Luke 19:11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” ESV
This has turned out to be the most challenging of the parables I’ve looked at for this blog. I started reading it a couple weeks ago but I had more questions from this one story than any other I’ve studied. Even the only “sure thing” I thought I understood became a question. Was the identity of the nobleman God or Jesus? Did it make a difference? Were the ten servants a separate group from the citizens who hated the nobleman? It was mind-blowing enough that I’ve spent a few hours each previous week and had to put what I’d written on the back burner…again. There was so much I didn’t know that I could barely figure out what I thought I did know.
I’ve made some progress because I think I’ve come to understand the “more” of this parable is not the simple, straightforward story of obedience I began with. It’s about authority, money, investment, responsibility, relationship and risk. Was God Himself the nobleman who gave each of the servants something of value for them to invest? Was the Mina “Jesus?” That made some sense because in the very next sentence there were those “citizens” who hated the nobleman and did not want him as their king. The parable says ten minas to ten servants — each given “a” mina. This parable has become my “mina” to invest. So…each servant is given the same “Jesus” to invest on God’s behalf √. OK, that’s worth pondering. That’s why the return on their investment mattered so much to the nobleman. Each servant was expected to invest the “mina” he’d been given to benefit the nobleman’s kingdom. Their investment was evidence of their relationship with, and trust in the authority of, the nobleman who’s now become their king. And the nobleman’s responsibility is to keep an accounting of their investment. Finally the parable has gotten easier for me to understand. The parable wasn’t about the nobleman’s money, he was already wealthy. The nobleman risked His own wealth by trusting it to those servants. Each servant had been asked to respond to the nobleman’s trust by investing in the potential of “a” mina to reproduce itself as wealth for the kingdom. And then comes the shocking reality no servant wants to hear. “A” mina so carefully protected that it’s kept “laid away” and never invested at all is far riskier than a small return because it devalues the nobleman’s authority, money, investment and responsibility in their relationship.
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