The parable of the Ten Minas is one of the most important parables Jesus told about our mission on this earth. As we unfold this parable, we must understand first where Jesus is:
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
Jesus is in Jericho, which is very close to Jerusalem and his crucifixion. The Jews of that time believed the return of the Messiah was imminent. The Messiah (mashiach) was prophecized to do the following:
Build the third temple (Ezekial 37:26-28) Gather all jews back to the land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6) Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4) Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: “God will be King over all the world – on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One” (Zechariah 14:9).
The Jews had very specific criteria for the Messiah to fit into. It is no wonder they missed Jesus altogether.
12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
The master is to appoint himself king. So he calls forward his servants and gives them each a Mina (a measurement of weight of wealth). This is to be used in what capacity? To be used while he is away. This is a crucial point in the parable. As we move forward and strip away the metaphors, we need to understand that the wealth must be “put to work.”
Keep in mind that the subjects hate the king, not the servants. The subjects are the people at large, not the servants who are loyal to the master.
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
The master returns home as king. So what does he do? He calls for the servants who he gave the Mina to.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
The master now the king, calls for the servants. His reasoning is this: he wants to see how faithful the servants were with what he gave them. The first servant gives the king a 10x return on the money. He demonstrated faithful handling of the Mina. So what is his reward: more responsibility, not rest. More service.
This is something that is backward in our culture. Although vacations are nice and rest necessary, there is definitely a comfort movement in culture today. We chase after the finer things and often miss the fact that God wants us to be useful, not necessarily comfortable.
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
The second servant has a 5x increase and is duly rewarded. But you will notice that his reward is proportional to his faithfulness.
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
The third servant comes forth and confesses that he was afraid of the master, so he hid the Mina and simply gives it back to the master.
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
The third servant does not follow the instructions of the king. What were the instructions? “Put this money to work”. The servant gives him the excuse that he was a hard man. But excuses aside, the servant did nothing with what he had.
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
The third servant’s mina is then taken away from him and given to the most responsible. The third servant remains a servant, but is left with nothing. He proved he was unable to manage the king’s affairs properly.
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
The king reiterates that a servant is meant to serve and responsibility is given to those who are responsible with what is given. Those who are not responsible will be stripped of their responsibilities.
And finally, he deals with the unruly subjects. Those who do not obey the king will be put to death.
Okay, what does all this mean? This is a great allegory of the responsible nature of following God.
First, God (the master/king) gives us talents, gifts and strengths in our life (Minas). What does he want us (servants) to do with these things? He wants us to use them! A gift that remains unused is something that is ineffective.
When Jesus left, he left us with work to do. The work we must do is congruent with our gifts, talents and where God has put us. The king, who has gone away, will one day return, demanding an accounting of our work and how we used what we had to further his kingdom.
For the faithful servant (first servant), the king (Jesus) compliments his efforts and gives a reward based on his faithfulness. The servant, who knew the king would return, spent his time wisely while the king was away. The second servant is the same, but half as effective. The reward is proportional to his effort.
What this tells us is effort is important in our work for God. In using our gifts for the betterment of the kingdom, we are responsible to discover what they are and implement them. You’ll notice that it isn’t a requirement to do a certain amount, only the amount we are able to do. The effort is underlined by the deep desire to do it for God in our capacity.
The third servant doesn’t do anything with his gift. Instead he hides it away and gives it back to the king. This is in direct violation to the order. The third servant didn’t even do the bare minimum with what he had. Instead, he gave back exactly what he was given. Nothing accomplished, no growth.
The idea isn’t that this is how God accepts us; that would fall under works. Once we are believers (servants) we are required to do something with it. You may have noticed that the reward given wasn’t relaxation, but more work. God requires us to work.
Because the third servant did nothing with his talents/gifts, they were taken away. Have you even had a talent dissolve over time? Why did it go away? Because it wasn’t watered, it didn’t grow. God wants us to be useful or, according to this parable, it will be removed and given to someone who is more responsible.