Well Done My Good Servant!

(The principle of prosperity without a limit)

Luke 19:11-27

Key Verse 19:17

"'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'"

We know that the God who sent Jesus is a good God. As a good God he has a good purpose for his children, and his purpose is to see his children becoming extremely prosperous. In order to mean business in bestowing upon his children an infinite amount of his blessings God sent Jesus Christ who in turn taught people God's blessed plan. Summarily this plan is called "God's kingdom". 

In Luke's gospel the term the "Kingdom of God" is repeated 22 times, showing that the message of God's kingdom is indeed the heart of Jesus' teachings. In the passage as well Jesus teaches us a parable which also illustrates God's blessed plan to richly bless his children, the plan to see his children becoming more prosperous than anyone can possibly imagine. 

With this in mind let us come to the passage and listen to the kind of plan God has for his children. 

First, the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once

Look at verse 11. "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."

Here "the people" refers to the people of Israel. Most likely the people might have associated "the kingdom of God" with their dream for restoring a political kingdom like the kingdom of David. The Israelites longed to see the days coming, when the twelve tribes of Israel would be united under one kingdom. As the time for Jesus to enter Jerusalem drew near, they thought that finally the Lord God would restore the kingdom to Israel.  

Their expectations had two problems however: No. 1 - God's kingdom is not a political one but a spiritual one; and No. 2 - it was not going to appear "at once" (that is, "as soon as Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.") 

Second, a man of noble birth

The ultimate plan of God's ultimate blessing for all of his children (i.e., the plan called God's kingdom) begins and ends with a person and the work he is called to do. Who is he? Look at verse 12. "He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return." Who is "a man of noble birth?" Without doubt he is Jesus himself. 

In what respect is Jesus a man of "noble" birth? The birth narrative of Jesus as described in Luke answers the question, for in Luke 1:35, "The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." 

Nobility comes from God the Father. The Holy Sprit fulfills God’s vision for his children. And Jesus is the embodiment of nobility. By nature God's kingdom is a noble kingdom. 

In verse 12 a man of noble birth "went to a distant country". Here "a distant country" refers to Jesus rising again from the dead and returning to God the Father. 

Why did Jesus go there? Verse 12 says that he did it in order to have him appointed king and then return. 

Jesus' coming, going, and then returning as the king, sum up the critical points of the gospel. Jesus was born to save people from their sins. Jesus died on a tree to build the basis on which God could forgive people of their sins. Jesus then rose again and went to the Father to ensure that the Holy Spirit comes to this world. The Holy Spirit then was sent to help people regain God’s noble character and thereby be ready for God's noble kingdom to appear. 

When everything here on earth is ready, then Jesus the newly appointed king will come back to earth to rule in His kingdom. 

Third, he called ten of his servants

Look at verse 13. "So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.  'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'"

In the Bible, the number "ten" is repeated 199 times in 176 verses. And the number ten refers to "full development" (as God causes all that can be developed to be developed. So "ten of his servants" refer to all who believe in the Lord. The servants are the ones who serve. 

Believers in Jesus go by many titles like elders, deacons, pastors, preachers, priests, shepherds, apostles, or missionaries. But basically they are all "servants" called to serve God's kingdom purposes. 

Look at verse 13. "So he called ten of his servants..." The word "he" or "his" then makes the position and nature of the "servants" clear. Jesus is a man of 'noble' birth. And we are his servants. Not all masters have noble character. In fact a lot of masters are mean. But Jesus is a man of noble birth. Because Jesus is a man of noble birth, his servants can also develop noble character. Their services are noble. The subject matter for which they are called is noble. And all believers are noble servants, called to serve Jesus' noble purposes.  

Fourth, minas

Look at verse 13 again. "So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas." Here minas refer to the means which God provided for his servants in serving God's kingdom purposes. It has been said that there are two means of grace: the word of God; and prayer. 

When Jesus came he taught people God's word. Jesus also prayed to God. As Jesus was about to finish his work, he turned his kingdom ministry to his disciples. In the book of Acts we see his disciples rely on these two means, that is, the word of God and prayer. Acts 2:42 for example says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Here the apostles' "teaching" come first and then the word "prayer". The apostles' teaching indicates that they served the flock God's word. And then they devoted themselves to prayer. 

God's word is a powerful tool to build God's kingdom. For example Jeremiah 23:29 reads, "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" In addition 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 say, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

Prayer also has the power to work God's kingdom in the heart of a fallen man. John 14:14 for example says, "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Categorically Jesus is the most powerful person among everyone who has ever lived and will ever live. And Jesus says, "I will do it", if "you pray." 

Fifth, put this money to work

The man of noble birth gave each of the ten servants one mina each and then said to each of them, "Put this money to work." We already saw that the word of God is powerful. We also saw that prayer works. [Let us turn to our neighbor and say, "Prayer works."] 

The one who best knows the "wonder-working" power of God's word and prayer is the man of noble birth. Because he knows that God's word has the power to heal and save, and prayer has the power to do the wonders of God like shutting the mouth of lions or protecting people safe and sound even as they walk through a blazing furnace heated seven times hotter than usual (Daniel 3:26), the man commanded his servants, "Put this money to work." 

Practically then, the command to "put" the money to work is the command for us to make "use" of these powerful instruments. 

The expression "until I come back" then refers to the duration of time in which we are to put them in use. We are living in the year 2006. We do not know when Jesus will come back. But until he comes back, we are to use these two powerful instruments. As an effort to put them in use, we are going to start a Genesis Bible Rally beginning next week. May the Lord bless all of us to mold our hearts and prayer that the Lord would bless this Rally.   

 

Verse 14 however indicates that not all people are excited about the command, for verse 14 reads, "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'" At first glance they look very wise. After all they had their own ideas. And they might have thought that their own ideas were far better than were the ideas of the man of noble birth. But were they really wise in not wanting the man of noble birth to be a king? No. Why not? Verse 15 says that the man was made king, however, and to make matters worse, he returned home. 

Sixth, he sent for the servants

Look at verse 15b. "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." This was the time to settle the accounts. It was the time after the final exams, when the report cards are given. 

Likewise, when Jesus comes again he will call his servants to find out what they had gained with it. 

What was the result? Look at verses 16-19. "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' “‘Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'” Here we see the ten minas resulting in the authority to control ten cities, and five minas, five cities. Here, in my opinion, ten or five minas represents the efforts we put forth to carry out the Lord’s will whereas the ten or five cities refer to the rewards that will come out of our efforts. The rewards are disproportionately greater than the efforts made. 

God’s word can be compared to a seed. A seed does not look impressive. To make matters worse, each time we come to God’s word, God’s word points out that we are sinful. Then our pride is hurt. So on many occasions we end up ignoring God’s word and not obeying it. But no matter how meager our efforts may be, as we struggle to apply God’s words to our life, the Lord will always reward us with far greater rewards than we can possibly imagine. The same is true with our prayers. On many occasions, as we struggle to pray for one prayer topic or another it seems that our prayers are earning us nothing. But as we offer prayers the Lord will bless us with far greater rewards than we can possibly imagine. 

Most importantly when our struggles to obey God’s word and efforts to offer prayers to God add up, then when Jesus comes again, we will be only amazed to see the magnitude of the glorious rewards that come out of our endeavors to obey the Lord. 

In verses 20-26 we then see the third servant coming out and earning nothing. Interestingly he began making a report complaining about his master being a hard man. His statement and the master’s truthful rebuke indicate that the third person could not produce any fruit and therefore earn no reward at all simply because he misunderstood the mater’s real intention in commanding his servants to work. The third servant thought the master asked him to work for the master’s selfish purpose and no other. But, verse 26 says that the exact opposite was true. That is, the master asked his servant to work only for him to be able to give his servants more. 

Seventh, kill them in front of me

Lastly, in verse 27, we see the subjects who did not want Jesus to be their king were called out to be killed. This passage is symbolic of the second death which all who do not believe in Jesus will have to face. 

One word: Well done, my good servant

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