May 20 2025

Tuesday May 20

Luke 19:11-20 – Faithful Servants Will Be Rewarded

11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' 15 And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' 19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'

20 Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.

In the first 10 verses of Luke 19, we meet Jesus as the Savior who seeks the lost and we have the story of Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector who comes to faith and salvation through Jesus Christ. Then, in verse 11, we meet the master who rewards faithful servants. My friend, that's who Jesus is. He is the Savior, but he's also the master who expects us to be faithful servants.

It says in verse 11, "Now as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately." Jesus is at the end of His three and a half years of earthly ministry. He's on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples, preaching, sharing, doing miracles, and healing people. He knows that He's going to be crucified, but the disciples and many others believe He is going to Jerusalem to set up his kingdom.

At that time in the Jewish world, there were subversive groups like the Zealots who used commando tactics against Rome. There were also the Herodians, Jewish politicians who compromised their faith to rule with the Romans over the Jewish people in the land of Israel. Then, you had the common people, the majority, who were looking for the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies for the Messiah, the King to come and set up His kingdom.

That's why this verse says that as Jesus neared Jerusalem, He told this parable because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. They were thinking Jesus is this possible king, the Prophet prophesied in the Old Testament, the Messiah who's come to give us a deliverer. This was at the time of Passover, and people were flooding into Jerusalem by the thousands. They were looking for a deliverer, just like the Passover represented being delivered out of Egypt when God gave them a deliverer, Moses. Now they believed that one like Moses would come and deliver them from the Roman rule. They thought Jesus was that deliverer.

Jesus then tells them this story, beginning in verse 12, about “a certain nobleman who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called 10 of his servants, delivered to them 10 minas, and said to them, "Do business till I come." But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, "We will not have this man to reign over us." When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.”

Jesus is presenting a picture here. It's interesting that there were 10 servants to whom he gave 10 minas, money. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable of the talents, and the master giving different amounts,5 to one, two to another, and one to one, to three servants. That was a picture of the gifts God gives each of us to serve Him, and how we use those gifts will be held accountable. But here, he gave the same amount of money to ten servants and then tells how at least three of them were held accountable. We believe the application is that Jesus gave the Word of God to all His followers today to share with everyone we can, and we're going to be held accountable for it.

The lesson here is that God expects us to be faithful with whatever He gives us, and He will hold us accountable for our faithfulness and obedience with the gifts and the Word of God that we're to share with those around us. May the Lord help us to learn this lesson well.

I trust you will use the Spiritual gifts that God's blessed you with and also share the Word of God with whoever crosses your path today.

God bless!