Faithfulness Rewarded

If you hear the Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 19, Luke chapter 19, and we're going to look at one of the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Parables are wonderful stories. They're earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. Christ spoke in parables. He told stories that were familiar to the people and then drew from that a spiritual truth. So many times Christ would use common everyday events in the lives of the Jewish nation to help them understand spiritual reality. He used the landscape. He would talk about the parable of the sower and the soil, which all of them would understand the landscape of the land, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, the pounded soil.

They would understand that. And he would talk about the land and draw from that a spiritual truth about the condition of people's hearts. He would do the same with the parable of the mustard seed. So people would understand the expanse of the kingdom. He would use illustrations such as marriage because in a Jewish culture, marriages were huge. They were big events and he would use parables telling stories about marriages to explain the coming of the bridegroom. So you had the parable of the wedding garment.

You had the parable of the marriage feast. You had the parable of the ten virgins. And Christ would explain through normal, common, everyday events a story that would illustrate a spiritual truth. He did the same thing with the landscape when he talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan because there was a road from Jericho to Jerusalem that was a very windy, hilly road with lots of crevices and people would be robbed. He'd use that as a study for his illustration about the parable of the Good Samaritan.

He would use the setting of a family to talk about the parable of the lost sons. And so Christ would take normal, everyday events, use them, throw them alongside a spiritual truth to emphasize what is happening in the hearts and lives of people. He was the master teacher. And parables are like windows to the soul. Did a series on the parables years ago called Searchlights for the Soul. So that when Jesus gave a parable, it was like shedding or shining a light into the inner recesses of your soul.

So you would be able to see the condition of what's on the inside. That's what Jesus did. The parable before us today is a parable that does the exact same thing. It sheds light on your spiritual condition. It's a unique parable because every one of us in the room today are in the parable. Sometimes we don't always see it that way, but you need to understand that every one of us in the room, no matter how old you are, no matter how young you are, no matter from what walk of life you come, every one of us is in the parable.

So it applies to each of us. The parable in Luke chapter 19 is similar to a parable that Jesus gave in Matthew 25, but it's not the same parable. It's not the same parable because Jesus gives this parable on the route from Jericho to Jerusalem. He gives the parable in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents during passion week in Jerusalem. So there is a difference in terms of the parables and when they were given. They're similar, but these two are distinctly unique. Let me read it to you and then we'll make some comments about it.

Luke chapter 19, verse number 11. And while they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. He said to, therefore, a certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then returned. And he called 10 of his slaves and gave them 10 minutes and said to them, do business with this until I come back. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.

And it came about that when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves to whom he had given the money be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done. And the first appeared saying, master, your menia has made 10 menias more.

And he said to him, well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over 10 cities. And the second came saying, your menia master has made five menias.

He said to him also, and you are to be over five cities. And another came saying, master, behold your menia, which I kept put away in a handkerchief for I was afraid of you because you are an exacting man. You take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow. He said to him by your own words, I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put the money in the bank? And having come, I would have collected it with interest.

He said to the bystanders, take the menia away from him and give it to the one who has the 10 menias. And they said to him, master, he has 10 menias already. I tell you that everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence. Now the story's pretty obvious. You have a noble man. This noble man is going away to receive a kingdom and he will come back having received the kingdom and rule over the land.

And while he's away, he says to his slaves, take what I give you and invest it. Do something with it. Do the most with your opportunity. And when I return, I will reward you accordingly. So as he goes, there was a delegation that follows a delegation who hates him, who does not want that king to rule over them. And so they sent a delegation to make sure he doesn't become their king. Yet the noble man returns as king. And because he returns as king, those who did what they were supposed to were rewarded.

Those who did not were rejected and those who hated him were ruined. The rewarded were invested into the king. The rejected were indifferent toward the king and the ruined were indignant toward the king. And what's so compelling about this is two things. One, you're in the parable. Two, it actually happens in Israel. It's a story that has already taken place. It's a story that Jesus uses as an illustration to talk about himself as the nobleman and the king about to go away. You see, remember that in Jerusalem, in the world at that time, Rome was king.

Rome ruled the land. And Rome would put subordinate kings under them who would have to go to Rome and be affirmed in their kingship. That happened with Herod the Great in 40 BC. He would go and appeal to Mark Antony about being king over the land of Israel. And as he appealed to Mark Antony to be the king, he was granted the kingship over the land of Israel. He was called Herod the Great, not because people called him the great, but because he gave himself that name, Herod the Great. He was a little narcissistic.

And so he became king. He died in 4 AD. And so he was dead. And upon his death, he had three sons. One of the sons was named Archelaus. And Archelaus happened to be the ruler over the Judean area of Jericho. And so he was granted that place to exercise his authority. When his father died, upon the very first Passover in Jerusalem, he slaughtered 3,000 Jews.

Because he wanted to set up an authority for himself that everybody would fear him as the king. And so he would have to go to Rome to be confirmed as king. And as he went, there was a delegation that followed him because they did not want him, Archelaus, to be the king over Jericho. This is all a true story. It's in the histories and antiquities of the Jews written by Josephus. And so they followed him to Rome to say, we don't want Archelaus to be our king. So what Caesar did was allowed him to rule, but didn't grant him the name king until he was able to earn it from the people, which he never did.

So Jesus tells a story based on historical facts that everybody in Jericho and Jerusalem and in the Judean area would understand about Archelaus. And he would use a story that everybody knew, it's a historical event, to portray what would happen with Jesus, the king, the nobleman, who would return to set up his kingdom. That's the story. It's all based on something that's already taken place. And so Jesus tells this story somewhere between Jericho and Jerusalem. It's about 17 miles away. And the Bible says this, it says, and while they were listening to these things, what things?

Now remember, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for Passover. There was a multitude of people, according to Matthew's account, following him into Jericho. And we know what has taken place in Jericho. You've been with us the last couple of weeks. We know about blind Bartimaeus. We know about Zacchaeus. And so the crowds now in Jericho are getting on the Jesus train as he moves to Jerusalem for Passover. We know that there was somewhere between one and a half and 2 million Jews in Jerusalem during Passover, because we know how many lambs are slaughtered in Jerusalem at Passover.

And when you calculate that, you notice about 2 million Jews in Jerusalem during Passover time. So there are a lot of people moving toward Jerusalem. And so Jesus has spent two days in Jericho. He is on his way to Jerusalem and these people are following him and they are listening to these things. What things are they listening to? Now you've got to realize that Jesus didn't just say a few things and then they walked for miles in silence. Jesus was always preaching. He was always talking. It's 17 miles from Jericho to Jerusalem.

Now, whether he stopped on the road and he began to talk about all these things, we don't know. But somewhere between Jericho and Jerusalem, there is this story that's told, this parable that's told. But before he tells the parable, they are listening to these things. What things? The things about how the son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about salvation. He's talking about things pertaining to the kingdom. The blind man, Bartimaeus, he was saved.

He received a sight. Zacchaeus, the tax collector, he was saved. And so as they were listening to these things, the things concerning the son of man and his salvation, he's talking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom. Remember, I must look for, I must preach the kingdom of God in every city. I must suffer for the kingdom of God. I must be sacrificed for the kingdom of God. Those divine musts that we've given you the last two weeks. These things must happen. This is what Jesus is doing.

He's talking to them about salvation. He's talking to them about the internal kingdom of God. Luke 17, verse number 21, he talked about the internal kingdom. They wanted a sign about the kingdom. He says the kingdom's on the inside. It's not on the outside. It's an internal kingdom. So he's talking to them about salvation. See, Jesus didn't come to change the morality of Israel. He didn't come to do that. If he did, he failed. That wasn't his purpose of coming. He didn't come to initiate an economic recovery plan for Israel.

He didn't come to do that. He didn't come to Israel to change the justice system. Didn't do that either. He came for one purpose, to seek and to save that which is lost. He's already made that statement. Luke 19, verse number 10. And everything in the gospel of Luke and the other gospels points to the fact that he is the savior of the world. So he is going from Jericho to Jerusalem, talking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom, talking to them about salvation, on why the son of man came, and how he seeks, and how he saves.

That is the emphasis of his ministry. There's going to come a day when everything in society will change. There's going to come a day when the environment will change. It's called the millennial kingdom of God. That day is going to come. There's going to come a when he is going to return. And Revelation 19 says that on each side of his robe, it's king of kings and lord of lords. Revelation chapter 19, you can read about it. You can read about it in Philippians chapter 2, where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord from the glory, to the glory of God.

That every knee will bow to the king. There's coming that time. In fact, it says over in Revelation 11, these words, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. That day is going to come. But at this point, he has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Now the Jews, they didn't get that. No matter how many times you said it, no matter how many times he emphasized it, they didn't get it. Why? What text tells us. And while they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear when?

Immediately. Immediately. They believed that. Here we have this miracle worker. Here we have the theme of the son of David, by this blind man, Bartimaeus, son of David, have mercy on me. When he goes into Jerusalem, that's the song they sing. They sing to the son of David, Hosanna, because they want him to be their Messiah. How quickly do things change? Oh, in about five days. For Jesus, give it a week, everything changes. For on Monday, when he goes to Jerusalem and they hail him as their king, on Friday, they crucify him and they want him dead.

That's how quickly things change. It's how fickle people are emotionally. And so they were anticipating the kingdom to come immediately. They believe that once. Now, if you've ever been to the land of Israel and you've ever, if you've taken that journey from Jericho up to Jerusalem, you've got to realize that it's a huge ascent up to the city of Jerusalem. And you got to go over the Mount of Olives. And once you reach that crest of the Mount of Olives, you see the golden city itself. If you, and you see it for the first time, it's, it's, it's quite breathtaking.

It's, it's rather emotional. But when, when, when Herod's temple was there and, and, and, and it was outlined in gold and it would glisten because of the, of the sunlight, they were, they were anticipating the fact that when Jesus got there, he would, he would descend the Mount of Olives. He would, he would set up his kingdom. He would rule. This is what they were thinking. Zechariah chapter 14. This is what they were thinking. It says, behold, the day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.

For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle and the city will be captured and houses plundered. The women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations. That's what they believe he's going to do. He's going to fight against Rome. And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley.

So that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. This is what they are anticipating. They think this is going to happen. If Jesus is son of David, if Jesus is son of God, if Jesus is their Messiah, he will ascend the Mount of Olives. He will stand on it. It will split and he will be the king. This is what they're thinking. And it goes on to say, and you will flee by the valley of the mountains for the valley of the mountains will reach Isaiah. Yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.

Then the Lord, my God will come in all the holy ones with him. They see themselves as the holy ones coming with the king. And it will come about in that day that there will be no light. The luminaries will dwindle for it will be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, either day or night, but it will come about that at evening time, there will be light. And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the Eastern sea and the other half toward the Western sea.

It will be in summer as well as the winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. In that day, the Lord will be the only one and his name, the only one. Every Jew raised in the synagogue knows the Zachariah chapter 14, and they know the king is coming. And if Jesus is that king, this is what's going to happen when we go to Jerusalem, because after all his credentials are unmistakable, unmistakable. The problem is, is that they had all these messianic expectations, but they missed the words of Jesus.

And they would put aside Isaiah 53, Psalm 16, Psalm 22. They will put aside those prophecies that deal with a dead Messiah, a resurrected Messiah. They would put aside those passages like Genesis chapter 22, where Abraham rejoiced to see my day because of the substitutionary sacrifice of the lamb. They put all that aside, because that didn't meet what they wanted their Messiah to be. Before you condemn the Jews, look at your own life, because there are certain expectations you have that you want God to do, that when he doesn't do them, you're not very happy.

Is that not true? That's what a Jewish nation was. They were so unhappy, they went from Hosanna Hosanna to crucify him in five days. They just turned, because he didn't meet their expectations. How many times do you have an expectation that you want God to meet, he's not meeting it, and you turn against him? This parable is for you. It's for you. It's for me. It's for all of us to examine our lives in the light of what Jesus is saying. So Jesus is on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem. He's telling him about how a man must come to seek and to save that which is lost, in that he's talking about redemption, in that he's talking about the kingdom, in that he's talking about the things he's talked about all throughout the gospel.

Luke, Matthew, and Mark, all three of the gospels. He knows, he knows he's going to descend the Mount of Olives. He knows what's going to happen, as we'll see next week, how he knows everything about the the cult and and the owner and and the question he's going to ask. He knows everything. He's omniscient. He knows what's going to happen. He knows what they're thinking. He knows. He's omniscient. He knows what's going on in their minds. And so because they assume that that kingdom is going to come immediately, if Jesus is that Messiah, the kingdom will come.

If the kingdom doesn't come, he must not be the Messiah crucified. That's the way it's going to be. Jesus knows that, so he tells a parable. Now whether he sits him down and talks to him, I have no idea. Remember, there's thousands of people going to Jerusalem. They're all on the Jesus train. How he communicates his truth to them, I don't know, but he does say it. It's the word of God. He gives it to them, because they need to understand what's about to happen. And he starts out very simply, a certain noble man, one of noble birth, who was the most noble one who ever lived?

It was Christ, whose father was God, the king of glory. He was the noble man. He is the noble man in the story. There was a certain noble man who went to a distant country. That's exactly what happens. Eight weeks from about this time, he ascends into glory. He ascends into glory and is coronated as king by his father in heaven. And so he is telling them in advance what's going to happen. He's the noble man. He's the king. He's going to go to a distant country, happens to be glory, heaven. There'll be the rejection next week.

There'll be the crucifixion. There'll be the resurrection. There'll be the ascension. Then there's the coronation of the king of kings. He's going to come again. He's going to return again. He's going to receive a kingdom for himself. He is the firstborn of all creation. He is the prototokos, as it is said in the original language, the preeminent one, the chief one. He is the one of all nobility. He is the one who will receive the kingdom for himself. He will return and everybody will be accountable to him as the king.

And so he's the noble man. He's going to a distant country and he gives minas, which is about three months wages, to his slaves. And he expects them. He expects them to use what he gives them for his glory. He expects them to use what he gives them for his honor. He expects that when he gives them the minas, that they will honor him, obey him, be committed to him, show their loyalty to him. And so what you have in the parable are three groups of people. You have one group, the servants, one who is faithful, one who's unfaithful.

Those are the first two groups. And then you have his enemies. You have those invested in the king as one of the servants. You have those who are indifferent toward the king, another set of servants. And then you have those who are indignant toward the king who hate the king. And so he's outlining what's about to happen throughout the rest of his ministry from that point on. Because he's already talked about how the son of man must suffer. He's going to die. When he dies, he's going to go, he's going to be raised from the dead, going to go to a distant country, receive his coronation and come back.

And so he leaves in the parable in the hands of his servants money by which to use it for him. And then as he goes, it says, they're going to do business until he comes back. They've been entrusted with a deposit. They've been entrusted with a treasure and they're going to use it, make the most of the opportunity, occupy until he comes. But the citizens hated him. Okay. In the realm of the servants, there are those who possess Christianity and those who profess Christianity. And then you have those outside the class of servants that are his citizens who actually hate him.

They're indignant toward him. They cannot stand him. They are the delegation who do not want him to reign over them. Now notice the wording it says, but his citizens hated him.

This is a lot like the story of the prodigal son, right? Where people sometimes misinterpret that parable because the father, there's a father and he has two sons and they think because God is the father that those sons are his children. No, they're sons only by creation, not by redemption. Only one becomes a son by redemption. That's the one who repents because God is the father of all creation in a creative sense. The same is true here. Jesus is the king of the world. Everybody in the world is responsible and accountable to him as the king.

There's nobody who's ever lived that's outside that accountability. There's nobody who's ever lived that says, I am not responsible to the king of Israel because the Bible says very clearly that every knee will bow.

Every tongue will confess that Jesus is Christ, that Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God, the father. And so Jesus uses the word carefully. It's his citizens because they are accountable to him for everything. And yet they hate him. They hated him for no reason. According to John 15 verse number 25 in Isaiah chapter 53, there was no reason to hate Jesus. There was a reason to hate Archelaus because that's what the story is based off of because he slaughtered 3000 Jews at his very first Passover to set up his kingship that he might rule with an authoritative hand.

But there was no reason to hate Jesus. He never killed anybody. He never massacred millions of people. He was kind, gracious, and compassionate. Yet there were citizens of his kingdom that hated him, that did not want that king, that one, a derogatory term. I don't want that one to rule over me. There are people like that all over the world today. I'm not having that kind of God rule over me. No. They don't want that. And they hate him. They're indignant toward him. But in the end, Jesus says, bring them to my presence.

Slay them. Because they are against his kingship in their lives. And then he moved on. He says this, and it came about that when he returned, Christ is prophesying his return. Archelaus returned from Rome. Herod returned from Rome. Jesus will return from his coronation. He will return. After receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves to whom he had given the money be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done. This is their accounting. This is when they stand before the king.

Verse 16, the first appeared saying, Master, your menia has made 10 menias more. Look what your menia did. Look what you did. You did this. There is this loving response. There is this desire for an accounting. There is this desire to be held responsible. They want to be held accountable. They want to be under authority. Master, look what your menia did. And he said to him, well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, being authority over 10 cities. Wow. Now remember when Jesus holds us accountable for what we have done, he will say, well done, now good and faithful servant.

And he will give us millennial rule. We know that. We know that the 12 apostles will rule over the 12 tribes of Israel. We know that. We know that in the millennial kingdom, we will have rulership in that kingdom with the king himself. First Corinthians 6 says that we will even judge the angels.

Imagine that. We judge the angels. So God is going to grant us authority in his millennial kingdom. And so he is picturing what's going to happen when he is the king returns. He gathers his servants together and he gives for an accounting. And they come and says, Master, it's your menia. And it's gained 10 menias more. Wow. Well done. You're going to rule over 10 cities, 10 regions. Next servant comes. The second came saying, your menia master has made five menias.

They said to him, and you are to be over five cities. Wow. This is amazing. This is what you did with what I gave you. Now, remember, they didn't deserve to have anything. They didn't even deserve to be a part of the king's kingdom, but he, by grace, gave them that opportunity and to dispense those things for the glory of the kingdom. They are the faithful slaves. They brought forth fruit. They did what the master said. They were willingly obedient to their master. They wanted to serve their master.

Then comes the third servant. Why the first two were invested in the master. The third one was indifferent to the master.

Listen to what he says. And another came, very important word. Why? It's heteros, not alos. If it was alos, it would be another of the same kind, but because it's heteros, it's another of a different kind. This is a different kind of slave, not like the other slaves. How is he different? He's different because he is a professor and not a possessor of the king. That's why. He came, saying, Master, behold, you mean you, which I kept, put away in a handkerchief. And all the rabbis would say, you never put treasure in a handkerchief.

Rabbis would tell you that if you did that, you are careless and you are thoughtless, making you, therefore, useless. That's what the rabbi said. So he said, I put it in a handkerchief. For I was afraid of you because you are an exacting man. You take up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow. In other words, you're a thief. You're a liar. We do all the work for you. You don't do anything. And you take all the credit. See, that person is the one who is indifferent to the master.

He's not invested in the master. He is one who pretended, like Judas, pretended to be a disciple of Jesus and did a marvelous job at pretending, such a marvelous job that even on the evening of the crucifixion, no one knew that it was Judas who would betray him because he was given the money. And the most trusted person would handle the money. Judas was the most trusted disciple of the bunch. But he was a son of perdition. He was the pretender. He was not the possessor of the Christ. And this slave comes and pretends you are an exacting man.

You're a cutthroat king. You're a hard-nosed king. You're a strict king. You're a harsh king. It's your fault. You're unfair. I didn't do anything with this because of you. I didn't do anything for you because of you. I didn't serve you because of the way you are. So I didn't serve you. I didn't do anything with what you gave me. Listen to what Jesus says.

He says, by your own words, I will judge you. You, what? Worthless slave. Never in scripture is a true child of God ever called worthless. Never. Never is. Only the pretenders. Only the professors, not the possessors. This was a pretender. He calls them worthless. Take the meanie away from him and give it to the one who has 10 mean years. And they said, master, he has 10 mean years already. He's already got 10. But that's the essence of grace and what God does to those who are faithful in their service to him.

I tell you that to everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have even what he does have shall be taken away from him. What does he not have? He does not have that intimate relationship with the king. And so all that was given to him by grace would be taken away from him. He'll be rejected as a worthless slave. And then he says, very simply these words, but those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence. The word slay, cut them down.

Wow. Jesus is forecasting all that's going to take place on the very next scene. He's telling them what's going to happen because they're listening to these things about the son of man has come to seek and to say that which is lost and they just don't buy into it. I mean, it's all nice for Jesus to do those kinds of things, but they want a king and they want a kingdom and they want to rule with that king and they want Rome to be plundered and they want all the nations to come to them and, and, and, and hang on their robes.

That's what they want. They want Jesus to do for them what they want him to do for them. Those are the pretenders. Do you know that pretenders are always unmasked at the arrival of the king and pretenders are known by this fact. They want God to do for them what they want God to do. And when God doesn't do it, what do they do? God's unfair. God's an exacting taskmaster. He's harsh. He's unkind. And Jesus says to them, you are worthless slave.

You hold no part of my kingdom. None. Because those who are intimate with him don't treat him that way. They love him. They adore him. They will serve him. They will give their lives for him. And as Jesus goes into Jerusalem, if you will see next week, there will be people singing his praises, singing his praises. And yet they will not want that king to rule over them come Friday. They won't. And there will be those in the crowd of all the committed that were curious and they were counterfeits. And while we might not be able to unmask all the counterfeits today, there's coming a day when all counterfeit Christians will be unmasked.

See, that's, that's my biggest burden for the modern evangelical church. It's filled with counterfeits. It's filled with people who've been self-deceived into thinking that they're one of the slaves. But God has entrusted them with a treasure. He's entrusted them with opportunity. They don't use it for him. They don't want to glorify his name. They don't want to bring forth fruit to demonstrate the reality of their conversion. They just kind of sit, soak, and sour. And one day they'll be unmasked.

I don't want you to be in that category. I don't. I want you to know the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to be a part of all that he is and all that he's done. I want you to live to the glory and honor of the Christ to praise his name because that's all that matters, your eternal soul. That's why he came to seek and to say that which is lost. He was concerned about the eternal souls of mankind and thus we should be. So my prayer for us is that we will be true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, slaves that we hear one day, oh, well done, well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy of the Lord. The commendation comes and following the commendation comes the great jubilation of glory because we were faithful all the way to the end. Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you Lord for today and a chance to be in your Word and we are grateful. And we ask Lord that you would use your Word in our lives to cause us to examine ourselves, that we might know for certain that we are among the faithful and not the unfaithful for the glory of the kingdom of God in Jesus name. Amen.