“Gifts and Faithfulness”
(Matthew 25:14-30)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
September 20, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 25:14-20
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Introductory Comments:
There have been some great investments made throughout history. In fact, if I had a time machine and could go back in time I could be your pastor and not take a salary. Also, our church would never need to do a financial campaign again.
John Gray invested $10,500 in the stock of Ford Motor Company in 1903. [show picture on screen] When Ford bought the stock back in 1919, the stock was worth a whopping $26.25 million. Asa Candler bought the recipe for Coca-Cola from John Pemberton for $2,300 in 1891. [show picture on screen] Candler then sold the same recipe in 1923 for $25 million! Peter Thiel, one of the original investors for Facebook, invested $500,000 in the company in 2005. [show picture on screen]His return was 800 times the initial investment, as he sold all 25 million shares of Facebook for $400 million in 2012.
You see, history is full of people who made both profitable and devastating investments. The truth is, money can be managed well and it can be managed poorly. A faithful Christian will be a good steward of the money that God has given him or her. However, there are things in life that are much more important than money, and we are to be good stewards of those things as well.
Today, we’ll be looking at the parable of the talents and we’ll learn what Jesus is teaching us when it comes to managing that which He has entrusted to us.
Let’s pray together before we study this passage, and ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Before we get into three truths that we will discover from the passage, let’s look at the entire parable in its proper context. Remember, this parable is shared right after Jesus has taught about judgment, last things, and His return. After those topics, He gives us three parables to help us understand how to live until He returns. This is the third of those parables.
Look at Matthew 25:14-30.
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
So, that is the parable of the talents. As we journey through this passage today, we will discover three truths.
First, let us learn that . . .
I. The Lord gives us gifts (vv. 14-18) [on screen]
By reading this passage, we can learn that the man represents God and the servants represent those on the earth who are supposed to be serving God.
As the man in the parable was on a long journey, so also, God is waiting a certain period of time before He sends Jesus back to the earth to bring about the full establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth.
While the man is preparing to leave, verse 14 says he, “ . . . called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them.”
It’s revealed that not each servant got the same amount. One got one talent, one got two, and one got five! Verse 15 says that these gifts were given, “ . . . depending on each one’s ability.”
Now, we must pause here for a moment and reflect upon what we can learn in just these two verses.
First, church, we must understand that everything belongs to God and He is the one who gives us any kind of gift. Remember, James tells us in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” [on screen] Just as the master gave of his own possessions to his servants, so also, God gives out of His generosity to us.
Second, we must understand that God gives to us according to His wisdom and discretion. Just like the man in the parable gave to each servant according to his ability, so also, God knows everything about us and He knows which gifts He should entrust to us.
So, on this point, let us trust God’s wisdom in giving gifts and let us thank Him for everything that He’s entrusted to us.
Before we go any further, let’s answer the question of what a talent is.
A talent represented an amount of weight of money, probably silver, usually between sixty and ninety pounds. This was not chump change. One talent was a lot of money! Five talents was a whole lot of money!
In the parable, the three different men did something with the talents that were given to them. As a result, we see an outcome tied directly to what they did. So, the question for us is, “What are we doing with that which God has given us?”
What will be the outcome of the gifts God entrusts to us? Well, the man in the parable wanted to see the outcome of that which he entrusted to his servants. That takes us to our second truth:
II. The Lord holds us accountable (vv. 19-27) [on screen]
Look at verse 19 again. It says, “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.”
The man wanted to know what had been done with his possessions that he allowed others to manage. Listen, church, Jesus is trying to teach us something here. It’s not just an interesting story. Jesus is trying to teach us that we will be held accountable by God for how we manage the gifts that He has given us.
God will hold us accountable for how we handle the finances He gives us, the opportunities He gives us, the spouse He gives us, the children He gives us, the church He gives us, the job He gives us, the neighbors He gives us, the voting opportunities He gives us, the educational opportunities He gives us, the evangelistic opportunities He gives us, the service opportunities He gives us, the social medial platforms He gives us, the homes He gives us, the vehicles He gives us, the friends He gives us, and so much more.
God will hold us accountable and He will settle accounts with us.
Let us look at the conversations that the man had with his servants.
With the first two servants, both of them took what the master gave them and used it to produce more. They were good managers of what they were given. The master’s reply was the same for both men: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.” With the first two men, the master was generous and kind in his reward for their faithfulness.
Well, things didn’t go the same with the third man. Look at verses 24 and 25 again: “24 The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’”
The third man allowed fear and misunderstanding of the master to lead him to be an unfaithful, unwise, and unproductive servant. What a sad reality!
What is it that perhaps has the potential for you to be an unfaithful, unwise, and unproductive servant? Are you paralyzed by fear? Do you have a misunderstanding of God? Are you driven by selfish motives? Are you distracted by the things of this world? Are you just plain ol’ lazy? May it never be so with us, church! May we be faithful managers of that which God has given us!
The master wanted to know how his gifts were handled, and things did not end well for the third servant.
Look, again, at how the master responded. Look at verses 26-27: “26 His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned.”
The master in the parable was serious about holding his servants accountable. We must capture the truth that the Lord will hold us accountable.
Finally, our third truth is . . .
III. The Lord judges us (vv. 28-30) [on screen]
After the master holds the third servant accountable, he pronounces his judgment upon him. Look again at verses 28-30: “28 So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There’s some great irony in this parable. The third servant claimed that he hid the talent because the master was a harsh man. However, we see from his reward of the two faithful servants that the master was actually a very kind and generous man. He rewarded them greatly. Since the third man was unfaithful and foolish, he will then experience the harsh side of the master. If he had only been faithful, he would have been greatly rewarded.
So, also, when we turn to God and faithfully follow Him there is a reward for us that is beyond our wildest imaginations! When God examines us, He will reward us graciously for our faithfulness. Likewise, if we reject God and His ways, if we are unfaithful, there is a harsh judgment that awaits us: a judgment in, “. . . the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So, church, let us be faithful because the Lord will hold us accountable and the Lord will judge us.
Now, this is where we have to remind ourselves of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are in Jesus, He will pay the penalties of our judgment and we will receive the rewards of His faithfulness. The Bible makes it clear that there are varying levels of rewards in the next life because of our faithfulness. Additionally, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus already took on our punishment. Paul said in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” [on screen] If you faithfully follow Jesus; He will pay your penalty and you will receive His reward. If you reject Jesus and His ways there is only judgment that awaits you. Choose wisely.
The Lord gives us gifts, the Lord holds us accountable, and the Lord judges us.
Concluding Thoughts:
God, in His grace, has blessed us with everything that we need to faithfully follow Him. He’s blessed us with everything we need to change the world. He’s blessed us with everything we need to be the people He’s created us to be.
Let this bottom line remind you of the truth found in God’s Word in the parable of the talents:
Bottom Line: The Lord blesses us with all that we need to faithfully follow Him until He returns. [on screen]
(repeat)
The time and resources God has given us are grace-filled gifts. Let us be faithful.
We have no excuses to not be fully living the life that God has called us to live in Jesus, equipped by His Holy Spirit: a life of faithfulness, a life of generosity, a life of love, and a life of holiness.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Consider the gifts with which God has blessed you. [on screen]
Take some time this week and reflect on all the good gifts that God has given you.
Think about your family, your finances, your friends, your possessions, your opportunities, your church family, and more.
Give glory to God and thank Him for His grace shown to you.
2. Consider your faithfulness. [on screen]
Ask yourself how you have managed that which God has given to you.
Are you generous and sacrificial with the gifts God has given you?
Are you a good manager of God’s resources? Are you wise or foolish?
Are you investing in the kingdom of God or in your own kingdom?
These consequences of unfaithfulness that Jesus shared in the parable should cause us to really consider whether or not we are faithful servants of His.
3. Get to work. [on screen]
If you’ve not been a faithful servant in the past, you can start doing so now.
Don’t live in despair about your past, live with determination for your future; determination to be led by God’s Spirit and determination to live in faithfulness.
Closing:
If we are faithful to the Lord and live as faithful servants of His, we will hear these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.”
Are you a faithful servant? Are you a wise manager? If not, get back on track today!
If you’re living for your own kingdom, come to the kingdom of God today!
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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