Chapter 112

 

The Nobleman and His Servants

 

ÒAnd as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this [man] to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, [here is] thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give [it] to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me.Ó (Luke 19:11-27)

 

When our Master had saved Zacchaeus, though the disciples heard His doctrine and saw the way He dealt with that poor soul in grace, though the Lord Jesus had told them plainly that He was on His way to Jerusalem to die in their place, to redeem His people by the shedding of His blood, they still thought they were on their way to His inauguration ball as the King of Israel! The parable given in verses 12-27 was given to correct their ignorance, Òbecause they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear

 

            Their minds were fixed on the notion that the coming of Christ the King meant that He was about to become a carnal king, a king over the physical nation of Israel. They had terribly carnal notions about His kingdom. So He here showed them that, for the present, the practical matter to be remembered was that He had come Òto seek and to save that which was lost

 

            If they had not been so full of their idle dreams of a temporal, earthly kingdom, they would have understood that in the calling of Zacchaeus, the Lord Jesus had manifested His Kingship in the realm of mercy and grace and salvation. He had in seeking and saving Zacchaeus displayed the sovereignty of His grace as the sovereign King of grace. That is what He is doing today on His throne as our great King, the Son of God and the Son of Man, the Son of David and DavidÕs Lord. He is seeking and saving his lost ones.

 

            This parable is an illustration, a picture of things present and things to come, which ought to set our hearts upon our Savior and his cause in this world. Its intent is to show us our faithful God and Savior, who has promised, ÒHim that honoureth me I will honor,Ó will reward His faithful servants for their service, not in this world, but in the world to come.

 

The Nobleman

 

ÒHe said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to returnÓ (v. 12). — I am sure that you understand who the nobleman in this parable represents. He represents our Lord Jesus Himself. He was here on earth a man among men, and truly a nobleman in the midst of His fellow citizens. He was and is King of all the earth. He is King by nature and by right, but He must first go away by death, resurrection, and ascension, to the highest courts of heaven to receive for Himself a kingdom from His Father as the reward of His obedience. It is written in the 2nd Psalm, ÒAsk of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance.Ó The day is coming when He will return, clothed with glory and honor, to take unto Himself His great power and reign; for He must reign till all enemies are put under His feet. When He comes, His enemies will be destroyed, and His faithful servants will be abundantly rewarded. That is the essence of the parableÕs meaning.

 

            The Son of God came here in humiliation as the Son of Man Òto seek and to save that which was lost.Ó He is here portrayed as having finished His work of redemption and returned to glory to receive his kingdom. He ascended back to heaven to receive the kingdom for us as our Forerunner (Hebrews 6:20), and to receive all His ransomed ones into His kingdom by the mighty operations of His Holy Spirit. He is still the Son of Man, now ascended to Glory and seated upon His throne; and it is still His business Òto seek and to save that which was lost.Ó After He has received His kingdom, after He has saved all His lost ones, He will return to judge the world. Even then, it shall be His business Òto seek and to save that which was lost

 

            When the Lord Jesus left this world, He ascended up into heaven as a mighty conqueror, leading captivity captive. He is there sitting at the right hand of God, doing the work of a High Priest for His people, ever making intercession for them. But He will not sit there always. He will come forth from the holy of holies to bless His people. He will come again with power and glory to put down every enemy under His feet, and to set up His universal kingdom in a new heavens and a new earth (Hebrews 2:8-9). When Christ returns, the kingdoms of the world shall become His.

 

            Let these things sink down into our hearts and minds. In all our thoughts about Christ let us never forget His glorious second advent. He who lived for us, and died for us, and rose again for us, and intercedes for us is coming again in power and great glory (Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 3:11-14).

 

ChristÕs Servants

 

ÒAnd he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over usÓ (vv. 13-14). — Our Lord compares His servants to men who have been left in charge of their masterÕs money, with strict instructions to use that money well. They are to occupy until he comes again. To each of these ten servants he gave a pound of money. But who are these servants? Though ten servants are mentioned, there are but two groups, or categories. All ten are the NoblemanÕs servants; but some were faithful and good, the others were slothful and useless.

 

            Each servant was given a pound, which appears to me to represent the Gospel of the grace of God. Oh, what a choice blessing that is! All who are given the great privilege of hearing the Gospel of the grace of God have the same charge. — ÒOccupy till I come.Ó The words mean, ÒTake this pound that I have put in your hands and busy yourself in trade with it until I return.Ó

 

            What does that mean? It means that we to whom the Lord God has given this great treasure are responsible to trade with it for the increase of riches to our souls, responsible to believe it to the saving of our souls. This is exactly what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-6:1.

 

ÒAnd all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in ChristÕs stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, [as] workers together [with him], beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.Ó

 

            It is true that we cannot and will not trade, without money and without price, for the Pearl of Great Price until and unless God the Holy Spirit gives us grace to do so. But that is our charge, our responsibility before God. Taking the pound the Lord has given us, believing the Gospel, our souls are enriched with grace, enriched with the sweet experience of grace, some fivefold and some tenfold. And in the world to come we shall be enriched by His grace to an infinitely higher degree than can ever be imagined by us in this body of flesh (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

 

            The countless privileges which we enjoy, compared to those who have never heard the Gospel, are ÒpoundsÓ given to us by Christ, ÒpoundsÓ for which we must one day give account. In the Judgment Day we will not stand side by side with the tribesmen of heathen lands who never heard of the Bible, the God of Glory, and the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. We have much more for which we shall give account in that great day.

 

            The faithful servants in this parable represent those who believe the Gospel, using the means God has given us for the benefit of our souls. These faithful servants rejoice in the prospect of the LordÕs coming. By the grace of God, we shall be found looking for Him when He comes again, living in hope of eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

            The unprofitable servant has his pound. He, too, hears the Gospel of grace and salvation, redemption and righteousness in and by Christ. But the unprofitable servant hates his Master, the Lord Jesus. He hates GodÕs method of saving sinners by free and sovereign grace through Christ, the sinnerÕs crucified Substitute, and rejects the counsel of God against his own soul.

 

            Both the faithful servants and the unprofitable servant differ from the world in general. They differ in this one thing. — You and I have been given the Gospel. We have been called by the Gospel. The world at large has not. To whom much is given, much shall be required. — What a great benefit! — What a great weight of responsibility!

 

            The unbelief and rejection of the unprofitable servant is the cause of his just condemnation (Proverbs 1:23-33). The faith of the profitable servant, believing the Gospel, trusting Christ, magnifies the riches of GodÕs free grace in us and assures us of greater riches in the world to come.

 

Blessed Servitude

 

All ten of these servants were the noblemanÕs servants, both the faithful and the unprofitable. Believers and unbelievers alike are ChristÕs servants. Those who hate Him and refuse to bow to Him are His servants, just as surely as Gabriel himself. And we who believe Him and rejoice in His rule are His servants. But all are His servants. But we who believe Him, we who are glad to be His servants are Òoccupying,Ó using the Gospel for our soulsÕ everlasting benefit.

 

            Let me show you something about the blessedness of our service. It is a blessed servitude indeed! Our service is most honorable. We serve a great Nobleman, the King of Glory! Ours is a service for which our Master supplies all — Òa pound.Ó All that we need to know Christ and enrich our souls by Christ is found in the Gospel. And our service is itself exactly that which we need. — Faith in Christ. The essence of our service is faith in Christ, worshipping the Son of God (John 6:27-29). What blessed service this is! To occupy till He comes, to make trade with the Gospel, is neither more nor less than believing Him. The more we believe Him, the more our souls are enriched by Him. The more we believe Him, the more we grow in the grace and knowledge of God our Savior.

 

Reckoning Day

 

There is a day coming in which we will give an account of our service. In that great day of reckoning we will be judged by the Gospel, by what we have done with the ÒpoundÓ our Savior has given us.

 

ÒAnd it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten poundsÓ (vv. 15-16).

 

            The faithful servant, with proper humility, puts himself in the background. It is not he who has Ògained ten pounds,Ó but his LordÕs pound that has done it. He is pleased to bring the ten pounds; yet he claims no credit for himself, but says, ÒLord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds

 

ÒAnd he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five citiesÓ (vv. 17-19).

 

            Notice that there is no correlation between the servantÕs work and the reward for it. He who gained ten pounds in this world by the faith God gave him by the Gospel, and he who gained but two, are both declared to be faithful servants and rewarded as such.

 

ÒAnd another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:  For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?Ó (vv. 20-23).

 

The Servants Rewarded

 

ÒAnd he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before meÓ (vv. 24-27).

 

Those who will not have this Man to rule over them, those who are His enemies, when He comes again, He will take from them everything they have and give it to His own. Then, he will have them brought before Him and slain.

 

            Do you remember our LordÕs answer to Peter, when Peter asked him what we shall have who have left all and followed him (Luke 18:28-30)? The Lord Jesus said, ÒIn the world to come life everlasting!Ó That is the reward the Lord Jesus gives to all who trust Him. He will say, ÒWell done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lordÓ (Matthew 25:21).

 

            GodÕs saints receive great recompense even in this present time. Though our names are often cast out as evil, though we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God, the gain of godliness, of faith in Christ, is not to be measured in earthly things, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, in a good hope through grace and joy in believing. Still, our good things are not in this world. But there is a day coming when we shall have an abundant recompense! We shall, in that day, receive wages far exceeding anything we have imagined. — ÒIn the world to come life everlasting!Ó

 

ÒWe read of a place thatÕs called heaven.

ItÕs made for the pure and the free.

These truths in GodÕs Word He hath given. —

How beautiful heaven must be!

 

In heaven no drooping nor pining,

No wishing for elsewhere to be.

GodÕs light is forever there shining —

How beautiful heaven must be!

 

Pure waters of life there are flowing;

And all who will drink may be free.

Rare jewels of splendor are glowing —

How beautiful heaven must be!

 

The angels so sweetly are singing

Up there by the beautiful sea.

Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing. —

How beautiful heaven must be!

 

How beautiful heaven must be!

Sweet home of the happy and free,

Fair haven of rest for the weary,

How beautiful heaven must be!Ó

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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