The Talents and Minas
Luke 19: 24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”
Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol.4 - The Parables of Jesus, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev
The parable of the Talents is found in Matthew; a similar parable of the minas, or pounds, is found in Luke. Metropolitan Hilarion will examine these both together; in his view, he sees these as two similar parables taught in two different places and times. I will use “talents” throughout, except when quoting Scripture.
The master called his three servants (or ten in the other version). As he was to travel to a far country, he gave talents to each, in Matthew’s version according to their several abilities; in Luke’s an equal amount to each of ten servants. In both versions, the servants who did well with the talents given were rewarded; the ones who did nothing with the talents given were condemned – and the talents given to these were then given to the ones who returned the most.
Both versions come with a prologue that raise the question of Jesus’s second coming and the kingdom. The idea of Jesus’s second coming and His kingdom were intermingled, just one of many points through which we see the disciples had confusion about just what was going on with this Messiah. Several times in the gospels, the disciples ask if Jesus is now going to establish his kingdom – an earthly kingdom, restoring Israel.
Jesus then follows with this parable – the different version told each time when this topic came up. this parable was the answer to His second coming and the kingdom. Jesus, of course, was the master who was to leave for a time, but leave His servants with their talents to continue His work. The disciples were to take care of, steward, and invest the master’s property toward the master’s ends.
John Chrysostom, Gregory the Great, and Cyril of Alexandria all see Jesus as the master in this parable – His ascension, and His second coming. As an aside, N.T. Wright is cited as seeing something else in this parable: the master of the house is the God of Israel, hence the return of God to Zion. The idea of the second coming he sees as a post-resurrection innovation! Metropolitan Hilarion is having none of that:
We believe that the idea of the second coming is so central to Jesus’ preaching that it requires no proof.
Jesus never once speaks of God’s return to Zion, yet often speaks of His second coming. I will say about Wright, I have spent some time with his work and have found it somewhat fruitful, but on the whole, I have lost interest.
Returning to the parable: How are we to understand the talents that the Lord gives to His servants?
Ancient commentators understood the talents to symbolize various virtues, or the physical senses, activity, and knowledge, or in general each person’s ability, whether in the way of protection, or in money, or in teaching, or whatever of the kind.
The most widely accepted understanding became the idea that the talents represent the individual abilities God gives to each person. Every person receives gifts from God which he is called to realize, to use as a steward for God’s work and purposes. We are to put these talents in circulation such that a return is generated – the return being for the benefit of the kingdom.
What of the servant who buried his talent? This represents one who wastes his talents on his own pleasure, spending these gifts on himself. Which comes to the judgement cited from Luke at the opening of this post, with a similar judgement found in Matthew:
Matthew 25: 28 ‘So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
For such as these, even the talent one has was taken away. How to understand this?
…man cannot remain neutral before God. He either moves forward or falls backward. As for the mission that God lays upon each individual person, one cannot simply choose to play a waiting game: a person either does what God expects of him or not. Whoever does not fulfill God’s will fulfills the will of His enemy. Whoever does not serve God serves the devil.
What of the one who fulfills God’s will? Here we see that his spiritual riches grow exponentially when putting his talents to God’s work.
Conclusion
God seeks allies and fellow-laborers.
Are the talents which God has given us used for His work or our riches and carnal desires? This is the question raised by this parable, and Jesus answered it.
He will soon leave; He will return at a time even He does not know. In the meantime, what am I doing with the talents God has given to me? Each of us has to face this question.
I find it interesting that both parables, though different, have one theme: the recipients were supposed to use what they had been given to enrich the master. The talents or minas were to be put to use to further the master's estate, not that of the servant.
In Christianity, this would mean that we are to work for the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ in whatever circumstance we find ourselves and are to employ whatever we have at our disposal. Whether we personally benefit from it or not is irrelevant, however, we should keep in mind that this is not a one-way street. Scripture promises that those who perform well will be compensated. "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.", and, "As you give, you will receive, good measure, pressed down, overflowing."
With the onset of old age approaching, I am finding this much easier to understand. And to be far more compliant and comfortable with the direction.
I find N.T. Wright intelligent and makes some interesting points on things. But I think he tries to be too clever and is innovative in his interpretation. His new perspective on Paul stuff is right up to the line of heresy if it doesn't cross it. Also, he had open disdain for American Christianity. It makes it hard for me to read him.
As far as the parable, maybe the point is that a saving faith is one that bears fruit. It is like the Israelites who were not born again, had no fruit even though they received a spiritual inheritance. Similar to people now who grow in Christian circles but never have genuine faith. They have all received something of value from God, but have chosen not to use it.
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