Adonai, & the Parable of the Mina
July 4th, 2007
Priscilla Van Sutphin
Luke 19:9-24
9 And Jesus said to him, Today is [Messianic and spiritual] salvation come to [all the members of] this household, since Zacchaeus too is a [real spiritual] son of Abraham;
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
11 Now as they were listening to these things, He proceeded to tell a parable, because He was approaching Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to be brought to light and shown forth immediately.
12 He therefore said, A certain nobleman went into a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom and then to return. 13 Calling ten of his [own] bond servants, he gave them ten minas [each equal to about one hundred days' wages or nearly twenty dollars] and said to them, Buy and sell with these while I go and then return. 14 But his citizens detested him and sent an embassy after him to say, We do not want this man to become ruler over us.
15 When he returned after having received the kingdom, he ordered these bond servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much each one had made by buying and selling.
16 The first one came before him, and he said, Lord, your mina has made ten [additional] minas. 17 And he said to him, Well done, excellent bond servant! Because you have been faithful and trustworthy in a very little [thing], you shall have authority over ten cities. 18 The second one also came and said, Lord, your mina has made five more minas.
19 And he said also to him, And you will take charge over five cities. 20 Then another came and said, Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief.
21 For I was [constantly] afraid of you, because you are a stern (hard, severe) man; you pick up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.
22 He said to the servant, I will judge and condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked slave! You knew [did you] that I was a stern (hard, severe) man, picking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not put my money in a bank, so that on my return, I might have collected it with interest? 24 And he said to the bystanders, Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas. 25 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas [already]! 26 And [said Jesus,] I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
27 [The indignant king ended by saying] But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!
As I read this the other night, this last verse struck me, and I thought more on the parable.
It comes just after the interaction with Zaccheus who had been restored and said he would repay anyone he cheated 4 X what he had taken. Then it says that Jesus told THIS parable to them because He was about to go up to Jerusalem and because they thought the Kingdom of God would be brought to light soon. So that is the backdrop for this parable. And indeed it is about the Kingdom. It is not just about money. It can be about kingdom finances, and it can also be about FRUITFULNESS of sowing. We are to reproduce ourselves. Kind after like kind. You reap what you sow. But if you sow nothing and only hide your gift from God under a basket or shut it up for yourself, and don’t share it with others, then there is no fruitfulness.
And Jesus said
[The indignant king ended by saying] But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!
That is pretty radical don’t you think for those who take the gospel mildly? He is saying that HE IS LORD. He is the indignant King if we don’t sow and multiply what He has given us, even if it is doubling ourselves, God will be pleased. But He seems to take particular anger in those who do not do anything with what they are given, who bear no fruit. Elsewhere he says that any branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off and thrown in the fire. Here he says, that those who don’t sow are ENEMIES of His, and he will have them slaughtered. WOW. That makes it very clear that the fear of man is a snare doesn’t it ? It also makes it clear that what HE gives to us is to be used to EXPAND HIS KINGDOM and not hoarded to ourselves. You get to give. What you get is to be shared with those who have not, or have less. It is not just to hoard for yourself, to get rich and forget about the poor, or to forget your Maker and Who made it all possible.
