Matthew 25:14-30

Read the passage: The Message   or   The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

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Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew are considered by scholars to be the last of 5 "discourses" (i.e., long sections of teachings by Jesus). It is hypothesized that these 5 sections are intended by Matthew to be a new Torah - a new set of 5 "books" paralleling the 5 books of the Torah attributed to Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The implication of this for present day understanding is that this final section has been significantly edited by Matthew to fit his intentions. Today's text is a case in point.

The themes of chapters 24 and 25 are: final judgment and the return of the Son of Man, or, the establishing of the reign of God on earth; and teachings about delays. These two issues were certainly of high concern to Matthew and his community. Scholars debate how much they were top-of-mind for Jesus. Thus the debate about how much Matthew used - and changed - anything Jesus might have actually said to address concerns that arose only after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension.

How might this parable have sounded to the peasants who were Jesus' followers?

First, they would not see themselves as any of the characters in the story. They certainly were not "masters," nor were they even the slaves of a master.

Second, they would have been well aware that it was against the law of Moses to charge interest. And, they would remember that when the twelve tribes entered the Promised Land, the "promise" was that every family would receive and hold a share of that land - FOREVER. Therefore, those who had gotten rich, did so by stealing land that rightly belonged to others. This understanding of the rich is shown in verse 26:

I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter.

In other words, the rich get rich by stealing what belongs to others.

Third, for the followers of Jesus, the slave who buried the talent was doing the honourable thing. He was not using the wealth to steal even more. He was protecting his masters wealth in the safest way possible.

Fourth, notice that this parable does NOT begin, "the Kingdom of heaven is like ..." In fact, the opening two words in Verse 14 are variously translated:

• "For it is as if" (New Revised Standard Version)
• "Again, it will be like" (New International Version)
• "It's also like" (The Message)

But what exactly is the "it" that the following parable is like? Does the "it" refer to the Kingdom of Heaven (i.e. referring to the subject in Verse 1); or does the "it" refer to the delay of the coming of the Kingdom (i.e., referring to the subject in Verse 13)?

In Luke 19, this story is told following the story of Zacchaeus - a rich man who changes his evil ways! Surely this is a sign that the Kingdom is eminently at hand? Verse 11 then gives this introduction to the parable:

(Jesus) went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

I take it that Luke intends us to hear this parable NOT a teaching about the Kingdom, but a caution against thinking that the Kingdom was coming immediately. And so, similarly, the "it" in Matthew 25:14 refers to the subject in the previous verse 13:

Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (when the Kingdom of Heaven will arrive).

The parable of the talents then is NOT intended to be an introductory lesson how the Kingdom of Heaven is like modern Western capitalism - extolling using wealth to make even more wealth.

I believe this is NOT a "Kingdom" parable; it is a "Wisdom" parable teaching us about the perils and difficulties of the ways of the world until the Kingdom comes. It warns us to continue to expect the rich to steal from the poor; and for the followers of Jesus to expect to be punished by the rich for behaving honourably. (So much for all the stewardship sermons I have preached using this text! If this is an accurate reading of Jesus' intention - good luck trying to preach it.)

David Ewart,
www.davidewart.ca