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Remain standing for the reading of God’s Word. Our sermon text this morning is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 25. We will be reading Matthew 25, verses 14 through 30. You can find that on page 987 of your Pew Bibles. This is the Parable of the Talents. This is God’s Word, taken from Matthew 25, starting in verse 14.
For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also the one who had the two talents made two talents more. But the one who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now after a long time, the master of the servants came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, and said, “Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here, I have made five talents more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
The one who had the two talents also came forward and said, “Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here, I have made two talents more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
He also had received one talent, came forward and said, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. So I was afraid. And I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. But his master answered him, You wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers. And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest.
Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. There, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Let us ask God’s blessing on His word. Father in heaven, we ask for Your Spirit, the Holy Spirit that hovered over the waters at creation, the Holy Spirit who inspired men throughout the ages to write down Your word, which by Your providence You have preserved for us to read and hear even this day, Lord. Once again, we need Your Spirit, that these words may not be dead to us, but that we might be awakened and enlivened. May we have ears to hear and hearts to believe. We ask for Your Spirit to be present in the preaching and the hearing of Your word, because without You, we are without hope. So Lord, we ask this in the mighty name of Jesus.
Amen. You may be seated. The title of my message this morning is Investing in the Kingdom. It is the final parable in our series on kingdom parables that we have been studying. Sermon outlines are available in the back of the bulletin, if you did not receive one when you entered. These may be helpful for taking notes, if you wish. Imagine a world-renowned symphony conductor. After decades of composing breathtaking music, he announces that he must leave for a long journey.
Before he departs, he gathers three of his most promising students in his grand music hall. To the first student, he gives a priceless Stradivarius violin. To the second, a rare cello. To the third, a beautifully crafted flute. He looks at each of them and says, “I am entrusting these instruments to you. Use them while I am gone. Make music with them. Fill the hall with beauty.” Then he leaves.
The first two students immediately begin practicing. They compose new pieces, take risks, perform for audiences, and push their instruments to their limits. The music they create is stunning.
The third student takes the flute, wraps it carefully in a cloth, and locks it in a glass case. When friends ask why he never plays it, he says, “The maestro is a perfectionist. If I play it and make even one mistake, he will be furious. It is better to keep it safe and return it exactly as I received it.” Years later, the maestro returns. The hall fills with the glorious sound of the first two students’ music. But when the third student opens the case and hands back the untouched flute, the maestro’s face fills with sorrow and anger. “I did not give you that instrument so that you could simply preserve it,” he says. “I gave it to you so that you could make music.” We are living in the time between the master’s departure and his return.
And Jesus has entrusted each one of us with gifts, resources, opportunities, time, and abilities, and of course, the gospel itself. These things are not meant to be locked away for safekeeping. They are meant to be used boldly, creatively, and sacrificially for the glory of the king and for the advancement of his kingdom. Some of us might be tempted to play it safe. Since these gifts ultimately belong to God, I should be extra careful not to misuse them.
But Jesus tells us this parable to show that the master is not looking for careful preservation. He is looking for faithful investment. In the parable of the talents, Jesus answers one of the most important questions for every Christian: How should we live until his return? The answer is not in passive waiting or fearful protection, but in bold, joyful, risk-taking stewardship. Because what we do with what he has given reveals what we truly believe about him. William Carey, the father of modern missions, captured this truth powerfully when he told his audience in the 1800s: “Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God.”
This is the heartbeat of this parable. Today, we are going to look at it in three movements in the story. First, the master’s feasible entrustment. Second, the servant’s faithful investment. Third, the servant’s fruitless indifference. First, the master’s feasible entrustment. It is feasible for two reasons. Feasible because it is given to each servant according to his ability. And also feasible because, for the master’s wealth, it is considered a comparatively small amount.
Verse 15 says, to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. The master in this story has an understanding of his servants and their varying levels of competency. Therefore, he entrusts different amounts of money to each. The master understands his servants well and knows that not all of them are capable of handling the same amounts.
I believe Jesus includes this detail in the story to teach us about the way that God distributes his blessings and responsibilities in this life. We may have a tendency to question the distribution of God’s blessings and responsibilities among those around us. But Jesus is reminding us to trust God. He knows what he is doing, and he has given to each of his servants according to their ability. Now, as far as the sums of money, I am not sure if you realize this, but the amounts in this story are actually quite enormous.
A talent was roughly equivalent to about 20 years of wages for the average day laborer earning a denarius a day. Technically, a talent was a measurement of weight, about 75 pounds. Our story does not specify the exact precious metal, which could have been gold, silver, or another substance. If it was gold, and you calculate the worth of 75 pounds of gold today, that would be about 5.4 million dollars per talent. One of the servants received five talents. Even if the talents were in silver, each one would be worth just under 100,000 dollars in today’s silver market. The point is that the master of these servants was a very wealthy man.
He is a rich man, and he is entrusting his servants with immense wealth. Yet we see him later call these things small. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many. This assignment for the servants was like a job interview task.
And this points to the abundant riches of our God. How often do you and I think that we are stretching God’s limits, asking too much of Him? How often does that lead us to think small in terms of our lives, in terms of God’s kingdom, and in terms of our church? But just like the master in this parable who gave his servants hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, and called it a little, our God has the riches of the universe.
He owns all the gold mines, oil fields, mineral deposits, and cattle on a thousand hills. He is not limited by resources or concerned about us exceeding His budget. He gives His gifts generously, and you are not about to bankrupt Him or cause Him worry or displeasure. He has given you a few things, and He wants you to invest them boldly.
Are you thinking of the blessings of God in terms of kingdom investment? Now, while this parable is focused on money, the application, of course, goes beyond finances. In English, the word “talent” has taken on an entirely non-monetary meaning. So when people speak of a reference to this parable, using their talents for God, what they actually mean in English is skills, abilities, and opportunities.
We derive this understanding from a more generalized application of this parable based on other parts of Scripture. For instance, the Apostle Peter. In 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter lays out a paradigm by which believers ought to think about and act in light of the skills, abilities, and opportunities they have been given. 1 Peter 4, verses 10 through 11.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. As stewards of God’s varied grace, whoever speaks as one who speaks the oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. God has entrusted us with gifts. He does not want us to bury them, but to use them in His strength.
And this parable shows us something of what it means to have a kingdom mindset. Even the wealthiest people in this age have been entrusted with only a few things, compared to what is to come. This is a perspective check. Here, the servants are given charge of hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, yet it is still described as a few things. We ought to feel a sense of smallness. We ought to recognize the insignificance of these few things with which we have been entrusted. This life is short, and we have been entrusted with only a little, compared to God’s overall riches and what He has in store for those who love Him. This life is like a test, a training ground for eternity. This does not mean that heaven is for those who are financially skilled. It means that in this life, here and now, our possessions are not the ultimate goal. They are tools to learn from and to grow through. They are a stepping stone on our way to handling true riches.
He says, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” He says this to the servant who had overseen and doubled the five talents. And this ought to make us consider life in this world versus the life to come. The responsibilities and opportunities in this life are seen as small in comparison to what we will have in the next life. The master entrusted his wealth to his servants and expected them to invest it. And so we will consider next, number two, the servants’ faithful investment. Verses 6 and 7 describe it.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them. He made five talents more. Similarly, he who had received the two talents made two talents more. The text states that the servants went at once and traded. In the Greek, the sentence begins with “immediately.” This immediate action demonstrates their investment in the outcome of the master’s estate. They wasted no time and immediately began working to use the master’s money. Because they treated it as if it were their own, they were fully invested in the outcome.
This is contrasted with the one-talent servant in verse 18. But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. The servant received his one talent just like the others, but the text emphasizes that he referred to it not as what he had received, but as his master’s money. This reflects the way the servant viewed the money. The one-talent servant refused to take ownership. He kept the funds at a distance and avoided investment in both senses. He was not invested in the outcome, and he refused to use his master’s money in any way that would increase its value. The other servants, however, took ownership.
They were fully committed to the growth of this money and so they boldly invested it. They traded with it and conducted business using it. The fact that the master mentions the option of depositing the money in a bank suggests that these servants engaged in more risky endeavors.
This may be compared to investing in the stock market today. Anyone who has seen the disclaimer at the bottom of investment options knows that returns are not guaranteed and that all investing involves risk. This would have been true for these servants managing significant amounts of money. I am not certain what the Roman or Jerusalem financial system looked like in the first century, but it likely differed greatly from the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones, or the S&P 500.
But there were many ways that merchants and traders could buy and sell to make a profit. This would have involved risk, perhaps even losing all of it. These servants understood and carried out their master’s mission to use the money to maximize its growth. We see that the servants were invested in the master’s well-being through their immediate and bold investment of the money he entrusted to them. We also see their investment in the reward that the master grants them. For the master gives them two things: greater responsibility and entrance into His joy.
If the servants had not been invested in their responsibilities, this reward would have been unwelcome news. Some of you may have served in jobs where you were good at something, but you did not like it very much. In such cases, a promotion involving more responsibility was actually an unwelcome change. You had abilities and skills in that area, but it was not something you wanted to do more of. But in this case, the servants are not merely doing something they are good at or that they must do.
They are eagerly doing what they love. Therefore, their promotion to greater responsibility is welcome news to them. Their promotion to greater responsibility is a sign of their investment in the outcome. If you are working for a company or in a position that you love, greater responsibility in that company is a welcome reward. These servants were working for a master whom they loved.
Notice how they approached their master at his return. Verse 20: “And he had received the five talents, came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents. I have made five talents more.'” Or verse 22: “He said, also, who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here, I have made two talents more.'” They eagerly displayed the profits of their labors, anticipating the joy of their master at the success of their venture. And we see their investment even more clearly in the second reward given by the master.
In response to the servant’s faithful stewardship, the Master says, “Enter into the joy of your Master.” These servants had been invested in the outcome of the master’s funds because they were invested in the master. They saw his prosperity as their own prosperity. Therefore, they were rewarded by entering more fully into their master’s joy.
He does not say, “Great job, see you later.” The master’s joy had been their aim all along. So this reward for their service, just like the greater responsibility, is more of the same—what they had been seeking. “Enter into the joy of your Master.” They had taken responsibility for what they had been entrusted with, and they were given participation in their master’s joy.
It is easy to skip over that description, but I think it is important for us to ponder it. Simon Goulart, a French Reformed theologian in the 1500s and 1600s, says that the eternal and blessed life with God in heaven, accompanied by rest and unspeakable glory, is the goal of faith, the faith of Christians. This is the harbor of their hope, the refuge of all their desires, the crown of their consolation, which they will certainly enjoy after escaping from the travails of this miserable and fleeting earthly life. Indeed, even from death itself, they will fully enjoy, and will enjoy fully and completely, the Lord their God, the foundation and inexhaustible treasure of all good things, who will pour upon them His goodness and His infinite joy, satisfying all their thoughts and desires. This is what we are working and waiting for as God’s servants. The servants sought their Master’s joy on earth, and as a result, they are ushered into His greater joy in heaven.
But as we consider the contrasting implication from the third servant’s attitude, we see that the primary difference between the first two servants and the third was their own beliefs about the master. So we will consider finally number three: the servant’s fruitless indifference. At first, these two titles may seem to refer to servants, but I have placed the apostrophe in different places for number two and number three. The word “servants” in number two is plural, while “servant” in number three is singular. This is because while the other two servants immediately invested their larger sums of money, the last servant had a different strategy.
Verse 18: He who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. As we noted earlier, there is an emphasis here on “his master’s money.” The servant views his master’s property as completely distinct from his own, something he is not invested in. We see the third servant’s reasoning for his actions come out in verse 24.
He also, who had received the one talent, came forward, saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” In one breath, this servant displayed his distorted belief about his master, and also removed any excuse of ignorance that he might have had.
Commentator Leon Morris says, “I knew you are a hard man.” He offers this as an excuse for his failure to use his talent, but in doing so, he undermines his own defense. If he knew his master was a hard man, he also knew that he had been expected to do something profitable with the money entrusted to him. He explains what he means by hardness in this case.
The picture this servant draws is of a man focused on business, who collects profits from many sources, not only those resulting from his own labor. Rather than justifying the servant’s inaction, this shows that he understood the master’s expectations, just as the other two servants did.
His failure to invest was not due to misunderstanding, but to fear. The servant says he was afraid. And fear, of course, is never a proper foundation for action. The master responds to the servant’s reasoning in verse 26 and 27: “You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers. And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. If I truly were as harsh a master as you claim, you should have placed the money in the bank, where it would have earned interest.”
The servant appears to be trying to claim that he was afraid of the master’s high standards. But his actions betray his claims. His actions reveal a heart of rebellion. He was doing more than just playing it safe. He was trying to thwart the master’s goals by burying the money in the ground. He wanted to give the master back nothing more than what he had been given stewardship over. Rather than being invested in the outcome, he was actually trying to sabotage it.
We see the master’s response in verse 28: “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” The servant clearly had no investment in the master’s money and therefore had no business managing it. Then Jesus explains the broader application in verse 29: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” We often use the phrase “use it or lose it” in reference to our physical strength and abilities. We see that principle clearly stated here in terms of faith.
When the master left, it appeared that the three servants had faith. But by the time he returned, it was clear that only two of the servants possessed true faith. Their investment in the master’s money demonstrated their possession of it, and it grew. Faith is meant to be exercised and invested, not buried in the ground. The third servant’s actions with his money revealed a lack of faith, ultimately.
And in the end, even what he appeared to have was taken away. Jesus is making a point about faith and the appearance of faith—about possessing faith versus merely professing to have faith. Those who truly have faith will do something with it, while those who do not possess faith remain disinterested and uninvested in the things of God. As we prepare to close, some of you might be hearing this talk of investment and thinking, I’m already stretched thin. I’m exhausted. I can’t even think about doing more. And I want you to remember three things.
Number one, the master gives gifts according to ability. He knows what is too much for you. He is not raising a whip, reviewing reports, or preparing to rebuke you for what He knows you are able to do. Number two, consider what He desires from His servants. He desires your joy. Stop trying to measure up by your achievements. This parable is not about how to measure up.
That is what the wicked servant thought. That is what caused him to hide the money in the ground. Because this investment is not about earning your salvation. Jesus has already earned it. Therefore, you may rest in His finished work and in the knowledge of your master’s love. In that knowledge, you are able to invest boldly. Remember, number three, it is His money. It is not your responsibility to provide the funds. He is calling you to enter into His work, the good works that He has prepared for you. Since Jesus is the ultimate faithful servant, He perfectly invested everything the Father gave Him, even His own life, for the joy set before Him. He is our example and our sustaining grace. Through His death and resurrection, we may be forgiven for our own indifference and given a new heart that delights in the master.
The Puritan minister, Thomas Manton, says this about the joy that is to come and the way the saints love. He says, “The saints love God and delight in Him, in His essence and in His being, as much as in their own glory. And this makes heaven comfortable. It would be a torment to a carnal heart to always be thinking of God and engaged in acts of love and service to God. But the saints delight in Him. They delight in His presence and in their own happiness because God is glorified in it. And there is an inconceivable delight in seeing, knowing, and being loved, beloved by God.”
The real difference between the servants came down to their beliefs about their master. A third servant believed his master was unjust and harsh, not someone to love or who would offer him grace. The first two servants believed deeply in the grace of their master. This belief empowered them to be fully invested and to invest their master’s money boldly. Their faith in his grace enabled them to do this. Do you want to be one of the faithful servants exercising bold faith, in confident assurance of receiving grace from God? Do you want to become fully invested in God’s kingdom?
To be able to pray with all your heart, “Your kingdom come,” you need a new heart, of course—a new and renewed heart. And everyone who has more will be given, and he will have an abundance. Ask God to give you that faith in Jesus Christ. And not just once, but boldly ask for more faith. This is one of his favorite requests to grant. Then exercise that faith, even if it is as small as a mustard seed. Ask, and he will give you more.
Take up the rich promises of God and apply them in your life. Pray them. Believe them. Then act like you believe them in the power of the Holy Spirit. All while anticipating the words that are coming: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Amen.
Let’s pray. God our Father, we thank you that you are not a hard master, but you are a generous one. You are a rich and generous master, covering our sins and richly blessing us with more than we could even ask or think, by your riches in Christ Jesus. Lord, we ask for eyes of our heart to be opened to see and believe your riches, that we might boldly use what you have entrusted us—not to earn salvation, but out of our delight and joy in what you have given us already. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen. In response, let’s stand and sing hymn 469. Hymn 469, who are these like stars appearing? Let’s stand as we sing.