Monday Devo
Scripture Reading:
Luke 19:11-19
11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’
17 “ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
19 “ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’
17 “ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
19 “ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
Commentary:
19:11 The key to the meaning of this parable is given at the beginning. Jesus gave the parable in response to those who supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. This was probably a concern especially because he was near to Jerusalem, where expectations of a political messiah may have been extra high. The parable will show that the kingdom will not be seen in its fullness until Christ returns; it begins in a small way and grows gradually until then (cf. 13:18–21).
19:12 To receive for himself a kingdom means to receive authority over a kingdom. The kingdom that he is going to receive is not the far country to which he is traveling but the land from which he started out. Into a “far country” implies that the return of the nobleman (i.e., the second coming of the Son of Man) will not take place immediately. Luke’s readers should not be troubled over this delay, because Jesus had already taught that he would not return immediately. From here to the end of the Gospel, Luke frequently emphasizes the kingship of Jesus.
19:13 The rounded number ten shows that Jesus’ parable applies to all his disciples, not just the Twelve. Minas were about three months’ wages for a laborer, about 100 drachmas. “Until I come” refers to the time between Jesus’ ascension and return at the end of the age. Engage in business until I come is one of several examples where Jesus uses business activity in a positive way in his parables and teachings (however, Gk. pragmateuomai, “do business, trade, be engaged in a business,” occurs only here in the NT). Though the main point of the parable is stewardship rather than business per se, the NT in general (as is the case here) views work and business activity in a positive way (see Matt. 25:14–30; Luke 10:7; 19:13–23; Col. 3:23–4:1; James 4:13–15), but also as an area where there are substantial temptations to sin (see Matt. 6:19–21; 1 Tim. 6:9–10) and to exploit others (James 5:1–6).
19:14 His citizens represents the Jews who hated Jesus. sent a delegation. This image would be familiar to the Jews since they had sent delegations to Rome protesting some of their local rulers.
19:15 When he returned represents the time of Jesus’ second coming.
19:16 your mina has made ten minas more. An unusually high return in real life, indicating unusual wisdom and faithfulness on the part of the servant.
19:17 Well done, good servant! faithful in a very little. Cf. Luke 16:10. you shall have authority over ten cities. Faithful carrying out of stewardship responsibilities in this life will result in being given greater responsibility and stewardship in the life to come. This is one of a number of passages that teach degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven.
19:12 To receive for himself a kingdom means to receive authority over a kingdom. The kingdom that he is going to receive is not the far country to which he is traveling but the land from which he started out. Into a “far country” implies that the return of the nobleman (i.e., the second coming of the Son of Man) will not take place immediately. Luke’s readers should not be troubled over this delay, because Jesus had already taught that he would not return immediately. From here to the end of the Gospel, Luke frequently emphasizes the kingship of Jesus.
19:13 The rounded number ten shows that Jesus’ parable applies to all his disciples, not just the Twelve. Minas were about three months’ wages for a laborer, about 100 drachmas. “Until I come” refers to the time between Jesus’ ascension and return at the end of the age. Engage in business until I come is one of several examples where Jesus uses business activity in a positive way in his parables and teachings (however, Gk. pragmateuomai, “do business, trade, be engaged in a business,” occurs only here in the NT). Though the main point of the parable is stewardship rather than business per se, the NT in general (as is the case here) views work and business activity in a positive way (see Matt. 25:14–30; Luke 10:7; 19:13–23; Col. 3:23–4:1; James 4:13–15), but also as an area where there are substantial temptations to sin (see Matt. 6:19–21; 1 Tim. 6:9–10) and to exploit others (James 5:1–6).
19:14 His citizens represents the Jews who hated Jesus. sent a delegation. This image would be familiar to the Jews since they had sent delegations to Rome protesting some of their local rulers.
19:15 When he returned represents the time of Jesus’ second coming.
19:16 your mina has made ten minas more. An unusually high return in real life, indicating unusual wisdom and faithfulness on the part of the servant.
19:17 Well done, good servant! faithful in a very little. Cf. Luke 16:10. you shall have authority over ten cities. Faithful carrying out of stewardship responsibilities in this life will result in being given greater responsibility and stewardship in the life to come. This is one of a number of passages that teach degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven.
Questions:
- Brandon opened up on Sunday by talking about how amazing verse by verse teaching has been for his faith and how crucial it is, not just for adults, but for our kids as well. Between studying scripture, the City 7, Table Talk... our kids are having every opportunity to develop a kind of faith that is built to withstand literally everything else in their lives that is trying to tear them away. How have you seen YOUR faith and love/appreciation for scripture grow in the past year or so? For parents, have you seen any growth in your kids?
- The first point from Sunday was that the FAITHFUL will be REWARDED. This is speaking of the first two servants who faithfully invested the master's money, earned a return, and were rewarded. Jesus describes a time when He will return to judge believers on what they did with what they had been given. This is the Bema seat that Brandon described; a time in the future when BELIEVERS will be judged for the time they spent on earth. We are here to build something eternal. The end is coming, and when it does, every material thing you have in this world will burn. Everything you have ever done will be tested and sifted like wheat. Every earthly treasure or possession, all the money, power, sports trophies for kids... all of it will blow away like chaff. Only eternal things will remain. What will be left when your life is sifted? How might your decisions change if you were truly ONLY living for eternity?
Pray:
- That you would live for eternity.
- That you would develop a deeper faith in Jesus.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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