12 Therefore he said: “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’
The nobleman represents Jesus, and the servants are Christians, but not all were true Christians [just like the 12 disciples who followed Jesus, but one of them ended up betraying Him]. Each person got one mina to use it to grow the kingdom of heaven, meaning to bring the Gospel to people so that they can have a chance to get saved.
Insight: Minas
A mina was a unit of weight which one mina came out to be around 100 denarii. One denarii was a days wage.
13 He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’
Every believer regardless of how well they are financially, they are instructed to use part of their money which God gave them to invest it in people lives to know Jesus.
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’
Many people are offended at Jesus and show tremendous hatred towards Him. This hatred at Jesus is derived from wanting to keep their sins as it satisfies their cravings and hating believers for pointing it out to them.
15 “At his return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those servants he had given the money to, so that he could find out how much they had made in business. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas.’
At Jesus’ Second Coming to rule on the earth for a thousand years, He will bring with Him the rewards for the saints to give to each one according to what they have done for Christ while they were on earth. We will have to give Jesus an account of the money that He gave us. Jesus in the parable gave three examples of this. This is how it might sound like when Jesus comes back and asks us:
The first one came forward and said “Master, I used with what You blessed me with on earth and supported many ministries, my church, bought many Bibles and gave it out to people, satisfied those who were hungry and let them know that it came from You. Many gave their lives to You Lord.”
17 “‘Well done, good servant!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over ten towns.’
The first believer was commended for doing an excellent job in bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Jesus rewarded him with a high position to rule alongside Jesus’ millennial reign over a big city or town.
18 “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’
The second believer came forward and did half the work of the first one. As you can see, Jesus didn’t say the words, “Well done, good servant!” but nonetheless gave him a position to rule over.
20 “And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it safe in a cloth 21 because I was afraid of you since you’re a harsh man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’
The third person came forward and showed that he did absolutely nothing for Jesus while on earth. His excuse was, if you notice, that he had a misunderstanding of who Jesus is. He thought that Jesus was judgmental and takes things from people that He had no right to do. Because this person didn’t take the time to read the Bible thoroughly to find out about Jesus, get convicted and give his life to Him, he got self-deceived. Going to church does not make a person a Christian.
22 “He told him, ‘I will condemn you by what you have said, you evil servant! If you knew I was a harsh man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, 23 why, then, didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 So he said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
In Judgment Day, our words will either vindicate us or condemn us.
- Vindicate-If we confessed Jesus as Lord and believed in Him.
- Condemn-If we confessed to having nothing to do with Him while on earth.
Jesus responded with a play-on-words by saying that if he thought of Him in that way [not that Jesus agreed with the man], but why didn’t it motivate him to invest with true believers which would have put him in contact with those who knew the truth about the person of Jesus Christ and gotten exposed to the true nature of Jesus for their salvation?
25 “But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’
26 “‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
Whatever we do for Jesus, at His Second Coming, He will bless us abundantly, more then what we truly deserve.
What are you doing with the blessings that Jesus has blessed you with? Remember, you will have to give an account for that.
Spiritual Minefield 