Your proclamation must not be about their performance but about the one thing that truly matters: Christ alone is their Master. And this Master has purchased them and made them His servants.
Our text this week comes right on the heels of the Parable of the Ten Virgins and continues with the same theme. It is yet another parable informing us about the Kingdom of Heaven. Here the Kingdom of Heaven “will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.” The parable itself is fairly straightforward. The master is gone on a journey and has entrusted his gifts to his servants/slaves to employ until he returns. The focus, like the bridegroom’s return, is on the master’s return. And like the virgins with their oil, here, the servants are entrusted with talents until he comes again.
The uniqueness of this parable lies in the attitude and belief regarding the nature of the master held by the servant who received the one talent. We are told that “to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to their ability.” But it is the third servant who takes center stage as the parable unfolds. So, it is in his actions and words that the bulk of your preaching ought to focus. The first two servants recede quickly into the background as they simply employ the talents they are given to the best of their ability and are welcomed into the joy of their master.
However, the third servant is not guilty of doing too little with the master’s wealth or not being faithful enough. He is guilty of doing nothing at all, and it is his confession about the master which takes center stage. He says, “I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.” This is markedly different from the first two slaves, who rightly knew the master. They served him dutifully and without fear. But this servant does not really know his master, does not trust him, and, perhaps most importantly, seems to see himself as unfit for the master’s possessions. As a result, he simply buries the talent in the ground.
But this servant does not really know his master, does not trust him, and, perhaps most importantly, seems to see himself as unfit for the master’s possessions.
In preaching this text, it is best to get ahead of your hearers who will already be making connections regarding talents and servants and the master. Jeffrey Gibbs, in his commentary on this text, offers some insightful and helpful guidance. He says:
“This parable is not an attempt to pose and answer a quantitative question: Based on the talents I have, how many more do I need to gain? Nor a comparative question: What does it mean to serve faithfully enough? The danger is not that a disciple would not try hard enough or be productive enough. It is that somehow, the disciple would lose sight of the Master’s character and his own identity and not serve at all.”[1]
The question which then comes to the fore is the Master’s character, something the third servant has completely missed. And this is the danger our listeners continue to face. Do they know who their Master is? Do they see themselves as slaves of this particular Master? This ought to be the focus of your preaching. The goal is to dispel their weak imagination of a petty and angry Master, one detached from their reality and struggles. They will try again and again to return to the Law as a measure of their inclusion in the Master’s blessings. Your proclamation must not be about their performance but about the one thing that truly matters: Christ alone is their Master. And this Master has purchased them and made them His servants.
The objective in preaching this text is to turn your congregation’s focus away from their works, away from what they have done with the talents entrusted. It is to focus squarely on the Master who called them in the first place, who gave to all of them, each according to their ability. It is to encourage them to live as servants of such a Master, trusting always in His grace and mercy.
God bless your preaching!
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Matthew 25: 14-30.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 25: 14-30.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
[1] Gibbs, Jeffrey. Concordia Commentary Series: Matthew 21:1-28:20. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2018. 1337-1338.
