Parable of the Talents
One day a man was going on a
long trip. He needed his servants
to take care of his property while
he was gone, so he called them to
him.
To the first servant he gave five
talents of money. (A talent was not
a coin, but a weight of a precious
metal such as silver, and one
talent was worth more than
$1,000. So this servant received
money worth more than $5,000.)
This man went to work at once
using his money until he had
doubled it. He now had ten talents
instead of five.
The master gave the second man
two talents. He probably thought
the man was capable of managing
that amount of money. The
second man was successful also,
and doubled his money. He began
with more than $2,000 and now he
had twice as much.
The third man was not as capable
as the other two, but the master
gave him one talent with the
expectation that he would manage
it well. He, too, could have
increased his money, but he dug a
hole and hid it in the ground.
After a long time the master
returned. (Some think the master's
trip is a picture of Jesus returning
to heaven, and the return from the
trip is the judgment of mankind.)
He was ready for a report from the
servants.
The man who had received five
talents brought his money and
showed the master that he had
doubled it. He was happy to show
his master the results.
The master was well pleased. He
said, "Well done, good and faithful
servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!"
The man that had been given two
talents showed the master that he
had also doubled his money. He
received the same words of praise
as the first man who had received
five talents.
The man who had received one
talent dug up the talent he had
buried and brought it to the
master. He accused the master of
being a hard man to work for, said
he had been afraid, so he just
buried his talent. He gave it back
to the master saying, "See, here is
what belongs to you."
The master was very angry with
him and called him a wicked, lazy
servant. He said the man should at
least have put the money with
bankers and received some
interest. (Now the Jews could not
charge nor receive interest from a
fellow Jew, but they could get
interest from a person who was
not a Jew.)
The master took his one talent
away from him and gave it to the
man who had ten talents, and the
one talent man was punished
because he had not properly used
the talent he had been given.
What can we learn from this
story? We need to use
whatever "talent" God has
given us. It might be money or
ability. If we use it wisely, He
will increase it so that our lives
will glorify Him.
One day a man was going on a
long trip. He needed his servants
to take care of his property while
he was gone, so he called them to
him.
To the first servant he gave five
talents of money. (A talent was not
a coin, but a weight of a precious
metal such as silver, and one
talent was worth more than
$1,000. So this servant received
money worth more than $5,000.)
This man went to work at once
using his money until he had
doubled it. He now had ten talents
instead of five.
The master gave the second man
two talents. He probably thought
the man was capable of managing
that amount of money. The
second man was successful also,
and doubled his money. He began
with more than $2,000 and now he
had twice as much.
The third man was not as capable
as the other two, but the master
gave him one talent with the
expectation that he would manage
it well. He, too, could have
increased his money, but he dug a
hole and hid it in the ground.
After a long time the master
returned. (Some think the master's
trip is a picture of Jesus returning
to heaven, and the return from the
trip is the judgment of mankind.)
He was ready for a report from the
servants.
The man who had received five
talents brought his money and
showed the master that he had
doubled it. He was happy to show
his master the results.
The master was well pleased. He
said, "Well done, good and faithful
servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!"
The man that had been given two
talents showed the master that he
had also doubled his money. He
received the same words of praise
as the first man who had received
five talents.
The man who had received one
talent dug up the talent he had
buried and brought it to the
master. He accused the master of
being a hard man to work for, said
he had been afraid, so he just
buried his talent. He gave it back
to the master saying, "See, here is
what belongs to you."
The master was very angry with
him and called him a wicked, lazy
servant. He said the man should at
least have put the money with
bankers and received some
interest. (Now the Jews could not
charge nor receive interest from a
fellow Jew, but they could get
interest from a person who was
not a Jew.)
The master took his one talent
away from him and gave it to the
man who had ten talents, and the
one talent man was punished
because he had not properly used
the talent he had been given.
What can we learn from this
story? We need to use
whatever "talent" God has
given us. It might be money or
ability. If we use it wisely, He
will increase it so that our lives
will glorify Him.
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