Perhaps you’ve heard that your talents are a gift from God, and that he wants you to dedicate them to his service. Maybe you can sing or teach. You might be good at volleyball. Perhaps you enjoy setting up chairs or planning baby showers. I can play the trombone, and I’m pretty good with numbers and accounting. But in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:14-30, all these things are beside the point.
Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled inspirational stories—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages don’t actually mean what we’ve always assumed.
Lars Hammar (2012), Creative Commons
Part of a Single Speech
When we come to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14, we ought to look closely enough to ask an obvious question:
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
You see it, don’t you? I mean this literally: You see “it,” don’t you? “For it will be like a man going on a journey…” Perhaps, to understand this parable, we first need to grapple with what “it” is. What is it, exactly, that will be like a man going on a journey?
In studying this parable, we should see that it’s only one small part of a long lecture given by Jesus on a single occasion. This lecture, starting in Matthew 24:4 and continuing to Matt 25:46, is his answer to his disciples’ questions in Matt 24:3. When will the temple be destroyed? What is the sign of your coming? What is the sign of the end of the age?
We could even probably include Matthew 23 as a part of this discourse, as it provides the setup for the the judgment pronounced in Matt 24:1-2. But even if we consider only chapters 24 and 25 as making up this speech, we’ll be off to a great start.
So, now that we’ve realized this parable is merely one point in a longer speech, what help can we get from the rest of the speech about what “it” is?
Working Backwards
The immediately preceding paragraph tells another parable, also about two groups of subordinates, one faithful and the other unfaithful—just like the parable of the talents. And this preceding parable begins like this:
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. (Matt 25:1)
So we have the same set up, except there is no “it.” The subject, the thing which “will be like” the story that follows, is: the kingdom of heaven. So far, so good. But what does he mean by “the kingdom of heaven,” and how it will be like a man going on a journey?
Backing up further, the next paragraph speaks of a faithful and wise servant who receives a reward (Matt 24:45-47) in contrast to a wicked servant relegated to a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 24:48-51). This is very closely connected to what happens in the parable of the talents. And Matt 24:45-51 uses more straightforward language than what we find in the parable of the talents. The difference between the faithful servant and the foolish servant lies in how they each treat their Master’s household. For the one who treats the Master’s people and other servants well, there is a reward of greater responsibility over “all his possessions.” For the one who beats his fellow servants and abandons his duties, there is an assurance of removal, destruction, and torment.
Backing up even further, the next earlier paragraph highlights the fact that the Son of Man will return at an hour his own followers do not expect. Because of this uncertainty, they must always be ready for him (Matt 24:44).
So we can draw a few conclusions:
- The IT in Matt 25:14 is the kingdom of heaven.
- The parable continues the theme of the Master’s return at an unexpected time.
- The Master’s judgment of his servants is based on how his servants treat his people.
So What are My Talents?
So when Jesus tells a story about a man going on a journey, calling his servants, and entrusting to them his property, we must understand that his property, the “talents” he leaves with them, is the people of his kingdom. In Jesus’ day, a “talent” was a very large sum of money. The NIV translators had good reason to translate the Greek term “talents” as “bags of gold” (Matt 25:15, NIV). These people are valuable to the Master.
These “talents” are a metaphor of the people of God. The members of God’s household. Our fellow servants and co-heirs in the kingdom.
In telling this parable, Jesus is not primarily concerned with whether you use your personality traits and unique skill sets to help the Christian community. He is much more concerned with how you treat the people themselves. Are you investing in them or burying them? Are you putting them to good use? Are you putting them to work so they can help recruit even more people into the kingdom, or are you making decisions from fear of losing the people you already have? Are you multiplying their efforts for the sake of his glorious kingdom?
Do this, and great will be your reward when your Master returns and calls for accounting. Fail to do this, and your fears will find you out.
If you see yourself more in the latter class than the former, what is your way out? Remember who your Master is. He is not hard and demanding (Matt 25:24-25), but gentle and lowly in heart, showing you the narrow way of rest (Matt 11:29, 7:13-14).
Confirmation From the Following Context
And lest you think I’m completely crazy in reading the parable of the talents in this way, consider where Jesus goes next, in the conclusion to his speech. What is the only observable difference between the sheep and the goats, between those who find eternal life and those sent to eternal death?
Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Jesus’ most precious possession is his people. Make sure he returns to find you treating them well and multiplying their efforts.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… (Matt 28:19)
Context matters.
