"Entrusted" 10-24-21

Overview

Entrusted: Living as Faithful Stewards Until the Master Returns

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 sits within Jesus' final teaching during Holy Week, framed by His warnings about the end times in Matthew 24 and the judgment of the sheep and goats that follows. Read in context, this is more than a lesson about productivity—it is a portrait of Christ entrusting His people with kingdom work between His ascension and His return. The man going on a journey is Jesus; the slaves are His followers; the talents represent the abundant blessings He distributes; and the master's return is the day of judgment.

Two words deserve careful attention. The first is doulos—"slave" or "servant." Paul, James, and Peter all gladly identify themselves this way (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; 2 Timothy 2:24; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1). To belong to Christ is willing service, not coerced labor. The second word is talent—not a knack or skill, but a vast sum of money, more than a lifetime's wages. Even the servant given "one" was given an enormous trust. Notice, too, that the master gives generously, distributes "according to ability," and then leaves without micromanaging instructions. He trusts His servants. This same trust is reflected in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, where the risen Christ entrusts His disciples with the mission of making disciples of all nations.

The first two servants act immediately and eagerly; the Greek behind "traded" carries the sense of gaining—the same word used in Matthew 18:15 for winning back a brother or sister to Christ. Their labor is kingdom labor, and the master responds to both with identical words: "Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your master." He is not an exacting bookkeeper; He is a generous Lord who multiplies blessing upon blessing. The third servant, however, mischaracterizes the master as harsh and cruel, and out of fear he buries what he was given. His distorted view of the master—the very picture the enemy wants us to believe—leads to paralysis. Yet Scripture and our confessions testify otherwise: everything we have, from daily bread to body and soul, comes from God's "fatherly, divine goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness in me," as Luther wrote. Christ Himself purchased us "not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood," that we might live under Him and serve in His kingdom.

The pastoral takeaway is both freeing and urgent. Our time, our resources, our skills, even our very lives are not our own—they have been entrusted to us by a generous Master who has already proven His heart at the cross. Faithfulness does not mean producing a particular quantity; it means refusing to bury what God has given out of fear or self-protection. As Matthew 16:25 reminds us, whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for Christ's sake will find it. So step out with enthusiasm. Invest what you have been given for the growth of His kingdom, trusting the goodness of the One who entrusted it to you—and look forward to that day when you, too, will hear, "Enter into the joy of your master."

Transcript

If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, the 25th chapter, the Gospel 2s

of Matthew, the 25th chapter. 9s

Right now, we are in a sermon series on life management. 14s

And I don't know if you have ever gotten that organizing bug. 19s

But if you start looking into organizing, you find planners, galore, and habit tractors, 24s

and goal setting, and you can fall into this rabbit hole of ways to manage your life. 31s

Have you ever heard the acronym for Bible B-I-B-L-E, basic instructions before living eternally? 40s

Let's kind of cheesy. 50s

But that's kind of what we're doing here. 52s

Right? We are turning to the stories that Jesus tells the parables which are an earthly story 54s

with a heavenly meaning. 63s

We're turning to his parables to see how that applies and how that works in our lives today 65s

and how they worked in lives of his disciples. 73s

The parable that we are studying today, we're going to look at it through a few or a couple 77s

of different lenses. 84s

We're going to look at it from a broader view and then we're going to focus in narrowly 85s

on a couple of things. 90s

Think of it like in the orchestra, the broader view. 91s

It's a piece of music and you've got the orchestra as a whole, but then you can take 94s

each section and you've got the brass section and the woodwinds. 100s

And then within those sections you can narrow it down even more where you have the flute 104s

player or the trombonist. 109s

So we're going to kind of look at this parable in a few or a couple of different lenses. 111s

This parable comes in the middle of Jesus's eschatological discourse during Holy Week. 119s

So eschatology is the study of end times. 127s

It's dealing with death. 131s

It's dealing with judgment. 134s

So Jesus has already entered into Jerusalem. 136s

This is happening during Holy Week. 140s

He knows that his departure is coming soon. 143s

He knows that it is just a couple of days away, that it is sneaking up on him. 149s

In chapter 23, he is speaking against the scribes and the Pharisees where he says, 156s

whoa, to you, you hypocrites and he's lamenting over Jerusalem. 162s

In chapter 24, he tells his disciples signs of the end times, the persecutions and his return. 168s

In verse 29 of chapter 24, he says, immediately after the suffering of those days, 178s

the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 184s

The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 188s

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. 193s

And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man 197s

coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 201s

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the 205s

and then he shifts from telling of these signs, telling of the coming time, 215s

he shifts into telling parables. And he tells these parables to describe the end times 222s

and the necessity to be watchful and ready for the time to come for those end times. 228s

So we find our parable today right in between the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids 239s

and the story of Jesus returning to come and separate the sheep from the goats. 245s

And from the context, we know that this parable is teaching us something about the end times, 253s

teaching us something about the return of Christ. So now we're going to look out from a broad view. 260s

So there's a man going on a journey in our parable and Jesus is the man. 269s

The ascension is his journey. Then we have the slaves who are the Christians who are 277s

waiting or awaiting his return, the talents in this parable represent the blessings which God has given. 285s

And then the return is the return of the master is Jesus' second coming. 293s

And the master's assessment is that time of judgment. It's the judgment on judgment day. 300s

So now we're going to narrow in on a couple of things. The first thing we're going to narrow 309s

in on is the word for slave, dulos. It's slave or servant and it doesn't necessarily mean 313s

slave as we think of it. It does not have that same connotation. It does not denote one necessarily 322s

who is working against his or her will. The New Testament writers often describe them 330s

as duloses of Christ. Servants of Christ slaves of Christ. It's involuntary, not involuntary, 338s

involuntary service to Christ. In Romans Paul says he greets the Romans with his letter saying Paul, 352s

a servant, a dulos, a slave of Christ. In Galatians he writes, if I were still pleasing people, 360s

I would not be a servant, a dulos, a slave of Christ. In Second Timothy he writes, and the Lord's 368s

servant, the Lord's slave, the Lord's dulos, must not be quarrel, some but kindly to everyone and 377s

teach your patient. James writes, James a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. In Second Peter, 385s

Peter writes, simian Peter a servant and a apostle of Jesus Christ. So you can see where they are 394s

describing themselves as slaves or servants for Christ and it is there what they are willing and wanting 402s

to serve to be a slave or a dulos for Christ. The other thing that we want to narrow in on is the 413s

word talent. So talent in this parable is not necessarily tap dancing or singing. It's not necessarily 421s

a talent as we think of talents but it's a great sum of money. It is a lifetime's worth of 433s

wages. So when the master gives a five talents that is more than one lifetime's worth of wages. 444s

So it's an abundance of blessing. So knowing those two things, let's now turn to our text with 454s

verse 14 and 15. For it is as if a man going on a journey summoned his slaves and entrusted 463s

his property to them. To one, he gave five talents to another two to another one to each 472s

according to his ability. Then he went away. Now if you go to the very end of this gospel in 480s

Matthew 28, he is meeting with the disciples after his resurrection. He is just about to ascend and he 489s

gives his disciples. He gives his slaves his servants direction. He says go therefore, 497s

making disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy 506s

Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. So he is interesting to his 512s

disciples, this mission. He is giving them a mission, a purpose, and sending them out. 519s

Then in our parable, we have the master returning. The one in verse 16, the one who had received 530s

the five talents went off at once and traded with them and made five more talents. In the same way, 537s

the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent 542s

went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of 548s

slaves came and settled accounts with them. Keep that in mind and we're going to jump down to 553s

verse 24. Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward saying, 561s

master, I knew that you were a harsh man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you 569s

did not scatter seed. So I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, 574s

you have what you, what is yours? But his master replied, you wicked and lazy slave, you knew, 579s

did you that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter. Then you ought to have 586s

invested my money with the bankers. And on my return, I would have received what was my own with 592s

interest. So take the talent from him and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those 598s

who have more will be given and they will have an abundance. But from those who have nothing, 604s

even what they have will be taken away as for this worthless slave throw him into the outer darkness 610s

where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The return of the master to settle accounts. 617s

It sounds kind of like he's coming to settle the score, especially when we read of that third 630s

servant. It's scary. It's scary and it's hard not to feel sorry for this poor servant. And it's 639s

hard not to identify with this poor servant. Am I him? Why is the master so harsh? Why is the 649s

master so harsh? And we can read God's word and we can read and tell others how God is so 665s

demanding so cruel, so judging, so unforgiving that we are not righteous, that he will settle the 674s

score with us. That that is his aim if we don't do well enough. And that sort of word is used to 683s

write fear into our hearts. And it's that master. It's that cruel demanding, judging master, 697s

that the enemy attempts to put forward to us attempts to draw out for our understanding. But is that 708s

the picture of the master from this parable? Is that a good picture of who he is? Because 722s

the servant with the one talent he says, I know you, my master, I know you, I know you are harsh. 731s

And out of fear of this harsh master, what could this servant be expected to do? 740s

But to hide that talent. We spent the last sermon series hearing about the heart of God, 749s

having a glimpse at who God is at his very core, that his gentle and lowly, merciful and gracious 759s

compassionate, sympathetic loving and yearning. Listen to verses 14 and 15 again for it is as 770s

if a man going on a journey summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them to one he gave 780s

five talents to another two to another one to each, according to his ability. And then he went away. 787s

So this master is going on a journey. He is leaving and he gives generously what is his to 796s

his servants and he trusts them. He didn't tell them how to use his talents. He didn't tell them 806s

how to invest his talents. He doesn't tell them how to use his property or where to put forth 816s

their efforts in sharing or in gaining more. He trusts them. He entrusts them with his property. 824s

The property, all of the talents that is not the servants, it doesn't belong to them. He has every 836s

right to hold it back. He has every right to keep it for himself. He has every right to tell them 844s

exactly what they are to do but he doesn't. He gives, he gives and he gives out of his generosity 851s

and he gives out of his abundance and he gives generously to each servant. He does not hold back 867s

and he gave to each servant according to his ability. Each one was blessed. Each one had ability 879s

to manage what was entrusted to him and each one had free reign to do with the talent what he 891s

wished. Let's turn to verse 16. The one who had received the five talents went off at once 902s

and traded with them and made five more talents. In the same way the one who had the two talents 911s

made two more talents. This wording went off at once. There is an immediacy to his action. He went 917s

forth with enthusiasm. He was eager and excited to get out there and gain those more talents. 927s

Those five more talents and the Greek word that is used for traded here, it's really the idea that 936s

he gained. So he traded the talents. He traded with the talents but he was gaining and he gained 944s

five more talents. He won five more talents. And earlier in the gospel of Matthew, 954s

that same word for traded is used in the context of winning a sinner back to Christ. 962s

In Matthew 18, verse 15, it says, if another member of the church sins against you, go and point 971s

the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained or you have one 977s

that one. So the one with the five talents and the one with the two talents were eager to use 985s

what their master had entrusted to them, what he had blessed them with. And the enthusiasm led 993s

to each of those servants doubling their master's blessings. And then you have that one, 1000s

the one servant with the one talent. And he was fearful. Instead of going forward, 1010s

he hid. He didn't take a risk because it was too scary. He panicked. 1021s

Any enthusiasm and energy he had, he used to dig a hole and hide the talent. 1031s

He used his energy and enthusiasm to bury the blessing with which he had been entrusted. 1040s

He didn't even use it for himself. And then we come to the day 1052s

when the master is returning and it's time to settle accounts. 1059s

Let's turn to verse 20. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five 1066s

more talents. Saying, master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have made five more talents. 1072s

His master said to him, well done. Good and trustworthy slave. You have been trustworthy in a few 1081s

things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. 1087s

And the one with the two talents also came forward saying, master, you handed over to me two talents. 1094s

See, I have made two more talents. His master said to him, well done. Good and trustworthy slave. 1101s

You have been trustworthy in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy 1109s

of your master. Each had been entrusted with the blessings of the master. Each according to 1117s

his own ability. And the master's response to both of those servants is well done. Good and trust 1130s

were these slave. You have been trustworthy in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. 1140s

Enter into the joy of your master. The master did not treat the two slaves differently. He said, 1148s

the exact same thing, according to how much each had gained. He blessed them, according to their 1159s

ability and both received the same invitation. Enter into the joy of your master. 1171s

You see, the master is not an exacting being counter. He has been abundantly generous with his property 1181s

and his servants have been faithful to their master, faithful, in stewardship of what he had blessed them with, 1192s

what he had given them. And in turn, they received more blessing and they received that invitation 1204s

to enter into his joy. The parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meeting. 1213s

As Christians, we are the servants. We are the slaves of our master, of Jesus Christ, and we have 1224s

been blessed abundantly out of God's generosity, out of his blessing. Everything we have, 1236s

we have he has given to us. In the Lord's prayer, we have that fourth petition. Give us our daily bread. 1246s

And in Luther's small catacysm, his explanation, to what does this mean, 1258s

he writes, God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, 1265s

but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread 1271s

with thanksgiving. Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, 1278s

such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout, 1287s

husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, 1294s

good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, 1299s

and the like. Everything that we have, everything that we experience is out of the abundance 1306s

and the generosity of our master. In the first article explanation of the creed, Martin Luther 1318s

wrote that I believe God has made me and all creatures that he has given me my body and soul, eyes and ears, 1329s

and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He richly and daily 1335s

provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger 1342s

and guards and protects me, protects me from all evil. All this, he does only out of fatherly, 1349s

vign goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness in me. The master provides for everything, 1356s

and he sustains our lives out of and in his generosity all belongs to him and all that we have 1370s

and given, he has entrusted to us. And his faithful servants, as faithful disciples of our Lord, 1382s

we enthusiastically take everything that has been entrusted to us and we go forth to gain double 1395s

for his kingdom to return to him double what has been blessed to us to serve his kingdom and to 1408s

serve his glory. As his disciples, we aren't seeking to take our own cut but we're seeking to 1421s

expand his kingdom. We have nothing from ourselves that we can gain or grow, not even our lives, 1430s

our own. They were purchased, purchased for us by Jesus Christ upon the cross. In the explanation 1441s

of the second article of the Creed Luther wrote Jesus Christ, who is our master, purchased and won me 1454s

from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his 1461s

holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death that I may be his own and live 1468s

under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. 1474s

The master gave to each of his servants generously out of his own abundance and trusting them 1487s

according to their ability. Nothing was expected of them that was too great or too small but he gave 1496s

what they could use and they gave that they could take, he gave that they could take 1509s

what they had been blessed with and then enthusiastically serve him and grow his property, grow his 1517s

kingdom. The master did not deal with that third servant harshly. The servant had mischaracterized 1525s

the master. He had proclaimed this master to be cruel, to be harsh, to be demanding, 1535s

but we know the master's heart. We see that the very beginning of this parable where we meet the 1546s

master he is giving out of his own generosity and so this third servant he blames the master 1554s

for his own fear. He blames the master for his own mishandling of the talent but he had the same 1565s

opportunity. He had the same invitation and he had the same trust from the master. 1574s

He tried to save himself and in thinking only of himself he was the one who lost out. 1583s

Do you remember the verse where Jesus says he who seeks to save his life will lose it and he who 1593s

loses his life from my sake will find it. Both judgment and grace are part of God's plan 1600s

and we have been called as his disciples. We have been called as his servants, as his doulos. 1611s

And as his servants we have been entrusted. Interested with the fortune of our time, 1621s

entrusted with the fortune of our material goods, 1628s

entrusted with the fortune of our skills and our abilities. 1632s

So let's not struggle in the worldly ways and by worldly means of how to manage 1637s

what has been entrusted to us but instead let us be like that first and second servant who 1644s

enthusiastically go forth using with wisdom and excitement what the master has an 1654s

trusted to them and let us enthusiastically set out to grow the kingdom of God 1663s

that we may all together on that day of judgment here that same invitation to enter 1672s

into the joy of our master. 1683s