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In this lesson:
The Olivet Discourse (part four). The parable of the talents and the kingdom of heaven. Good accountings and bad. This entire passage is Jesus talking. Study Tip: "It shall greatly help to understand scripture if thou mark, not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, and with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows." (Myles Coverdale 1488-1569) |
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The Gospel According to St. Matthew
The King James Bible
The King James Bible
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Matthew 25:14-30
Parable of the loaned talents 14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
Margin notes:
"Talents." (25:15) - A unit of money. A talent was the highest number in Greek mathematics, so all three servants were entrusted with a large sum. "To every man according to his several ability." (25:15) - "To each man according to his ability." "Straightway took his journey." (25:15) - "Immediately left on his journey." "Reckoneth with them." (25:19) - "Checked with them." "I will make thee ruler over many things." (25:21) - Jesus is reinforcing His teaching from Matthew 24:47. Use the spiritual gifts God gave you wisely, and you will receive more. "Gathering where thou hast not strawed." (25:24) - "You gather crops you did not sow." "Lo, there thou hast that is thine." (25:25) - "Look, you have back what is yours." "Slothful servant." (25:26) - "Lazy servant." "Put my money to the exchangers." (25:27) - "Given my money to bankers." "I should have received mine own with usury." (25:27) - "I should have received my money back with interest." "For unto every one that hath shall be given." (25:29) - Jesus is reiterating His teaching from verse 13:12. If you use the spiritual gifts God has given you wisely, He will grant you more. Jesus reinforces this message again in Luke 8:18 and 19:26. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (25:30) - Jesus repeatedly warns us of the despair awaiting unbelievers (Matthew 8:12, 24:51. |
Jesus tells a similar parable in Luke 19:11-27.
New Living Translation
Matthew 25:14-30
Parable of the Three Servants
14 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.
15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last-dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.
17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.
18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.
19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.
20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, 'Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.'
21 "The master was full of praise. 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
22 "The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.'
23 "The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
24 "Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, 'Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate.
25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'
26 "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate,
27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'
28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Parable of the Three Servants
14 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.
15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last-dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.
17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.
18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.
19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.
20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, 'Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.'
21 "The master was full of praise. 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
22 "The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.'
23 "The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
24 "Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, 'Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate.
25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'
26 "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate,
27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'
28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Key verses from this passage
"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods." (25:14)
"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (25:29)
"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (25:29)
Today's Question:
1. What does the parable of the talents mean?
You offer these lessons up to five times per week. Let us know your preference.
1. What does the parable of the talents mean?
You offer these lessons up to five times per week. Let us know your preference.
Answer: (Do you agree?)
1. Jesus gave the parable of the talents a few days before His crucifixion, making it one of His final teachings to His disciples. It teaches that we should put our God given spiritual gifts (such as the ability to preach, teach, write, organize, or give of our time and treasure, etc.) to work. In this parable, the master (God) entrusts money (symbolizing a spiritual gift) to each servant (believer) according to their abilities. The master (God) expects each servant to use their gift wisely, which means spreading the Gospel.
God doesn't expect more from believers than they are capable of, therefore each servant was given a gift they could manage.
Some feel that the third servant did nothing wrong by burying the money (hiding the truth of Jesus). However, when the master returns (on judgment day), the servant was judged harshly for not being fruitful and failing to spread the good news of Jesus.
Based on individual abilities and God's needs, some believers are expected to accomplish great things for God, while others are entrusted with smaller tasks. Your time, talent, and resources are loans from God. Are you using them in service to God wisely (1 Peter 4:10-11)?
It's important to note that, according to "Halley's Bible Handbook" (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; page 447), some believe there is more to learn in this passage. They feel that the parable of the talents tells us that our accomplishments for God on earth will determine our status in heaven. They maintain "that we are in training for a larger service in an order yet to be, and that our place and standing there will depend on the faithfulness of our stewardship here."
Application thought for the day:
God rewards faithfulness.
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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen, published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series," published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur, published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Atlas of the Bible" edited by Joseph L. Gardner, published by Readers Digest, Pleasantville, New York; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible," published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The New Testament" Recovery Version, published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California; "The Living New Testament," published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation," published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; the "Life Application Study Bible," published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible," published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The New Scofield Reference Bible," published by Oxford University Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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© 2025 evolke