Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Tonight’s Study – Session 37: The Parable of the Ten Minas
Introduction: Jesus uses the Parable of the Ten Minas to teach about the coming kingdom of God on earth. The occasion of the parable is Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem. Many people in the crowd along the road believed that He was going to Jerusalem to establish His earthly kingdom immediately. Of course, He was going to Jerusalem to die. Jesus used this parable to dispel any hopeful rumors that the time of the kingdom had arrived.
The Parable of the Ten Minas is only found in the Gospel of Luke.
Let’s Take a Look at the Passage where the Parable is Found
Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore, He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So, he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise, he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ “(Luke 19:11-27)
A Verse by Verse Look at this Parable.
Verse 11
The disciples mistakenly assumed that Christ would establish His kingdom on earth at Jerusalem.
Verse 12
A nobleman leaves for a foreign country in order to be made king. Kings in Roman provinces like Galilee and Perea actually went to Rome to receive their kingdoms.
Vere 13
Before the nobleman left to receive his kingdom, he gave minas to ten of his servants. A mina was a sum of money (about three months’ wages), and the future king said, “Do business till I come.”
Verse 14
However, the man’s subjects “hated him” and sent word to him that they refused to acknowledge his kingship. With this parable Jesus warned that the Jews were about to do the same thing in a spiritual sense, to their true Messiah.
Verse 15
When the man was crowned king, he returned to his homeland and began to set things right and call his servants to give an account. This pictured Jesus’ return to earth. The full manifestation of His kingdom on earth awaits that time.
Verse 16
First, he called the ten servants to whom he had given the minas. They each gave an account for how they used the money. The first servant showed that his mina had earned ten more. The fact that he “showed” that his mina had earned ten more proved that he backed his words with action. In the same way, our words need to be backed by action. It is one thing to say you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is another to back it with your actions. James tells us that faith (words) without works (action) is dead and is not saving faith.
Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)
Verse 17
The king was well pleased with the first servant’s “return” on his investment. The servant was praised and because he was “faithful in very little,” he was given authority over much more, ten cities in fact.
Note – Those with relatively small gifts are just as responsible to use them faithfully as those who are given much more.
Verses 18 and 19
The second servant’s investment had yielded five additional minas, and that servant was rewarded with charge over five cities. All aren’t given the same gifts in the body of Christ, but all are afforded the same opportunity to use their gift(s) in proportion to what they have been given.
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10)
Verse 20
Then came a servant who reported that he had done nothing with his mina except hide it in a handkerchief. This servant did absolutely nothing with his mina in the eyes of the king.
Verse 21
I feared you – A craven fear, not borne out of love and/or reverence, but tainted with contempt for the master. Jesus was very clear about the correlation between love and obedience.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15)
Verse 22
You knew – This does not suggest that what the man “knew” about the master was true. However, even the knowledge he claimed to have was enough to condemn him. Thus, will it be with the wicked in the day of judgment.
Verse 23
Jesus rebuked the man that did not invest his mina. The man could have at least put it in the bank and gained interest. Some cannot even do the minimum with what God has given them.
Verse 24
Jesus teaches that if what He has given to someone is not used by them, it will be given to someone else.
Verse 25
No one has ultimate ownership over everything except God. He will do whatever He pleases with what is already His.
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. (Psalm 115:3)
Verse 26
The recipients of divine grace inherit immeasurable blessings in addition to eternal life and the favor of God.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
But those who despise the riches of God’s goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering (Romans 2:4), burying them in the ground and clinging instead to the paltry and transient goods of this world, will ultimately lose everything they have.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (Matthew 6:19)
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:35-36)
Verse 27
those enemies of mine – This phrase illustrated the Jews who actively opposed Christ. The enemies who rejected the king are representative of the Jewish nation that rejected Christ while He walked on the earth – and everyone who still denies Him today.
Slay them before me – This spoke of harsh, violent judgment and may be a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus’ words about His enemies and their destruction are a stern warning to those who reject His reign and Lordship in their lives.
Conclusion: In the Parable of the Ten Minas, Jesus teaches several things about the Millennial kingdom and the time leading up to it. Jesus’ most basic point was that the kingdom was not going to appear immediately. There would be a period of time, during which the king would be absent, before the kingdom would be set up. The nobleman in the parable is Jesus, who left this world but who will return as king someday. The servants the king charges represent followers of Jesus. The Lord has given us a valuable commission, and we must be faithful to serve Him until He returns. Upon His return, Jesus will evaluate the faithfulness of His own people and will reward accordingly. May we all be faithful in serving Him and investing our lives and the “minas” He has given us for the kingdom of God and its growth.
Next Week, October 16th: The Parables Overview and Conclusion