Second Sunday of End Time (Last Judgment)
Shepherd
of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)
“More Will Be Given”
Luke 19:11-27
11 While they were listening
to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and
the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at
once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant
country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he
called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to
work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated him and
sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king,
however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given
the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 “The
first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well
done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been
trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 “The
second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His
master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 20 “Then another
servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a
piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man.
You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I
will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you,
that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did
not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when
I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to
those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has
ten minas.’ 25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 “He
replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for
the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken
away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king
over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’” (NIV)
It’s unfortunate that his
size seems to be what he is remembered for most. We even sing a song about what a wee little
man Zacchaeus was. But the story has
less to do with his stature and more to do with God’s grace shown through Jesus
in his interaction with Zacchaeus. It
appeared that one of the often overlooked drawbacks to wealth was eating away
at Zacchaeus: guilt. Now it isn’t wrong
to be wealthy, but depending on how one comes by that wealth, it can eat a
person up inside. Zacchaeus hadn’t come
by his wealth honestly. Though he didn’t
don a black ski mask while going from house to house, he might as well have,
for he thought he could hide behind his government job to justify stealing from
one person after another. Finally it was
enough. The guilt led him to Jesus, in
hopes that Jesus might provide some wisdom on the matter. He did better than that. He provided salvation for the humbled and
repentant Zacchaeus. As a guest at the
house of Zacchaeus, Jesus spoke words that undoubtedly filled Zacchaeus with a
peace of mind that must have eluded him for years. “Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has
come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of
Man came to seek and to save what was lost’” (Luke 19:9,10). Ah, what sweet relief it must have been! His past record of 7th
Commandment–shattering offenses was cleared and a life characterized by
stealing was now characterized by salvation.
The “sinner,” as everyone else viewed him (19:7), had become a saint,
and this because of his Savior.
A familiarity with the
account of Zacchaeus helps guard against a misunderstanding of the parable
Jesus told next. Jesus did not speak the
parable as an explanation of how salvation came to Zacchaeus. No, Zacchaeus had not done and could not do
anything to earn what is only a gift freely given. Zacchaeus hadn’t earned or deserved his
salvation because he had vowed to return what he had stolen and then some. Salvation was Jesus’ gift to Zacchaeus, as it
is to all who believe. So Jesus’ parable
does not find application in the realm of salvation, but rather sanctification
(stewardship of the means of grace). The
parable is concerned with how believers like Zacchaeus live their faith, and
not how they earn it, as if that were even possible in the first place.
What prompted Jesus to speak
the parable, after having announced the good news of salvation to Zacchaeus,
was the misunderstanding people had about why Jesus had come. Jericho was not far from Jerusalem, and word
had gotten around that Jerusalem was Jesus’ next – and as it would turn out,
last – stop. Luke tells us, “the
people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once” (v.11). They took the kingdom of God to be an earthly
establishment of God’s dominion, and they saw Jesus as the one through whom
this coup of the Roman government would come.
The way things were at present was just about to change for the better,
they thought. God, as he had repeatedly
done throughout the history of his chosen people, would once again come and
bring deliverance. And Jesus appeared to
be his chosen instrument. How right they
were about Jesus being God’s chosen, anointed instrument! How wrong they were about how God would use
his chosen, anointed instrument. He
hadn’t come to earth to live as a worldly king, but to die as a convicted
criminal.
Jesus’ parable was designed
not only to cool heightening expectations of an established earthly kingdom,
but also to elaborate on how he planned “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke
19:10). While Jesus was the only
one who could secure salvation by his life, death, and resurrection, his plan
involved using believers – the Church – to spread the news of salvation. Through that work Jesus seeks and saves the
lost. And to Christians faithfully
fulfilling their calling to hear and to share the gospel, Jesus promises, “more
will be given” (v.26.).
Jesus’ parable about the
noblemen despised by his subjects would have been particularly pointed to his
hearers. History tells us that after
Herod the Great died, one of his sons named Archelaus travelled to Rome to officially
request that the Roman Emperor would grant him his father’s territory. The Jews, however, opposed such an
appointment, as they did not desire to be under anyone from Herod’s line, but
preferred instead to become a Roman province.
They also sent a delegation to Rome to express their opposition to
having Archelaus over them. Ultimately
the request of Archelaus was granted, much to the dismay of the Jewish people. Undoubtedly then, the whole storyline of
Jesus’ parable would have resonated with his listeners. And as if to serve as the perfect visual aid
to make his parable really hit home, right there in Jericho, where Jesus told
this parable, was a stinging reminder of the whole incident, an impressive
palace built by none other than Archelaus himself.
With that understanding in
mind, we turn our attention to the parable.
A man departing on a trip to become appointed king entrusted his
servants with some of his wealth. He
expected them to put his wealth to work for him so that it would earn a return
by the time he came back from his trip.
Two of his servants did just that.
They put his money to work and both were rewarded with very handsome
returns. Another servant, however, did
nothing with what was entrusted to him except hide it away. When he returned only what was given to him
and nothing more, he explained that he was afraid of his demanding master and
so didn’t want to risk losing it. Based
on his master’s response, we see that his faulty logic didn’t fly. “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by
your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man,
taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then
didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have
collected it with interest?’” (v.22,23). He then proceeded to take away the servant’s
one mina and give it to the one who had earned ten. To those who cried foul because the master
was only helping the rich get richer, the master replied, “I tell you that to everyone who
has, more will be given” (v.26).
The meaning of the parable is
this: the man of noble birth is Jesus, who would be going away to his heavenly
throne after his death and resurrection; but he would come back. In the meantime he entrusted his servants,
the believing Church, with the gospel in Word and Sacrament. While the master is away, his believing
Church is to put the Word of God to work so that it might produce an abundant
dividend when he returns.
Which servant
are you? For one servant the mina earned
a substantial return, for the second, a respectable return, but for the third,
nothing. Two of the servants put the
gospel, the news of freedom and forgiveness in Christ, to work and it produced
abundantly. The third servant, well, he
didn’t appear to think too highly of what he had been given. Frankly, he was too occupied with other
things.
Now here’s a thought more
terrifying than anything you might have seen in the days and weeks leading up
to Halloween: what if we’re the third servant?
What if, when the King returns and asks us to give an account of how we
put is gospel to work, we have nothing to show for it because, like that
servant, we essentially tucked it away in a sweaty old cloth? What if he doesn’t buy our excuses? “I was too tired for the Word or
worship.” “I didn’t like the topic of
that study.” “My offerings support
mission work; personal evangelism doesn’t apply to me.” “The Lord’s Supper isn’t the only way we
receive forgiveness.” “If he doesn’t
think baptism is important, who am I to keep pushing it?” We saw how the master responded to the third
servant’s excuse – he didn’t buy it.
Neither will Jesus.
Notice also the difference in
the reward between the first two servants and the third. They put the gospel to work and were rewarded
handsomely, but the third was not. Is it
possible that as believers or as congregations, perhaps this parable also has
something to say to how present means of grace management affects future plans? Plans are made, but we wonder why they don’t
seem to fall into place. Might it be
that the King is waiting for his servants to first show that they can be
faithful with the gospel they already have before he entrusts them with
additional blessings? For if the gospel
already under one’s care is mismanaged, why would Jesus knowingly entrust
additional souls to the care of those who can’t manage what they already
have?
If we can recognize that at
times in our lives we have been guilty of mismanaging the mina of the gospel
entrusted to us, then we need to return once again and reflect on that mina
from another angle: it isn’t just about our management of the mina, but about
the message of the mina, the gospel.
Recall this detail about Jesus’ parable: the master gave his servants the minas.
And it was certainly within the realm of the master’s expectations that
the servants themselves benefit from what they had received. It was given to them. The gospel was given to you. It was God’s free gift to assure you that
because of the sacrifice of his Son, God doesn’t view you as the third servant,
but as the first and second. Jesus was
perfectly faithful with the message of the gospel, so God sees you as perfectly
faithful. The blood of Jesus has hidden
our failures and forgives our hiding of the mina when we’ve tucked it away in
indifference. It is knowing that the master has not ripped that treasure out of
our hands even though we’ve mismanaged it, that stirs up a newfound desire to
blanket every aspect of our lives with it.
The more we treasure it, the more faithful we will be with it. The more we treasure it, the more we’ll understand
that because of Christ we will hear the words, “Well done, my good servant… to
everyone who has, more will be given” (v.17, 26). Now the question is, what “more” can be given
to those who already have the treasure of the gospel?
The glories of heaven. That is what awaits us when the King returns
to judge. The gospel that Paul said is
the power of salvation for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16) is powerful enough
even to save us from hearing the condemnation we deserve. We are constantly amazed at the power of that
gospel, that through it the Father sees in us the perfect, righteous reflection
of his Son. Someone else, or likely a
number of people, were the first and second servants in your life – faithful
with the gospel so that it would produce a great return in bringing you to
faith. Now go and be the faithful
servant who puts the gospel to work in the lives of others, so that it might
also produce a return in them by bringing them to faith. Amen.
“For the freer confidence is
from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ
alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)
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