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The Parable of the Talents (also Parable of the Minas, or Parable of the Pounds), is one of four parables of Jesus concerning the sign of the Son of man and the end of the age. It appears in two canonical gospels of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke; a thematically variant parable also appears in the apocryphal (non-canonical) Gospel of the Hebrews. The context of the New Testament parables are essentially the same, with differences being in the details.[1]
Background
In the Gospel of Matthew chapters 24 to 25, the parable of the talents is the third parable in a four part series that Jesus conveys to his disciples when they inquired as to what the sign of his presence would be, or second coming, and the end of the age, or end times. The other three being Faithful and discreet slave, Parable of the Ten Virgins, and The Sheep and the Goats.
Settings
While the basic story in each of these parables is essentially the same, the settings are quite different. between the parables that appear in the Gospel of Matthew 24:45 to 25:46 and in the Gospel of Luke 19:12-27 are sufficient to indicate that the parables are not derived from the same source.[1] In Matthew, the opening words link the Parable of the Talents to the preceding Parable of the Ten Virgins, which refers to the Kingdom of Heaven.[1]
- The setting of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is the Mt. Olivet discourse. In Matthew 24 and 25, the overall theme is end-time events, warning, and parables. "The direct cautions and warnings (Matt. 24:42, 44; 25:13) must be for the disciples (his audience)—warnings to be watchful and to be ready for Christ’s coming".
- The setting of the parable of the minas in Luke 19 was out in the open among the crowd. Zacchaeus had just believed and the Lord acknowledged his salvation. But, the crowd was now looking for Jesus to set up his kingdom.[2]
Parable of the Talents
The parable of the talents, or parable of the minas, is one of four related illustrations in the book of Matthew 24:45 to 25:46. The other three—about the faithful and discreet slave, the ten virgins, and the sheep and the goats—are also part of Jesus’ answer to the question about the sign of his presence. In all four illustrations, Jesus highlights traits that would distinguish his true followers in these last days. The illustrations about the slave, the virgins, and the talents are directed to his anointed followers. In the illustration involving the faithful slave, Jesus highlights the need for the small group of anointed ones entrusted with feeding his domestics during the last days to be faithful and discreet. In the parable of the virgins, Jesus stresses that all his anointed followers would need to be prepared and to be vigilant, knowing that Jesus is coming but not knowing the day or the hour. In the parable of the talents, Jesus shows that the anointed would need to be diligent in carrying out their Christian responsibilities. Jesus directs the final illustration, the parable of the sheep and the goats, to those with an earthly hope. He emphasizes that they would have to be loyal and give full support to Jesus’ anointed brothers on earth. * Let us now focus on the illustration of the talents.
Jesus gave the parable of the talents as part of the answer to his disciples’ question about “the sign of [his] presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 24:3)
Similarities of the Talents and the Minas
The parables of the talents and the minas have a number of features in common. Both describe a man in authority who before embarking on a journey summons his slaves and commits to them his money, instructing them to increase his belongings. Then, when the man returns, he holds his slaves accountable for the way they used the money. (Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27) In both illustrations, the master (1) pictures Jesus, and the slaves (2) picture his anointed disciples. In each account, the master entrusts his slaves with money (3), which pictures the precious privilege of making disciples. Both accounts also contain a warning about what would happen if Christ’s disciples developed the characteristics of a wicked slave.
Material
THE MASTER GIVES HIS SLAVES A FORTUNE 4 Read Matthew 25:14-30. Our publications have long explained that the man, or the master, in the illustration is Jesus and that he traveled abroad when he ascended to heaven in 33 C.E. In an earlier parable, Jesus reveals his purpose of traveling abroad, namely, “to secure kingly power for himself.” (Luke 19:12) Jesus did not immediately secure full Kingdom power when he got back to heaven. * Instead, he “sat down at the right hand of God, from then on waiting until his enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet.”—Heb. 10:12, 13.
5 The man in the illustration possessed eight talents, a huge fortune in those days. * Before traveling abroad, he distributed the talents among his slaves, expecting them to do business while he was gone. Like that man, Jesus possessed something of great value before he ascended to heaven. What was that? The answer has to do with his life’s work.
6 Jesus attached great importance to his preaching and teaching work. (Read Luke 4:43.) By means of it, he cultivated a field that had rich potential. Earlier, he told his disciples: “Lift up your eyes and view the fields, that they are white for harvesting.” (John 4:35-38) He had in mind the ingathering of many other honesthearted ones who would become his disciples. Like a good farmer, Jesus would not leave unattended a field that was ripe for harvesting. Hence, shortly after his resurrection and before his ascension to heaven, he gave his disciples the weighty commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples.” (Matt. 28:18-20) Jesus thus entrusted them with a precious treasure, the Christian ministry.—2 Cor. 4:7.
7 What, then, may we conclude? When giving his followers the commission to make disciples, Jesus was, in effect, committing to them “his belongings”—his talents. (Matt. 25:14) Put simply, the talents refer to the responsibility to preach and make disciples.
8 The parable of the talents reveals that the master gave to one slave five talents, to another two, and to still another just one. (Matt. 25:15) Although each slave received a different number, the master expected all of them to be diligent in using the talents, that is, in serving to the best of their ability in the ministry. (Matt. 22:37; Col. 3:23) In the first century, starting at Pentecost 33 C.E., Christ’s followers began doing business with the talents. Their diligence in the preaching and disciple-making work is well-documented in the Bible book of Acts. *—Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20.
9 In the time of the end, particularly from 1919 on, Christ’s faithful anointed slaves on earth have been doing business with the Master’s talents. Like the first two slaves, anointed brothers and sisters have done their best with what they have. There is no need to speculate about who received the five talents and who received the two talents. In the illustration, both slaves doubled what the master gave them, so both were equally diligent. What role do those with the earthly hope play? An important one! Jesus’ illustration of the sheep and the goats teaches us that those with the earthly hope have the honor of loyally supporting Jesus’ anointed brothers in the preaching and teaching work. During these critical last days, the two groups work together as “one flock” in zealously carrying out the work of making disciples.—John 10:16.
10 The Master rightly expects results. As previously mentioned, his faithful disciples in the first century certainly increased his belongings. What about in this time of the end when the parable of the talents finds its fulfillment? Jesus’ faithful, hardworking servants have carried out the greatest preaching and disciple-making work in history. Their collective effort has resulted in hundreds of thousands of new disciples being added to the ranks of Kingdom proclaimers each year, making the preaching and teaching work an outstanding feature of the sign of Jesus’ presence in Kingdom power. Surely their Master must be pleased!
11 Jesus will come to settle accounts with his slaves toward the end of the great tribulation just ahead. What leads us to this conclusion? In his prophecy recorded in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Jesus repeatedly mentioned his coming. Referring to the judgment during the great tribulation, he said that people “will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven.” He urged his followers living in the last days to be vigilant, saying: “You do not know on what day your Lord is coming” and “the Son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think to be it.” (Matt. 24:30, 42, 44) Hence, when Jesus said that “the master of those slaves came and settled accounts,” he was evidently referring to the time when he will come to execute judgment at the end of this system. *—Matt. 25:19.
12 According to the parable, when the master comes, he finds that the first two slaves—the one given five talents and the one given two—have proved faithful, each doubling his talents. The master says the same thing to both slaves: “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things.” (Matt. 25:21, 23) What, then, may we expect when the Master, the glorified Jesus, comes for judgment in the future?
13 Those represented by the first two slaves—his hardworking anointed disciples—will already have received their final sealing before the great tribulation breaks out. (Rev. 7:1-3) Before Armageddon, Jesus will give them their promised heavenly reward. Those with the earthly hope who supported Christ’s brothers in the preaching work will have been judged as sheep and will be granted the privilege of living in the earthly realm of the Kingdom.—Matt. 25:34.
14 In the parable, the last slave buried his talent instead of doing business with it or even depositing it with the bankers. This slave showed a bad spirit, for he deliberately worked against the master’s interests. The master rightly pronounced him “wicked and sluggish.” The master took the talent away from him and gave it to the one who had ten. The wicked slave was then thrown “out into the darkness outside.” “There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth” would be.—Matt. 25:24-30; Luke 19:22, 23.
15 One of the master’s three slaves hid his talent, so was Jesus here indicating that one third of his anointed followers would prove to be wicked and sluggish? No. Consider the context. In the illustration of the faithful and discreet slave, Jesus spoke of an evil slave who beat his fellow slaves. Jesus was not there foretelling that an evil slave class would arise. Rather, he was warning the faithful slave not to display the traits of an evil slave. Similarly, in the illustration of the ten virgins, Jesus was not indicating that half of his anointed followers would be like the five foolish virgins. Instead, he was warning his spiritual brothers about what would happen if they lost their sense of vigilance and did not prove to be prepared. * In this context, it seems reasonable to conclude that in the illustration of the talents, Jesus was not saying that a large number of his anointed brothers during the last days would be wicked and sluggish. Rather, Jesus was warning his anointed followers of the need to remain diligent—to ‘do business’ with their talent—and avoid the attitudes and actions of a wicked slave.—Matt. 25:16.
16 What two lessons do we learn from the parable of the talents? First, the Master, Christ, has entrusted his anointed slaves with something that he views as precious—the commission to preach and make disciples. Second, Christ expects all of us to be diligent in the preaching work. If we are, we can be sure that the Master will reward our faith, vigilance, and loyalty.—Matt. 25:21, 23, 34.
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