Luke 19:11-14 - Put this money to work

19:11

This is the last parable before Jesus actually reaches Jerusalem.  This parable is similar to the parable of the talents in Matt 25:14-30, but there are some differences as well. This is not surprising as Jesus told similar parables on more than one occasion, and on each occasion there may well have been a slightly different emphasis, or some small additions to the parable or teaching.  Luke tells us that Jesus told this parable because the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to “appear at once”. Ie they expected the full consummation of the kingdom, the complete rule of God upon the earth. The essence of the parable is that the people needed to respond. They were looking for God to do something, whereas God was looking for them to respond.

19:12,13

Jesus tells of a man of noble birth who went to a distant country to be made king. This man is representing Jesus, but what else is the backdrop to this? Why does he go away to a distant land to be made king? Well it is to do with the system that operated in the Roman empire. Herod, and others, would go to Rome and then be made “king” of a region, a region in Israel in the case of people like Herod. The people knew it was Rome that appointed the rulers. Likewise it is God who decides who is Lord, not us. So it is God who makes Jesus king. A minha was about three months wages, ten minhas were given to ten servants and they were told to put it to work. There are significant differences of detail between this and the parable of the talents, though the basic idea is similar. They all got the same, and the amount is less than in the parable of the talents.

19:14

His subjects hated him, just as the Jews hated Jesus. We need to be aware of man’s absolute rebellion against God, this is the depth of sin within our hearts. The Jews would appreciate this part of the story, for they would be thinking of some lackey going off to Rome to be appointed king. So they could understand the subjects hating the man. In the same way the Jews hated Jesus, and in the same way all of mankind hates God. By nature we do not want Him to be ruler over us. We consider that God has no right to rule over us.