Put this money to work! (Luke 19b)*

Put this money to work!

Luke 19:11-28

Key Verse: “So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'” (Luke 19:13).

About 2000 years ago, Jesus came into this world. He did many miracles, proved himself to be the Messiah, was crucified and died, resurrected on the third day, and ascended to heaven while his followers watched, leaving them one promise: ‘he will come in glory and power to restore God’s kingdom.’ Today’s passage will cover what the believers were to do, and are to continue doing, between his ascension and his return. This is given in the following parable: a nobleman commanded his servants, ‘put this money to work until I come back’. This is what we, as servants of Jesus, are to do while we are waiting on him to come back. As we go through today’s passage, I pray that we may know its meaning and gain wisdom for how to apply this command in our lives.

1.    The real hope of the kingdom of God [Luke 19:11]

When Jesus began his messianic work, he preached ‘the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe!’ Since then, he had taught and revealed various aspects of the kingdom of God through many miracles; he opened the door of God’s kingdom wide enough so that even the worst sinners, like tax collectors and prostitutes, could enter.  

Near the end of his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus announced ‘the kingdom of God IS in your midst.’ At Zacchaeus’ house in Jericho, just 17 miles from Jerusalem, Jesus announced,

"Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:9).

Undoubtedly, Jesus succeeded in turning many hearts from the hope of this age, like the people of the time of Noah or Sodom, and turning them to the hope of the kingdom of God. This is great because this hope is the last and only alternative hope for all human beings. This was what Jesus wanted and what God planned for His people.

How high and real was this hope?

“While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” (Luke 19:11).

Through this, we come to know that the majority of Jesus’ followers had great hope for the coming of the kingdom of God and that their hope became real and seemed about to be fulfilled in a matter of days. Real hope is a great source of power and motivation. We are to have the hope of the kingdom of God, and live out our lives in this energy and passion for the kingdom’s utmost blessing.

There was one more thing yet to be done: Jesus had to suffer and die for those kingdom citizens. This was necessary, first, for Jesus to earn kingly power and authority and, second, to prepare people for the coming of the kingdom of God. Then the kingdom will be fully established for his people. Jesus gave the crowds this parable, in order to give them a concise description of what was yet to happen before the kingdom of God was fully established.

2.            A noble man’s trip to be appointed king (Luke 19:12-15).

“He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.”” (Luke 19:12).

Jesus pictured the entire time of his absence,  after his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, as the time of his journey when he would obtain the full authority of a king.

A man of noble birth: Jesus was born as a descendant of King David and the Son of God. He worked on people’s hearts to plant the hope of the kingdom of God and earn hearts to become his followers, i.e. servants. He also had his subjects,  all who are under his authority (John 1:11). So, this includes  the religious leaders, as well as all the Jews or even the entire human race, for they are under God’s authority. Out of his subjects come his servants; his servants are different from his subjects because they have set themselves in a particular relationship, i.e. a Master-servant relationship.

This departure was when he left to go on a journey, in order to get himself appointed as king and come in full power as the king.

So before he left, he called in 10 of his servants. Here, the master did not call in his subjects, because they hated him and rejected him to be appointed as their king. This became obvious in what they did soon after his departure:

"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'” (Luke 19:14).

They were firm in this and there was no room in their hearts to accept this nobleman as their king.

The servants are numbered ten. The number ‘ten’ is used to denote the entirety of a group. So it seems that the ten represented all of Jesus’ followers, whether they were Jews or not. They chose this nobleman as their Lord and were willing to serve him as his servants! In this binding relationship of love and trust, the nobleman did this:

“So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'” (Luke 19:13 NIV).

They were each given a mina, which is about 3 months’ wages, with which to do business and make a profit until he returned.

They had great hope for his return as king, because they enjoyed so much under his lordship while he was still with them.

3.            His accounting (Luke 19:15-25)

"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.” (Luke 19:15).

The man of noble birth was made king and returned home. Whenever the master left on a journey for a long time, there was always the serious question of whether he would return or not. If his servants doubted Jesus’ promise to return, they would be less likely to keep up the hope of the kingdom of God and bind themselves to his commands.

Will Jesus return in power and glory? He left his disciples and ascended to heaven more than two thousand years ago. Many times, people have felt that Jesus would come back in their time, but he still has not come. So it seems well-justified to raise such a question of whether  Jesus would come back or not.

Knowing this, Jesus handled this issue many times. It is in the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2), in his parables (Luke 11:29-32; 12:35-48; 13:22-30; 14:15-24; 17:26-37), and is direct addressed in his eschatological prophecies (Luke 21:27). We believers must have a clear view in order to understand and plan our lives. Some would question how Jesus’ return would have any meaning for them, since he has not come for 2000 years and it is not likely that he will come in their lifetime.

It is more likely than not that Jesus’ return to this world will be long after my death, but, for me, the time of my death is when I will meet Christ in his full glory. So, in this respect, I may meet him tomorrow, next month, in a few years, or, if I am lucky enough, I may see his glorious coming while I am still living on the earth. Therfore, it is not a question of if we will meet him or not; the real question for us is how we will meet him.

How should his servants prepare for his returning? As we noted in this parable, the master had two classes of people under him: his subjects and his servants.

The subjects rejected Jesus as their king and even sent a delegation to dethrone him. So as soon as he comes back after receiving full authority as King, what did he do?

“But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me."” (Luke 19:11 NIV).

When the nobleman returned as king, he had full authority and power over all of his subjects. All of the affairs of the kingdom were under his authority. He assumed total control over the kingdom; no one could challenge or refute his rule. In this full authority, the king ordered for the subjects who had refused to accept him as their King to be killed.

It is hard for us to imagine what the Judgment will be like at his coming; yet we have a solid warning through Jesus’ prophecy and its fulfillment in the judgment of Jerusalem and Israel. Jerusalem’s total annihilation and destruction, along with her fierce defenders, happened in AD 70. This was a clear warning and reminder that those who reject Jesus will surely face God’s judgment. So if one dares to reject Jesus as king, then the message is clear: they will surely receive eternal judgment.

On the other hand, the servants were each entrusted with one mina. Though the master was not with them, the mina that they received with his command was the substance of the on-going relationship between the nobleman and his servants. In their trust, obedience, and hope for his return, they were to put that money to work until their master came back. It was a long and dreary period of life, but finally, he returned with full authority as king. In giving an account to him, the first one came and reported:

"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.”” (Luke 19:16).

The first servant reported to the king that he had made ten more minas. When the king heard this, he was so happy and said:

“"Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”” (Luke 19:17).

He commended him, not because he had earned more money, but because he had been trustworthy in a very small matter. He was happy with the servant’s particular attitude or character as revealed in his handling of the mina. So, the master entrusted him with ten cities.

The second servant also came and reported that he had earned five more.

“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’  “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.”” (Luke 19:18-19).

Though this man had earned much less than ten, the master was still happy with him and told him to take charge of five cities. This servant was not as shrewd or smart as the first one, but he did work with the mina and earned more. So, even though this man’s ability was not as good as the first one, still the master was happy with him.

Both of these servants were given cities, which were far bigger than minas. In other words, one mina was so small in comparison to the cities that the master planned to give them. Through this, we can understand that a mina, just three months’ wages, was a token of something bigger. Simply, a mina was a token of the master’s trust; his ultimate hope was to entrust many of his cities to them.

However, the third servant came and said this:

"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.”” (Luke 19:20-21).

This man kept the mina he’d been given in a secure place and brought it out to give back to the Master. He did this because he feared the Master.

As we have noted about this man, his relationship with the master or king greatly influenced how he handled the mina. Instead of a loving and trusting relationship, this man feared the master because he thought that the king was a hard man, a man who had no love but looked only for a profit.

The king did not buy such an excuse, for this reason: 

"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?”” (Luke 19:22-23).

Even if the master was a hard man, as this servant described, he could have deposited the money in the bank and gotten some interest. However, the master considered this man a ‘wicked servant’, rather than saying that the servant was wrong or guilty. How was he wicked in this situation? Humanly speaking, he did nothing wrong! But he was wicked because he violated the master-servant relationship. In this relationship, he was to serve the master in love, respect, and obedience. These were the ways in which he should engage with the master, but he failed to do so! He lived according to his own understanding and reason, and handled the mina on his own terms. By this, he flatly disregarded the master’s order to do business with the mina. This is shown in his report: “I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.” (v20). This was distrust, disobedience, and disrespect towards the master. These were expressions of wickedness; however, this is often how we maintain our relationship with Jesus as our master. If we do not have a ‘willing heart to love, obey, and trust’ him, then our relationship with Jesus may be just in our heads, without any substance of our servant-master relationship with him! I hope and pray that none of us fall into the trap that this man did. We do not want to be labeled as wicked now and even more so when we meet Christ in his power and glory.

Have we accepted Jesus as our Lord and master? Yes! I believe we all have! When we confess our belief in Jesus, we accepted him as our Lord and master and become his servants! As such, we are to honor, respect, and obey him until he comes back.

4.            To everyone who has, more will be given (Luke 19:25-28). 

The master was not happy with this servant at all. How did he punish him?

"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' "'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!”” (Luke 19:24-25 NIV).

He told his attendants to take away this man’s mina and give it to the one who had ten. There were many attendants and servants. To them, it may have seemed odd or harsh for this servant because after all, he was a servant, not like the subjects. To them, they thought this man had kept the minimum requirement as the master’s servant and taking away the only one he had and giving it to the man who already had ten, was unfair or uncaring!. Even unjust!

But the master explained his actions in this way:

"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” (Luke 19:26).

These minas were tokens of the master’s trust for his servants, but the third servant failed to realize this and reciprocate it with trust and love. So the master took the mina away from him and gave it to the one who already had ten. He considered the lack of profit as a direct reflection of the servant’s attitude toward him. Because there was no faith or love, he even took away the mina that servant already had.
We do not know the exact meaning of this, but it is possible to apply this passage in this way:

“Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us, '"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!”” (Luke 13:25-27 NIV).

This servant had a long relationship with the master; he ate and drank with the master often. But this man failed to love, obey, and follow the master’s instructions: to do business with the mina! This was a breach of his love-and-trust relationship with his master! The master called this wickedness! It is hard not to think of this as a judgment.

5.    Put this money to work

What is the mina that Jesus gave to his servants? What is the mina that Jesus gives to you and me? Before we try to figure this out, let’s find out the nature of the minas.

First, Jesus gave each mina freely and equally to all of his servants! Second, the minas were the thread that formed the connection between Jesus as Lord and his people. Third, Jesus entrusted his people with this task so that they would work with it and make a profit from it.

The mina - the power to multiply

When he spoke about who had more, it was apparently about having more ‘minas’, as with the first and second men. The increase in minas reflected the work or business that they had accomplished with the one mina that they had received from their master. This is well shown in their report to the master:

 “Your mina has earned 10 more…you mina has earned 5 more”. (v18)

In both of these men’s answers, they put an emphasis on the fact that it had earned them more when they put it to work; it was not their work, hard labor, or wisdom that made them profitable. So when one works with faith and diligence, our efforts will produce more minas, even though there may be some variation in the amount of return. In this way, both of these servants fully recognized that it was not them, but the mina, that possessed the true power to multiply.

The amount of work put in is related to

one’s trust in the master and their hope for his return.

In the beginning, all of the servants were given the same amount of money - one mina; the master treated them equally. This was a token of trust for each of them. How did each of them respond to this trust? It needed to be reciprocated with love and trust from them as well. This love and trust would bear them much profit because the minas were the master’s and he knew all of their business.

The attitude of the first two servants was focused on the mina that the master had left to them. So when the master returned, their first word was ‘the mina that you gave us’, that mina has earned more! It was amazing that it was not their personal efforts, but the mina that earned the profit.

What actually was the mina that the master gave to each of his servants?

When Jesus saw Zacchaeus high in a tree, he told him to come down immediately; he was coming to stay at Zacchaeus’ house that day! He demanded immediate action and offered himself to this man who was seeking to know him. So Jesus was willing to fully give what he had to this man. At the end of this encounter, he said,  

“Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”” (Luke 19:9 NIV).

What is the mina? There is no explicit description for what the mina is, but considering all the facts of this parable, it is reasonably certain that the mina signifies the salvation Jesus freely gives in his grace. In this way, Jesus gave his salvation to his servants and, by it, the lord-servant relationship is sustained until he comes back.

God’s great gift for men is salvation.

^“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13)

As shown in this passage, three things are interwoven together: salvation, men’s efforts to live godly lives, and waiting for the Lord’s return.

Paul demanded a similar way of life from the Philippian believers in Philippians 2:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. (Phi 2:12-16 NIV)

Jesus’ servants were to work out the salvation that they had freely received, until he comes back; they were to shine like stars, rather than following the crooked generation of this age.

This is more clearly described in 2 Peter 1:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 1:3-8 NIV).

Here, v3 is about the salvation that each has received; v4-8 are about working out that salvation. The next verse concludes this passage with hope for the king’s return and a rich welcome from him:

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 1:10-11 NIV).

So putting this mina to work is the same as working out one’s salvation, so that what God gave may bear the full fruit of salvation, i.e. the believer becoming worthy of God. So being worthy of the Lord is the key theme behind the parable of the servants working with the minas; it is our ‘blessed hope’ (Titus 2:3), which enables us to shine like the stars in the sky (Philippians 2:14), expecting a rich welcome when he returns (2 Peter 10). All these lead us to the understanding that to put the mina to work is the same as progressing from salvation to sanctification so that we may receive a rich welcome into the kingdom of God! In this way, putting money to work is tied to our work toward sanctification.

Second, salvation of one bears more salvation:

I would now like to consider John 21, specifically the encounter between Jesus and Peter. Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times. Each time, Peter answered:  

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep””. (John 21:15b-17 NIV).

Each time that Peter answered, he called Jesus ‘Lord’. By saying this, he was expressing his relationship with Jesus as master-servant! As we noted earlier, in the parable we’re studying, even when the master returned as king, he was never called ‘king’, only master. So the relationship between the servants and the king was not  a king-subject relationship, but rather a master-servant relationship. [It is noteworthy that, in this parable, even after the nobleman returned as king, the word ‘king’ was never used in denoting his relationship with his servants; the servants call him κυριος (lord), remaining in the master-servant relationship]. When Peter saw the risen Jesus, there was no doubt in his heart that Jesus was the Lord. In this way, a full restoration of the relationship between the master, Jesus, and the servant, Peter, took place. In this relationship, Jesus asked if Peter had love for him, and if so, then he commanded him to feed his sheep. This is evidence that the relationship between Jesus and his servant must bear the fruit of ‘feeding sheep’ or the salvation of many!

Such an understanding is also found in the command Jesus gave soon after his resurrection:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV).

Here, Jesus told his disciples to do the work of making disciples. Just as he will return, the master-king expected his servants to gain a profit with the mina. Any trust and love for the master must bear a profit of more minas! And we noted that the mina had power to reproduce when the servants worked with it. If the mina they received represents salvation, then the mina must produce salvation for many!

So the mina entails all that brings to men the salvation we are to work on and produce in two aspects: personal sanctification, so we may receive a rich welcome to the kingdom of God, and second, gain more salvation by doing work on what we have already received. This is accomplished by preaching the good news to save many.

Does that mean that we must force our lives in two different directions? If one focuses on sanctifying himself or herself, they will become like a hermit. However, in essence, they are still not two different things; they are one, because we cannot have one without the other! Not only does the gospel of salvation demand this, but also they are interdependent. We cannot grow to be holy and righteous without serving others, and we cannot preach good news and make disciples unless we become like Christ.

Finally, what do these things tell us about our lives as Jesus’ servants? Jesus is not here physically, but this does not mean that we can take it easy or that we have plenty of time to be idle. He expressed this in one simple command: “put this money to work”. Why did Jesus say for them to ‘do business with the mina’? He was telling his servants to engage in intense and zealous business with their minas. Have you ever engaged in business? I know that most of our missionaries are well experienced in this. There is fierce competition among all car makers, especially in the United States, the biggest car market in the world. In order to catch their customers’ eyes, a few companies began to make new models every year, instead of every two years. We can feel the fierce nature of the business world. It is not just business against business. I met quite number of people works two jobs in order to make them affluent. They work even into the late evening and on weekends as well; it seemed that their lives hung on money.

But for us, the mina, the salvation that Jesus gave, is the real money. With this most precious and valuable asset from our Lord Jesus, we are to work diligently, faithfully, with zeal and passion, as if we are doing business in this world. We are to focus on two things while we work; first, our personal sanctification, so that we may be welcomed into God’s kingdom, and second, the salvation of many. We are to do business with hope, faith, and great assurance that we will meet our Lord Jesus.  

May God bless you richly in the Lord!