He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
“When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’
“He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
“The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’
“So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 16 There are three sorts of men in the Church:…
There are three sorts of men in the Church: the one sort fall from Christ whom they see not; the other, which according to their vocation, bestow the gifts which they have received of God, to his glory with great pains and diligence: the third live idly, and do no good. As for the first, the Lord when he cometh will justly punish them in his time: the other he will bless, according to the pains which they have taken: and as for the slothful and idle persons, he will punish them as the first.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–19 12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into…
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
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14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Ver. 14. Sent a message] Instead of sending a lamb to this ruler of the earth, Isa 16:1, of the covering his altar with the calves of their lips, Hos 14:3. Such masterless monsters are rife everywhere, such dust heaps are found in every corner.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v12 The parable of the talents, which we had, Mat…
The parable of the talents, which we had, Mat 25:14-30, is of great cognation to this parable, and the doctrine of it in many things is the very same; but the circumstances of that and this relation are so differing, as I cannot think that both Matthew and Luke relate to the same time. I know nothing that hinders, but that our Saviour might twice repeat a parable which in substance is the same. Not to insist upon the examination of the words used in the Greek, (which is a work fit only for critical writers), for the right understanding of this parable we have three things to do:
1. To inquire what special instruction our Saviour did in this parable intend to those who heard him at that time.
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2. Who the persons are, represented in it under the notion of a nobleman and servants; and what the things are, represented under the notion of going into a far country, to receive a kingdom, distributing his goods, &c.
3. What general instructions from it may be collected, which inform us as well as those to whom our Lord at that time spake. The special instructions which our Lord in this parable seemeth by it to have given his disciples were these:
a) That they were mistaken in their notions or apprehensions of the sudden coming of Christ’s kingdom in power and glory. He had first a great journey to go, and they had a great deal of work to do. Instead of reigning amongst them, and exalting them, he was going away from them for a long time.
b) That there would be such a manifestation of his kingdom in glory and power, when he should exalt and liberally reward his friends, and severely punish all such as should be his enemies. In order to these instructions, he taketh up this parable, or speaketh to them in the use of this similitude.
c) As to the aptness of it: The nobleman here mentioned was Christ, who shall hereafter be a King in the exercise of power and justice, and distribute eternal rewards and punishments; but in his state of humiliation in which he was when he thus spake to them, was but like a nobleman, a Son of man, though the chiefest of ten thousand.
His going
into afar country, signifieth his going from earth to heaven.
To receive a kingdom; a kingdom of glory, honour, and power at the right hand of the Father. His returning signifies his coming again to judge the world at the last day. His calling his servants, and delivering to them ten pounds, signifieth his giving gifts unto men, when he should ascend up on high; gifts of several natures, but all to be occupied, used in a spiritual trade, for the advantage of our common Lord. Not that he giveth to all alike, (which it is manifest he doth not), for every passage in a parable is not answered in the thing which it is brought to represent or express. The citizens hating him, and sending a message after him, &c., signifies that the generality of the world are haters of Christ, and demonstrate their hatred by their refusal of his spiritual government and jurisdiction. His returning, and calling his servants to an account, signifies, that when Christ at the last day shall come to judge the world, he will have an account of every individual person, how they have used the gifts with which he hath intrusted them, whether they be longer time of life, more health than others, riches, honours, or more spiritual gifts, such as knowledge, utterance, wit, &c., or any trusty places or offices they have been in. The different account the servants brought in, signifies that men do not equally use the gifts with which the Lord blesseth them; some use them well, some ill; some bring honour and glory to God by the use of them, and that some in one degree, and some in another. Some bring him no honour or glory at all. The master’s answer to them upon their accounts, lets us know that every man shall be rewarded according to his work. There will be degrees in glory, (though we cannot well open them), as well as of punishments. The unprofitable servant’s excuse for himself, signifies the great itch of proud human nature to excuse itself, and lay all the blame of its miscarriages on God, either his severity, or his not giving them enough, &c. The king’s answer, Luk 19:22,23, lets us know, that sinners will be found to be condemned out of their own mouths: at the last day, God will be found a righteous God, and man will be found to be the liar. What the Lord further adds, Luk 19:24,26, lets us know God’s liberality in rewarding his saints at last. What he saith Luk 19:27, concerning his enemies, assures us, that although God spareth men and women a long time, so long as while his Son is in the far country, while the heavens must contain him; yet in the day of judgment a most certain final ruin will be their portion. Hence we may easily gather what instructions are offered us in this parable.
1. That the state of Christ, when he shall come to judge the world, will be a far more glorious state than it was while he was here upon the earth. He was here in the appearance of a nobleman, but he shall then appear as a king.
2. That all the good things which we have in this life are our Lord’s goods, put in trust with us to be used for his honour and glory.
3. That it must be expected that in the world there should be a great many rebels against Christ and his kingdom, a great many that shall say, We will not have this man to rule over us.
4. That some make greater improvements than others of what God intrusts them with for his honour and glory, and some make no improvement at all of them.
5. That Christ, when he cometh to judge the world, will have a strict account how men have used his goods, their time of life, or health, their capacities, honours, riches, trusts, parts, &c.
6. That those shall have the highest reward in glory who have made the highest improvements; but those who have made improvements in any proportion shall have their reward.
7. That proud and wretched sinners will think in the day of judgment to wipe their own mouths, and lay all the blame of their miscarriages on God.
8. That this is their folly, God will condemn them from their own vain pleas.
9. That in the day of judgment unprofitable creatures will, besides the loss of those rewards which they might have received from God, have all their little satisfactions taken from them, in the enjoyments of which they dishonoured God.
10. That though proud sinners here oppose the law of God revealed to them, and will not suffer Christ to reign over them; yet his power they shall not be able to resist, they shall at the last day be slain before Christ’s face, and become his footstool. He shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel, Psa 2:9; 110:1, and who shall then deliver them out of his hand?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–19 And he called his ten servants,.... By whom are…
And he called his ten servants,.... By whom are meant, not all mankind; for though these are all his servants of right, yet not in fact; nor the elect of God, who are called by grace; for though these are the servants of Christ, and are peculiarly his, yet all that received the pound were not such, for one of them was a wicked man; but the ministers of the Gospel, who are eminently, and in a special manner, the servants of the most high God: but as for the number "ten", this cannot regard the apostles, for they were twelve; and though they are sometimes called the eleven, after the apostasy and death of Judas, yet not the ten; and besides, there was another chose in his room; but this number being a large and perfect one, a round number, it is sometimes made use of as a certain number, for an uncertain one; see Mat 25:1. The call of these by their Lord, is not to be understood of the call of them by his grace, but of a call of them to the office and work of the ministry:
and delivered them ten pounds; every one a pound: the "Maneh", or pound of the Hebrews, if of gold, which contained an hundred drachmas, was of the value of our money, "seventy five pounds"; if of silver, the old "Maneh", or pound, which contained sixty shekels, Eze 45:12 amounted to "seven pounds ten shillings"; but the "Maneh", or pound, mentioned in the Misna (k), and which was in use in our Lord's time, contained an hundred pence, and was of the value of our money, "three pounds two shillings and six pence": and by these pounds are designed, not special grace; for they intend not any thing wrought in these servants, but something delivered to them, and what might be taken away again, which cannot be said of special grace; and besides, it is certain, that one of these servants that had the pound, was destitute of that: but gifts are meant, and these not merely natural, or the gifts of providence, as health, riches, wisdom, &c. nor only the outward means of grace, as the word and ordinances, but ministerial gifts, which are the greatest in the church, and are therefore signified by pounds; and are what may be improved or neglected, and be lost or taken away; and for which those that have them, are accountable: but though each of these servants are represented, as having every man a pound delivered to him, this must not be understood, as if the gifts of ministers were equal and alike, any more than the inequality of their rewards proves degrees in glory; for which sometimes this parable is produced:
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and said unto him, occupy; negotiate, or trade, that is, with the pounds; make use of the ministerial gifts, exercise them, lay them out, and trade with them: the ministry is a trade and merchandise, to be carried on, not in the name of the ministers of Christ, nor on their own stock, nor for themselves, but for Christ, and for the good of souls; which shows, that they must not be slothful, but laborious and diligent:
till I come: which suggests the certainty of Christ's coming, the continuance of the Gospel ministry to that time; and that there is no rest nor ease for Christ's ministers, but a continued series of labour and service, until then; when, for their encouragement, they shall receive their reward.
(k) Peah, c. 8. sect. 5. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12–15 He went into a far country to receive a…
He went into a far country to receive a kingdom - Christ went to heaven, to receive his sovereign power as wan, even all authority in heaven and earth. Matt. xxv, 14; Mark xiii, 34.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12–17 Verse 12. A certain nobleman] In the following parable…
Verse 12. A certain nobleman] In the following parable there are two distinct morals intended; let it be viewed in these two points of light. 1. The behaviour of the citizens to the nobleman; and, 2. The behaviour of his own servants to him.
1. By the behaviour of the citizens, and their punishment, (Lu 19:14; Lu 19:27,) we are taught that the Jews, who were the people of Christ, would reject him, and try to prevent his reigning over them in his spiritual kingdom, and would for that crime be severely punished by the destruction of their state. And this moral is all that answers to the introductory words, Lu 19:11. And they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
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2. The other moral extends itself through the whole of the parable, viz. that the disciples of Christ, who are his servants; and who made a good improvement of the favours granted them by the Gospel, should be rewarded in proportion to the improvement made under the means of grace. This latter moral is all that is intended by Matthew in Mt 25:14, c., who mentions this parable as spoken by Christ after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem though Luke has here placed that event after the parable. See Bishop PEARCE.
The meaning of the different parts of this parable appears to be as follows.
A certain nobleman - The Lord Jesus, who was shortly to be crucified by the Jews.
Went into a far country] Ascended to the right hand of the Divine Majesty.
To receive a kingdom] To take possession of the mediatorial kingdom, the right to which, as Messiah, he had acquired by his sufferings: see Phi 2:8-9; He 1:3, He 1:8-9. In these words there is an allusion to the custom of those days, when they who had kingdoms or governments given unto them went to Rome to receive that dignity from the emperors. Bishop PEARCE. In proof of this, see Josephus, Ant. l. xiv. c. xiv., where we find Herod went to Rome to receive the sanction and authority of the Roman emperor. And, from lib. xvii. c. 3, we learn that his successors acted in the same way.
And to return.] To judge and punish the rebellious Jews.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 16 Luk 19:12. A certain nobleman — Or, a certain…
Luk 19:12. A certain nobleman — Or, a certain king’s son; went into a far country to receive a kingdom, &c. — In order to be confirmed in his father’s kingdom, he went into a distant country to do homage unto a more powerful potentate, of whom he held it as a vassal. There is supposed to be an allusion here to a custom which prevailed greatly in our Lord’s time among the princes of the East; who, before they ventured to ascend the throne, went to Rome, and solicited the emperor’s permission, who disposed of all the tributary kingdoms as he saw fit. Dr. Campbell, instead of, to receive a kingdom, reads, to procure for himself royalty, observing, “To me it is manifest, that βασιλεια, here, signifies royalty, that is, royal power and dignity. For that it was not a different kingdom from that wherein he lived, as the common version implies, is evident from Luk 19:14. It is equally so, that there is in this circumstance an allusion to what was well known to Christ’s hearers, the way in which Archelaus, and even Herod himself, had obtained their rank and authority in Judea, by favour of the Romans. When this reference to the history of the times is kept in view, and βασιλεια understood to denote royal power and dignity, there is not the shadow of a difficulty in the story. In any other explanation, the expounder, in order to remove inconsistencies, is obliged to suppose so many circumstances not related, or even hinted at by the evangelist, that the latter is, to say the least, made to appear a very inaccurate narrator.” Whichever interpretation be adopted, the meaning of this part of the parable evidently is, that before Jesus entered upon his mediatorial kingdom, and sat down at the right hand of God in majesty and glory, it was necessary he should die and ascend to heaven; see Php 2:8-9; Heb 1:3; Heb 1:8-9; from whence he was afterward to return, as it were, that is, to come forth in his justice and power, to punish, first, the unbelieving and obstinate Jews, and afterward, in future ages, the opposers of his gospel, the persecutors of his people, all antichristian powers, and, at the day of final judgment, all the impenitent and unbelieving.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12–16 A certain nobleman - A prince; a man descended…
A certain nobleman - A prince; a man descended from kings, and having a title, therefore, to succeed in the kingdom.
Went into a far country ... - This expression is derived from the state of things in Judea in the time of the Saviour. Judea was subject to the Romans, having been conquered by Pompey about sixty years before Christ. It was, however, governed by “Jews,” who held the government “under” the Romans. It was necessary that the prince or king should receive a recognition of his right to the kingdom by the Roman emperor and, in order to this, that he should go to Rome; or, as it is said here, that he might receive to himself a kingdom. This actually occurred several times. Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great, about the time of the birth of Jesus, went to Rome to obtain a confirmation of the title which his father had left him, and succeeded in doing it. Herod the Great, his father, had done the same thing before to secure the aid and countenance of Antony. Agrippa the younger, grandson of Herod the Great, went to Rome also to obtain the favor of Tiberius, and to be confirmed in his government. Such instances, having frequently occurred, would make this parable perfectly intelligible to those to whom it was addressed. By the nobleman, here, is undoubtedly represented the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ; by his going into a far country is denoted his going to heaven, to the right hand of his Father, “before” he should “fully” set up his kingdom and establish his reign among men.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 19 This parable is an exact prophetic history of what…
This parable is an exact prophetic history of what happened to Archelaus Antipas, son of Herod the great, about thirty-six years afterwards. Judea being then tributary, he was obliged to go to Rome to receive his kingdom from the hands of the emperor Augustus. The Jews, who hated him for his cruelty, sent an embassy to the emperor, to accuse him of many crimes, and disappoint him in his hopes of gaining his crown. But Augustus confirmed it to him, and sent him back to reign in Judea, where he revenged himself on those who had opposed his pretensions. With regard to the instruction, which is meant to be conveyed by this parable; this nobleman is the Son of God, who came among the Jews to take possession of the kingdom, which was his due. But being rejected and treated unworthily, and even put to a disgraceful death on the cross, he will one day come again, armed with vengeance, and inflict the effects of his anger upon them. This was partly fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem, and will be completed at the general judgment. (Calmet) (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv12–15 PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. (Luke 19:11-27)
PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. (Luke 19:11-27)
a far country--said to put down the notion that He was just on His way to set up His kingdom, and to inaugurate it by His personal presence.
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to receive . . . a kingdom--be invested with royalty; as when Herod went to Rome and was there made king; a striking expression of what our Lord went away for and received, "sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
to return--at His second coming.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv12–17 12. A certain nobleman—A well-born personage. Herod was the…
12. A certain nobleman—A well-born personage. Herod was the son, not of a king, but of an eminent general; and Archelaus was the son of Herod. These facts were fresh in recollection at Jericho, which had been adorned with the stateliest buildings by the Herod family, and the palace of Archelaus still ornamented its streets.
A far country—The nobly born, nay, divinely born, Son of God was to go to the highest heavens, to be invested by God, his Father, with the kingdom of grace and judgment.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–17 12. A certain nobleman, &c.] This would seem a…
12. A certain nobleman, &c.] This would seem a most unintelligible incident if we did not know what suggested it. The Evangelists throw no gleam of light upon it, and the fact that we can from contemporary secular history not only explain it, but even trace (without the slightest aid from any of the Gospels) the exact circumstances which suggested it at this very place and time, is one of the many invaluable independent circumstances which enable us to prove from history the absolute truthfulness of these records. Two ‘nobles’—Herod the Great and his son Archelaus—had actually gone from Jericho to a far country, even to Rome, for the express purpose of ‘receiving a kingdom’ from the all-powerful Caesar (Jos. Antt. xiv. 14, xvii. 9, §4: comp. 1Ma_8:13), and the same thing was subsequently done by Antipas (id. Antt. xviii. 5, § 1). It is deeply interesting to see how Jesus thus utilises any incident—social or political—as a vehicle for spiritual instruction. Probably if we knew the events of His day more minutely, we should see the origin of many others of the parables. The facts here alluded to would naturally be brought both to His mind, and to those of the Galilaeans, by the sight of the magnificent palace at Jericho which Archelaus had rebuilt. (Jos. Antt. xvii. 13, § 1.) How little the incidental machinery of parables should be theologically pressed, we may see from the fact that here our Lord takes the movements and the actions of a cruel and bad prince like Archelaus, to shadow forth certain truths of His own ministry (compare the Parables of the Unjust Steward and the Unjust Judge).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–17 (12) A certain nobleman went into a far country.—See…
(12) A certain nobleman went into a far country.—See Notes on Mat_25:14-30, with which the parable that follows has many obvious points of resemblance. There are, however, many noticeable differences in detail. At the outset we have the new feature of the nobleman going “into a far country to receive a kingdom.” This had an obvious starting-point in the recent history of Judæa. Both the Tetrarch Antipas and Archelaus, on the death of their father, had gone to Rome to submit their claims to the kingdom to the decision of Augustus (Jos. Ant. xvii. 9, §§ 3, 4). The Greek for “nobleman” is not the same as in Joh_4:46, where the word means a “king’s officer.” Here it is simply a “man of noble family.” In the interpretation of the parable we may see a prophetic announcement by our Lord of His own departure to the “far country,” that lay behind the veil, to receive His Kingdom, and of His subsequent return.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 16, 17 He said therefore, A certain noblemen went into a…
He said therefore, A certain noblemen went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. There was a singular fitness in the Master"s choice of a framework for his parable, which at first sight would seem strange and unreal. Two nobles, Herod and Archelaus, in that age had literally gone from Jericho, where the Speaker of the parable-story then was, to a far country across the sea to Rome, to receive a kingdom from Caesar (Josephus, "Ant.," 14:14; 17:9). And one of these two nobles, Archelaus, had rebuilt the stately royal palace of Jericho, under the very shadow of which the Speaker and the crowds were perhaps standing.
Vers. 12-27. Probation and award.
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Jesus Christ here invites us to do two things.
I TO TREAT THIS LIFE AS A TIME OF SACRED OPPORTUNITY. The "nobleman" of the parable gave to his servants a certain sum, of which they were to make good use during his absence. His charge was this: "Occupy till I come.
1. The time of the nobleman"s absence stands for our mortal life. Whether it be long or short, our present life is a period during which we have to be preparing for another of far greater consequence. It is a probationary period, that on which the larger and more serious future depends. This is in harmony with our experience; for one part of our life is a preparation for another, and the nature of the succeeding period depends upon the character of that which precedes it childhood for youth, youth for young manhood, etc.
2. The "pound" of the parable stands for God-given opportunity for the constitutional capacity with which we are endowed; for the favouring circumstances and facilities by which we are surrounded; for the Christian privileges with which we are blessed.
3. The smallness of our endowment affords no escape from responsibility. Only "one pound." It seems a very small sum for a nobleman to give in charge; but clearly it was large enough for a righteous requirement. No plea could be found in the littleness of the sum; it is not even urged. No man is entitled to say that his human spirit is worth nothing to God, his life worth nothing to the cause of righteousness; only God knows how valuable one human spirit, one earthly life, is.
4. No slavish timidity will excuse the most faint-hearted (vers. 21, 22). Our God is not a Being from whose service we have to turn because we shrink from his severity. (Psa_103:8-14 Isa_40:29 Isa_57:16 2Co_8:12)
II TO LOOK FORWARD TO A DAY OF ACCOUNT AND OF AWARD.
1. There will be a day of judgment. The nobleman will return and call his servants before him (ver. 15). This may stand for some one great day, or we may still better look upon it as the day, when our earthly life terminates, and when we shall, as individual souls, stand before the Judge.
2. God will require of us the use we have made of our opportunity; what we have gained; what we have done in the direction
(1) of self-culture, ministering to the growth of our spiritual faculties;
(2) of the service of our kind, enlightening and aiding and blessing them;
(3) of magnifying the Name of our Divine Lord.
1. He will express his Divine judgment concerning us his warm approval of those who have been most faithful (ver. 17); his acceptance of those who have not been unfaithful (ver. 19); his displeasure with the unworthy (ver. 22). We are to look for the clearly and fully expressed decision of Jesus Christ upon the character of our life-work, upon the comparative excellency or faultiness of our Christian life.
2. He will determine the measure of our award by the degree of our fidelity(see vers. 17, 19). The more faithful and devoted the life on earth, the larger the recompense, the brighter the crown, the broader the sphere, in the heavenly kingdom. The doctrine of Mat_20:14, 15 does not contradict this; it simply teaches that those to whom God gives a smaller share of bounty and of grace are not to complain because there are those to whom he grants a larger one. God is righteous, and he not only will not forget our work and labour of love, (Heb_6:10) but he will not allow those of his servants who have devoted their powers to his cause with the greatest energy, constancy, and self-sacrifice to miss the most generous and gracious recognition at his loving hand. C.
Vers. 12-24. Life a sacred opportunity.
We may bring out the main thought of our Master in this parable if we consider the four points of
I GOD"S SOVEREIGNTY OF OUR LIFE. He is the Divine Lord of our life. It came from him; it is continued by him; it is enriched perpetually and liberally from his bountiful stores; and it is subject to his sway. He has a sovereign right to determine what it shall be what shall be its aim and its issue. He is the "nobleman;" we are "his servants." if we do think of objecting to his claim (ver. 14), we shall only be disappointed and defeated in our rebelliousness of heart. He cannot be dethroned; against his right to rule there can be no appeal. Submission is our true wisdom, as it is our first and last obligation.
II THE SACRED CHARGE HE LAYS UPON US. He gives to each of us money (silver) a talent (Matthew 25), a "pound" (text), and he says to each of us, "Occupy till I come.
1. The time of the nobleman"s absence represents our mortal life, or (more correctly) the period between our first sense of responsibility and the last hour of consciousness.
2. The pound (talent)represents the opportunity of service which he places within our reach. This opportunity is compounded of
(1) our natural capacity bodily, mental, spiritual; and of
(2) all the favourable circumstances by which we are attended as we pass through our life education, home influence, capital, facilities for entering a sphere of activity, etc.
And this sacred opportunity looks out in three directions:
(1) the cultivation of our own nature;
(2) the service of mankind;
(3) the worship of God, and work in his broad field.
The Lord of our life is saying to us, "Occupy till I come;" i.e. put out this pound, employ this sacred opportunity now within your reach, turn it to good account, use your capacities and your circumstances for high and noble ends for your own spiritual enlargement, for the good of your brethren, for the glory of Christ.
III THE REWARD OF FAITHFULNESS. (Vers. 16-19) Here are two principles on which we may depend as guiding the Divine hand when the day of account arrives.
1. Those who have done well will receive God"s gracious commendation and reward. To them he will express his good pleasure, and to them he will give an award.
2. They who have been more faithful will receive the more gracious approval and the larger sphere. He who turns his one pound into ten has a warmer welcome and a more liberal reward; to him are those most gladdening words addressed, and to him are entrusted not five but ten cities over which to rule (ver. 17). "Then shall every man have praise of God." But then shall those who have striven hard and Toiled long and suffered much in the cause of Jesus Christ have a full measure of benediction; and to such will be apportioned a crown that will be bright indeed, a sphere that will be broad indeed.
IV THE PENALTY OF NEGLIGENCE. (Vers. 20-24) The slothful servant may make excuses, but they will be brushed aside; he himself will be severely condemned; he will he divested of what he has left him; he will be sent into saddest exile. (Mat_25:30) It is not the atheist, or the criminal, or the perpetrator of vicious deeds; it is not the outward and flagrant transgressor, who is here condemned and sentenced; it is the man who made nothing of his life; it is the man who had no sense of sacred responsibility; it is he who withheld his powers from the service of God; it is he who is pronounced to be so guilty. To let our lives go by without making them a service and a blessing, to let our powers and our opportunities rust in mere disuse, is to be accumulating a debt which we shall not be able to discharge, and which will make us to appear bankrupt at the great account. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv12–16 12. A certain nobleman went into a far country.…
12. A certain nobleman went into a far country. While this parable is much like that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14–30 and Mark 13:34–36), it is a different one in many particulars; spoken elsewhere; for a different purpose. To receive for himself a kingdom. As Christ would leave the earth and ascend to heaven before he would receive his kingdom.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Luk 19:16, Luk 19:18.
Luke
THE TRADING SERVANTS
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Luk 19:16, Luk 19:18.
The Evangelist, contrary to his usual practice, tells us what was the occasion of this parable. It was spoken at Jericho, on our Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem, Bethany was but a day’s march distant; Calvary but a week ahead. An unusual tension of spirit marked our Lord’s demeanour, and was noticed by the disciples with awe. It infected them, and the excitable crowd, which was more than usually excitable because on its way to the passover festival. The air was electric, and everybody felt that something was impending. They ‘thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.’ So Christ spoke this parable to damp down that expectation which might easily flash up into the flame of rebellion. He tells them His real programme. He was to go a long way off to receive the kingdom. That was a familiar experience amongst the nations tributary to Rome, and more than one of the Herodian family had passed through it. In the meantime there was to be a period of expectancy. It was to be a long time, for he had to go to a ‘far country,’ and it was to be extended enough for the servants to turn their money over many times during His absence. When He did return it was not to do what they expected. They thought that the kingdom meant Jewish lordship over subject nations. He teaches them that it meant the destruction of the rebellious citizens, and a rigid scrutiny of the servants’ faithfulness.
Now, the words of my two texts bring out in connection with this outline of the future some large lessons which I desire to draw.
I. Notice the small capital that the servants receive to trade with.
It was a pound apiece, which, numismatic authorities tell us, is somewhat about the same value as some £6 odd of English money; though, of course, the purchasing power would be considerably greater. A small amount, and an equal amount to every servant-these are the two salient points of this parable. They make the broad distinction between it and the other parable, which is often mixed up with it, the parable of the talents. There, instead of the amount being excessively small, it is exceedingly great; for a talent was worth some £400, and ten talents would be £4000, a fair capital for a man to start with. The other point of difference between the two parables, which belongs to the essence of each, is that while the gift in the one case is identical, in the other case it is graduated and different.
Now, to suppose that these are but two varying versions of the same parable, which the Evangelists have manipulated is, in my judgment, to be blind to the plainest of the lessons to be drawn from them.
There are two sorts of gifts. In one, all Christian men, the Master’s servants, are alike; in another, they differ. Now, what is the thing in which all Christians are alike? What gift do they all possess equally; rich and poor, largely endowed or slenderly equipped; ‘talented’-as we use the word from the parable-or not? The rich man and the poor, the wise man and the foolish, the cultured man and the ignorant, the Fijian and the Englishman, have one thing alike-the message of salvation which we call the Gospel of the blessed Lord. That is the ‘pound.’ We all stand upon an equal platform there, however differently we are endowed in respect of capacities and other matters. All have it; and all have the same.
Now if that is the interpretation of this parable, there are considerations that flow from that thought, and on which I would dwell for a moment.
The first of them is the apparent smallness of the gift. You may feel a difficulty in accepting that explanation, and may have been saying to yourselves that it cannot be correct, because Jesus Christ would never compare the unspeakable gift of His message of salvation through Him, to that paltry sum. But throw yourselves back to the moment of utterance, and I think you will feel the pathos and power of the metaphor. Here was that handful of disciples set in the midst of a hostile world, dead against them, with its banded superstitions, venerable idolatries, systematised philosophies, the force of the mightiest instruments of material power that the world had ever seen, in the organisation and military power of Rome. And there stood twelve Galilean men, with their simple, unlettered message; one poor ‘pound,’ and that was all. ‘The foolishness of preaching,’ the message which to ‘the Jews was a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks was folly,’ was all that they were equipped with. Their Master, who left them to seek a Kingdom, had so little to bestow, before He received His crown, that all that He could spare them was that small sum. They had to go into business in a very poor way. They had to be content to do a very insignificant retail trade. ‘The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.’ The old experience of the leather sling and the five stones out of the brook, in the hand of the stripling, that made short work of the brazen armour of the giant, and penetrated with a whizz into his thick skull, and laid him prostrate, was to be repeated. ‘He called his servants, and gave them’-a pound apiece! If you and I, Christian men and women, were true to the Master’s legacy, and believed that we have in it more wealth than the treasures of wisdom and knowledge or force which the world has laid up, we should find that our mite was more than they all have in their possession.
Further, the texts suggest the purpose for which the pound is given. The servants had to live on it themselves, no doubt. So have we. They had to trade with it. So have we. Now that means two things. We get the Gospel, not as some of us lazily suppose, in order to secure that we shall not be punished for our past sins whilst we live, and go to heaven when we die. We get it, not only to enjoy its consolations and its sweetness, but to do business with.
And there are two ways in which this trading is to be done by us. The main one is the honest application of the principles and powers of the Gospel to the moulding of our own characters, and the making us better, purer, gentler, more heavenly-minded, and more Christlike. That is the first trading that we have to carry on with the Word. We get it not for an indolent assent, as so many of us misuse it. We receive it not merely to say, ‘Oh I believe it,’ and there an end, but that we may bring it to bear upon all our conduct, and that it may be the chief formative influence in our characters. Christian people! is that what you do with your Christianity? Is the Gospel moulding you, hour by hour, moment by moment? Have you brought all its great truths to bear upon your daily lives? Have you inwrought its substance into, not merely your understandings or your emotions, but your daily conduct? Is it indeed the life of your lives, and the leaven that is leavening your whole character? You have it to trade with; see that you do not wrap it in a napkin, and stow it idly away in some corner.
Then there is the other way of trading and that is, telling it to others. That is an obligation incumbent on all Christians. There may be differences in regard to other gifts, which determine the manner in which each shall use the equal gift which we all possess alike. But these are of subordinate importance. The main thing is to feel that the possession of Christian faith, which is our way of receiving the pound, carries with it indissolubly the obligation of Christian evangelism. However it may be discharged, discharged it is to be, by every true servant. I am sometimes half disposed to think that it would have been better for the Church if there had never been any men in my position, on whom the mass of unspiritual, idle because busy, and silent because little-loving, Christian professors contentedly roll the whole obligation to preach God’s Gospel. My brethren, the world is not going to be evangelised by officials. Until all Christian people wake up to the sense that they have the ‘pound’ to trade with, there will be nothing adequate done to bring the world to the obedience and the love of Jesus Christ. You say you have the Gospel; if you have it what are you doing with it?
Self-centred Christianity, if such a thing were possible, is a mistake. It is generally a sham; it is always a crime. A man that puts away his pound, and never goes out and says, ‘Come, share with me in the wealth that I have found in Jesus Christ’ will be like a miser that puts his hoardings into an old stocking, and hides it in the ground somewhere. When he goes to dig it up, he is only too likely to find that all the coins have slipped out. If you want to keep your Christianity, let the air into it. If you want it to increase, sow it. There are hosts of you who would be far happier Christian people, if you came out of your shells and traded with your pound.
II. Observe the varying profits of the trading.
The one man says, ‘Thy pound hath gained ten pounds.’ The other says, ‘Thy pound hath gained five pounds.’ And the others who are not mentioned, no doubt, had also varying results to present. Now that inequality of profits from an equal capital to start with, is but a picturesque way of saying what is, alas! too obviously true, that Christian people do not all stand on the same level in regard to the use they have made of, and the benefits they have derived from, the one equal gift which was bestowed upon them. It is the same to every one at the beginning, but differences develop as they go on. One man makes twice as much out of it as another does.
Now, let us distinctly understand what sort of differences these are which our Lord signalises here. Let me clear away a mistake which may interfere with the true lessons of this parable, that the differences in question are the superficial ones in apparent results which follow from difference of endowments, or from difference of influential position. That is the kind of meaning that is often attached to the ‘ten pounds’ or the ‘five pounds’ in the text. We think that the ten pounder is the man who has been able to do some large spiritual work for Jesus Christ, that fills the world with its greatness, the man who has been set in some most conspicuous place, and by reason of intellectual ability or other talent has been able to gather in many souls into the kingdom; but that is not Christ’s way of estimating. We should be going dead in the teeth of everything that He teaches if we thought that such as these were the differences intended. No, no! Every man that co-operates in a great work with equal diligence and devotion has an equal place in his eyes. The soldier that clapped Luther on the back as he was going into the Diet of Worms, and said, ‘You have a bigger fight to fight than we ever had; cheer up, little monk!’ stands on the same level as the great reformer, if what he did was done from the game motive and with as full consecration of himself. The old law of Israel states the true principle of Christian recompense: they that ‘abide by the stuff’ have the same share in the spoil as they ‘that go down into the battle.’ All servants who have exercised equal faithfulness and equal diligence stand on the same level and have the same success; no matter how different may be their estimation in the eyes of men; no matter how different may be the conspicuousness of the places that they fill in the eyes of the world whilst they live, or in the records of the Church when they are dead. Equal diligence will issue in equal results in the development of character, and the only reason for the diversity of results is the diversity of faithfulness and of zeal in trading with the pound.
Notice, too, before I go further, how all who trade make profits. There are no bad debts in that business. There are no investments that result in a loss. Everybody that goes into it makes something by it; which is just to say that any man who is honest and earnest in the attempt to utilise the powers of Christ’s Gospel for his own culture, or for the world’s good, will succeed in reality, however he may seem to fail in appearance. There are no commercial failures in this trading. The man with his ten pounds of profit made them because he worked hardest. The man that made the five made all that his work entitled him to. There was no one who came and said, ‘Lord! I put thy pound into my little shop, and I did my best with it, and it is all gone!’ Every Christian effort is crowned with success.
III. Lastly, we have here the final declaration of profits.
The master has come back. He is a king now, but he is the master still, and he wants to know what has become of the money that was left in the servants’ hands. Now, that is but a metaphorical way of bringing to our minds that which we cannot conceive of without metaphor-viz., the retribution that lies beyond the grave for us all. Although we cannot conceive it without metaphor, we may reach, through the metaphor to some apprehension, at any rate, of the facts that lie behind it. There are two points in reference to this final declaration of profits suggested here.
The first is this, that all the profit is ascribed to the capital. Neither of the two men say: ‘I, with thy pound, have gained,’ but ‘Thy pound hath gained.’ That is accurately true. For if I accept, and live by, any great moral truth or principle, it is the principle or the truth that is the real productive cause of the change in my life and character. I, by my acceptance of it, simply put the belt on the drum that connects my loom with the engine, but it is the engine that drives the looms and the shuttle, and brings out the web at last. And so, Christian people who, with God’s grace in their hearts, have utilised the ‘pound,’ and thereby made themselves Christlike, have to say, ‘It was not I, but Christ in me. It was the Gospel, and not my faith in the Gospel, that wrought this change.’ Is it your teeth or your dinner that nourishes you? Is it the Gospel or your trust in the Gospel that is the true cause of your sanctifying?
With regard to the other aspect of this trading, the same thing is true. Is it my word or Christ’s Word ministered by me that helps any of my hearers who are helped? Surely! surely! there is no question about that. It is the ‘pound’ that gains the ‘pounds.’ ‘Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So, then, neither is he that planteth anything nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.’
The other consideration suggested by these words is the exact knowledge of the precise results of a life, which is possessed at last. Each servant knew precisely what was the net outcome of his whole activity. That is exactly what we do not know here, and never shall, and never can know. But yonder all illusions will have vanished; and there will be two sorts of disillusionising then. Men, for instance, of my profession, whose names are familiar, and who hold high places in the esteem of the Church, and may be tempted to suppose that they have done a great deal-I am afraid that many of us will find, when we get yonder, that we have not done nearly so much as our admirers in this world, and we ourselves, were sometimes tempted to think that we had done. The searching light that comes in will show a great many seamy places in the cloth that looks very sound when it is inspected in the twilight. And there will be another kind of disillusionising. Many a man has said, ‘Lord! I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought,’ who will find out that he was mistaken, and that where he saw failure there were solid results; that where he thought the grain had perished in the furrows, it had sprung up and borne fruit unto life everlasting. ‘Lord! when saw we Thee in prison, and visited Thee?’ We never knew that we had done anything of the sort. ‘Behold! I was left alone,’ said the widowed Jerusalem when she was restored to her husband, ‘these’-children that have gathered round me-’where had they been?’ We shall know, for good or bad, exactly the results of our lives.
We shall have to tell them. The slothful servant, too, was under this compulsion of absolute honesty. If he had not been so, do you think he would have ventured to stand up before his master, a king now, and insult him to his face? But he had to turn himself inside out, and tell then what he had thought in his inmost heart. So ‘every one of us shall give an account of himself to God’; and like a man in the bankruptcy court, we shall have to explain our books, and go into all our transactions. We are working in the dark today. Our work will be seen as it is, in the light. The coral reef rises in the ocean, and the creatures that made it do not see it. The ocean will be drained away, and the reef will stand up sheer and distinct.
My brother! ‘I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire’-and when you have bought your pound, see that you use it; for ‘it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 "mina," here translated "a pound," is 12 ounces and…
pounds
"mina," here translated "a pound," is 12 ounces and a half.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v15 The accounting:
The accounting:
v. 15. And it came to pass that, when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
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v. 16. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
v. 17. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant; because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
v. 18. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
v. 19. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
v. 20. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin;
v. 21. for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
The prince pursued his intention in spite of all the hatred and enmity of his rebellious subjects; he did not change his plans in one particle; at the appointed time he returned to his country. His first official act upon his return was to summon the servants before him to whom he had entrusted the silver. This was the most important business: it had to be settled before anything else was undertaken. He wanted to know what business they had done and what success they had had, for the object had been to test their fidelity and capacity. The first servant came before him with a modest report. Successful he had been indeed, but he ascribed this to the mina of the lord: it had gained ten further pounds. That was a splendid increase, showing the hard and faithful work of the servant. The lord therefore praised the servant as good, noble, devoted, and rewarded him far beyond his hopes and deserts, giving him authority over ten cities. It was a gracious reward of faithfulness. A second servant had had similar success and reported on it with the same modesty. He was also praised highly and placed in charge of five cities. But with a third servant things did not look well from the start. With slinking gait he approached, with whining voice he attempted to excuse his failure. He brought back the one piece of money which the lord had entrusted to him, having had it wrapped up and carefully laid away in a napkin. As in the case of the average useless servant, his excuse contained an accusation against the master. He had been afraid on account of the austerity of the lord, literally, because he was such an exacting employer. Besides, he took things which he had not laid down, and harvested where he had not sowed. The servant had, from the start, despaired of pleasing the master, since he was afraid of an exorbitant demand for profit. This was a feeble and unjust accusation, merely calculated to cover over the servant’s laziness. It was his business to serve the master to the best of his ability.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 16, 18 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus continues to tell the parable he began in Luke 19:11.
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He called
"The nobleman called." It may be helpful to state that the man did this before he left to receive his kingdom. AT: "Before he left, he called"
gave them ten minas
"gave each of them one mina"
ten minas
A mina was 600 grams, probably of silver. Each mina was equal to 100 days' wages, what people would be paid for about four months' work, so ten minas would have been about three years' wages. AT: "ten valuable coins" or "a large amount of money" (See: Biblical Weight and Numbers)
Conduct business
"Trade with this money" or "Use this money in order to earn more"
his citizens
"the people of his country"
a delegation
"a group of people to represent them" or "several messengers"
It happened
This phrase is used here to mark an important event in the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
having received the kingdom
"after he had become king"
to be called to him
This can be stated in active form. AT: "to come to him" (See: Active or Passive)
what profit they had made
"how much money they had earned"
translationWords
servant
citizen
ambassador
rule
command
profit
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 14, 17 19:12 A nobleman was called away to a distant…
19:12 A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king: The account fits the situation of Judea as a client kingdom of the Roman Empire. After the death of a king, claimants to the throne would go to Rome to try to gain support. Like the nobleman, Jesus would first depart (to heaven) to receive his royal authority; he will later return to rule God’s people and judge those who have opposed him (see 19:14, 27).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.