Matthew 25:14-30 Fight the Good Fight!

Matthew 25:14-30  “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability.  Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.  After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five.  ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold.  See, I have gained five more.’  “His master replied, ‘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 with two bags of gold also came.  ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’  “His master replied, ‘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!’  “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came.  ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.  See, here is what belongs to you.’  “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!   So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.  “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.  For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This allegory features servants of a supposedly hard master.  Viewed from the eyes of the least talented, he says of the master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  We recognize that this master he knew or envisioned was not Jesus, for Jesus sowed seed from town to town, spreading his message abroad.  We also know that this is not the nature of the Father God, for He displayed his love for the world by giving his Son on the cross, proving that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:39)  But we do see a master with great power, for we see him capable of dispensing eternal judgment, so we see him as God at the judgment seat, judging those who would not serve him no matter how good He was to them.  He gave them life, one bag of gold.  Rather than honor him for life, they lived self-indulgently, ignoring their rightful service to him.  They were meant to love the Lord their God with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their minds.  The first two servants went immediately to work for their master.  They fully intended to fulfill his assignment; they at once put his money to work.  They knew their effort, their work, would honor and bless their master.  Their lifestyle was oriented towards the master’s desires.  However, the servant who received one bag of gold had no intention of serving the master’s wants.  He organized his life around his own needs and desires.  The man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.  He was given one bag of gold, reflecting his basic skills, but he was to use the gold for the master’s purposes.  By hiding the gold, he was free to live his life as he wanted to live it, ignoring the gold.  He had little interest in serving his master because his master was away on a long journey.  Consequently, he lived for himself, knowing that when the master returned, he would have the gold the master gave him.  When the master returns and takes account of what the servants were doing while he was gone, he finds two of his servants behaving very responsibly, but one lived a wayward and irresponsible life.  This servant’s lifestyle is classified by the master as not only indolent but wicked.  His lack of faithfulness to fulfill his reasonable service to the master was unforgivable in the master’s eyes.    

We can assume this allegory is emblematic to people not living for the glory of God.  All people have been given life from God; all that they know by their senses has been given to them by their Creator.  Knowing that God has blessed them with life, they should be about the business of serving God.  As they have been blessed so should they love others: Love your neighbor as yourself.  (Mark 12:31)  The least servant of the men in this parable failed to carry out the master’s will.  The insufficient servant lived his life without considering the master’s will.  Others had more giftings than he.  They were more talented; consequently, they received more bags of gold.  Not all people are the same, but all hold the same responsibility: 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)  They are to fulfill the law of their MASTER!  We see the followers of Jesus address themselves as servants: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ; Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.  (James 1:1)  (Romans 1:1)  These men as well as the other disciples knew of themselves as servants, just as this parable addresses serving.  For them, Jesus went on a long journey as the master in the parable.  Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  Christ’s servants were entrusted with the wealth of the kingdom, the knowledge that Jesus saves, that He alone has eternal life.  After Paul received his assignment from Jesus to preach the Good News, he began to work just as with the man who was given five bags of gold starts out immediately to work.  At once he (Paul) began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?  And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”  Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.  (Acts 9:20-2)  When Saul became Paul, he became a new creation with a new purpose: to save sinners.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  (2 Corinthians 5:17)    

Paul was a man of wonderful talents: disciplined, aggressive, learned, a classical Jew in every way.  Consequently, Jesus handed five bags of gold to this talented man.  Others were not so talented, but they readily spread the gospel of Jesus as the Messiah.  The blind man who was healed said to the doubting Pharisees, “I was blind, now I see.”  (John 9:25)  In this simple statement, he was telling the Good News to the scoffing religious leaders.  Paul, a man of many talents, worked hard to spread the gospel to many.  I try to please everyone in everything I do.  I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.  (1 Corinthians 10:33, NLT)  Christians who are servants of the Most High should always have that frame of mind, to do anything and everything to save some.   We should not be idle in our servanthood.  God finds no pleasure in those who retreat from their responsibility to him.  We are always to be about our Father’s business.  We urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.  1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)  The lazy, slothful servant will find no reward in heaven.  His works will be burned up for his life has been dealing with self-serving behaviors: wood, hay, and straw.  This kind of life will not endure the testing of God by fire.  Let us not be the ones who build with such flammable material that indicates self-indulgence.  Instead, let us build on Christ and his works.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.  If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.  If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.  (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)  For Christians eternal existence is not dependent on the material we build with in our lives because we build on the foundation of Christ who is eternal life.  But a fruitless life is a sad life to bring before our glorious God.  Such a life will not hear the joyous words of the Lord, Come and share your master’s happiness!  The secular world has much to fear when they bring their fruitless lives to the Lord; the lives they lived in the laziness of self-indulgence.  They will hear from the Master, throw this worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Let us be as Paul,  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  (2 Timothy 4:7-8)  Today, are you on the right path, professing Christ and showing his love to a broken world?  He will give you strength to face the struggles of each day and make you an overcomer.