A, Post-Pentecost 25 Proper 28 - Matthew 25:14-30 "Invested Interest"

When Jesus told the parable of the talents, his hearers would have been astounded by the sheer size of what the master had entrusted with his servants before he departed to a foreign land.

These servants were bondslaves.  These three slaves were his property, they were bound to him, to do with whatever he pleased!

So, he invests in each of his workers, what they were capable of working with, and goes away.  We hear, “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.  Then he went away.” (Matthew 25:15 ESV)

It pleases the departing master to entrust to his bondsmen, what would have been a large responsibility for them.  He lays a burden of five talents on one, two on another, and one on the third bondsman.

One talent was twenty years of wages for a worker of that day.  So, two talents is forty year’s wages and five is one hundred year’s wages.   The master invests eight talents in these three men; that is one hundred and sixty years of worker’s wages.  That is not to be sniffed at.  The hearers of Jesus’ parable would have been both amazed and overwhelmed by the trust and generosity of the master sizable entrustment invested in these three characters!

Jesus tells the parable about himself.  He is the one going on a journey to a foreign place, so to speak, when he would ascend into heaven after the resurrection, leaving holy talents to manage. 

Although there are three bondsmen, there are two reactions.  To those given the five and two talents, they both willingly receive what the master has given and put the talents to work, both receiving back double.   The first, turning five talents, or one hundred year’s wages, into two hundred year’s wages.  And the second turning forty year’s wages into eighty!

To them the master says exactly the same thing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21,23 ESV).

The two get the same accolade and are welcomed into the joy of their master.  This is the pleasure of the master.  Now that the master has returned, they both are endowed with the same benefit and favour. They not only enjoy the spoils of what the master had given, but now they dwell with the master in the fullness of his presence and his pleasure. 

What he had given them to manage was considered by the master as being puny and limited, which would have also made the ears tingle of those who heard Jesus say, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much”.

In contrast to the first two servant slaves, the third acts completely different.  In fact, the weight of the parable sits with this fellow’s action and response to his master. 

We might say that he is contrasted by the fact that he received less.  However, what he received although smaller, was still indeed quite a substantial investment given to him.  In the same way as the other two, it pleased the master to consider the burden this slave could bear and bound him accordingly.  Even though the amount was less, the master’s trust was the same as was his expectations.

The third servant saw it differently, and it’s evident in what he did with the talent as well as what he said at the master’s return. 

The parable to this point has been deliberately repetitive, demonstrating that the master graciously entrusted his property to all three, he had fairly considered the abilities of all three, but nevertheless still gave equally what the servants considered much and what he considered little.

The third slave condemns himself with his own words saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,  so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.  Here, you have what is yours.” (Matthew 25:24–25 ESV)

From where did the third servant get his impression of his master?  Not only was this bondsman ignorant of his master’s true character, the bondsman’s action, or lack thereof, treated the master’s invested interest, entrustment, and faith in his servant’s ability with utter contempt.  

The language Jesus uses of the third slave also differs somewhat, which is not made plain in English.  Most English translations say all three “received” five, two, and one talent, but the Greek stresses Jesus saying he who took possession of the one talent, “still” only held one talent.  The two who had received the five and two talents, had five and two talents only once, which on his return was a thing of the past, whereas the one who held one talent, continued to only hold one talent.

Why would the bond slave bury his master’s entrustment of property?  The answer comes from the master calling the servant, “wicked and slothful”. 

With regard to being wicked, this servant was starved of trust in both the master and what was entrusted to him.  The servant also was found wanting in his own identity as a trusted servant, starving the master of his service.  Not only was he wearisome and hurtful of himself, but the servant was also wearisome and hurtful to his master.

Not only was he wicked, but he was also slothful.  Slothfulness is being slow and hesitant.  This is not cautious and careful, but rather sluggish and slack.  The master reports, “you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.”  (Matthew 25:27 ESV)

We don’t know why, but this third bondsman thought the master’s being was hard, and he was afraid.  Where the first two servants were in awe of the master, the third for some reason thought him to be awful rather than awesome.

Jesus is the master in the parable he tells.  The goods Jesus leaves with us is the very essence of his goodness to us!  How one treats the goods of God is how one treats and considers our God who is good to us.

We are God’s bond servants; we are tied to Jesus Christ.  Like the servants in the parable, we can see our service and our being bound to God and his goodness as good!  Or, like the third servant we can loath God’s goodness, bury his goodness and actively hide what he has given to us.

The interest God has in you, is an invested interest.  He is so interested in you he sent his Son, the Son of God, to invest his goodness in you, to tie you to his resurrection and return, to bind your sin and set you free.

In Jesus Christ you have received an inheritance, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.   And believing in his goodness, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of your inheritance until you acquire possession of it. 

That possession will occur for all who believe, when Jesus our good and gracious master returns.

Be like the two willing servants, who were willing slaves of their master, tied to his goodness, living in freedom from self to serve his interests.  Flee the fear of the other slave who buried and forgot the master’s goodness, becoming enslaved to his own spirit and perception of the master’s gracious gifts!

“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”  (2 Timothy 1:14 ESV)

Because you bear the Holy Spirit you are a helpful bondservant of God.  He gives to you according to your ability.  He gives grace upon grace, gift upon gift, good upon good.  He also gives all who believe the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will enable you too!  God’s good is your good, his goods are your goods, his identity is invested in your identity!

In the joy of the Holy Spirit, see that you have been invested into the enjoyment of your master, Jesus Christ!  Amen.