Posted by Chester Morton / Friday, 24 March 2017 / No comments
The parable of the talents
The book of Matthew recorded the
parable of the talents in which Jesus said, the Kingdom of God was like a man
who was traveling and therefore called his servants and entrusted his
properties to them.
According to the account, the
master gave the first servant five talents, the second he gave two talents and
to the third he gave only one talent. His distribution of the various amounts
was due to the abilities of each servant. Then he went on his journey.
When the master left, the one who
was given the five talents traded with the money and gained five more talents.
The servant, who was given two talents, also traded with it and got another two
talents as profit. However, the servant who was given one talent went and
buried it in the ground.
After a very long period of time,
the master came back from his journey. The one who had five talents told the
master that he had traded with the money and gotten five talents as profit. The one
who was given two talents also told the master that he traded with the money
and got two talents as profit. The one who received one talent told the master
that he had buried the money in the ground because he was afraid of him.
To the man who had five talents and
made five more talents as profits, the master rewarded him to enter the joy of
his master because he was faithful in a little. The man who had two talents and
made two more was also rewarded because he was faithful in a little. However, the
man who received one talent and buried it in the soil was not rewarded. In
fact, the little that he had was taken from him and given to the one who had
more. According to Jesus, anyone who had more, more shall be added to it but
those who have little; even the little they have shall be taken away from him.
Then he would be cast into the darkest part of the world where people weep and
gnash their teeth.
This parable means that as Christians
wait for the second coming of their Lord, Jesus, they must use their time profitably.
In other words, they must engage in work that promotes the Kingdom of God such
as evangelism. When Jesus returns for the second time, those who are found
to have used their time well shall be rewarded and ushered into the Kingdom of
God and those who fail to use their time well shall be cast into the pit of
hell.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. Narrate the account of the
parable of the talents
b. Which three lessons can be learned from the story?
