The Parables: Part II.

~ The Parable of the Talents ~


The Lord's use of parables always gets my interest. A parable is a fictional story meant to illustrate a principle or truth. The word parable comes from the Greek parabollo, which literally means "to throw alongside." Aesop's fables demonstrate a secular application of this teaching method.


The Lord Jesus wasn't the first to use parables in His teaching, (there are many in the Old Testament) but He sure elevated their importance in communicating biblical truths to His listeners. I've heard His use of parables described as "putting a heavenly truth into an earthly context." His parables often angered the religious leaders of His day because they got the point of the story, and it was usually critical of them.


What Does That Mean?


In interpreting a parable, remember that everyone and everything in the story is symbolic of something else. The key that unlocks the symbolism is found either within the context or elsewhere in scripture. One nice thing about the bible is that things used symbolically in one place are generally used in the same way through out. Leaven (or yeast) always symbolizes sin. Adultery and fornication always symbolize the worship of other gods; a spiritual unfaithfulness. Theologians call this the principle of expositional constancy. Observing these guidelines will help you correctly interpret parables and increase your overall knowledge of scripture at the same time.


Are You Talented?


So we have three guidelines in interpreting parables; context, scripture, and expositional constancy. Failure to follow them causes us to miss the point. For example, look at the way the Parable of the Talents has been interpreted, or should I say miss-interpreted. One problem is that talent is also an English word meaning a skill or ability. But in the Greek language a talent was a unit of measure, often defining an amount of money. Since everything in a parable is symbolic of something else, to think of the talents as symbolizing either skills or money is wrong, and really distorts the message of the parable. Instead, think of the talent as symbolizing something of great value to the Lord; something that belonged to Him, and that He entrusted to His servants while He was away. You can see that neither skills nor money correctly define the symbolic talents.


Now notice the time frame the Lord refers to. The word "again" in Matt 25:15 identifies the time of the story as being the same as in the previous story, the Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids. That parable begins with the phrase "at that time" so you have to keep going back all the way to Matt 24:21 and 29 to discover that the time about which He is teaching occurs immediately after the Great Tribulation, when He comes back to establish His kingdom.


What will the situation on Earth be at that time?


Follow the parable. He will have been gone for a long time and will have just come back. He will have left some valuable property of His in the care of various servants, and some will have multiplied their share while others will have buried theirs. He is now requiring an accounting of them that will determine their destiny. The context tells us a lot, but what property of His is symbolized by the talents?


Is That Scriptural?


This is where using scripture to interpret scripture comes in. We know from scripture that money is not important to the Lord, and that His achievements are not limited by whatever skill we have and are willing to apply to accomplish His ends. But is there something of His, something extremely valuable to Him, prized even above His name, that he has entrusted to us, and that will be buried and all but lost to many at the end of the age?


So Whats The Answer?


The answer is found in Psalm 138:2, "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name (KJV)."


But from Amos 8:11 we discover that "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord." And in Isaiah 55:10-12 we are told that His word, once invested, will always bring a return. It is His most valued possession, He left it with us, and He expects us to invest it.(Matt 28:16-20)


But the last days will be a time of deception so great that most of those alive on earth will succumb to a system of lies that will literally turn black into white; darkness into light; and therefore life into death. The only reference point for truth will be His Word, and many of those with whom it has been entrusted will have rendered it so meaningless as to be buried.


Acting in the authority of the Lamb, but speaking the words of the Dragon, they'll try to prevent their flocks from learning the Truth. The fact that those servants will have proven themselves to be imposters from the beginning is shown by their destiny; "outside in the darkness." The one and only unforgivable sin after all, is unbelief.


So the talents represent His Word, the Gospel of our Salvation. Those who sow it liberally into the hearts of their listeners find it multiplies. Where there were five, ten now appear. Where there were two, now there are four. Those who simply study it find their understanding multiplies. Richer and deeper meanings appear from passages they thought were familiar. Over and over they discover that as their understanding grows their faith deepens.


Those who bury it and pay no attention find its value diminishes the longer they ignore it. Not only are their friends and neighbors deprived by their lack of communication, but they themselves lose insight and understanding. Finally even what little they had is taken from them.


And so the old principle "Use it or Lose it" comes into play, as it so often does. Remember the best way to learn something it to teach it, and by doing so we gain the lesson of the Parable of the Talents.

 
~ The Parable Of The Wedding Banquet ~



Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.


"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.


"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.


"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matt 22:1-14)


Why All The Parables?


When Jesus was asked why He spoke to the people in parables so often, He said in effect that there were two reasons: 1) to instruct His followers, and 2) to confuse everyone else. The parable of the wedding banquet is a good example. It's either very instructive or very confusing depending on your knowledge and understanding of Jewish wedding customs during Biblical times.


I am convinced that acquiring a literal, historical, and grammatical understanding of Scripture will bring you closer to the Lord than almost anything else you can do.


Literal means we believe the bible is the inspired word of GOD to be taken at face value.


Historical means that each passage is put into its proper historical setting, and surrounded with the
thoughts, attitudes and feelings prevalent at the time of writing.


Grammatical means that words are given meanings consistent with their common understanding in the original language at the time of writing.



The Wedding Planner!


First century Jewish wedding customs held that the father of the groom was in charge of the event and bore all the expense associated with the wedding and reception. In case of royalty or the very wealthy this often included providing a specially made garment to be worn over a guest's regular clothing. This wedding garment was presented to the guest upon arrival and donned immediately. Wearing it wasn't mandatory, but was considered a great insult to the Father of the groom if refused and could get a guest ejected from the festivities. In case of large gatherings it also served as identification to discourage uninvited guests from crashing the party.


The Parables of our Lord Jesus are earthly stories meant to explain heavenly truths. Each person or object is symbolic of someone or something else. Understanding the symbolism is crucial to discovering the lesson of the Parable. This is entirely consistent with literal, historical, grammatical interpretation since the passage is clearly described as a parable, and in fact gaining the theological impact of this parable requires such an understanding.


The King is God the Father, His Son our Lord Jesus. Invited guests represent Israel and the servants He sent are the prophets. The city He destroyed when His invited guests refused to attend and killed His servants is Jerusalem.



Do You Know The Bride?


Some say those He then sent His servants out to invite represent the Church, which does contain both good and bad, but the symbolism and timing are wrong. The Church is the Bride of Christ, not a group of last minute substitute guests. Since Israel had already refused their invitation, and the Church (being the bride) would not need an invitation, who could these guests be? They have to come from a time after the Bride is chosen and prepared, the wedding banquet ready and only the guests are lacking for the festivities to begin. Therefore, they have to be a group we call Tribulation Saints, those who come to faith after the Rapture of the Church in Revelation 4 but before the Wedding of the Lamb in Revelation 19. The servants He sends out to invite them are the 144,000 evangelists of Revelation 7 and the two witnesses of Revelation 11. They begin showing up in Heaven in Revelation 7 and more arrive in Revelation 15.



Here's The Real Lesson Of The Parable


The wedding garment represents His righteousness. This is a concept explained on numerous occasions in both Old and New Testaments. Isaiah described our righteousness as filthy rags (Isa 64:6) and His as "garments of salvation" and "robes of righteousness" (Isa 61:10) where the acquisition of these qualities is likened to clothing given us at a wedding.


In Revelation 19 the church is seen prepared as a bride having been clothed in white linen, again representing righteousness. In both cases the righteousness symbolized by the clothing is given us, not purchased or earned.


The fact that one is thrown out for not wearing wedding clothes indicates these last minute guests have to be clothed in "garments of salvation" meaning they're believers. And it's important to note that the place into which he was thrown is the "outer darkness" the place of eternal separation from God, the final destination of unbelievers.


Many are invited, but few are chosen.


He doesn't desire that any should perish, but all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). But whether it's the Bride or the wedding guests, the only righteousness that gains us admission into the presence of God is that which is given us as a gift and accepted in faith (Rom 4:5). All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal 3:27). For God made Him Who had no sin to become sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

~ The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant ~



Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"


Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Or seventy times seven)


"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.


"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.


"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.


"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'


"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.


"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.


"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matt. 18:21-35)


Most people have read the first part of Matthew 18. It outlines a procedure for taking to task a believer who has sinned against you. Many an aggressive stance has been justified with this passage. But in my time as a pastor and counselor, I was surprised at how few of those applying the procedure had read the rest of the chapter. While chapter breaks are not inspired, and Peter's question to the Lord about forgiveness (vs. 21) could have been asked at another time, it does appear next in sequence to the procedure for righting a wrong.


How many petty disputes could be dropped if put into the context of this parable? How would they rate in a comparison to what the Lord has forgiven in us? Do we, having been forgiven so much, refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters even a little? And if so, what are the real consequences?



The Rest Of The Story


We've often discussed the nature of parables; how they're heavenly stories put into an earthly context and how the major characters always symbolize others. In the case of this parable the King is the Lord, you and I are His servants, the debts we owe represent our sins, and the jailer is Satan.


Identifying the King and his servants is easy. As to the debts owed, two denominations of money are mentioned, the 10,000 talents the servant owed the king and the 100 denarii the servant was owed by another. Let's take the easy one first. Almost everyone agrees that a denarius was equivalent to one day's wages. If 100 days equaled about 1/3 of a working year then repaying that size debt would require about 4 months of an average person's income. That's not an insignificant sum.


Since a talent was both a measure of weight (about 85 lbs. or 34 kg.) and a monetary coin, its value is much more difficult to define, but the most frequent description I found in my research is that it would have approximated 15 times an average person's annual income. If so, then a debt of 10,000 talents would require 150,000 years of an average person's income to re-pay, an impossibly large amount.


And that's the first point. The King had forgiven a debt the servant couldn't have repaid in a hundred lifetimes, and did so simply because he was asked to. The servant on the other hand demanded full and immediate payment from a friend for a much, much smaller sum. Now 4 months wages is a debt worthy of collection, and forgiving an amount that size would be a major sacrifice for most people. But the issue is not the legitimacy or even the size of the debt, it's the comparative value. Shouldn't being released from the burden of a debt so large he could never repay it have made the servant even a little more forgiving toward his brother? The servant's demand for payment demonstrated his lack of gratitude for what the King had done for him, and that's what aroused the King's anger. Summoning the Jailer, the King ordered his servant punished until he repaid all he owed.



If The Shoe Fits ...


Our debt of sin against the Lord is similarly impossible to repay, but in the Lord's case He can't simply overlook it. His requirement for justice demands the debt be paid in full. Knowing this, He sent His Son to pay it for us. This freed Him to completely and unconditionally forgive us just because we ask Him to. Don't forget, from the Lord's point of view we were all murderers, adulterers, blasphemers and thieves when He forgave us (Ephe 2:1-5). These are all crimes punishable by death. We've been forgiven so much, isn't even a significant sacrifice justifiable under the circumstances? What offense would be too large to forgive in others when compared with what's been forgiven in us?


Our unwillingness to forgive legitimate sins our friends commit against us demonstrates our ingratitude for what the Lord has done for us. It's the result of the typical human double standard wherein we demand justice from others while expecting mercy for ourselves. This ingratitude is itself a sin and like all unconfessed sin leaves us open to attack by our enemy causing us great torment.


See how the jailer represents Satan?



Union And Fellowship...



Like the servant and the King our relationship with the Lord consists of 2 components, union and fellowship. As the servant didn't stop being a servant to the King just because of his bad behavior, neither do we ever stop being the children of our Lord.


That's union.


The servant could restore himself to the King's good graces and stop the punishment by repaying the debt. We can restore ourselves to the Lord's good graces and stop the torment by applying the payment already made on our behalf for all our sins. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)


That's fellowship.


Please note that John was writing to forgiven sinners, members of the church, advising us to confess and be forgiven even after we've been saved. We sin every day and His mercies are new every morning. God forgives us whenever we ask, every time we ask. (For me that's been many more than seventy times seven.)



You Always Get What You Ask For...


God's Nature demands justice and fair play. Refusing to forgive when we've been forgiven causes a rift in our relationship with Him that only we can mend. Forgiving the friend who sinned against us and asking the Lord to forgive us restores us to fellowship with the Lord and allows Him to forget there ever was a problem. And often we'll discover that the torment we endured while out of fellowship will actually contain the seeds of a blessing once we return.


Isn't that just like Him?

 


~ The Parable of the Tenants ~ 



It was one of those edgy discussions between the Priests and the Lord. They were questioning His authority again, and since they  were unwilling to answer His question about the origin of John's baptism, He refused to answer their question about His authority.



Then He told them these two parables:



The Parable of the Two Sons


"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.


Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.



The Parable of the Tenants


"Listen to another parable:


There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.


"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.


"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance. So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.


"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"


"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."


Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?


"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."


When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matt 21:28-46)



I Think They've Got It!



These two parables are so obvious in their meaning, no wonder they got it. John's Baptism was one of repentance.


By the way, let's correct the meaning of that word.


Repent means to change your opinion about your behavior, not to change your behavior. Jesus does that with the indwelling Holy Spirit!



When John said, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near," he wasn't warning people to clean up their act so they'd be qualified for the Kingdom. He knew that was impossible. He was telling them to change their opinion about needing a Savior before it was too late. His water baptism was a ceremonial cleansing from their sins, symbolizing salvation by faith following a confession of their need for a Savior.


The Lord's point was that those who realized their hopeless condition and received their cleansing by faith would enter the Kingdom ahead of those who felt no need for a cleansing and relied on their behavior instead.


Way ahead!



The Pharisees worked hard to maintain the outward appearance of keeping the law but failed miserably in their hearts, what with their pride and feelings of superiority. The "sinners" on the other hand admitted they hadn't been able to please God with their behavior and came in faith alone with broken and contrite hearts. The Lord's preference for that attitude had been documented in their Scriptures for nearly 1000 years. (Psalm 51:16-17)


As for the parable of the tenants, only the naming of names could have made this a clearer summary of their history.


The Landowner was the Lord, the vineyard His Kingdom on Earth, the workers were the Israelites, His servants represented the prophets He regularly sent to Israel, and of course His son was Jesus.


And when they answered the question about what should be done, they gave as pure a prophetic utterance as has ever come from the mouths of men. "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."


The Lord agreed. "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."


Here then are the only two options available:


1.) Fall on the stone (the Stone the builders rejected) and be broken, be humble and contrite, be born again and live by faith.


2.) Or keep going your own way till someday when you least expect it the Stone falls on you, and be called to account for your behavior, be crushed and die in your sins.




So What's The Big Mystery Here?



They knew He was talking about them, yet their response was contention not contrition. Their hearts had become so hardened, they could no longer consider the possibility they might be mistaken. They had to shut Him up because they couldn't risk having to re-think things.


Back then they had people who disagreed with them arrested. (Today we're much more subtle, we just re-interpret the meaning of what He said.) But they understood that He was threatening to take the Kingdom away from them and give to others who would produce its fruit.


Now don't let anyone try to tell you that the vineyard is the Land of Israel. The land was given to them unconditionally.


Israel was chosen by God to accomplish four things:



1. to transmit His word (Isa. 42:9),


2. be a witness for Him (Isa. 43:10),


3. show forth His blessing (Isa. 49:3) and


4. be the channel for the Messiah (Isa. 49:5).



They did such a remarkable job in transmitting His word that today hardly any of the Old Testament varies from the way God originally spoke it. And as a showcase for His blessing, the reigns of David and Solomon were unparalleled in previewing life in the Kingdom. Of course it goes without saying that Israel was the channel for the Messiah. It was in the second area, being a witness for God, where they had failed.


"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are," Jesus accused them. (Matt23:15)


On the Temple Mount, the Court of the Gentiles was as close as non-Jews could get to the Holy of Holies, and the only place they could legally worship the Lord. Any attempt to get closer was a crime punishable by death. At the time of Jesus it had been turned into an open air market (it's the place from which Jesus drove the money changers and sellers of animals) making it impossible for gentiles to worship there. In short the Lord promised He would be their God and they had refused to share Him with anyone else.



Go Ye Into All The World....



And so the ~Great Commission~ was given to the disciples, and through them the church. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," Jesus told them. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
(Matt 28:18-20)



Now the ~Great Commission~ is in YOUR hands.
What will you do with it?