The Master’s Joy
We find Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25:14-30. In the parable, Jesus teaches that his Second Coming “will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.”
You know the story. The first servant received five talents from the master. The second received two. The third received one. The master in the story, of course, represents Jesus who, after his resurrection, ascended into heaven promising he will one day return. The servants entrusted with the master’s property represent you, me, and all who profess faith in Christ. In his physical absence, Jesus has entrusted his riches to each of us. Jesus has entrusted us with eternal life—a life we are called to live for him. He has entrusted us with time, money, abilities, spiritual gifts and more. And, just like the master in the parable, Jesus will soon return to settle accounts. Does that frighten you? It shouldn’t. Consider the story.
Notice that the first two servants in the parable expressed no anxiety when their master returned. Can’t you hear the excitement in their voices when they tell him, “Look master! You gave me five talents, here’s five more!” “Look master, here’s your two talents plus two more!”
No. Rather than dread the master’s return, the first two servants eagerly anticipated his homecoming! It reminds me of the first time Nancy and I left our children home alone while we went out for dinner. A strange and wonderful thing happened. They decided to surprise us by cleaning the house in our absence. Like those first two servants, they were excited for us to come home. They looked forward to seeing our joy over what they had accomplished while we were gone.
Not so for the third servant. He buried the one talent his master entrusted to him. By investing his talent in nothing, he gained nothing for his master. In this, he proved himself faithless. More troubling, the third servant revealed his condemnable ignorance of his master’s heart. Wrongly judging his master to be cold-hearted and stingy, he both feared and resented his master (Matthew 25:24-25).
But was his master truly cold-hearted? Was he selfishly fixated only on money and profit? On the contrary. To varying degrees, the master willingly shared his wealth with his three servants. And, by sharing his wealth, he granted each of them the gift of opportunity! The master wanted his servants to succeed. And he rejoiced over those who did! We hear this in the master’s response to the servant who turned his five talents into ten. “His master said to him, ‘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’” (Matthew 25:21).
Do you hear it? “Enter into the joy of your master!” Don’t miss it! Our Lord is not cold and disinterested. He is generous beyond imagination! In Christ, God shares his life with us. In Christ, God shares his peace with us. In Christ, God shares his eternal reign with us! In Christ, God has invested his very self in us! He has granted us the unimaginable opportunity of knowing and serving him forever! How diligently and carefully are we investing this treasure we’ve been granted in Christ? How eagerly are we anticipating our Savior’s return? How confident are we that we will one day hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your master”?