The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Three Servants

Matthew 25:14-30 ^NLT

Matthew 25:14-15

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.”

                  During this time period servants many times would be given duties and responsibilities, almost like they were a business partner to the owner, rather than a common slave. They were given money, each amount comparable to their abilities. The first two servants used the money they were given as an investment to make a profit for their owner. The third servant didn’t wish to work or take any risk, knowing that the owner was a “hard man”, so he buried it in the ground.

                  Both of the industrious servants were highly praised by their owner and were given additional responsibilities and an opportunity to celebrate with him. The third servant was admonished for his lazy and wicked decision to only give back what he was given. His portion was given to the first servant and the “useless” servant was cast “into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

                  The owner is Jesus, and the servants are believers. This parable reminds of us the phrase in Luke 12:48, which says, “to whom much is given, much will be required”. “The idea of “to whom much is given, much will be required” is that we are held responsible for what we have. If we are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use these well to glorify God and benefit others. We have been granted the abundant grace of God (Ephesians 1:3–10; 3:16–21; Romans 5:8–11; 8:14–17), the Word of God, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–21; 16:13; Romans 12:6). “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).” ⁽¹⁾

                  It would be presumptuous to think that the less we know of God and his gifts the less will be required of us for the kingdom, for Micah 6:8 shows us what is expected from us: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

⁽¹⁾ https://www.gotquestions.org/much-given-required.html

Resource: Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004.

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Matthew 24:32-35 ^NLT

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near; so you, too, when you see all ^[a] these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right ^[b] at the door. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

         The parable speaks of what the Greeks called the ‘Parousia’, the 2^nd Coming of Christ. It is telling us that there are signs that Christ is returning. Scripture is clear. Matthew 24:36 states, “But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.”However, there shall be many trials and tribulations that must take place prior to his return.

            It should be pointed out that the ‘Last Days’ began when Christ was taken up to heaven in the beginning of the Book of Acts. The disciples thought his return would be in their lifetime and mankind has been waiting ever since. 

            The fig tree tells people when summer is near due to its appearance. Likewise, the appearance of things all around us will indicate when Christ’s return is near as well. The fact that we have no idea when his return will take place tells us how imperative it is to not just be ready, but live ready for the day and hour are not known. The end of the parable declares that the Word of God is now and forever the same. All things disintegrate over time, but God’s Word shall remain.  Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004; Reformation Study Bible; Life Application Study Bible.

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Matthew 22:1-14 ^NLT

Matthew 22:2

“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.”

            It would appear that this is the 3^rd and final parable used to rebuke the priests and leading elders. In the culture of that day it was customary for a king to send out two invitations for a wedding banquet. The first invitation was a general invite without date, time, or location, for it was in advance of the event and those details hadn’t been settled on yet. Scripture shows us that the initial invitation was refused by those invited.  When the feast was ready the king sent other servants to take the 2^nd invitation, announcing that the feast was ready and that those invited should come straight away. A 2^nd time the announcement was ignored, only this time some other invitees, “seized (the king’s) messengers, insulted them and killed them”. As you can well imagine this infuriated the king who quickly sent his army out to destroy the murderers and burn their town to the ground. In that culture you simply did not refuse the king’s invitation, for it was considered an honor to be invited.

            The king determined that those who had been invited were not worthy of the honor, so he sent his servants to go to the highways and byways and invite any who would come.

Another custom of the day was that the king would provide wedding garments for those invited to the feast to wear. According to the story some came wearing whatever THEY thought to be appropriate. Again, this would be an insult to the king, so because of their decision, they were cast out of the banquet. 

            In this parable, the king is God, the bridegroom is Jesus, those invited would be the religious leaders and leading elders, who were enemies of the Lord. Those from the highways and byways were all others, both Jew and gentile, that chose to come. The garments would be the righteousness that God provides to those who honor his invitation and those who were cast out “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” were those who came but did not take seriously their need for righteousness. They didn’t realize there is only one way to heaven, and that way is thru the Son.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: Life Application Study Bible, verse footnote, pp.2062-63; IVP New Testament Commentary Series, IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press; Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament,

Copyright 2004.

 

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Evil Farmers

Matthew 21:33-45 ^NLT

Matthew 21:33

“Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower.”

            This parable is the 2^nd of 3 speaking out against the tyrannical religious leaders of the day.  The main characters in the parable were the landowner, the vineyard itself, the tenant farmers, the servants of the landowner, the son, and the other tenants. The tenant farmers were the Jewish religious leaders. The servants of the landowner were the prophets and priests who remained loyal to God, preaching his word to Israel. Just as the tenant farmers murdered the servants to came to collect the landowners share of the crops, so the religious leaders had the faithful prophets and priests murdered. Anyone and anything that they saw as a threat to their rule of the people had to be eliminated. Just as the tenant farmers murdered the landowner’s son, so the religious leaders of the day had God’s Son, Jesus, murdered. Since Pilate washed his hands (literally) of the blood of Jesus, this put the responsibility of his death squarely on the religious leaders. This responsibility they gladly took not realizing that Jesus truly was the awaited Messiah, a blight that would bring punishment to them for generations to come.

            Since the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and had him put to death, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah, this opened the door to the gentiles, or non-Jews. The Pharisees & Sadducees error in judgment blessed all of creation, in that not only was Israel God’s chosen children, but all non-Jews in his creation could now avail themselves to the redemptive work of Christ. 

The telling sign that the religious leaders knew Jesus was speaking against them in this parable was found in verse 45 when it says: “When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers.” They were the blind leading the blind. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: Life Application Study Bible.

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32 ^NLT

Matthew 21:28-30

“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.”

             Jesus came into the Temple and began to teach. The leading priests and elders came up to him, wishing to know by who’s authority he was teaching the scriptures.  In response, Jesus asked them a question. By whose authority did John baptize, heavenly or earthly authority? They knew they were trapped, for if they said from heaven, Jesus would want to know why they didn’t believe him, and if they said earthly authority they would be mobbed by the crowd, so they said they didn’t know the answer. Jesus then responded that neither would he tell them where his authority came from.

                  This is the first of three parables Jesus uses to rebuke the religious leaders of his day.  He started his parable with a question… “But what do you think about this?”  A father told he eldest son to go work in the vineyard that day. The son said “No”, but later repented and did as he was told.  The father then told his younger son to do the same and that son said “Yes” but didn’t end up going. What is the message Jesus was attempting to convey? The first son represents the sinners; the tax collectors and prostitutes. They rejected John the Baptist’s message regarding the correct way to live, but later came to accept it and repent, having sins forgiven. The second son represents the religious leaders who talked a good game but whose actions didn’t match up with their words. In essence, Jesus was calling the religious leaders phonies, in that they were saying they were obedient, yet were always disobeying.

                  Are you like the first son or the second son? Do your intentions always fall far short of your actual actions? Do you talk the talk but don’t walk the walk? God knows all our intentions and also knows all our heart’s motivations. We must take our walk with the Lord seriously, for a serious price was paid for our freedom from sin. Don’t be like the Pharisees or the Sadducees and give God lip service. Say little, listen a lot to learn of the things of the Lord. When we speak, we learn nothing of any consequence.  It is in our listening that we acquire the knowledge of God. However, knowledge is nothing without a corresponding action. Live for God, not for yourself. Until next time, walk with the King and be blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: Life Application Study Bible, p.2061; Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004.

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

Matthew 20:1-16 ^NIV

Matthew 20:1

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.”

            This is another parable describing the kingdom of heaven. The landowner represents God. The laborers represent the believers. A denarius was a normal daily wage for laborers back then. The parable shows the landowner’s generosity in that he paid each group of laborers he hired during the course of the day the same wage. This shows us that redemption is available to anyone at any time prior to the final trumpet being sounded. 

            The laborers who were hired first had a gripe with the landowner. It bothered them that they worked all day in the heat only to earn the same amount as those who were hired towards the end of the day. The landowner took issue with their complaint and stated that they agreed to work for a normal day’s wage, therefore, what business was it of theirs how much he paid anyone else regardless of how long they worked. The fact is it wasn’t any of their business. 

            We can liken this story to real life situations where someone comes to the saving knowledge of Christ on their death bed after they had been sinners all their lives. Those who were cleansed by Christ’s blood early on in life might take issue with the fact that another lived as they pleased yet was awarded heaven at the last possible moment. This thinking is illogical and flawed. They are displeased for selfish reasons rather than overjoyed that another sinful soul had gotten saved from their sin. What God chooses to do is none of our affair. He does as he so chooses and certainly doesn’t need to consult anyone, least of all his own creation. We must look past ourselves toward the greater good for the kingdom. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: Life Application Study Bible, footnote on p. 2056.

The Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 18:21-35 ^NIV

 

Matthew 18:21-22

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

            In Rabbinic teachings back in Jesus day it was acceptable to forgive the same sin up to 3x, however, should the same sin be committed a 4^th time there was to be no forgiveness given. So Peter felt he was being generous by offering up forgiveness 7x, however, Jesus stated that they were to forgive 70x7 times. This shouldn’t be taken literally, for it represents a limitless number of times we are to forgive others. We should also keep in mind that we’ve been forgiven far more than we would ever need to forgive. In this case we’re talking about personal sins against a brother or sister in Christ and not forgiveness that is equal to redemption for all sins ever committed by an individual. Only God can do that.

            That brief conversation leads us to Jesus’ next lesson which involves an unmerciful servant. A King’s servant owed him 10,000 bags of gold. The King ordered him to sell off all he had to pay his debt. The servant begged for mercy, insisting that he would pay back every penny if only the King would be patient with him. The servant’s master took pity on him and forgave the entire debt, then sent him on his way.

            That same servant came across a fellow servant who owed him 100 silver coins. The servant demanded the man pay him what he owed him. When the man refused the servant, showing no mercy whatsoever, had him thrown in jail. When the King heard about this, he called for the servant whose debt he had forgiven and punished him for his lack of mercy toward a fellow servant for a much, much smaller amount owed him. The King reinstated his original debt and turned him over to the jailers who were to torture him until the debt was repaid. 

            In verse 35 Jesus explains this parable. Essentially, what Jesus is saying here is the amount of mercy and forgiveness you show your brethren is the same amount God will show you. This calls to mind the ‘Golden Rule’ which states, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12 NIV) If you want to be forgiven by others, forgive others and do it without conditions placed upon that forgiveness. Also, do it without any hesitation or regret. Amen. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, Copyright 2004.