and faithful. Their reward is not measured out for them; it ends in entering His joy.
And he that had received the five talents came to [him] and brought five other talents, saying, [My] lord, thou deliveredst me five talents; behold, I have gained five other talents besides them.
The five-talent servant steps forward first when his master comes home. He speaks of what the master gave him before he speaks of what he gained. Two questions run through the scene. What has the Lord put into our hands? And what does He look for when He asks for an account?
So what are the talents? One writer draws a firm line between them and the property we already own.
You get more of the sovereignty of God here than in the parallel parable in Luke, where it is more the responsibility of man. Here the Lord gives to every man according to his ability: to one five talents, to another two. Everyone will be responsible for his wealth, but that is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money!
Commentators differ here. Others read the talents more widely, as anything a believer can use for Christ. They also point to the two words the master praises:
Here in our parable there are talents committed to each. Not merely the gift of an evangelist, pastor, or teacher, but anything, I take it, which we might use for Christ. Abilities, time, money, and so on. And, as many have noticed, the praise is not "good and successful," but "Well done, good and faithful servant."
The servant hands back ten after receiving five. That increase is no accident. It came from putting the gift to work, and the gain has an owner.
This parable teaches another great principle: the gift itself can grow and increase. The two traded with the talents and doubled them. Use any gift, no matter how small, and that gift will increase. There will be gain, and that gain must be gain first of all for the Lord Himself. It will be for Him, as these servants laid before Him what they had received and what they had gained.
The difference between this servant and the man who buried his talent is not talent size. It is what each one believed about the master.
Their lord was dealing in grace and wisdom. He says to both alike, "Enter into the joy of your lord." Then comes the third. What marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character... He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. So I find that responsibility in service rests on knowing the heart of Christ... He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle. He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them. If you have a cup of cold water, trade with that.
The servant comes forward because the master has come back. The long wait ends in a reckoning.
The Lord's servants should keep their Lord's return in view. On that day He will look into everything they have done. "After a long time the lord of those servants comes, and reckons with them" (verse 19)... Service does not affect the salvation of our souls, since that rests on the finished work of Christ. But it will greatly affect our reward at the Lord's return, and our place in His kingdom.
The man with two brings a smaller pile to the same master, and hears an identical sentence.
So we find that the parable of our Lord in Matthew 25:14-30 gives the reward in the same words to both servants. One put two talents to work and made two more. The other made five more from five. There was a difference in their gifts. But each showed the same devotedness in doubling what his master put in his care, and their reward was the same.
Rewards are real and specific. Yet one thing in the master's answer outshines them all.
There will be a full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility carried out, for service given, and for work done. Everyone will receive his reward. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your lord." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown ever set on the head.
- Given — The servant owns up first: the talents were never his. Christ handed them out when He went away, measured to each man's ability.
- Trusted — He traded because he knew his master's heart. The man who buried his talent misjudged that heart, and fear stopped his service.
- Doubled — Any gift grows when you use it, however small it is. The increase is gain for the Lord before it is gain for anyone else.
- Reckoned — He settles the account at His return. Salvation rests on Christ's finished work. Reward rests on what you did with what He gave.
- Welcomed — Five and two hear the same sentence, because the Master measures faithfulness, not the size of the return. And the best reward of all is entering His joy.
His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things enter into the joy of thy lord.
The master speaks to a servant who traded with the money left in his care. In one breath come three things: a verdict on the servant's character, a promotion, and an invitation.
The commendation names a quality, and it is worth noticing which quality it is not.
And here in our parable there are talents committed to each. Not merely the gift of an evangelist, pastor, or teacher; but anything, I take it, which we might employ for Christ. Abilities, time, money, and so on. And, as has often been noticed, the praise is not "good and successful," but "Well done, good and faithful servant."
That distinction turns the parable into a question each servant must ask himself. It also shows why some hold back.
Am I a faithful servant? Am I a wise steward? It is not a question of success. The Lord never asks me to be successful. The point is, am I wise, and am I faithful? To be truly successful I must be faithful and wise. Many servants have stopped short of the truth, because they were afraid it might spoil their success.
The man with two talents hears the same words as the man with five.
He does not speak a higher and better word of approval to the one who had the five talents and brought Him five other talents. Both hear the same word of approval. It is therefore not a question of how much we have received of the Lord, but how we use what He has given to us. Faithful service will bring approval, even in the smallest matter, and even if there is only one talent.
The wording shifts from the previous chapter, and the shift is deliberate.
In chapter 24 it was the "faithful and wise" servant, because, where it is a question of the household, wisdom is needed. But here it is "good and faithful servant." Both are called "faithful." Yet when a servant uses the gifts the Lord sends out into the world with the message of grace, the goodness of God is what stands out. What is the source of all grace in the servant of the Lord? It is the appreciation of God's goodness. This comes out by contrast in the case of the slothful servant.
Trading, then, begins in what the servant believes about his master.
This confidence in Christ is the source of all true service. It is a complete and blessed confidence in the grace of Christ, and in His heart toward us, who deserve nothing. He has trusted us, and the heart trusts Him, and the servant goes on to serve Him and trade with his talents.
The master counts what he handed over as small. What he gives in return is a place of rule.
It is true that the two who traded showed nothing more than faithfulness. Why hand goods to them, if not for them to increase them? But the Lord keeps account of it. What He had entrusted was only a little thing in His eyes. Yet they had known Him and had been faithful. There was one heart between Him and them. Now, at His return, they must enter into His joy: one heart in service, and one heart in joy. Also, "many things" were entrusted to them in His kingdom at the hour of His glory.
Reward for service must be kept separate from a place given purely by grace.
The results will have their answer in the kingdom. He that has been faithful in that which is little, will be entrusted with much there. We must distinguish between our place in the Father's house, which is all of grace, and the place we shall occupy in the kingdom.
The last words offer the servant more than any reward.
Amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God bestows, but the joy which God enjoys.
Compared with this, even the crowns lose their weight.
True, there will be the ten cities and the five cities. There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility met, service given, and work done. Every servant will receive his reward. But above and beyond it all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your master." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more than the brightest crown that could ever be placed on his head.
- Trust starts it. Service flows from confidence in the Master's grace. The goodness a servant shows is the goodness he first saw in Him.
- Faithfulness, not figures. The praise is "good and faithful," never "good and successful." A talent may be any ability, time, or money used for Christ.
- Equal words, unequal gifts. Two talents earn the same praise as five. The question is never how much He gave, but how the servant used it.
- Little now, much then. What He entrusted was small in His eyes. Faithfulness with it leads to rule in the kingdom — a place distinct from the place grace gives in the Father's house.
- Joy crowns it. Beyond every reward stands the invitation into His own joy. One smile from Him outweighs the brightest crown.
And he also that had received the two talents came to [him] and said, [My] lord, thou deliveredst me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents besides them.
The second servant steps forward with a smaller trust than the first, and hands back double what his master gave him. His report raises the question the parable turns on. When the Master settles accounts, does a smaller trust earn a smaller welcome?
The talents are not a general word for natural gifts. Commentators tie them to what Christ handed to His own when He left the earth.
We must be careful here. The talents — the five and the two — are not things like property, or mental powers such as a good memory, a sharp mind, or a strong body. That all these are blessings and gifts of God none would doubt. The talents are His goods, delivered into the hands of the servants when He went away. Still, God does take natural ability into account when He hands out the gifts. He gives each servant a gift matched to his own ability. His own divine wisdom shows in the giving of these talents. No true servant of Christ goes without a gift.
The two did not stay two. Trading enlarges the trust itself, and a small trust used well grows.
The deposit itself grows when we use it wisely. The area of service grows larger as we serve, and this point is worth insisting on. The five talents grow to ten, the two to four. Capacity must also grow with experience, as we know so well. In spiritual things, hardly any of us are shut up to mediocrity, though we are prone to imagine we are — and we suffer badly from that imagination too.
The reward turns on something other than the size of the sum.
It becomes clear that it is not the amount entrusted to us that secures the reward, but the faithfulness shown with it. The servant who had five talents has gained five more. But the one who gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other. His lord welcomes him with the same approval into his own joy. The one with the smaller trust could even win the higher approval. It means something to the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve as gladly in a humble place as in a high one.
The size of the trust and the use of it come from two different sources.
Rewards are not measured out according to gift, but on the ground of devotedness. So the one whose two talents earned two more receives the same reward as the one whose five talents earned five more. Each received a different amount, but each showed equal diligence: each doubled the trust his master gave him. The amount given to each depends on the sovereignty of the Giver; devotedness is the exercise of the recipient.
The servant says his master delivered the talents to him; he never claimed them as his own. What moved him to trade was what he thought of his master.
When He comes back, He reckons with them. The one who had received five talents made five more; the one who had received two had also gained two. But their lord was dealing in grace and wisdom. He says to both alike, "Enter into the joy of your master." Then comes the third servant. What marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character. He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle; He trusts His servant and expects him to act.
The welcome is not a payment matched to output. The Master invites him inside something of His own.
"Enter into the joy of your master." How amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God gives, but the joy which God enjoys.
Another writer weighs this welcome against every other reward.
There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility carried out, service given, and work done. Everyone will receive a reward. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your master." No reward can possibly come up to this. One smile from Him will touch the heart more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown anyone could place on the head.
- Given — the two talents are His goods, handed out when He went away and matched to each servant's ability. No true servant goes without a gift.
- Traded — the trust grows by use. Two became four, and capacity grows with experience, so hardly any of us are shut up to mediocrity.
- Trusted — the servant traded because he trusted his master's heart. The third servant lacked that trust in his master's character.
- Weighed — the amount given rests on the Giver's sovereignty. The devotedness is the servant's own, and that is what the Lord weighs.
- Welcomed — the man with two hears the same word as the man with five. He enters not just the joy God gives, but the joy God Himself enjoys.
His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
The master says the same words to the servant with two talents as he said to the servant with five. So what is he rewarding? Why is the reward the same when the trust was smaller? And what does it mean to enter a master's own joy?
The outcome itself shows what the Master was watching for.
The outcome makes something else clear. The reward does not rest on the amount entrusted to us, but on the faithfulness we show with it. The servant who had five talents has gained five talents. The one who gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other did. His lord receives him with the same approval into his own joy. The one with the smaller trust could even win the higher approval. And it means much to the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve with the same cheerfulness in a humble place as in a high one.
This matters most to the servant who has the least to work with.
He does not speak a higher and better word of approval to the one who had the five talents and brought Him five more. Both hear the same word of approval. So it is not a question of how much we have received from the Lord, but of how we use what He has given us. Faithful service, even in the smallest matter, even if it is only one talent, will bring approval.
The praise here differs from the praise given in the previous chapter.
In chapter 24 it was the "faithful and wise" servant, because the care of the household calls for wisdom. But here it is "good and faithful servant." Both are called "faithful." Yet these gifts are the ones the Lord sends out into the world with the message of grace, and the goodness of God is what marks their use. What is the source of all grace in the servant of the Lord? It is the appreciation of God's goodness. This comes out by contrast in the case of the lazy servant... he did not believe in the goodness of the Lord: he had no confidence in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
The verse holds out rule and joy, and these are not the same gift twice.
The points marked as the result of the Lord's return are two. First, there is a large reward given in government — ruler over many things. Second, there is real personal association with Christ in blessing. He does not bless us as subjects He rules over. The word is, "Enter into the joy of your Lord."
The last clause of the verse promises more than a gift from the Master. (The writers quote an older translation, which reads "the joy of your Lord" where the ESV has "the joy of your master.")
"Enter into the joy of your Lord." Amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God gives, but the joy which God enjoys.
Other rewards are real too, but one of them stands above the rest.
There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility discharged, service rendered, and work done. All will be rewarded. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your Lord." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown ever placed on the head.
Reward is real, yet the servant never produced the fruit himself.
How gracious of Him to reward anyone! Whatever fruit we have borne, whatever good we have done, has really been the action of His own indwelling Spirit. As Augustine said, "God crowns not our merits, but His own gifts. Because He makes them ours, He rewards them, just as if they were our own virtues."
So reward is real. But is reward what drives the service?
The reward is an incentive, but it is not the motive of service: the motive the Lord rewards is love toward Himself.
- Trusted — the servant received two talents, not five. The Master chooses the size of the trust.
- Good — this praise grows out of confidence in the Master's goodness. The lazy servant had none.
- Faithful — the Lord weighs faithfulness, not the amount gained. So the smallest trust can win the fullest approval.
- Rewarded — the Lord promises two things — rule over much, and personal association with Himself. The crown He gives is His own gift crowned.
- Joy — the servant does not just receive joy from his Lord. He enters the joy his Lord has. Love serves for this, not for the reward.
And he also that had received the one talent coming to [him] said, [My] lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hadst not sowed, and gathering from where thou hadst not scattered,
The third servant comes back with nothing gained. He has a speech ready: his master is a hard man who reaps what he never sowed. That one sentence turns the whole parable. It explains why he did nothing, and his master then judges him by it.
The servant pictures a master who only takes. One writer traces that picture back to how people think of God before they know Him.
People see God as someone who claims, receives and demands, like the servant in the gospels who said, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed." Blind by nature, we think of Him as always looking to gather something. I know I did before I was converted. I remember it well. I thought the eye of God was on me, and that I could not give Him what He wanted.
The servant opens with a claim to knowledge. But the description he gives is the proof that he never knew the one he served.
Is the Lord a harsh Man, a hard Master, reaping where He has never sown, and demanding where He has never given? Who among us who know Him would describe Him that way? No, we have other things to say about Him. We have proved Him to be the exact opposite... Our service has been poor and faulty. Often we have thought more about ourselves in it than about the Master we serve. But this has not changed Him. His tender pity has not failed. Our very blunders have become occasions to display a grace that is as constant as it is free.
The first two servants traded because they trusted the man who trusted them. The third lacked exactly what they had.
What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And note this well. When someone does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, that person always has a completely false idea of Him. The heart always gives itself away by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief turns the true God into a picture the heart shrinks back from... If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people recognised His authority, they would act on it. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.
The master does not argue about His character. He simply takes the servant's own statement and shows where it should have led.
The man who had received the one talent hid it in the ground instead of using it for his master's benefit. He did this because he had no real knowledge of his lord. He claimed to know that his master was a hard man, demanding more than he was owed, someone to fear. His lord answered him on the basis of the knowledge he claimed to have. He showed that this excuse only made his guilt worse. If his master had been a hard man, that was all the more reason to work hard with the talent given to him.
The master's actions at the reckoning answer the charge.
Observe that the servant had gained these ten talents for his Lord, yet the Lord had allowed him to keep them... How contrary was this to the wicked servant's claim that his Lord was "a hard man!"
Many read this servant as a believer who failed and lost everything. Commentators here disagree. His speech marks him out as never having been a true servant at all.
There is no need of attempting to reconcile it, for the one who had received the one talent and who hid it does not represent a true believer at all.
Even so, the accusation is held up as a mirror. The attitude behind it can appear in a believer's service in milder dress.
This man is nothing but an accuser of his Lord. Yet the Lord would have us judge by him the legalistic spirit that can appear even in a believer. That spirit leaves a person unable to use openly and fully whatever he has, in the service of the One who gave it. If we hate the terrible blasphemy this man speaks, let us also hate the unfaithful and cowardly refusal of our responsibilities... "Faith works through love", and love is the free spirit of service.
- Know — his ruin starts in his idea of his master. A false picture of God always gives the heart away.
- Fear — that picture bred fear, and fear buried the gift. Hearts that do not know His love despise His authority.
- Nothing — he did not waste the talent, he preserved it, and still stood before his lord empty-handed.
- Judged — the excuse convicted him: if the master really were hard, that was all the more reason to trade.
- Serve — love is the free spirit of service, so the cure for buried gifts is not more fear but a truer knowledge of Christ.
and being afraid I went away and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast that which is thine.
The servant with one talent hands back what his master gave him and offers fear as his reason. His words say more about himself than about his master.
All three servants received something from the same master. What set this one apart was not his ability but his lack of trust.
When Christ went away, He called His own servants and gave them according to their ability. When He comes back, He reckons with them... Then comes the third: what marked him was a lack of trust in the character of his master. It was not a question of not having oil in his lamp, but he says, "I knew you that you are a hard man"... He did not know the blessedness of the grace that is in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ. They trusted His heart, and so they were good and faithful servants. So I find that the responsibility of service rests on knowing the heart of Christ.
The fear had a source. It grew from the picture of his master that he carried inside. Where Christ is not known, that picture is always wrong.
What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well: when a person does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, his idea of God is always entirely false. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always paints the true God as a picture the heart shrinks from... If God were what unbelief imagines, and a person accepted His authority, he would act on it. But when His love is unknown, people despise His authority.
The charge he lays against his master turns out to be a description of himself.
In either case the third servant wronged the Lord. He judged Him by his own hard and wicked heart. He did not believe in His grace, and so he did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Selfish fear like his shuts out love... A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to accuse the Lord of what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.
He returns the talent untouched and expects that to close the account. His own reasoning works against him.
The servant who had received the one talent comes last to give account. He excuses himself from any responsibility. He claims to know that the Lord was hard and demanding. On that ground he says he was afraid, and so he hid the talent in the earth. He only claims to be a Christian. Though he is responsible to act for the Lord, he does nothing, because he is afraid of people. The Lord's answer is solemn and to the point, calling the man a wicked and slothful servant. If he believed the Lord was hard, why did he not at least invest the money to earn interest? His excuse contradicted itself. Who indeed will have any valid excuse for treating the Lord's goods with indifference?
This is not a believer who slipped. A person can hold a gift from the Lord and still not know Him. This man's own words are the proof.
This comes out by contrast in the case of the slothful servant. An unconverted man might have a gift from the Lord. The slothful servant clearly never knew God. The proof is that he did not believe in the goodness of the Lord. He had no confidence in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. In this the evil servant showed what he was.
Having only one gift may look like a reason to bury it. But one-talent servants are the many, not the few.
There is a special use for the man with one talent. If he uses his talent well, he is the backbone of all effort. Men with one talent number in the tens of thousands. Solomon would never have built the temple at Jerusalem without 70,000 men who carried loads and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains. (See 1 Kings 5:15.) You can count the men with five talents on the fingers of one hand. The men with two talents are not a large group.
- Fear — His problem was not a small gift but a lack of trust. Service flows from knowing the heart of Christ. Where that knowledge is missing, nothing gets done.
- Falsehood — His fear grew from a false idea of the Master. Unbelief always paints God in colours the heart shrinks from.
- Projection — He charged his Lord with a hardness that was his own. A guilty conscience misrepresents the One who is full of grace and truth.
- Excuse — His defence contradicts itself. If the Master were so demanding, he should at least have banked the money to earn interest.
- Trust — A gift is not the same as knowing grace. The servant who knows his Master's goodness trades with what he has. Small gifts are the backbone of the work.
And his lord answering said to him, Wicked and slothful bondman, thou knewest that I reap where I had not sowed, and gather from where I had not scattered;
The master answers the servant with two words: wicked and slothful. Why call laziness wickedness, and why does the master repeat the servant's own words instead of denying them?
Each half of the charge points somewhere different: one at the heart, one at the hands.
Let us focus on the man who had one talent given to him. He hid his lord's money in the earth and did nothing with it. The way his lord addresses him matters. The accusing finger points to the exact spot with two adjectives: "You wicked and slothful servant." He was wicked — his heart was away from his lord, and he misrepresented his character. He was slothful — he was lazy.
The idleness came from something deeper: what this servant believed about his Master.
What the third servant lacked was true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well: without true knowledge of God as Christ reveals Him, a person always has a completely false idea of Him. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always makes of the true God a picture the heart shrinks from. Knowledge of God's rights and of His love is missing. If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people acknowledged His authority, they would act on it. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.
The master does not argue with the servant's description of him. He holds him to it instead.
The third servant wronged the Lord. He judged Him by his own hard and wicked heart. He did not believe in His grace, and so did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Selfish fear like his shuts out love... By his own account he was without excuse in hiding the talent in the earth... To give way to fear was to distrust his Lord, and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to charge the Lord with words that deny and misrepresent Him completely. He is full of grace and truth.
Some read the sentence that follows — outer darkness — as a threat hanging over failing Christians. Commentators here reject that reading.
Many teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent, and that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate... According to this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness and on the use he makes of what he has received... How can we reconcile the teaching of the gospel of grace with the case of the unprofitable servant in this parable? There is no need to try. The one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.
That does not put believers beyond the reach of this picture. The same spirit can still leave a real Christian unable to serve.
The man before us is simply an accuser of his Lord. But in this way He teaches us to judge the legal spirit. Even in a believer, that spirit leaves someone unable to use freely and fully whatever he has in the service of the One who gave it. If we hate the terrible blasphemy this man speaks, let us also hate the unfaithful and cowardly refusal of our responsibilities. Such a refusal means holding treacherous thoughts like his, however well disguised.
Nothing was stolen or wasted here. That is precisely what makes the verdict so searching.
What did the wicked and slothful servants do in these cases? They did not waste what they had received. They kept it most carefully and returned it to the owner. Is that such a great fault? Surely it was no more than a little blameworthy carelessness? But what does the Lord say? "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." How solemn this is.
The size of the trust was never the problem. The words the master chooses show it.
Reward is not given according to the number of talents a man has, but according to his FAITHFULNESS... Two adjectives describe the man with one talent, who hid it in the earth: "wicked and slothful." The man with five talents and the man with two were EQUALLY diligent in doubling their stock, and two adjectives describe them: "good and faithful." What a contrast! No doubt if the man with the one talent had been diligent, he would have received the same description. Each "good and faithful" servant receives the reward in exactly the same words.
- Wicked first. His heart was away from his master, and he misrepresented his character. The laziness followed from that, not the other way round.
- A God unknown. Unbelief paints a picture of God the heart runs from. Where His love is unknown, His authority is despised.
- Self-condemned. The master does not defend Himself. He holds the man to his own words, and by that account the buried talent had no excuse.
- Not a believer, still a warning. Commentators hold that this servant never stood for a true Christian. Yet the same legal spirit can leave a real believer unable to use what he was given.
- Faithful, not big. Reward follows faithfulness, not the number of talents. One talent used with equal diligence would have earned the same words: "good and faithful."
thou oughtest then to have put my money to the money-changers, and when I came I should have got what is mine with interest.
The master does not argue with the third servant's excuse. He takes the man at his word: if the lord really was hard, the money should at least have gone to a banker and come back with interest.
The word behind "bankers" describes an ordinary trade of the time.
A public banker who pays interest on money deposited and lends it out again at a profit. Matt. 25:27. A related word is translated "bank" in Luke 19:23.
The older translations say "usury" here, which today suggests unfair rates. That is not the sense.
This word does not in Scripture mean, as it does now, excessive interest, but simply interest of any kind... The only mention of usury in the New Testament is in the parables of the Talents and the Pounds. There the master blamed the servant for not putting the gifts to use, so that he might have received his own back with interest, or increase.
The master points to the least the servant could have done.
The Lord's answer is solemn and to the point, calling the man a wicked and slothful servant. If he really believed the Lord was hard, why did he not at least invest the money where it would earn interest? His excuse was completely inconsistent. Who indeed will have any valid excuse for treating the Lord's goods with indifference?
Nothing more is needed for the sentence that follows.
Accordingly the judgment here is absolute condemnation. He is condemned out of his own mouth, for if his master were what he thought him, he should have given his money to the bankers, so that he might have received his own with interest.
The servant's problem was never his small share. It was what he thought of the one who gave it.
On his own showing he was inexcusable in hiding the talent in the earth. "You wicked and slothful servant! ... Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest." To yield to fear was to distrust his Lord; and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to charge the Lord with what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.
His words told the truth about himself, not about his master.
But out of the man's own mouth he shall be judged. "I feared you," he said, "because you are a hard man." He clearly did not know his Lord at all. Would anyone who knows Him speak of Him like that? Those who know Him regret their unfaithfulness, yet they testify to His patience, His tenderness of heart, and His readiness to forgive. It is this knowledge of Him that moves them to faithful service. The man was a servant in name and by profession only.
The "money" here is not literal wealth. It is what Christ gave out before He left.
The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully accept the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.
So how does such a gift differ from natural ability, and what does it commit us to?
Notice the difference between the spiritual gift and the person's natural ability. We need to see it, because in English we have taken the word "talent" from the one and applied it to the other. But no amount of developing natural ability can turn it into a gift from Christ. Being given the gift makes me responsible to Him for using it, without waiting for human permission or anything else. One day the Lord will settle accounts with His servants. That is where we find the spring and power for using the gift: simple confidence in the Lord who gave it.
These words fix the time of reckoning. The parable then sets the two outcomes side by side.
How striking the contrast between the two servants! One knows, and loves, and trusts, and serves his lord. The other misrepresents him, fears, distrusts, and does nothing. The one enters into the joy of his lord, the other is cast out into outer darkness... And when does all this come out? When the Master returns!
And the servant with only one talent?
Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in, and by hiding our talent in the earth lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more.
- Trust — service springs from confidence in the Lord who gave the gift. Fear of Him as a hard master is unbelief in His goodness, and it leaves the servant doing nothing.
- Trade — a gift received is a commission to use it, without waiting for anyone's permission.
- Interest — "usury" here just means increase. The bankers were the easy option, so refusing even that leaves the servant no defence.
- Reckoning — the servant's own words condemn him. His master judges him by the picture he himself painted.
- Return — it all comes out when the Master returns. Until then, every believing use of one talent carries it towards two.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has the ten talents
The master's last word about the one-talent servant hands the trust to another: the man who already holds ten. So what is taken away here, and why does the Lord give more to the servant who needs it least?
The English word has drifted, so it helps to hear what the Lord was handing out. One writer separates the trust in this parable from personal wealth.
Every one will be responsible for his wealth, but this is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility of wealth, but it is not the point here.
A talent is also not the same as natural ability. Another writer blames our English word for the mix-up.
Notice the difference between the spiritual gift and the natural ability of the person who holds it. The difference matters all the more because we in English have taken the word "talent" from the one and applied it to the other... But no amount of training natural ability could ever turn it into a gift from Christ.
The servant lost his talent because of how he saw his master, not because he lacked ability. He accused the Lord out of his own bad conscience.
He did not believe in His grace, and so did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Such selfish fear as his shuts love out... To give in to fear was to distrust his Lord; and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to accuse the Lord of what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.
The servant had called his master hard. The Lord's order answers that charge: the servant who traded well keeps all ten talents.
The talent is taken from him and given to the servant who had ten talents. Notice that this servant had gained those ten talents for his Lord. Yet the Lord had allowed him to keep them; for it says he has ten talents. How contrary this was to the wicked servant's claim that his Lord was "a hard man"!
The rule behind the transfer is not favouritism. A gift in use grows. A gift buried is lost, and the power to gain more goes with it.
Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in. If we hide our talent in the earth, we lose both what we have and the power to gain more. For the rule is, "to everyone who has" — in the way of increase — "will more be given; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
Commentators differ here. One writer warns against reading this man as a true believer who lost salvation by being lazy. That reading moves salvation off the cross.
People teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent. They teach that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate... According to this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the faithfulness of the believer and on the use he makes of what he received... There is no need to try to reconcile the gospel of grace with this servant's case, because the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.
Another writer places the man among the Lord's servants and calls his talent light given to him.
Where the Lord speaks of the talents, the one who had one talent is a servant of the Lord Jesus. Yet it is taken from him and given to the one who had ten. The talent he had was the light he had; men are responsible for the light they have.
- Trust given. A talent is a gift Christ handed out when He went away — not money, and not natural ability.
- Trust refused. The one-talent man failed in trust, not in skill. Fear of a "hard man" is unbelief in His goodness, and that is fatal.
- Trust traded. Every believing use of even one talent moves us toward two; bury it, and we lose both the gift and the power to gain more.
- Trust transferred. The talent goes to the servant who still holds the ten he earned. The Lord lets His servants keep what they gain for Him.
- Trust examined. Commentators differ over this servant. One says he was never a true believer. Another calls him a servant answerable for the light he was given.
for to every one that has shall be given, and he shall be in abundance; but from him that has not, that even which he has shall be taken from him.
The Lord gives this rule as He takes the one talent from the servant who buried it. At first it sounds unfair, so two questions matter: what is the "having" that draws more, and who is the man left with nothing?
One writer says plainly what these talents are — and what they are not.
This parable (Matt. 25:14-30) is about the servant. You get more of the sovereignty of God here. In the parallel parable in Luke, it is more the responsibility of man. Here the Lord gives to every man according to his own ability: to one five talents, to another two, and so on. Everyone will be responsible for his wealth, but that is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money!
Luke tells a similar parable, and one writer marks the difference.
The man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man with five. See also Luke 19:12-27. In Matthew the talents mean ability given, and that differs with each person. In Luke the pounds mean opportunities, and all have those alike in their measure.
"Everyone who has" does not mean the man who started rich. It means the man who is already gaining.
Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut inside the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in; and by hiding our talent in the earth, lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more. For the rule is, "to everyone who has" — in the way of increase — "will more be given… But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
This rule also shapes how truth spreads through service.
What one measures out to others will be more than repaid. This is as true of ministry of the Word as of practical conduct. Heaven's law is scattering for increase. You do not lose what you give to others; you gain the more. Every bit of truth gained leads on to fresh truth. Every sphere of usefulness found prepares for more.
One writer names what stops people short.
Nothing is more dangerous, in the things of God, than to stop short in the path of learning His ways. What stops souls is the sense that the truth is too practical, and they fear the consequences. The truth of God is not something to know only, but to live. So the soul shrinks back, because of the serious results it brings right now.
For a believer, the loss is real but limited.
If you are not making progress, you are going backward. If you are not entering into what God has given you in His word, you are losing what you already have… Thanks be to the grace of God, the loss is not absolute and final. But we are stripped of the enjoyment of what is ours.
The servant's own words about his master give him away.
Could the Lord ever send someone He had redeemed by His blood into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? Out of the man's own mouth he is judged. "I feared you," he said, "because you are a hard man." He clearly did not know his Lord at all. Would anyone who knows Him speak like that? Those who know Him grieve over their unfaithfulness. Yet they testify to His patience, His tender heart and His readiness to forgive. Knowing Him like this is what drives them to faithful service. The man was a servant in name and profession only.
Many read this servant as a believer who failed. One writer shows what that reading would cost.
It is taught that he, as a believer and servant of Christ, did not use his talent, and that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate. On that view, final salvation depends not on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, but on the faithfulness of the believer. There is no need to reconcile that with the gospel of grace, for the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.
Luke's parable ends differently for its failing servant.
The similar parable in Luke 19 separates the servants by their degrees of zeal and faithfulness, and rewards them accordingly. The servant with one pound suffers loss, but he is not thrown into outer darkness. It is worth noting that in both cases the failure is with the man entrusted with the least. If we search our own hearts, we shall find that when we are only capable of small things our tendency is to do nothing.
- Entrusted — the talents are gifts Christ gave when He left. They are not money, and each servant received them according to his ability.
- Traded — "having" means gaining. Every believing use of even one talent carries you toward two.
- Multiplied — heaven's law is scattering for increase. Truth given away comes back larger, and each place of usefulness prepares you for the next.
- Stalled — no one stands still. When truth feels too practical and a believer backs away, he loses the enjoyment of what he has, not the grace that holds him.
- Exposed — the man who calls his master hard shows he never knew Him, and forfeits the one thing he was given.
And cast out the useless bondman into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
The last words of the parable of the talents are not a warning about losing a reward. They are a sentence of banishment. The master calls the man worthless and throws him outside. That raises the sharpest question in the passage. Who is this servant? How does a man who stood among the Lord's servants end up in the dark?
This sentence closes a block of parables aimed at one group of hearers. Kelly marks where that block begins, and says it speaks to those who bear the Christian name:
From verse 45 to Matthew 25:30, we come to the parables that apply only to Christendom, and not to the Jewish remnant... So here we get a very clear picture of profession, true and false. Wherever we touch what is truly Christian, God deals with the heart and the conscience.
Much depends on whether this man pictures a real believer who failed. Gaebelein rejects that reading outright, and shows what it would cost:
People often teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent, and that every Christian who acts the same way must share his fate... On this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness, and on the use he makes of what he has received... How can we square the teaching of the gospel of grace with the case of the unprofitable servant in this parable? There is no need to try. The man who received the one talent and hid it does not stand for a true believer at all.
Yet he is still addressed as a servant and sentenced as one. Darby explains how both things hold together:
If the unworthy servant did not do his master's will, his master would judge him — not as someone who was no servant at all, but as a hypocrite, going by the position he was found in — though he was not really a servant, for a servant he never was. He was not told, "You are no servant." He was told, "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness... and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites." So he was taken up and condemned on the ground of what he claimed to be.
The parable traces his barrenness to a wrong view of his master. Bellett names what was missing:
This man did not know grace. He was afraid. He judged Christ to be a harsh man. His best plan was to get off free on the day of reckoning. The bondage of the law filled his heart, not the freedom of the truth... But this man was no servant. He served himself, and not Christ. And so do all who do not begin by knowing that Christ has first served them, and that their own service is to be the service of grateful love.
Luke records a parable much like this one, and it ends differently. Hole notes the difference, and the lesson both parables leave:
In the similar parable in Luke 19... the servant with one pound suffers loss, but his master does not throw him into outer darkness. It is worth noting that in both parables the man who fails is the one entrusted with the least. If we search our own hearts, we will admit that when we can only do small things, we tend to do nothing at all. The Lord will surely honour the servant of small ability who does the small things with eagerness and faithfulness.
The phrase draws on a familiar picture: a lit banquet hall at night, and the darkness outside:
Inside the banquet hall there is joy and light. Outside it is night, and the people there have no share in the joy inside... For this is the banquet hall where the wedding feast is held, and where people enjoy fellowship with God, who is light and in whom there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). The unbelievers are shut out of this realm of light and love... In this outer darkness not a single ray of light shines, and there is no hope or expectation left.
The two words are not saying the same thing twice. Leslie Grant separates them:
Being cast into outer darkness is this man's terrible end in eternal punishment. Weeping shows remorse. But gnashing of teeth shows there is no repentance — only the bitterness of stubborn rebellion, held back so that it cannot break out into action.
- Profession — This parable sits with others that test the Christian profession, true and false. Here God deals with the heart and the conscience.
- Pretence — The third servant is not a failing believer. He holds a servant's place without a servant's reality, and his master condemns him for what he claimed to be.
- Prejudice — He did nothing because he had a false picture of his Master. Fear filled his heart instead of grateful love, so he produced nothing.
- Punishment — Outer darkness is the night outside the lit banquet hall: no light, no fellowship, no hope. Weeping is remorse; gnashing of teeth is rebellion that will not bend.
- Practice — For real servants the lesson is diligence, not terror. The one given the least is the most tempted to do nothing, and the Lord honours small things done faithfully.