U – Use my talents everyday
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.’
Matthew 25:29
Our text tonight comes from the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke and Mark, the author is called by his other name Levi, but Matthew, whose name means “gift of the Lord,” is how most of us know him. Matthew’s main purpose is to demonstrate, prove to the Jews that Jesus is their long awaited Messiah.
The context of our passage tonight is commonly called the Parable of the Talents. As an example of His Messianic lineage, Jesus would talk in parables. Psalm 78:2 states “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.” The Hebrew word for parable is mashal which means some sense of superiority in mental action, a pithy maxim, usually of metaphorical nature, a simile, an adage, or proverb. The Greek word used in the New Testament is parabole which is a teaching aid cast alongside the truth being taught, by using an arresting or familiar analogy, (which is often fictitious or metaphorical, but not necessarily).
Why did Jesus teach in parables? Jesus answers us in Matthew 13:10-11, “And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.’” 1 Corinthians 2:14 further states “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Let’s read the entire parable.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
A talent is an ancient unit of mass, generally the mass of water in the volume of an amphora, (one foot cube). Depending on the nationality, the talent had different weights. A Biblical Hebrew talent was approximately 75 pounds. When used as money, a talent could be gold or silver. The Greek word for talent in this passage is talanton which is a silver talent of about 75 lbs used as the basis of monetary exchange. Today, silver is worth $43.91 per ounce which equates to $52,692 per talent. If the talent was gold ($1851.60 per ounce), it would be worth $2,221,920 today.
The man gave talents “to each according to his own ability.” The word “ability” is used over 120 times in the New Testament and is the Greek word dunamis. The word means physical power, force, might, ability, efficacy, energy. Consider it as the power to achieve by applying the Lord's inherent abilities which is needed to grow in sanctification and prepare for heaven (glorification). This really gives us a sense of a valuable aptitude or skill given by God, similar to how we define “talent” in the English language.
Upon the man’s return, he rewards the servants who used their “talents” effectively making him more money. He uses the phrase which several people would love for our Lord to say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” However, he is extremely disappointed with the servant who didn’t even try. This servant was thrown out where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” As Christians, we must use the valuable aptitude or skill given to us by God in everything we do. This is done for God’s glory not our own. So, Use your “talents” everyday for God’s glory. Even if you fail, if you are honest toward God and modeled his traits, you have succeeded and may win others for Christ even in your perceived “failure.” Remember, you have to give all you got.
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