PARABLES OF CHRIST
PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 25:14-30
MAY 17, 1998
The premiere of the movie “My Fair Lady” was in 1964 at the Egyptian theater in Hollywood. The movie, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. The movie told the story of Eliza Doolittle, an impoverished Cockney London bag lady who seemingly had no potential and was destined for insignificance. But through the tutoring of a professor of phonetics she was transformed, and she reached incomprehensible potentiality so that she was able to be passed off as British aristocracy. The movie was based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, which of course was based on the Greek mythological character of Pygmalion whose story was told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The word metamorphoses means transformation. The word metamorphoses was used by the Greeks oftentimes to describe people who rose to the peak of their potential and were transformed in that rise. This word metamorphoses is used in Romans, chapter 12, to describe the Christian’s growth into Christlikeness and the transformation into all the potential that is there in Christ.
There are some people who believe that is what the Parable of the Talents is all about, that it’s all about your growth. It’s all about you reaching the fullness of your potential. The idea would be that God has given us all differing talents and abilities and we are to “grow” them that we might be all we can be, that we might reach our fullness of potential. And if we do that, God will be pleased at the consummation.
But that is not what the Parable of the Talents is about. You see, the Parable of the Talents is not about your growth. It’s about the growth of the kingdom of heaven. The subject of this parable is the kingdom of heaven. It is not about you reaching your potential. It’s about the kingdom of heaven reaching its potential. And insofar as this parable deals with any of us, it is with regard to our service of the kingdom of heaven. We are not to seek to be all that we can be but that the kingdom of heaven might be all that it can be you’ve reached your potential but whether you’ve helped the kingdom of heaven reach its potential.
Now we see this clearly when we look at the servant who buried his talent in the ground. Jesus uses three words to describe the servant. We’ll examine these three words this morning. The first is the word “achrestos.” The actual form of it in this verse, Matthew 25:30 is “achreion” and this word means “useless.” It means “worthless.” It means “unproductive.” This is the word Jesus uses in Matthew 25:30 when He says, “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.” Achreion. We are to understand that we are to be “of use.” We are to be “of service” for the Master, “of use” to the Master, serving His kingdom.
I know that many of you have heard of Cyrus McCormick, who was born in Virginia. Farmers were able to harvest ten acres a day when in prior times they had only been able to harvest two, all because of this great invention Cyrus McCormick was 38 years old when he moved to Chicago and opened his factory. By the age of 40, in the year 1849, he was a multimillionaire. When he was 50 years old in 1859, he fell in love and he married a woman named Nettie Fowler. Nettie was beautiful and tall and she was radiant. They were married that year, 1859. Nettie was 26 years younger than Cyrus McCormick. He was 50. She was 24. Cyrus soon discovered that her radiance was her love for Christ because Nettie had a great love for Jesus. They were married for 26 years. Cyrus McCormick died at the age of 76.
When he died, Nettie was 50 years old, and all of the money of the empire of Cyrus McCormick was hers. Except she knew it wasn’t really hers. She knew that she was just a steward. She knew that she was in the service of the Master and that everything had simply been entrusted to her but belongs to Him. And she began to give it away. She began to be of use and she founded and built McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, which still stands today, training young people for the ministry. She gave a great deal of money to John R. Mott, who was the head of the student volunteer movement. Nettie sent Mott all over the world that he might establish student missions. With her money she founded the World Student Christian Federation.
With her money she supported Dwight L. Moody, the famed evangelist who shook two continents for Christ. With her money she supported Wilfred Grenfell, the great missionary to Labrador. She also supported George Livingstone Robinson who was the archeologist who conducted the Petra dig, an archeological site in biblical Salih. With her money, she became the primary supporter of Asian missions. She was the primary source of money for Asian missions in the whole United States. Her house on Michigan Street in Chicago became a halfway house for missionaries and for overseas Christians. She founded Tusculum College in Tennessee. She gave money to establish a food distribution program and an educational program for the impoverished in Appalachia. In one country, she put in a water supply and in another country she put in a hospital. And in yet another country she built a Christian college. In Korea she built a seminary. In Persia, modern-day Iran, she established a clinic for impoverished women. To India she sent heavy industrial and agricultural equipment for the poor there. She did everything in the name of Christ. She did everything for the cause of Christ. She gave it away for Christ. She died and she stood before Christ. When she stood before Christ, surely she heard these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master.” Because she was of great use to the kingdom of heaven, of great use to the Master.
We all have been blessed in varying ways. Christ, the Master, has given you time. And I don’t know how much time you have on this earth. I don’t know how much time I have on this earth, but He has given us time and He has given us talent and ability in varying measure and He has given us money and resources, again, in varying measure. The issue is, are we using it for the Master? Are we using it for His service and for His kingdom? Are we using our time, talent, and treasure to further the kingdom of heaven on the earth? I promise you when you stand before Jesus Christ, this will be critical.
I think most of you know the story from the Bible where Jesus left the city of Jerusalem on His way to Bethany to stay at the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Along the way, along the roadside, He went up to a barren fig tree and He cursed it and it withered to the ground. Prior to that event He had gone into the Jerusalem temple and He had seen the barrenness of Israel’s faith—unproductive, of no use. It is a message, a warning to the people of God. In every generation, we are called to bear fruit. We are called to be of use. We are not called to barrenness.
So this first word is achrestos, or achreion. This servant was condemned because he was useless, of no use to the Master. A second word that is used in this parable describing the servant who was condemned is the word “okneros.” This word is sometimes translated “slothful.” Jesus said, “You slothful servant.” This word okneros is not the normal word for slothful. It’s not the normal word for lazy. The normal word would be the word “nothros,” but this word okneros describes somebody who was slothful because of fear. In fact, okneros means “to shrink back in fear” and “to become timid.” This fits what the servant had already said about himself. “I was afraid.” And so Jesus says of this servant that his fear had paralyzed him and he was not willing to risk or venture for the master, not willing to be involved in any risk for the service of the Master’s kingdom.
Certainly this is true of many Christians today. And of course we see the need for appropriate risk even in the business world. I know that many of you have been down to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Barb and I had a number of years where we would go down there and spend the night at the Broadmoor for our anniversary. On one occasion we ate in the Penrose Room at the Broadmoor, which is on the top floor. It’s an incredible place where you can get a $20 or $30 meal for $100. It has an absolutely amazing view, and it was really a very special event, a special night.
The room is named after Spencer Penrose. Spencer Penrose is relatively renowned in Colorado Springs because he’s a great part of their history. The year was 1891 when Spencer Penrose came here to Colorado. He did not have money, but he was going to make it rich and he was going to make it rich in mining. He asked his brother, Boyce Penrose, before he left the east coast to invest in his mining venture. He asked for $1,500, and Boyce said no. He said, “Don’t go. Stay here. It’s too risky.” Spencer Penrose went anyway. He came here to Colorado, and he began to involve himself in the business of mining.
After a period of time Boyce, his brother, sent him $150—not as an investment but for a return trip. Boyce sent him $150 and said, “Come home. This $150 is much more than you’ll need for the journey home, but I hope it will be incentive for you to come home.” One year later Spencer Penrose went from Colorado Springs back to the east coast and gave his brother a check for $75,000. Boyce Penrose said, “What’s this?” Spencer said, “This is your return on your investment.” Boyce said, “Well, I didn’t invest.” Spencer said, “You gave me $150. If you had given me the $1,500 I asked for, I would be giving you a check today for $750,000.”
But of course, there’s always a fear involved in investing. Sometimes the fear is appropriate, but we need to understand when we think of the kingdom of heaven and the service of the kingdom of heaven and the giving of our time and our talent and our treasure, sometimes we can be paralyzed by fear. This is certainly true monetarily.
I really believe the Bible calls us to tithe as a minimal standard of love, love for Jesus and for His church and kingdom. That means to give 10% of everything we make before taxes to the work of Christ in this world. I do not ask you to do what I’m not doing myself. Barb and I would never ask you to do something that we ourselves would refuse to do. We were taught to tithe as children, and we were taught to give offerings beyond tithe. We seek to be faithful in this. I trust and pray that you seek to be faithful in this. Sometimes it’s fear that keeps us from tithing, fear that if we tithe we somehow won’t be able to make ends meet. But God promises blessing. God said to the nation of Israel, “You are cursed with a curse, the whole nation of you, because you are robbing Me.” That’s in the Book of Malachi. The nation said, “How are we robbing You?” God said, “In your tithes and your offerings. Therefore bring the full tithe into My house,” says the Lord God of Hosts, “and put Me to the test and see if I will not open up the window of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
So if you would not be paralyzed by fear and you would honor the word of God and you would give faithfully, you will be blessed. I would never be so presumptuous as to try to identify the form of the blessing. I do not know. But I do believe God blesses those who are faithful.
Some people are paralyzed by fear when it comes to Christian service. That’s what keeps some people from teaching Sunday school. We need 300 Sunday school teachers a week to make this Sunday school work for these kids. What a privilege to minister in the lives of so many kids. But it takes 300 adults serving. When the ministry center is built and the community around us is built out, we’re going to need 600 Sunday school teachers a week. It’s fear that could stop us if you’re afraid of going in there, afraid that maybe you’ll fail or won’t be of any use. But I promise you, God can use you if you are willing. He can use you.
It’s fear that keeps some of us from going into the inner city where we have wonderful programs Gene and the Missions Department have supported and in some cases established so that you can go into the inner city and you can help impoverished kids and you can help children of color and people who have had less opportunity. You can help them with their education and you can help them know Christ. You can help them in so many ways. But it’s fear that keeps some people from being involved in our Whiz Kids Program in the inner city. But Jesus is telling us not to be afraid but rather to serve.
There’s a third and final word that Jesus uses to describe the servant who buried his talent and it is the word “poneros,” wicked. Jesus said, “You wicked and timid servant.” Wicked and timid. But this word poneros is not the normal word for wicked. The normal word in the Greek for wicked is the word “kakos.” Kakos describes intrinsic wickedness, that which is bad or evil in character. If a person was bad or evil in character, the word is kakos. But if they’re bad or evil in effect, the word is poneros. That’s the difference.
Both words, kakos and poneros, are used to describe the evil one in the Bible. They’re used to describe Satan because he is evil in character and in effect. But the word that is used here by Jesus is the word poneros and it doesn’t mean that this servant who buried his talent was intrinsically evil. It means that he was evil in his effect. The word poneros is rooted in the Greek word “ponos,” which means pain. What Jesus is saying is that if you are useless, if you are fearful and timid and you’re not willing to serve, then you will cause pain. You cause pain to the kingdom of heaven and the church of Christ when you are not willing to serve. When you’re not willing to serve, it means someone else is going to have to do more. Someone else is going to have to carry a bigger load and a greater weight. If you’re not willing to be of use, then someone else is going to have to dig deeper and work harder. If you’re not willing to tithe, then someone else is going to have to give more. If you’re not willing to go into Sunday school and teach, someone else who is already going and working on Whiz Kids or a small group leader or working in Manna Ministries is going to also have to teach Sunday school because you’re not carrying your weight. You are evil in your effect. Sometimes evil isn’t so much the things we do as the things we don’t do, not so much the sins of commission as the sins of omission.
I think some of you, years ago, remember reading the story of Kitty Genovese. She died on the streets of New York. Her story was told in newspapers all over the nation. She was raped and murdered in broad daylight. Thirty-eight people watched, some from restaurant windows, some from their homes, some just standing on the street. Thirty-eight people watched her die. Nobody did anything. Nobody so much as made a phone call. That’s evil. That’s evil in its effect. If we just stand by and do nothing, that’s evil too.
As we think of this parable (and it’s a tough parable) it’s not an easy sermon to preach, frankly. But there’s a clear warning in the parable that Christ is looking for a people who will serve His kingdom and church. They will not be timid. They will give themselves in service. They will seek to be useful with their time, talent, and treasure that they will not be painful or hurtful in their effect.
You know, I think as we close I want to just mention an individual whose name was Salvatori Brocco. You’ve probably never heard of Salvatori Brocco. He was famous in his time. The year was 1925 when an Italian freighter was sinking in the mid-Atlantic. It was called the Ignacio Floria. Another ship, the U.S. President Harding arrived at the eleventh hour as that freighter was going down. The seas were rough. There was a great storm. How could they get from one ship to the other to rescue people? It was Salvatori Brocco who volunteered. He took a lifeboat across and saved 38 men. He was awarded by two nations, Italy and the United States. He received five medals, one medal from Mussolini himself.
It was only four years later in January of 1929 that another Italian ship was sinking off the Virginia Capes. Again, an American ship arrived and again it was Salvatori Bracco who volunteered and who saved so many lives. He was given two medals by the Italian government. From the United States of America, Salvatori Brocco received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He received seven additional medals from the United States Government. He was given a tickertape parade in New York City. In his hometown of Union City, New Jersey, he was enshrined in fame, renowned across this nation, a hero in two nations.
But time passed and people forgot Salvatori Brocco. His health began to fail. He could no longer go to sea and he could no longer work. He had a wife and he had a child. They wrote the government, asking for help because he was getting $7.50 a week and it was not enough to survive. The government refused any help. Salvatori Brocco died broke and he died brokenhearted.
I know that’s an unusual story and I pray and I hope that would not be true of any of us here, but I promise you this: There’s going to come a time when the world forgets you. There’s going to come a time when the world forgets me. If time continues and Christ tarries, there’s going to come a time when the world forgets you. It doesn’t matter what you accomplish, the world is still going to forget you. There’s only one person you need to please in your lifetime. I mean, you think about it. We try to please so many but there’s only one person you need to please and that one person is Jesus Christ, the Master. He’s the only one we need to please. Do you long to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Do you long to hear Him say those words? Then don’t be timid. Give each day this focus, that your time, your talent, and your treasure might be of use to the Master and to His church and kingdom. Let’s close with a word of prayer.