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. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have Himself appointed king and then to return. So He called ten of His servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ He said, ‘until I come back.’ Luke 19:11-13
“The parable of the ten minas concludes the Lukan travel narrative beginning in 9:51. It brings together several themes contained in that narrative (the proper use of possessions, the Jewish rejection of Jesus, the return of the Son of Man, the kingship of Jesus, the delay of the parousia [the Second Coming of Christ]), and prepares for the following account of the triumphal entry…
…the parable contains a number of allegorical elements. The man of noble birth represents Jesus, the Son of David, who departs into a far country to receive His kingship. During His absence, He entrusted His servants with His possessions. At this point there is an aside concerning the citizens of the nobleman who request that the nobleman not be allowed to reign, i.e., not be granted kingship… When the nobleman returns as king, He judges His servants. The faithful are rewarded most graciously. The unfaithful are judged…
In this account Luke dealt with the issue of the “delay” of the parousia. The parable is clearly a parable of stewardship, but Luke sought to point out to His readers that stewardship necessitates that there be an interval between the time of the historical Jesus and the consummation. Stewardship has no meaning if the “king” is not absent for a time…”
Robert H. Stein in Luke (NAC; Nashville: B & H Publishing, 1992) 471-74.
As we journey toward Jerusalem with Jesus we actually find ourselves in the story. We are in the “interval between” the first coming of Jesus and His parousia or Second Coming. This “interval between” is the season of stewardship. What are faithful stewards to do with the King’s possessions in this timeframe? Pointedly, Jesus says, “put this money to work.”
We could talk at length about what a mina represented in antiquity (about 3 months wages), or we could unpack every nuance of this parable. Rather than go there, instead, let’s focus on the imperative statement of Jesus to the 1o servants, which is a number for totality in Scripture. What does He want every steward to do? Answer: “Put this money to work.”
In the travel narrative of Luke, Jesus has already stated plainly that a “fool” is one who stores up treasures for himself (or herself) and is not rich toward God (cf. Luke 12:13-21). He’s already reminded us that shrewd stewards use worldly wealth to “make friends” for eternity (cf. Luke 16:1-9). So why this parable at this juncture on the journey?
It brings all the parts of His travel teaching together and serves to remind stewards that there are only two paths in this “interval between” for preparing for the parousia: obedience or disobedience. There are not gradations of faithfulness to God. We are either found faithful or not. We may produce varying amounts of fruit, but that’s different.
The punchline of the parable says that what we do with the money the King entrusts to us shows what we believe. So, are you prepared for His parousia? Are you holding on to money or have you put it to work? As our attention turns to the triumphal entry of Jesus, make sure you are prepared for His Second Coming, because it could be at any moment.
If you want to think further on this topic, I wrote a blog this week entitled “Christian Giving by Dr. Gary Hoag”. I commend it to you.