Luk 19:11-14 | KingComments | STEP | The disciples hear the Lord Jesus speak of salvation. That reminds them of the kingdom of peace. They see in Him the Messiah. All their thoughts are that He will go to Jerusalem to sit on the throne of David and establish the kingdom of God in public glory and majesty. Because they are always busy with this, they understand nothing of it every time He speaks about His suffering and death that await Him in Jerusalem. Again, they assume incorrectly that He is going to Jerusalem to ascend the throne and accept His reign. The Lord knows their thoughts, and so He tells a parable. He Himself is the nobleman. He is the Son of God, also as Man. He came to the earth to establish the kingdom of God, but He was rejected. Now He travels to a distant country, heaven, to receive the kingdom there. He is truly King with a real kingdom. He reigns not yet publicly, but in the hearts of those who profess Him as Lord. But He comes back to establish His kingdom on earth. Before He goes to heaven, He gives to ten of His slaves – who are those who profess Him as Lord – ten minas, i.e. each slave one mina, with the instruction to do business with it. He adds “until I come”, i.e. until He comes back. All slaves, who are expressly called “His” slaves, are entrusted with the same sum. The number ten represents responsibility. All slaves are responsible to do business with what the Lord has given them. The fact that they receive the same sum means that the difference in results is the result of their diligence, commitment, motivation and the like and not of their capacities. In Matthew 25, the Lord tells a parable that is very similar to this parable. However, there is a difference. There He speaks of a lord who goes abroad and who entrusts to his own slaves each a different sum ( ). In Matthew 25 He emphasizes the power and wisdom of the Giver Who distinguishes in His gifts, according to the ability of each slave. The result is a yield in accordance with the difference in the gift, but an equal reward ( ). Whereas in Matthew 25 the sovereign power of the Lord is more in the foreground, here it is more about the responsibility of the slaves. In the mina we can see the entrusted deposit ( ). What is entrusted to us is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ( ), with the purpose that we make it visible in our lives. In the Gospel according to Luke this means that we show the grace given to us in Christ to those around us. If the grace from us goes to others, it will also work in others and thereby increase the effectiveness of grace. So we can do business with grace. Apart from slaves, there are also citizens. The citizens are the Jews. They have rejected the Lord Jesus, for they hate Him. Their hatred is so great that once He is gone they even send a delegation (or: an embassy) after Him to emphasize that they do not want His kingship. This happened when they stoned Stephen who, in the power of the Holy Spirit, offered them, as it were, a last chance to accept Him as their King ( ). By killing him, they sent Christ the message, as it were, as a statement that they wanted nothing to do with Him. With this they signed their own verdict which was later, in the year 70, executed by the Roman armies under the leadership of Titus in the destruction of Jerusalem.

‏ Luke 19:11-14

A Nobleman

The disciples hear the Lord Jesus speak of salvation. That reminds them of the kingdom of peace. They see in Him the Messiah. All their thoughts are that He will go to Jerusalem to sit on the throne of David and establish the kingdom of God in public glory and majesty. Because they are always busy with this, they understand nothing of it every time He speaks about His suffering and death that await Him in Jerusalem. Again, they assume incorrectly that He is going to Jerusalem to ascend the throne and accept His reign.

The Lord knows their thoughts, and so He tells a parable. He Himself is the nobleman. He is the Son of God, also as Man. He came to the earth to establish the kingdom of God, but He was rejected. Now He travels to a distant country, heaven, to receive the kingdom there. He is truly King with a real kingdom. He reigns not yet publicly, but in the hearts of those who profess Him as Lord. But He comes back to establish His kingdom on earth.

Before He goes to heaven, He gives to ten of His slaves – who are those who profess Him as Lord – ten minas, i.e. each slave one mina, with the instruction to do business with it. He adds “until I come”, i.e. until He comes back. All slaves, who are expressly called “His” slaves, are entrusted with the same sum. The number ten represents responsibility. All slaves are responsible to do business with what the Lord has given them. The fact that they receive the same sum means that the difference in results is the result of their diligence, commitment, motivation and the like and not of their capacities.

In Matthew 25, the Lord tells a parable that is very similar to this parable. However, there is a difference. There He speaks of a lord who goes abroad and who entrusts to his own slaves each a different sum (Mt 25:14-15). In Matthew 25 He emphasizes the power and wisdom of the Giver Who distinguishes in His gifts, according to the ability of each slave. The result is a yield in accordance with the difference in the gift, but an equal reward (Mt 25:19-23).

Whereas in Matthew 25 the sovereign power of the Lord is more in the foreground, here it is more about the responsibility of the slaves. In the mina we can see the entrusted deposit (1Tim 6:20). What is entrusted to us is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Cor 4:6), with the purpose that we make it visible in our lives. In the Gospel according to Luke this means that we show the grace given to us in Christ to those around us. If the grace from us goes to others, it will also work in others and thereby increase the effectiveness of grace. So we can do business with grace.

Apart from slaves, there are also citizens. The citizens are the Jews. They have rejected the Lord Jesus, for they hate Him. Their hatred is so great that once He is gone they even send a delegation (or: an embassy) after Him to emphasize that they do not want His kingship.

This happened when they stoned Stephen who, in the power of the Holy Spirit, offered them, as it were, a last chance to accept Him as their King (Acts 7:54-59). By killing him, they sent Christ the message, as it were, as a statement that they wanted nothing to do with Him. With this they signed their own verdict which was later, in the year 70, executed by the Roman armies under the leadership of Titus in the destruction of Jerusalem.