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So, if I get to go to heaven simply by trusting Jesus for forgiveness, and if this discipleship-thing is so demanding, why go to all the trouble? Sure, it might make me a “better person,” but I’d rather do my own thing. And, if we’re Christians, we’re all going to end up in the same place anyway. Yeah, a really committed Christian might get a few extra perks, but the difference is not really much of a big deal, right?

Not exactly. Actually, not even close.

Aside from the audacity of rejecting portions of the offer of the Christ, and aside from the foolishness of choosing to work things out on our own – aside from that, there are ramifications. 

Significant ramifications, which Jesus lays out for the disciples in Luke 19. At this point in The Story, the disciples have identified Jesus as the Christ, and are expecting Him to fulfill all the promises about Himself. So it is reasonable that they are looking for Him to take the throne as King. This brings us to Luke 19:11-27.

Jesus and the disciples were nearing Jerusalem, and the disciples were expecting that when they got there, Jesus was going to establish the Kingdom (v. 11).In response, Jesus gives a parable that addresses the arrival of the kingdom – specifically, the disciples’ assumption regarding the timing of the Kingdom

The parable is about a nobleman that goes to a distant country to receive a kingdom. This imagery is based on the political reality of Israel in the First Century, and understanding it is critical. Although there was a king over Israel, his rule was not sovereign, and there was no guarantee of royal succession. Just because daddy was king, didn’t make his son king. Each king served at Rome’s pleasure, his authority granted by Caesar and/or The Senate. In order to receive that authority and become king, the nobleman had to appear in Rome. Having received his authority, he would then return to the realm granted him. There he would take whatever actions that were necessary to assume control, and begin ruling as king, thus establishing his kingdom.

So, in the first sentence of the story, Jesus reveals that the Kingdom is not about to be established. As represented by the nobleman, He must first go and receive the Kingdom – the authority to rule. Afterwards, He will return to assume the throne and establish the Kingdom. Thus, the assumption that He is about to establish the Kingdom is mistaken.

But there is much more that Jesus wants His disciples to know. Rather than just waiting around for the King to set up the Kingdom, they need to understand that there is very much at stake.

And so we meet two other groups of people in the story – the servants of the King, and citizens of His Kingdom who hated him, and rejected Him as King.

This last group, those who reject Him, are easily overlooked but play a significant role. They represent those who don’t acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. At the coming of the King, they are slain – they loose their life, and represent the lost who have no part of the life that Christ offers.

Which brings us to the servants of the King. There are 10 of them and they are each given a mina, the equivalent of about 100 days wages, and told to do business with it until the King returns.

So, what does the mina represent? Well, it is entrusted to the servants by the nobleman, and so, represents all that is entrusted to us by Christ – our possessions, our time, our relationships, our abilities, spiritual gifts, and the Gospel message. All of this has been entrusted to us by Christ to be used for His purposes. And if we bundled all of these things up and put a label on them, that label would read, “My Life”. My life has been entrusted to me by Christ to be used for His agenda.

So, when Jesus, the Christ returns to establish His Kingdom, each of us will be called to give account of how we have invested our trust, and multiplied our lives in the lives of others.

As we look to the possible results of this accounting, we note that, although there were 10 servants, are only three verdicts are recorded. Given the even spacing of these verdicts, it seems best to understand them as representative, showing the range of possible outcomes.

On the high end is the servant who multiplies his mina – his life – ten fold. He takes the risk, commits everything to Christ’s agenda, and receives the maximum return on his investments. For his boldness, he is praised, and given responsibility in the Kingdom commensurate with his demonstrated faithfulness – ten cities.

Next is the servant with a more modest return. He multiplied his mina – his life – five fold. Although it is often assumed that he receives the same praise as the first servant, such praise is not stated in the text. He is simply given responsibility in the Kingdom commensurate with his demonstrated faithfulness – five cities.

Finally, we have the servant who simply returned the mina entrusted to him. He has not multiplied his life in the lives of others. In contrast to the first two, he was motivated by fear and played it “safe”.  The evaluation of this servant is startling. He is rebuked as a worthless servant, and where the other servants were assigned cities to rule over, he gets nothing. Even what was been entrusted to him is taken away and given to the servant who produced the maximum return. Although he is a servant of Christ, distinct from those citizens who are rejected Christ’s rule, he will have no role in the Kingdom.

It is in this last servant that the parable reaches its climax. Jesus devotes almost half of the parable to him.

The warning is serious and there is much at stake. If we are a faithful servant, using all we have to invest ourselves in the lives of others, we can anticipate praise and honor from Christ. Or, we can continue to pursue life on our own terms, and find ourselves the  object of his strong displeasure.

And with this, we are finally ready to look at The Pleasure of God’s Soul in Hebrews 10.

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