THE STORY OF THE TEN MINAS

LUKE 19:11–27

“So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back’ ”

(Luke 19:13).

With this passage we return to our consideration of the gospel of Luke. Remember in Luke 19:1–10 we had the story of Zacchaeus. Verse 11 says that during the conversation with Zacchaeus, Jesus told the parable of the ten minas. The parable has two points, one being that we are to accept Jesus as our Lord (as Zacchaeus had done), and the other being that we are to use our gifts as wise stewards of His kingdom (as Zacchaeus pledged to do).

Jesus said that a nobleman journeyed to a distant country to be crowned king. While he was gone, he gave a mina to each of his servants, telling them to put the money to work and earn more.

When the nobleman returned, he asked his servants how they had fared with their gifts. The first two servants had earned money with theirs, one ten more minas and the other five more. The king rewarded them by giving them rule over ten and five cities, respectively.

Then came a servant who said that he had been afraid to use his money, and thus had hidden it. The master was angry, and said that the servant should at least have loaned it out and gotten some interest from it. He took the mina from this servant and gave it to the one who had ten.

The point of the parable is that Jesus is about to finish His work and ascend into heaven to receive His kingdom. During the interval between His comings, His people are to increase His realm by working profitably with the talents He has given them. Those who work faithfully will receive tremendous rewards when He returns, while those who do little with their gifts will receive little. On the other hand, as the end of the parable shows, the unfaithful who reject Jesus as King and say they will not have Him to rule over them, will be destroyed.

CORAM DEO

Jeremiah 9–10

1 Timothy 2–3

As Americans, it is easy for us to spend too much time enjoying what we have rather than working to further God’s kingdom. God provides for rest (the Sabbath) and vacations (compare the annual feasts of the Old Testament and the Sabbath year), but are we overdoing it? Today, honestly determine whether you are increasing your mina.

For further study: 1 Corinthians 3:10–15; 9:24–27; tape #B57INT.80/81

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