128 - The Parable of the Talents#
128 - The Parable of the Talents
(JP Text Group - Grace Grass 整理)
The topic of the sharing is: The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-30,
14 “For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Let us begin with a prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for this opportunity to worship You. We are those who possess the gospel of Jesus Christ. In these last days, everyone receives talents from You, and we desire to be those who can work for You. You have placed this mission upon each of Your children. Help us and guide us during this time, grant us eloquence and wisdom, so that more people in the world may be changed because of us. Jesus, thank You! We commit every brother and sister into Your gracious hands, remove all their weariness, and let them receive abundantly here. We thank and praise You, in the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
The topic of the sharing is: The Parable of the Talents
Why is it about talents? Some scriptures are difficult to understand, and I will explain them through the Bible. Today I will share three parts.
The first part is: The master's commission;
The second part is: The servant's reception;
The third part is: The different outcomes.
In Matthew 25, there are three parables: the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and finally the judgment of the sheep and the goats.
We have shared the content of Matthew 20 for three consecutive weeks. What is the entire chapter of 25 about? Jesus Christ gives us salvation, and then He goes back. What is the response of those who receive the message? When Jesus returns, He will execute judgment. I intentionally reversed this order. First, I spoke about the judgment of the sheep and the goats, and then about the parable of the talents, which conveys the same meaning. These three stories are saying the same thing, just from different aspects.
Verse 14 says, ‘For it is just like a man going on a journey’
In fact, it continues the previous story.
What is the kingdom of heaven like? It is like a man going on a journey. Who is this man? It is Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is like a man, which is Jesus, going on a journey, meaning Jesus is returning to the kingdom of heaven. Then he called his servants.
Brothers and sisters, who do the “servants” refer to? The Jews, the Gentiles, anyone willing to be used by God, Jesus has called you to entrust this to you, and then called the servants to entrust his possessions to them. Why did he call his servants? Jesus Christ brings us to Him to receive His inheritance, entrusting His possessions to them. What exactly is Jesus Christ's inheritance?
In this passage, it refers to the gospel, eternal life, Amen! In other words, Jesus wants to give eternal life to His servants. What does God want these servants to do?
Let’s look further. Verse 15 says, ‘To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.’
In this parable, Jesus does not specify the purpose for giving them talents. At the end, He says to the one with one talent, “You wicked and lazy servant.” Although this passage refers to the kingdom of heaven and eternal life, it actually points to God's gospel.
Did Jesus ask us to spread the gospel? What does the last part of the gospels refer to? Why did Jesus send the disciples out? “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” It is a clear mission. In other words, the disciples received from the Lord and were to spread it out. This disciple does not only refer to the twelve apostles, but to everyone, Amen! Everyone.
Some received five talents, some received two talents, and some received one talent. This relates to the previous two messages. It refers to the different outcomes of heaven and hell, and God is saying something here. After we receive God's grace, how should we respond to God?
When God gives you eternal life and continuously bestows grace upon you every day, how should you respond to Him? Some say, “Thank the Lord.” That’s right, November is the month of gratitude. Why are we grateful? Because God gives us so much, everything we need each day, our health; our families; everything is given by God.
In light of God's grace, what should I do? How should I respond to God? It starts with continuously receiving from God, receiving His grace, and after receiving, what should we do? Brothers and sisters, we must know that we can easily fall into a misconception. Many people think that going to church is just about receiving, receiving, receiving... and in front of people, it’s the same, receiving, receiving, receiving. What will happen? Such people are worse than those under the law.
I once knew a brother who was quite arrogant, criticizing everyone he met, the kind of legalistic criticism. When we told him that everything is given to us freely by God, he said, “What have you given me? Did you give me your love? What have you sacrificed for me? Did you serve me?” Where is his focus? He continuously receives, but for whom? Himself. He demands from God and from people, and in the end, he becomes a very bitter person.
Do not expect from people, do not seek to gain anything from them; you can only receive from God and then give to those around you, Hallelujah! You must give. Have you received the gospel from the Lord? Give it out. Have you received love? Give it out. So brothers and sisters, do not look for love from people; you will not find it.
Many people say this church lacks love; have you given any love to this church? If you have never given a bit of love to the church, how can the church have love? If everyone wants to take love from here but is unwilling to give, what will the church become? It will become a selfish place.
Look at our Lord, who gave five talents, two talents, and one talent. God gave them, but did not tell them what to do. However, those who truly understand God's heart will give it out. This is very important, brothers and sisters. In the previous two messages, I just shared that if you say you love God, where is the evidence? It is in loving those around you. If you cannot love those around you, do not claim to love God, because you cannot; that is a lie.
How should we respond to God? It should be with gratitude. If gratitude only exists on your lips, “Lord, I thank You for giving me so much grace today,” it can easily turn into the behavior of the rich man, constantly eating, eating, eating, and never giving anything back, while Lazarus is starving and receives nothing. This is very dangerous; where is the final outcome? In hell. God has given him so much; God's method is very simple: I give to you, you also give out, and then you will be blessed and rewarded.
If it is only on your lips, “Thank God,” without real action, giving out what you have received, you will become dead. In the end, this person may become greedy, insatiable, and arrogant. When God gives us grace, we should ask God, “Why?” I wish brothers and sisters would do this exercise from now on. Whenever God's grace comes upon you, ask God, “Why do You bless me like this?”
This is a very important method. I am telling you a method. How do you see God's grace in your life? If you are sick and healed in Jesus' name, or if you pray to God for healing, you should ask God, “Why did You heal me? Why do You love me so much?” You will often see what God has done for you.
However, when we are in pain or being punished, we ask God why, but it is not from God, or when there is illness or suffering, we ask God, “Why?” When should we ask God “Why?” When God's grace comes upon you, you should ask God, “Lord, I am so unworthy; why do You bless me?” This way, you will often be grateful to God, and your actions will change. When you are in suffering, look up to God, “Lord, You can lead me to overcome all of this, Amen!”
This is a method. The man here refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, who called His servants and entrusted His possessions to them. Is there a difference between a servant and a son? They are not the same. A servant refers to a slave. Why is the term “servant” used here? In fact, it refers to the slaves bought back by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, how many people are bought back by Jesus with His precious blood? All of us. He died on the cross for the sins of all humanity and paid the price. No one can say, “Jesus, You never died for my sins; how did You let me into the kingdom of heaven?” He paid the ransom for everyone. Every person in the world, Jesus paid the ransom; this is the servant. We are the servants of Jesus Christ, belonging to Jesus, Hallelujah!
He entrusted His possessions to the servants to manage. Do those who do not believe in the Lord have the right to manage this earth?
You can ask those who build roads, “Why are you building roads?”
They say they do not believe.
You ask, “Why are you repairing the roads here?”
Aren't they managing the earth? They are doing it to make the roads more beautiful, managing this world. Why do they manage it? Even if they do not believe in Jesus, they are still managing Jesus' world, Amen! They just do not understand whose inheritance they are receiving. If you ask them, “This world belongs to Jesus; you are managing Jesus' world,” will they believe? No. After a while, you will understand the one with one talent.
Jesus entrusted His possessions to His servants to manage and went on a journey, referring to Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension back. There is something to be unraveled here.
- It says, ‘To each according to his own ability, he gave them talents.’
What does “ability” refer to? Gifts, abilities, and so on? I have checked many places, and they say “ability” refers to gifts. Let's take a look again.
‘He gave them talents,’ what are talents? Some say talents are gifts; money is also a gift, meaning Jesus gives us His gifts. Some are given more, and some are given less; is that right? Do you agree that both talents and money are gifts?
Let me clarify this for you. I have researched this because I want to unravel this passage, especially the money. Money is absolutely the content of the entire text. You can misinterpret the talents, but I have checked many commentaries, and the majority, over ninety percent, interpret “money” as a gift, meaning you possess God's gift. Some have more gifts, and some have fewer gifts. If it is a gift, do you know how dangerous that is?
Is one talent a gift? One talent is a gift; he did not use the gift correctly. What is the outcome? ‘He was thrown into the outer darkness.’ I have checked; “outer darkness” refers to hell.
If you do not use God's gifts well, God will throw you into hell. Are you sure you are using God's gifts well? Isn’t that very dangerous? So this “money” is important. I personally believe “money” refers to the grace of redemption of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at a passage, Numbers 3:44-49,
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine, I am the Lord. 46 For the firstborn among the children of Israel are more than the Levites. 47 You shall take five shekels for each one, according to the number of names. 48 And you shall give the money to Aaron and his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites.
I have previously shared with brothers and sisters that in the Bible, “gold” represents God's holiness and righteousness. “Silver” represents redemption. So among the Israelites, as long as they were firstborn, for example, the firstborn son, they had to pay a redemption price to God. Why? As we read earlier, all firstborns belong to God; the firstborn belongs to God. To get back the firstborn son, they must pay the redemption price to God. This is the situation in Israel.
Is Israel the firstborn? To the world, is Israel the firstborn? Yes, the entire Israel belongs to God, right? He first chose the people of Israel, so this nation should belong entirely to God. But they cannot all belong to God, so He chose one tribe, the Levite tribe, to serve God on behalf of the other Israelites. It is as if the entire Israelite people are serving God.
This is what was just mentioned; silver represents redemption. The “money” mentioned here also refers to the grace of redemption of Jesus Christ. In terms of grace, some understand more, and some understand less; some people only have a little understanding. Looking back thirty years ago in our country, many people believed in Jesus; did they know about these things today? No, they only knew that believing in Jesus meant going to heaven and healing when sick, and that was it.
But you know so much more than they did. You know what grace is, what the law is, and that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew while the New Testament was written in Greek; they did not know. So in this aspect, you know God's grace. If we use “money” as a metaphor, you know five talents, while they know two talents, Amen! Can you understand this?
God gives each according to their ability, “ability” refers to gifts. Some can forge iron, make weapons, sing, and some can make musical instruments; aren’t these all gifts? Reading Exodus shows that God gave people much wisdom to do this and that. Many things in the sanctuary were made by wise people; we can call this a gift. Singing, is it a gift? Yes. Writing beautifully with a brush, is it a gift? Yes. In the church, if you have the gift of encouragement, it is given by God; they are all gifts. So this is a gift; God gives different grace according to your gifts.
This means that because of your gift, you will know God more from this aspect. In the church, if a pastor has the gift of healing, looking back at his life and testimony, more than ninety percent of people have had serious illnesses in the past and have been healed by God, so he knows the power of healing more than others, Amen! You can look at the testimonies in this regard.
“Money” refers to God's grace of eternal life, while “ability” refers to gifts. God has given every Christian gifts; every person in the world has gifts, Amen! What should we do with these gifts? Shouldn’t we glorify God? That’s right! So when you praise well, glorify God! If you are a technician, use that to glorify God! Hallelujah! The Israelites did very well in this regard; they excelled in military and aerospace fields, and they gave glory to God because they knew that gifts are given by God.
Are the gifts different? There are five talents, two talents, and one talent. Is the ability of the one with five talents greater than that of the one with two talents? How are the rewards for the five talents and two talents? They are the same. God does not show favoritism to the one with five talents. “You are amazing; I gave you five talents, and you earned five more; you are so faithful and good.” To the one with two talents, He says, “You just passed; you are a good and faithful servant.” If it were like this, our God would be unfair.
What does the master say to the one with five talents? In verse 21, ‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”’
Is this the reward for the one with five talents?
Looking further, what about the one with two talents? In verse 23, the master says, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”’
Is it completely the same? Thank the Lord, the rewards for the five talents and the two talents are the same. Where is the difference? This is how our God works; He does not look at how much work you have done but whether you have been faithful in what God entrusted to you. Amen!
In the church, many people exclude those with greater gifts or are very envious and jealous of those with greater gifts. Do you know how they attack the preachers? They say, “Why do they get such a high salary? They only preach four times a month, and they get so much money?”
Let me give you an example. In the Bible, there are two preachers, one is Paul, and the other is Peter. If we use the five talents and two talents from this text, who is the one with five talents? Isn’t it Paul? More than half of the New Testament letters were written by Paul. What about Peter? In terms of knowledge, culture, and revelation of Jesus, he is not as good as Paul. If we were to differentiate, Paul is five talents, and Peter is two talents. Are their rewards the same? Aren’t they both apostles? That’s right, and Peter is the chief apostle, the first disciple.
In this matter, I want to tell brothers and sisters not to be jealous, envious, or exclude those who receive more than you. If he received five talents and only produced two talents, it proves he was not faithful, Amen!
I am a full-time servant. What does full-time mean? It means a lifetime, apart from the ministry of the gospel, I do not do any other profession in the world. This is my full-time commitment. It is a lifetime; it is not that when problems arise or when the church's supply is insufficient, I can go do something else. No, this is my five talents, Amen!
What about the two talents? For example, in our church, there are deacons and those leading worship; they can be said to be two talents. As long as they diligently lead worship each week, allowing brothers and sisters to see God's grace and awaken their hearts to look up to Jesus again, they have completed their two talents.
But I am different; when no one leads worship, I must lead; when brothers and sisters have problems, I must serve; when someone falls, I must comfort them; even when someone excludes me, I still have to swallow my bitterness and keep it to myself; this is my five talents. The one with two talents cannot bear the five talents; in the future, God will hold us accountable, as the previous passage says,
In verse 19, ‘After a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.’
And how did he settle accounts with them? He held them accountable. You are responsible for two thousand people; how many will God hold you accountable for? He will hold you accountable for two thousand people, that’s right. So I am very grateful; I only have this many people I can be responsible for. If someone does not want to stay in this church and wants to leave, they are no longer within my management scope. If God gives me three people, I will be responsible for them to the best of my ability for my entire life. If one of them wants to leave, fine, I will be responsible for these two people; this is my five talents, Amen!
This is a commission; God will hold us accountable. Sometimes I envy those who serve part-time in the church because they do not have to take on so many responsibilities. Some are just preachers; the church sends them to preach in this place, and once they finish, that’s it; they do not have to be responsible for anything else, making it easier. But truly leading a church means being a parent; you must be responsible for everything; this is the five talents.
So God gives you five talents; the greater your commission, the more God will hold you accountable in the future. So when the one with five talents came, they said, “Master, look, I have gained five more talents with the five talents you gave me.” This perfectly fulfills God's commission.
So what does “earning five more” refer to? Is it that after we believe in Jesus today, we start a pyramid scheme and pull everyone into it to earn five thousand dollars? Is that it? No. In fact, I know that in many places, some pastors have started doing such things.
I have been emphasizing that I am full-time; apart from preaching, I do nothing else. Now many church pastors have started doing pyramid schemes. When a pastor leads, all the congregation follows suit. Is that dangerous? It is not about earning money in this world, Amen!
What does God's “five talents” actually refer to? My five talents are very heavy, heavy to what extent? I not only have to feed but also shepherd, and warn, knowing that there are dangers ahead. If I continue down this path, it is very dangerous; I must warn them. Because of my rebuke, some may misunderstand me or even attack me; there is no way around it because I must do this.
Just like Ezekiel, God told Ezekiel to warn them. If you do not warn them and they fall, they sin, I will hold you accountable. If you warn them and they do not listen and fall, that is not on you.
For everyone in our church, I am willing to be responsible for you because my five talents are like this, Hallelujah! I have received much from God; I have studied theology and know about heresies and various issues; I understand all of these. In matters of the gospel and in the spiritual realm, I know a little more than you; this is my five talents. When problems are about to arise, I will give you some encouragement because I must fulfill my five talents, Amen! This is my duty.
So earning five more talents refers to what? It means what you have received from God. If you have received one talent from God, and you say, “I do not know anything else; I only know that believing in Jesus gives eternal life,” then in this life, you should go preach the gospel. Isn’t this your gift?
You can say, “Believe in Jesus; believe in Jesus for eternal life.”
What should you do when you encounter problems in life?
He says, “You can pray.”
“You teach me to pray.”
“I do not know either; how about this, you come with me to church, and let our pastor tell you.”
Isn’t this his one talent? That is enough; he does not know, but it is okay; he finds someone who knows more than him, and he will learn.
If you come to me and say, “Teacher, I do not know how to pray; can you tell me how to pray?” I would say, “I do not know either.” What should we do? Isn’t this my five talents? I must understand everything; I must know everything. When you ask me, I cannot say I do not know; you should ask God! Because the five talents and the two talents are still different, Hallelujah!
So, the more you are given, the greater your commission, the greater your responsibility, Amen! It is not that just anyone can establish a church or preach; this is not a joke. Without a calling, you cannot do this. The Bible clearly states that if it is not planted by our Heavenly Father, it will be uprooted. Doing it would be in vain, Amen!
Then the two talents are also the same, and the master says, “You good and faithful servant; you may enter and enjoy the joy of your master.”
In the church, every position is important; every service is important, Amen! And we do not differentiate between high and low, but there is order; do you understand, brothers and sisters?
In the church, those who lead Sunday school, as long as they do well, their reward is the same as mine. Those who lead worship, as long as they do well in worship service, their reward will be the same as mine. Including those who play the piano in our church, as long as they do well, it is actually very easy; every time they need to serve, their reward will be the same as mine. They do not need to run here and there like I do, dealing with problems, because I am the five talents, Amen!
If that is the case, wouldn’t each of you be willing to take care of your own service? Some may not know anything else, but in the church, they can cook or clean. If they do that well, as long as they fulfill their one talent, their reward will be the same as mine. Do you think that is much easier? Oh, do not envy me standing here, but the responsibility is greater because I know too much, Amen!
After this servant received the money God gave him, which is God's grace, he immediately went to do business; he did not delay. How did the one talent act? He immediately buried it. But the wise and faithful servant, after receiving God's grace, immediately went to work, Amen! Therefore, God rewarded him.
So Jesus came to give us life and to give it more abundantly, giving us His eternal life, and also allowing us to receive abundant rewards in the process of serving. Every service of every person in the church, as long as it is done before God, God will remember you. Therefore, gifts refer to abilities; the more you use your gifts, the more they will increase.
Look at how it says earlier, ‘You were faithful with a few things.’ What does it mean? In serving in this area, do it faithfully, and God will give you greater things in the future, Amen! If you cannot even do this small thing well, will God give you more?
Some time ago, a sister shared with me,
“I cannot stay here anymore; I want to establish a church; I want to preach in front of fifty thousand people.”
I said, “Have you preached in front of five people?”
She said, “I do not preach in front of five people.”
I said, “If you cannot preach well in front of five people, God will not let you preach in front of fifty thousand people.”
The same goes for brothers and sisters; if you are unfaithful in small matters, you will also be unfaithful in great matters. This lesson was given to me by God five years ago. When I first came to our church, there were only three people. Halfway through the sermon, two of them fell asleep because there was a child in their arms. Do you know how cold my heart was at that time? I said, “Lord, can’t You give me a few more? How can I endure such a great temptation?” During that time, I often cried in the prayer room, “Lord, it is always just two or three; how can I preach like this?”
Do you know what I hoped for? I hoped for many people. Why didn’t God give? Do you know how God blesses this church? It is one by one. Can God bring a thousand people? Yes, but I tell you, if a thousand people come, the church might disband next week. Can you handle that? So this is God's method. First, let you be faithful in small matters, serving the Lord, Amen! This is faithfulness, faithfulness to the Lord. As a preacher, we give; you give, but there may not be a return, but you still have to give because this is the five talents.
The two talents are slightly less; it means having a little less in silver. He knows less; he just needs to do well in what he knows. He received two talents; just give out the two talents. In the church, leading worship, teaching the songs to you, completing the two talents is enough, and the reward is the same as mine.
God is very fair, letting everyone move, letting everyone serve Him. In the future, every brother and sister before God, God will say, “You good and faithful servant, come in and enjoy My joy!” Thank and praise the Lord!
What about the one with one talent? The one with one talent came and said, “Master, I know You are…” what kind of person? “A hard man.” What does “hard man” mean? I checked the original text, and the original meaning is: “I know You are a harsh man; I know You are a severe man.” He perceives our God as extremely harsh and cold-hearted.
- The master answered and said, ‘You wicked and lazy servant!” How does he view this God? He says that the one with one talent says, “I know You reap where You did not sow.”
Brothers and sisters, what does this mean? The one with one talent says, “You did not give me any seeds; how can You expect me to reap?” If you are a reaper and have not sown seeds, can you reap? This person says, “You did not give me seeds, yet You want something from me; no way! You are such a harsh person.”
Is our God such a God? Does He not give you anything and then ask for it back? What can He ask for? There is more, “You gather where You scattered no seed.” This means there is no investment at all; God only wants.
How many people portray God as such a being, “You better be careful; if you do not do well, God will punish you, judge you, and punish you until you die, until you obey completely.” Is our God like this?
But this person perceives God this way. He says, “I was afraid.” If you see God this way, can you not be afraid? How many churchgoers perceive God this way, “Lord, please tell me if I did anything wrong today. If I did, please shine Your light on me so I can repent! Please do not be silent; if You are silent, I cannot bear Your punishment.”
Living like this every day, is that not fear? If believing in God makes you more afraid, then there is a problem. It is not God who has a problem; it is your faith that has a problem. He said, “I went and buried your talent in the ground; look, your talent is here.”
What is this person thinking? “Jesus, I believe there may be a God in this world; I do not reject or oppose; after all, there is a God; I cannot offend Him!” Are there such people in the world? “Jesus is God, the Bodhisattva is God; everyone is God; I cannot offend any of them.” This is the one with one talent. You give me, and I will take it, but I will not use your things, so he buried the one talent.
“Money” represents “the grace of eternal life, the grace of redemption.” God gives you the grace of redemption; have you accepted it? He did not accept it; he just buried it in the ground. Can salvation work then? Of course not. The salvation Jesus gives us is meant to be received and welcomed, Amen!
In the face of God's salvation, do not be polite, “I cannot take it; it feels wrong to take it!” You should take it! Amen! In the face of the grace of redemption, you can only receive and then give out. You must give out. Therefore, grace is not just spoken; it requires action. You must give grace to others so that more people can receive the grace of Jesus Christ, Amen! Thank the Lord!
He said, “Look, your original talent is here.” Did the master say, “Well, you did not misuse my grace; at least this one talent is still preserved here. That’s good, hmm, not bad.” Is God saying this? Brothers and sisters, to refuse means what? You are cursed. If you reject Jesus' grace, it means you will accept a curse. It is not that if I reject, then I am fine and do not need to be judged or punished. You are wrong; not believing in Jesus means a curse will come upon you.
There is no middle ground; the master answers, “You wicked and lazy servant.” This is very important. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Since you know me this way, did God say, “Why do you think I am such a God? I am a God full of love and grace.” Why did God not explain this to the wicked and lazy servant? This is an important point.
When Jesus preached, how did He treat those who were hardened, those who wanted to pick on Him? “Woe to you, hypocritical Pharisees and scribes!” But how did Jesus treat those who sinned? “Go, I do not condemn you; just do not sin anymore.” Are these two different attitudes? Why did Jesus treat some people this way? Because these people have self-righteousness in their hearts, and pride within them; Jesus must tear apart their pride and rip off their masks.
How many people are wearing masks while believing in Jesus? The church is one way, at home another way, in front of people another way, and behind their backs another way. Jesus wants to save such people; He must first tear off their masks, Amen!
So at this moment, to the one with one talent, He says, “You wicked and lazy servant; since you know I reap where I did not sow.” This means, “It does not matter how you perceive me; you should still do something.” Jesus said to those under the law, a young ruler asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “You know the commandments; go and do them!” This means a proud person before God will gain nothing; instead, they will face a curse.
Let’s take a look, “You should have put my money in the bank.” What does “the bank” refer to? In the past, it referred to money exchanges. The owner of the money exchange, after receiving the money, is in the middle to make a profit; the purpose of opening a money exchange is not for charity, but to earn more money.
You say, “I have one thousand talents; you give it to him.” Is he going to earn you money? Isn’t he going to earn more? So this is the money exchange, the money merchant. The Chinese translation is, “Put my money with the money exchangers.” The original text uses the term money merchant, meaning, “Since you think this way, you can give my money to the money merchant; let him do it.” Who does the “money merchant” refer to?
Let’s read Philippians 1:15-18 together:
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.
Paul clearly tells us here that this is the money merchant. Can you see where the money merchant is? Some preach Jesus Christ out of envy and strife.
Two people start competing, “Your church has five people; I will work hard to pull in six.” The purpose is to make you jealous, right? To make you look up to me. Even so, Paul says that even if it is like this, Christ is still proclaimed. Isn’t this a good thing? This is the money merchant.
The money merchant has already received his benefits. Therefore, there is no reward from God. Then he says, there are also those who preach out of good will; is there anyone who preaches the gospel out of good will? Yes, “Come believe in Jesus; Jesus can heal your sickness.” This is also good will; it is just good will, but it does not preach the true gospel.
Do we believe in Jesus just to receive grace? What happens when suffering comes? Do we not believe anymore? Are there many people like this? Every day they are just receiving grace, receiving grace, receiving, receiving... One day when they get sick and do not get healed, they say, “I do not want to believe in You anymore; You did not heal me.” This is a good will gospel that others preach to them. Many people think that believing in Jesus is just to gain some benefits; they see Christ as just another god, right? This is the money merchant.
The latter does it out of love; I wish brothers and sisters that preaching the gospel is out of love, Hallelujah! It is truly out of love for others, and then preaching the gospel to them; do not be a jealous and contentious person preaching the gospel. “You have a church; I will establish a church to show you.” This is jealousy and contention.
Then it says that some preach the gospel out of factionalism, “Let’s not be in this church anymore; let’s go out.” This is factionalism. This issue is very serious in the Corinthian church. Some say, “I am of Paul; I am of Apollos; I am of Christ; I am of Peter.” What did Paul say? Is Peter the one who was crucified for you? Why are you factionalizing like this? This is very dangerous; this is the word of God. Paul says this is the money merchant; do you understand? Their purpose in preaching the gospel is not to establish the church but out of jealousy or factionalism; the problem is very serious; this is the money merchant.
This means if you are unwilling to preach the gospel, it is okay; first, receive eternal life in your heart, then tell another person to do it; if you are unwilling to do it, let someone else do it; you will also have a reward, Amen! The fear is that you do not receive, and others cannot receive either. Therefore, such a person is what Jesus referred to as, “You hypocritical Pharisees and scribes, woe to you! You block the door to the kingdom of heaven; those who want to enter, you do not let them in.”
They know where the gospel is, know where salvation is, yet they bury it; they do not want it for themselves, and they do not want others to have it either. This is very dangerous, brothers and sisters. Therefore, the gospel is not preached this way. We must give out what we have received, regardless of the reason; as long as Christ is proclaimed, this is a good thing, Amen!
This is the money merchant; you let him do it; he is willing to do it for a purpose. In the book of Acts, there was a man who saw Paul perform great miracles; he said, “Paul, I will give you some money; give me this gift.” Paul said, “You and your money perish together!” Do you think God’s gifts can be bought with money? He is a money merchant, not truly wanting to preach the gospel but for some benefits. Are there such people? Yes, do not underestimate the circles we are in; it is true. Do not look at the negative; the more you look, the more dangerous it becomes. Why?
Many people preach the gospel just for money, treating preaching the gospel as a profession, which leads to jealousy, strife, factionalism, and even good intentions; it is all for their own good intentions, right? “Come to our church; our church has good facilities; our church has free this and that.” This is how they operate. What should we tell others? Believe in Jesus, and God will provide you with everything.
2 Corinthians 5:9-11:
9 Therefore, whether we are at home or absent, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
Is everyone afraid before God? In the face of grace, it is not recklessness; it is fear. Many people, after hearing the gospel, become even more reckless. We tell them, “Jesus has fulfilled the law; God no longer condemns you.” They say, “This is great! No matter what I do, God will not condemn me anymore, so I can do whatever I want.” Is this person understanding the gospel? No.
Brothers and sisters, under the law, some can still hide, but under grace, a person's nature is fully exposed, Amen!
In the time of Jesus, the nature of the Pharisees was fully exposed; everything inside them was revealed. This is the word of God. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart, especially in terms of grace. When a person receives God's grace, they should fear God more. They should love their brothers and sisters more, not create chaos. Each person will receive according to what they have done; isn’t this referring to our actions? We need to understand this.
Whether good or evil will be rewarded; the one with one talent is evil, while the two talents and five talents are good. We know that God is to be feared; is our Lord to be revered? Yes! Every person who receives God's grace should ask, “Lord, why do You treat me this way?”
You will not create chaos, lies, or various problems in the church because this is a God to be feared. This church belongs to God because we aim to please the Lord, Amen! Before doing anything, you should think about whether God is pleased with this; that is enough, Amen!
Next, you should put my money with the money exchangers so that when I return, I can receive it back with interest. In verse 28, ‘Take away the talent from him.’ Why use this term, “take away”?
There is another very similar verse in the Bible; let’s read it.
Luke 8:18: “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
Whoever has, more shall be given; to whom was the one talent taken? That’s right, it was given to the one who has ten talents. If your gift is used to serve God, God will give you more and more; if it is for yourself, God will take it away.
If you think you have eternal life, saying, “I…” The example I just gave is like the one who understands and accepts a little grace, saying, “This is great! The Bible says God no longer condemns me; this is fantastic! I can lie, cheat, and do all sorts of things freely.” He thinks he has obtained eternal life, but God says, “I will take away what you think you have.” Did he gain anything? No, so do not make such assumptions.
Many people always think, “If we keep talking about grace, will people not fall intentionally?” I tell you, if he wants to fall, even if we talk about the law, he will still fall. Therefore, a person who truly understands God's grace will not think this way because this is not something a person who understands God's grace would say or do. We may occasionally be overcome by faults, but we will absolutely not think about how to scheme against others or how to trip others up; that is the work of the devil.
Even what he thinks he has will be taken away. Why should we think this way? Because in the previous two, our Lord is judging them. The one with five talents says, “Master, look, your five talents are here; I have gained five more.” What did the master say? He took the money back; did God want it back? In the end, it was said that the one talent was taken away and given to the one who earned five talents. Brothers and sisters, do you understand now?
So God gives you gifts freely; using the gifts correctly to serve others is serving others, not serving God. God does not see; He does not want you to serve Him; serving others is serving God. Be faithful in small matters, and God will add more gifts to you, Hallelujah!
The meaning of “take away” is that he may not be willing to give. Therefore, in the face of salvation, many people do not want to go to hell; do you believe this? “Lord, did I not preach in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?” The Lord says, “I do not know you; I never knew you.” Is this not taking away? What he did is not remembered before God.
Brothers and sisters, do not become such a person, Hallelujah! Because we are in the last days, various children of perdition will gradually be revealed, and the corruption of human hearts will also be revealed. We hope that the people in our church are all saved; only true faith and false faith are known to oneself. Do not let yourself think you have eternal life in the end.
Indeed, faith and actions go hand in hand. Without good actions, if you think about doing evil every day, you may not have received salvation; you may not be born again! Be careful; listening is important; if you listen wrongly, how can you be saved?
Finally, it says, “Throw out this worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Many people explain, “This person just has no reward; he is still saved.” Let’s look at a few verses to understand. I have particularly checked some verses; there is a “darkness” here. Looking at other places where “darkness” is mentioned, the original Greek uses the “exact same” word. In the future, I will share some things about the original Greek with you.
2 Corinthians 6:14, ‘Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?’
Is there not a conflict between two opposing forces? Righteousness and lawlessness, faith and unbelief, and then light and darkness. Is “darkness” merely a lack of reward? This refers to being unsaved, Amen!
Let’s look at another passage, Luke 22:53, “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness is yours.”
Who does “darkness” refer to? Does it not refer to the devil? Can we say that these people are merely those without rewards? It refers to the devil, Amen! This “darkness” is exactly the same word used in this text.
Jude 1:6, “And the angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”
Does this not refer to hell? Absolutely, this person is not saved because he has no good actions; it refers to hell. This text says he will be thrown into the outer darkness, referring to that place.
We, the people of the church, must not believe in the Lord for a lifetime only to find out in the end that we did not believe; how regrettable! If you truly want to indulge, just go indulge outside; do not stay here and feel wronged. I hope that our brothers and sisters in the church will start from now on to guard your current position well; the grace God has given you now, do it well, and God will give you greater things. Together, our purpose is to build the body of the church, to build the body of Christ, using our gifts to serve one another because in the last days, problems will increase, and we need to pray for one another and serve one another, Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we truly thank and praise You. Lord, Your words are full of power. You give us eternal life; You desire that every person in this world receives eternal life. Therefore, You have entrusted us with the inheritance of eternal life. Lord, we do not want to be the one with one talent, burying Your inheritance and eternal life in the ground. We want to receive Jesus into our hearts, bury You in our hearts, and let You become the Lord of our lives, the master of our lives, Amen!
Everything I have is Yours; I live solely for You and to glorify You because You are so wonderful. I am willing to follow You all my life. Thank You for giving me such words, and let me be someone who does not merely receive grace but truly receives grace and gives grace out. You bless our church and every brother and sister who listens to the word. We are blessed; all glory belongs to You. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!