The Stewardship of Life – Luke 19:11-27
By David Woods
Someone has written, “The only thing we have to fear is not doing something about the fear we have.”[1] Someone else said, “The highway of fear is the shortest route to defeat.”[2] Yet another person wrote, “Those who fear the future are likely to fumble the present.”[3]
The parable we are studying today is called “The Parable of the Pounds.” This story is very similar, yet quite different from “The Parable of the Talents”, which probably is more well known than the story we are studying today.
Therefore, I think it is important to compare and contrast the two parables so that we might have a clear understanding of what our parable includes and what it does not include.
Discussion: Compare and contrast Luke19:11-27 to Matthew 25:14-30.
(Teacher: Use a chalkboard or blackboard. Divide it into two sections, one for each parable. List every element of each parable, drawing connecting lines for similar elements. Page 61 of the teacher’s quarterly lists several differences between the two parables.)
The context of this parable is that Jesus and His disciples were drawing close to Jerusalem. Everyone expected the Kingdom of God to be established very soon.
Discussion: What is the significance in that the nobleman (typifying Jesus) went away to receive his kingdom?
Discussion: If Jesus is the nobleman, who then are the servants?
“The word that is translated pounds is the Greek word mina. The mina was worth 100 drachmas. One drachma was equivalent to a day’s wage. Therefore, the nobleman gave the servants an amount that was worth a little more than three months’ wages.”[4]
Discussion: What might the one pound given to each of the servants signify?
Often, when discussing the Parable of the Talents, Christians talk about the special gifts we have been born with – our talents.
Yet, the word talent was a word for an amount of money, a much larger amount of money than the pound. As a result, I think many Christians miss the point of that parable.
I could be wrong, but I think some Christians think they are not talented at all – at least in a way that they can be used of God. Therefore, I think some Christians disregard the Parable of the Talents because they don’t think it applies to them.
While in the Parable of the Talents the servants are given differing amounts of money, however, in both parables the servants are given money.
Discussion: What, in essence, has each servant been given?
(They have all been given a responsibility to fulfill.)
Discussion: Let’s assume the typical wage was $5.50 an hour, the typical work week was 40 hours long, and three months spanned 13 full work weeks. In this example, each of the servants in our parable would have been given $2,860.00. If you were given $2,860.00 to invest however you desired, do you think you could make a profit from it?
Discussion: What are some ways you might invest this money?
Discussion: One servant gained ten pounds from his one pound; another gained five pounds from his one pound. What lesson might this suggest?
Discussion: Why did the one servant fail to invest his money? Did he have too little to do anything with?
Discussion: This unfaithful servant spoke of his fear of his master. Shouldn’t his fear have resulted in action? Why did his fear paralyze him?
Discussion: Explain how you imagine this servant’s fear manifested itself.
The lesson comments on verses twenty and twenty-one apply this scripture saying, “… This excuse is often given today. People are afraid to witness because they are afraid they will not be accepted. People are afraid to serve in various offices in the church because they are afraid others will not be impressed with their abilities.”[5]
Discussion: Why did this nobleman expect his servants to use his money to gain him more? How might we apply this spiritually?
Discussion: Why did the nobleman give the unfaithful servant’s pound to the servant with ten pounds? Was that fair?
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Discussion: What does this scripture teach us about our relationship with Christ?
(Christ owns us, having purchased us with His blood He shed on the Cross. Therefore, everything we have, from money to time to skills to abilities and beyond, belongs to Christ. We should especially note that “being saved” is not just about us receiving a gift from God. Rather, it includes the total surrender of ourselves to Christ.)
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
Discussion: What does this scripture teach us about how we are saved? What does this scripture teach us about our purpose as followers of Christ?
It is my opinion that we have made too great a distinction between the call to salvation and the call to service. God’s call to salvation includes a call to service.
In the first three chapters of Ephesians the apostle Paul talks about the wonderful benefits of salvation. In chapter four, verse 1, he writes, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called” (English Standard Version).
This scripture is not written just to full-time preachers, evangelists, missionaries, or Christian school teachers. Rather, this scripture is written to all believers. And to all believers, Paul says that we have been called … and that we must walk in a way that is worthy of our calling.
Discussion: How do you view the Christian life, primarily as a free gift that you can do with as you want or as responsibility you have been entrusted with by God?
Big Idea: The Christian must be faithful to live out God’s calling on his life.
Max Lucado, a popular Christian author, has written, “Fear doesn't want you to make the journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”[6]
Discussion: Have you been allowing fear to keep you from doing something that you feel God wants you to do? What is it that you have not done? Can you truly be faithful to God’s calling while refusing to do whatever it is? What commitment to God should you make right now?