Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 25:25
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, [there] thou hast [that is] thine.
I was afraid – I feared lest, by some accident, thy talent would be lost if I put it out to trade, and that I should be severely punished by a hard master. I therefore kept it laid up safely, and hid it where it could not be lost.
That is thine – There is what properly belongs to thee. There is the original talent that thou gavest me, and that is all that can be reasonably required. Observe here:
- That this expresses exactly the feelings of all sinners. God, in their view, is hard, cruel, unjust.
- All the excuses of sinners are excuses for indolence and sin, and the effect is to cheat themselves out of heaven. The effect of this excuse was that the reward was lost, and such will always be the result of the excuses of sinners for not doing their duty.
- Sinners grudge everything to God. They are never willing to be liberal toward him but are stinted and close; and if they give, they do it with hard feelings, and say that that is all that he can claim.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
25. And I was afraidof makingmatters worse by meddling with it at all.
and went and hid thy talentin the earthThis depicts the conduct of all those who shut uptheir gifts from the active service of Christ, without actuallyprostituting them to unworthy uses. Fitly, therefore, may it, atleast, comprehend those, to whom TRENCHrefers, who, in the early Church, pleaded that they had enough to dowith their own souls, and were afraid of losing them in trying tosave others; and so, instead of being the salt of the earth, thoughtrather of keeping their own saltness by withdrawing sometimes intocaves and wildernesses, from all those active ministries of love bywhich they might have served their brethren.
Thou wicked and slothfulservant“Wicked” or “bad” means”falsehearted,” as opposed to the others, who areemphatically styled “good servants.” The addition of”slothful” is to mark the precise nature of his wickedness:it consisted, it seems, not in his doing anything against, butsimply nothing for his master.
Thou knewest that I reapwhere I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawedHe takesthe servant’s own account of his demands, as expressing graphicallyenough, not the hardness which he had basely imputed to him,but simply his demand of a profitable return for the giftentrusted.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I was afraid,…. The Persic version adds, “to negotiate with thy money”: he was afraid, lest by trading he should not gain what his Lord expected; and most of all, lest he should lose the talent itself; and dreaded his Lord’s austerity, should that be the case, fearing that he would have no mercy on him. This was his pretence; but the true causes were sloth and earthly mindedness:
and went and hid thy talent in the earth; that it might not be lost, though it lay useless, and turned to no account. The Arabic version renders it, “and buried thy goods in the earth”: he owned the money to be his Lord’s, and thought he did very well, and enough, that he preserved it, though he had not improved it; and this he hoped would be a sufficient excuse, and on which he laid the greatest stress:
lo! there thou hast that is thine: he again acknowledges, that the gifts he had were not his own, but his master’s; and whereas he had kept them entire, as he had received them, and there was the full sum he was intrusted with, he hoped no more would be required: but it is not sufficient to retain what is given, it must be made use of and improved; for every spiritual gift is given to profit with: and besides, there seems to be a degree of rudeness in these words; he does not bring the talent with him, and return it, but only signifies that he had hid it in the earth, in such a place, and “there” it was, where his Lord might take it, and have it again, if he pleased.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That is thine [ ] . The Greek is more concise, and is better given by Rev., Lo, thou hast thine own.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
(25) And I was afraid.The words are those of simulated rather than real fear. That would have led him to shrink from the unfaithful service which was sure to draw down his masters anger. The excuse did but cover the implied taunt that he dared not venture anything in the service of a master who would make no allowance for intentions where the result was failure. So, in the life of the soul, a man wanting in the spirit of loyalty and trust contents himself with making no use of opportunities, and therefore they are to him as though they were not, except that they increase his guilt and his condemnation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Was afraid There doubtless will many be damned from moral cowardice. The fearful as well as the unbelieving shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Rev 21:8. Thou hast that is thine I give you back all you gave me. I have done no harm. I am a very innocent man. I have destroyed nothing. We now are about even.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mat 25:25. Lo, there thou hast that is thine Dr. Heylin renders this, see, you have your own,and it comes nearer to the emphatical beauty of the original, which strongly expresses the morose surly brevity of the slothful servant. The language is a lively picture of the mind, and an echo to the sense: ‘, . Lo, thou hast thatthine. This is one instance among a thousand of the excellency of the sacred Scripture in this respect also. The next verse might be rendered more properly by interrogation, Knewest thou that, &c.? Dr. Whitby well observes, that when he said, Thou knewest, or knewest thou that I was an hard man, &c. this is no concession that the master was truly so, but an argument out of his own mouth to condemn him, for not acting suitably to his own hard conceptions of his lord. See Luk 19:22. Nor do these words thou oughtest to have put my money to the exchangers, &c. shew that Christ approved of usury; but only that he who thought so sordidly of his master, should have used his talent agreeably, that so he might have had his own with interest.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Ver. 25. I was afraid, and went and hid, &c. ] So God must bear the blame of his unfaithfulness. “The foolishness of man perverteth his way,” and (then to mend the matter) his heart fretteth against the Lord, or at least he digests his choler, as horses do, by chomping on the bridle bit, Pro 19:3 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 25:25 . , etc., fearing: loss of the talent by trade; he thought the one thing to make sure of in the case of such a master, was that what he had got might be safe . : the primitive bank of security. Vide Mat 13:44 . , see you have what belongs to you; no idea that the master was entitled not only to the talent, but to what it might earn.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
lo, there. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
that is thine = thine own.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 25:25. , being frightened) Without love, without confidence; q.d. fearing that I should not satisfy Thee, that I might be compelled to spend somewhat from my own stock, that I might, vainly endeavour to bring aught from the field where the crop did not seem worthy of Thee, into the barn whence nothing of Thine appeared to have been strawed. The wicked and slothful servant, whilst he imagined his Master to be one who would require excessive gain, beyond the strength of His servant, did not even obtain that legitimate profit which he might have obtained. Do what thou canst, and what thou art commanded; await success, and thou shalt be astonished at it.-, I hid) Contrast with this Psa 40:10-11.[1095]
[1095] Mat 25:26. , and slothful) Slothfulness overpowers the mind at times more than it does the body. It would certainly have cost this servant no more trouble to have gone to the money-exchangers or bankers, than that which he expended uselessly in digging, Mat 25:18. Had the servants been ordered, in the first instance, to go to the bankers, without doubt he also would have obeyed the order. But in that case the servants would not have obtained so much praise. See, therefore, that you strenuously employ your powers.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Sa 6:9, 2Sa 6:10, Pro 26:13, Isa 57:11, Rom 8:15, 2Ti 1:6, 2Ti 1:7, Rev 21:8
Reciprocal: Luk 19:21 – I feared
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5:25
This verse illustrates what may be called negative goodness in the light of some theories. There are multitudes who think they can expect to be saved by merely abstaining from active wrong doing. That if they avoid doing anything at all they certainly could not be accused of doing any wrong act. The man with one talent seems to have taken that view of the case. But there are many passages that condemn the sin of omission, such as Heb 2:3. This man thought that by burying the money it would be preserved for its owner. Even if that could have been accomplished with literal money, the rule will not hold good in the application. A man’s talent will not remain fixed as to quality while in this world. If it is not put to good use, it will be corrupted by contact with the evil elements around it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 25:25. I was afraid. Both true and false. He had a fear of his lords punishment, but that did not make him idle. Being afraid of God, is an excuse not a reason, for mens misimprovement of His gifts. The insolent speech shows that the servant did not really regard his master as hard.
Thou hast thine own.The interest of the money, the profit of his own time and labor, due to the lord, should have been added, before this could be true. Such a closing of accounts with God, is an eternal breach with Him.