The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
Bible Commentary / Produced by TOW Project
One of Jesus’ most significant parables regarding work is set in the context of investments (Matt. 25:14-30). A rich man delegates the management of his wealth to his servants, much as investors in today’s markets do. He gives five talents (a large unit of money)[1] to the first servant, two talents to the second, and one talent to the third. Two of the servants earn 100 percent returns by trading with the funds, but the third servant hides the money in the ground and earns nothing. The rich man returns, rewards the two who made money, but severely punishes the servant who did nothing.
Film Producer Says: If We're Responsible With Our Funds, God Will Open Doors (Click to Watch)
The meaning of the parable extends far beyond financial investments. God has given each person a wide variety of gifts, and he expects us to employ those gifts in his service. It is not acceptable merely to put those gifts on a closet shelf and ignore them. Like the three servants, we do not have gifts of the same degree. The return God expects of us is commensurate with the gifts we have been given. The servant who received one talent was not condemned for failing to reach the five-talent goal; he was condemned because he did nothing with what he was given. The gifts we receive from God include skills, abilities, family connections, social positions, education, experiences, and more. The point of the parable is that we are to use whatever we have been given for God’s purposes. The severe consequences to the unproductive servant, far beyond anything triggered by mere business mediocrity, tell us that we are to invest our lives, not waste them.
Yet the particular talent invested in the parable is money, on the order of a million U.S. dollars in today’s world. In modern English, this fact is obscured because the word talent has come to refer mainly to skills or abilities. But this parable concerns money. It depicts investing, not hoarding, as a godly thing to do if it accomplishes godly purposes in a godly manner. In the end, the master praises the two trustworthy servants with the words, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave” (Matthew 25:23). In these words, we see that the master cares about the results (“well done”), the methods ("good”), and the motivation (“trustworthy”).
More pointedly for the workplace, it commends putting capital at risk in pursuit of earning a return. Sometimes Christians speak as if growth, productivity, and return on investment were unholy to God. But this parable overturns that notion. We should invest our skills and abilities, but also our wealth and the resources made available to us at work, all for the affairs of God’s kingdom. This includes the production of needed goods and services. The volunteer who teaches Sunday school is fulfilling this parable. So are the entrepreneur who starts a new business and gives jobs to others, the health service administrator who initiates an AIDS-awareness campaign, and the machine operator who develops a process innovation.
God does not endow people with identical or necessarily equal gifts. If you do as well as you can with the gifts given to you by God, you will hear his “Well done.” Not only the gifts, but also the people have equal worth. At the same time, the parable ends with the talent taken from the third servant being given to the one with ten talents. Equal worth does not necessarily mean equal compensation. Some positions require more skill or ability and thus are compensated accordingly. The two servants who did well are rewarded in different amounts. But they are both praised identically. The implication of the parable is that we are to use whatever talents we’ve been given to the best of our ability for God’s glory, and when we have done that, we are on an equal playing field with other faithful, trustworthy servants of God.
For a discussion of the highly similar parable of the ten minas see "Luke 19:11-27" in Luke and Work at www.theologyofwork.org.
To read more about gifts and calling, see our Calling and Vocation Overview. To read more about using our gifts in community, see "Gifted Communities (1 Corinthians 12:1-14:40)."
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Table of Contents
Introduction to the Book of MatthewThe Kingdom of Heaven Has Come Near (Matthew)Working as Citizens of God's Kingdom (Matthew 1-4)Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1-2)Jesus Calls the Disciples (Matthew 3-4)The Kingdom of Heaven at Work in Us (Matthew 5-7)The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)"Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:3)"Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, for They Will be Comforted" (Matthew 5:4)"Blessed Are the Meek, for They Will Inherit the Earth" (Matthew 5:5)"Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness" (Matthew 5:6)"Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Will Receive Mercy" (Matthew 5:7)"Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, for They Will See God" (Matthew 5:8)"Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for They Will Be Called Children of God" (Matt 5:9)"Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake" (Matt 5:10)Salt and Light in the World of Work (Matthew 5:13-16)What Is Righteousness? (Matthew 5:17-48)Wealth and Provision (Matthew 6)Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread (Matthew 6:11)Store Your Treasure in Heaven, Not on Earth (Matthew 6:19-34)Moral Guidance (Matthew 7)“Do Not Judge, So That You May Not Be Judged” (Matthew 7:1-5)Do to Others as You Would Have Them Do to You: The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12)Jesus Heals Many (Matthew 8-9)Laborers Deserve Their Food (Matthew 10)Tales of Two Kingdoms (Matthew 11-17)My Yoke Is Easy (Matthew 11:28-30)Working on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13)Paying Taxes (Matthew 17:24-27 and 22:15-22)Living in the New Kingdom (Matthew 18-25)Conflict Resolution (Matthew 18:15-35)The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-30)The Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)Servant Leadership (Matthew 20:20-28)Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-41)The Great Commandment is a Great Framework (Matthew 22:34-40)Parable of the Faithful Servant (Matthew 24:45-51)The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)The Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30)Jesus' Death and Resurrection (Matthew 27-28)Go and Make Disciples (Matthew 28:16-20)Conclusion to MatthewKey Verses and Themes in Matthew
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Contributors: Jonathan Pennington and Alice Mathews
Adopted by the Theology of Work Project Board July 6, 2011. Revised Nov. 4, 2011. Image by Used under license from Veer.
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