New Thoughts (09/30/10-10/04/10)
At the outset, let me say that this is perhaps the most difficult section I’ve found when it comes to trying to harmonize the Gospels. The version of this parable that we have from Luke, while it bears certain similarities to that from Matthew, is just different enough to make things difficult, and the format of the parable as Luke presents it seems a bit less focused than is typical of Jesus. This much I cannot deny. The added thread relating to the nobleman seeking kingship, being rejected by his people, but appointed none the less seems like it should have been a separate parable entirely, and perhaps it was. Perhaps it was. After all, Luke is working with the memories of those who were there, which memories have a way of conflating events.
Be that as it may, God has His reasons for seeing the parable delivered in this form, as well as in the form we have from Matthew. As to the differences, I think it is clear that, though I am covering the two versions as one, they were delivered on separate occasions, and therefore the focus is marginally different between them. Luke tells us this was a message delivered sometime between leaving Jericho and arriving in Jerusalem. Matthew gives it to us as part of the Olivet Discourse, some days later, when they have already been to Jerusalem and gone back out of town for the night.
In both cases, Jesus is focused (as He ever is) on the kingdom. He is focused, in particular, on shaking these disciples of His free of some misconceptions in that regard. Luke gives us the point in stark relief, where there can be no doubt as to the point of the message. Since those with Him still had this expectation that the kingdom of God would be appearing immediately, Jesus spoke this parable. That’s my rough translation of Luke’s introduction.
It might seem strange, then, that Jesus is delivering the same message to the same people just a few short days later. But, as Peter recognize over time, we are dense. We learn but slowly, and only with much repetition. There’s a reason why educators (at least when they used to educate) tended towards a great deal of rote memorization. It works, as nothing else will. This becomes especially true when we have decided that we know some truth, and must have our thinking corrected. The effect is only amplified when so much of one’s hopes and desires are wrapped up in that truth.
I look at some I know who battle illness, or who have loved ones battling illness. Perhaps somebody somewhere along the line has spoken with claims of God’s own authority, telling them that this will be healed, that God is not willing that His children should suffer. Perhaps they have found some snippet of Scripture that they cling to as a personal promise. Perhaps they are even correct. But, more often than not, these promises are things that an embattled heart has latched onto and told the mind it had best believe if it knows what’s good for it.
Comes the Truth, and the Truth doesn’t happen to accord with what such a one has now enshrined in their being, and it becomes exceedingly difficult for Truth to gain a hearing. Year upon year, this one has convinced him or herself that this is how God is, that disease and suffering are necessarily of the devil and ungodly, and held to this unreasonable and unreasoning hope. God told me! Well, probably not. Probably it was somebody making that claim, some set of circumstances that you interpreted as being a sign from on high, particularly as it so neatly addressed your need. Most likely, that interpretation has colored everything you’ve seen, heard or read since. The Truth is having difficulty getting through because you have set up filters to protect this belief.
This is the great risk we have in coming to Scripture with the certainty of our preconceptions. We must guard ourselves no end, to hear what the Scriptures truly say, not what we would have them say, not what conveniently aligns with what we think we know. That is exactly the impact Romans had on me when I was studying that book. So many of the things I thought I knew as absolute truth in God were turned on their heads when I stopped trying to force that view on the Scripture and let Scripture force its views on me instead.
As to the disciples, consider this. They have this long walk from Jericho to Jerusalem, and Jesus speaks to them about a king departing, leaving things in the hands of his slaves. He speaks also of the way His own people reject Him, even pray to God that God would send somebody more acceptable to rule over them. They more or less hear what He’s saying, but a lot of the implications just fly right past. I can imagine several of them thinking, “I’d better get to work, then. Don’t want to wind up like that last guy!” But, the point about the kingdom being well in the future? Zoom! Right over their heads.
Now, as they go onward, I can imagine the competitive nature of these guys really working over that parable. Look, this guy got tenfold return and he gets to rule ten cities. That’s for me, boy! But, you Andrew, he’s got a better head for business than I do. Or Matthew! Shoot, the guy was an accountant. If anybody here knows how to turn a profit, I’m sure he would. So, what am I gonna be left with? And slowly, the excitement of kingdom prospects is replaced by disillusionment, because they’ve gone off point.
So, on Olivet, Jesus more or less repeats the lesson, but He’s changed the focus. The business about the King’s rejection is gone. He’s still giving example after example about how He’ll be gone from the scene for awhile, and what His disciples should be doing in the meanwhile. But, in relaying this parable, there’s a slight shift of focus. It’s as though He’s noticed that despair creeping in on His disciples, so He wants to clarify one aspect of that earlier message. No, no! It’s not about who can get the most bang for the buck! It’s about doing your part. Look! God considers your qualities when He assigns your tasks. You’re not in competition with one another here. That’s not the issue. Just use what you’ve been given. Keep the kingdom foremost in your sight. That’s all. Don’t be a sluggard.
Over and over and over, Jesus is drumming in this point that there’s going to be a long period before there’s any kingdom that they can look at and say, “Ah! All that we’ve worked so hard for has finally come to pass!” This whole Olivet discourse seems zeroed in on that point. Jesus keeps saying He’s going away, they won’t see Him any longer, yet He’ll still be with them. He’ll send help. Over and over again, the message is delivered. But, the disciples are convinced of a different truth and just plain don’t want to hear it. So they don’t. How firmly are they committed to misconstruing this matter? Even with Jesus dead and restored to life, they haven’t heard it. He comes back from the grave, appearing hear and there to His own that they might be convinced of Truth, and when He calls them together for instructions and tells them to stay put in Jerusalem for a bit, what’s the first question they have for Him? “Hey! You going to be taking the throne at that point, then?” (Ac 1:6). Right back to it! Just can’t shake these guys of this idea, no matter how many times they’re taught.
Is it any wonder that Peter, when reality finally forced him to rethink that whole kingdom now business, recognized the need to repeat the Truth over and over and over? Sheep! They’re so dense! You tell them again and again that those thickets are dangerous and the grass here is good, and still they go off into the weeds every time. You’ve just got to keep after them. Or, take the parental example. Kids! They’re so cock sure of themselves. You try and impart wisdom, and they’re just bound and determined that in the fullness of their maturity at 16, 17, whatever, they know so much more than you. Of course, you knew just as much when you were 16 or 17, but still. You just wish you could break through their dense skulls and get them to realize that, too! Yeah, I’ve been where you are. I was like you. I was wrong. Can’t you get that? No. But, dear parent, keep making the point. Eventually, it’ll register.
OK, enough for introductions. I’m not going to focus terribly much on the differences between the accounts. I’m far more concerned with considering certain of the details of these accounts, to ensure that I’m taking away from the parable – in both its forms – what God would have me to take away.
In both cases, as the story develops, the focus rests on that one man. In one version, he is the one who received only one talent, the least of what was entrusted. In the other, he is but one of ten men, each entrusted with the same amount. But, he is another man. That word another is worthy of a bit of consideration. The description of this word, as it lies in the Greek text, indicates that this is not meant to say, just one more out of those ten. No, he is not another in number, at least not in number alone. He is another completely. He is ‘not of the same nature’. He is different. He is another kind of man, another class of slave.
This otherness is quite apparent, and it is not just in his profitability. Let’s start with this, all of the men we are talking about here are presented as slaves. They are subjected men. They have a master, and, lest we forget the import of that, their master owns them as surely as he owns the funds he is entrusting to them. Don’t lose sight of that. They are property of the one commanding them. Now, consider those commendable ones. From Matthew’s account, we see them ‘immediately’ going to work doing just what they were told to do. Now, to be fair, I don’t suppose that either of those two Matthew speaks of had turned 100% profit ‘immediately’. That’s not the point. The point is that they were instant in obedience. They obeyed on earth as it is done in heaven. No questioning the orders, no sense of “I’ll get to it when I can.” They were ordered and they acted.
Switching to Luke’s variant, the increase that these men achieve is even more stunning – tenfold for the first man, fivefold for the next. These returns indicate a strong effort put into the job they were given. That’s probably all we need take from the numbers. The numbers aren’t the point. The obedience that led to the numbers is. This is the thing common to the two parables. Those whom the master returns and finds having clearly worked to obey his command, he is pleased with. Their loyalty commends them. Indeed, their loyalty is rewarded with responsibilities that I would suspect were beyond the range of expectation for a slave. To be ‘put in charge of many things’, yes, I can see that. Even in the record of Joseph’s life in Egypt we see that, and this idea of a trustworthy slave being given surprising degrees of authority in the house certainly continued under Roman culture, particularly with so many away in foreign lands. Somebody had to run the house while they were gone! Somebody had to carry on the family business. But, then Luke’s version ups the ante. Given charge over cities - real authority! Wow! What slave, however diligent in his efforts, could ever have dreamed of such reward?
Then, we are struck by the otherness of that one. He has done absolutely nothing to fulfill the order received. Now, Matthew does not speak of any actual command. They were just given funds. Were it not for the size of those funds, we might suppose it was intended for them to live on in the master’s absence, but there is something else implied with that much being handed over. This is for business. It is expected to be invested and there is expectation of return. Now, I would note from Matthew, that this other slave hadn’t missed the point. He understood business, as his master pursued it. In short, he knew what was expected of him. He just didn’t do it. From Luke, the command is more plainly stated. Go, do business with this. Trade with it. Make me a profit. With that in sight, the disobedience of the slave is more apparent.
From both accounts, we might be struck (especially if our eyes are upon the kingdom) by the description this disobedient slave gives of his master. After all, we understand that it is our own Lord and Savior that is in sight in the master of the parable. And, what does this cur say of our loving King? “I know what you’re like. You’re a hard man, inhuman even! You are so focused on your profits that you lack all feeling for your fellow man.” This, I would note, after hearing the joy he had in those other two slaves. “You’re usurious! You’re intent on taking. Doesn’t matter to you if you’ve done anything to earn it, all the better if you haven’t.” Wow! Can you imagine being that wrong about God, that you would accuse Him of the very characteristics He has repeatedly insisted should not be found amongst His people?
That is the degree of shock we ought to have at this man’s purported knowledge. Yet, I tell you it is so terrifyingly common! How many are doing exactly this with the way they choose to present God today? How many do we hear insisting that the Scriptures teach acceptance of the very things it clearly denounces as great sins against heaven? ‘They shall declare evil as good, the darkness as light.’ It happens all around us. I suspect, though we are ever so diligent to be faithful and true to the God Who Is Faithful and True, that we are often guilty of the exact same thing. We insist we know His character, and yet the character we claim as His is flawed. In short, we have a bad habit of trying to humanize God so we might be just a little bit more comfortable with Him.
You think not? Then, my friend, how is it that sin continues among us? If we truly held God to be Who He truly is, I cannot imagine we would dare! How many times have you heard the command of God, be it to cease from some sinful habit or to be active in pursuit of some kingdom purpose, and put it off? Some of those things, I say with fear and sorrow, I know I have put off over and over again. I’ll get to it, Lord, someday. But, not today. For today, let me stay my own course. What kind of fool am I?
We have this terrible sense of our own independence. Sheep gone astray, what could possibly describe us better? We are, even we who have a pretty dim view of free will, convinced of our free will none the less. We are convinced that, whatever God says to the contrary, we can go about doing pretty much as we please. But, over and over, the Scriptures tell us we are His slaves, His servants, His property! He paid a price so steep to obtain us as goes beyond all imagining. And, still we see no reason why we ought to snap to it more immediately when He commands.
Repeatedly in recent days, as I’ve listened to a series of messages from R. C. Sproul, I’ve heard him point out that what God delivered to Moses was the Ten Commandments, not the ten suggestions. But, that’s the way we hear it, even we who feel ourselves earnest men of faith. Truth be told, when it’s just us, no brothers about, we tend to slide back into obeying just those commandments we find amenable. If they’re troubling, annoying or even just mildly inconvenient at the moment, well; God doesn’t really mind it all that much, does He?
Yes, He does. And to suppose Him otherwise is to fail of grasping His character every bit as much as this slave we so rightly find reprehensible in the parable before us. That is, perhaps, exactly what we are expected to lay hold of from this parable. It’s certainly a message the Apostles took with them into their new labors. They got it! They were proud of it – in a good way. I, Paul, bond-slave of Jesus. Yes, I am an apostle, though least worthy to be so of all who can make that claim. Yes, I am on a mission from God. But, I am a slave to my Lord. I don’t preach because I find it a nice way to earn a living. I preach because I am compelled to. I am commanded to. Never mind called. Understanding that God calls us to our task is well and good, even necessary to be mindful of. But, it’s not just that He calls us, and asks us if it would convenient on Sunday next to go to this place and deliver a message for Him. No! He is the Sovereign King! You are His servant. He has no need to ask after your interest in the matter. He commands. Your task, at that point, is to go and do.
This is something I find myself focusing on whenever the Lord’s Prayer is being recited. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I tend to hear that more as, Thy will be done by me as it is in heaven, which is, I believe, how it should be understood. But, then, the thought must proceed one step further. How is His will done in heaven? Exactly as I have just described it: Immediately and without question. This is what that prayer is getting at. God, so will and work in me that I can begin to obey You with that alacrity.
Indeed, I commit myself yet again to do just that to the utmost of my own pitiful ability, to do what I may to make your effort in so shaping me a bit easier. I join myself with You in this effort not because You require my permission, but because I am truly desirous of seeing Your will accomplished.
That other slave, what a poor conception he has of his master. He sees only an inhuman, emotionlessness. He sees only that this man wants to have profit without personal effort, that when it comes to matters of profit, nothing else matters at all to this master. Now, it is imperative that one remember we are talking about the kingdom of heaven here, and if it is that kingdom, then the one gone to be crowned king is none other than Jesus. It is Jesus against whom this slave hurls such descriptions. If that doesn’t shock us, it certainly should.
Let me put that in fullest perspective. It may be taking the parable farther than it ought strictly to go, but I think it will be worthwhile. If the master is Jesus, who is this slave, if not a Christian? So, what we are seeing in this other slave is one who belongs to Christ and yet is so completely off in his understanding of who Christ is that he will not, in the end, be saved. We might term that Christian in name only, to follow the popular trend in politics.
What I’m driving at is this: here we have one who calls himself a believer in God, whose sense of who God is borders on criminal. That he could accuse God of, for all intents and purposes, practicing usury! God, Who taught His people that such practices were intolerable! How can it be that this slave has so wholly misconstrued his master as to find in it reason to do very nearly the opposite of what was commanded? Then comes that most chilling of verdicts. It is because it is so chilling that I have deemed it the key verse to lay hold of in the parable. “You say you know me? I will judge you according to your own understanding, then.”
Oh, God! May it never be!
That is, to me, a most terrible thought, particularly in the case laid before us. You think God wrathful, unloving, just looking for an excuse to squash you like a bug? Well, here’s the really bad news! If that’s what you thought of Him, it simply makes you all the more guilty for not doing anything to avoid His wrath! If you knew that He was that mercilessly wrathful against sin, why did you not stop sinning? Your actions were already sinful enough, and now, by what you claim you understand, you make them that much more reprehensible, for your claimed understanding leaves these actions no other interpretation than that of open rebellion against the Sovereign God of all.
Now, while I find this particular misconception to be particularly terrible, the truth is that we all have certain misconceptions about God. However perfectly we think we know Him, the reality remains that we know in part, we see but dimly, we are finite beings looking into the infinite and trust me, it is beyond our capacity to comprehend it. What we know of God is because God is gracious. He has, as that marvelous word bespeaks, stooped down to us, accommodated us, gone to great lengths to lower Himself to our level at least to the extent that we can know Him, even if it be in part. He has made Himself known to us! That’s the greatest thing! He has made Himself known to us, and in doing so, He has made absolutely certain that we can lay hold not only of His sovereignty and power (not as things to use, but as characteristics to be aware of), but also so that we can lay hold of His love and His mercy! He has made plain that His is a character in perfect and beautiful balance. He is never too much of any aspect. He is never to little of any aspect. His mercy and His justice stand in perfect proportion. His love and His wrath, with either of which He ceases to be God, find their purest expression together in Him, neither one taken beyond its proper bound, neither one ever acting without the other.
Can you grasp that? In God, love never acts without wrath, and wrath most certainly never acts without love. Likewise, justice and mercy. Neither is present except the other is right there along with it. It may seem, from our perspective, that one of the pair is, if present at all, merely there as an observer, but then, our perspective is, as I have said, finite, limited. But, in God, there is no limit. In God, the whole of His every characteristic is ever present, ever active, ever in perfect balance and unity with every other aspect of His marvelous character.
In this light, we do well to pay heed to what Matthew tells us of the setup for this situation. God, Jesus, the Master, gave to each ‘according to his own ability’ (v15). He did not give any one of us more to do than we are able. In some circles, you may hear this concept spoken of in terms of, “Whom God commands, He empowers.” That’s doubtless true so far as it goes. I would, as I seem to be inclined to do with so many views, prefer to reverse the order. Whom He empowers, He commands. It’s not as though He finds some form of entertainment in commanding us to the impossible, watching us struggle with it for a time, and then, when we’ve all but given up, coming along with the solution. That’s such a terrible way to misconstrue our God as to nearly match the failure of the slave who failed in this parable!
No! God imparts gifts, and then calls us to use them. I’m going to be back to that point very shortly, but right now, I want to stay on this character issue. The point Matthew makes is that God did not give any one of these men any more than he could handle. Neither, we might add, did He give them any less. This was an exercise, after all. To exercise with one ounce weights will hardly benefit the man, will it? No! He needs to work the weight he can handle.
This, too, stands as something of a condemnation against us if we reject the call He makes. Oh, trust me, I know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But, let me ask you this: If our habit is to ignore His command, dare we to suppose we are in Him? “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” How does that square? Personally, I find this to be cause for great concern, even if I allow that I can stop short of condemnation on the matter.
I have got to become convinced of this marvelous truth that is buried in the parable. He gave only what they could handle. He gives me only what I can handle. However often I say to Him that I cannot take any more (and believe me, that’s very often!) I have never once been right in saying so. He has proven to me over and over that yes, I can handle what I have been assigned. Yes, I can bear up. Yes, I can accomplish. This is nothing to boast of, nor do I. It’s just exercise. It’s God training. It’s preparation for harder missions to come.
Let me say again that, as this understanding sinks in, it becomes less and less excusable that I so often kick against the command of God. Yes. I do that. There are places where He tells me to be firm that I find difficult to be firm in. There are things He says to let go of that my fingers still clutch to. There are places where the anxiousness that He condemns as a sinful lack of trust in Him yet holds sway. There is, if nothing else, that matter of the Great Commission, that command to bear fruit. Honestly, were you to cut off both my hands at the wrist, I could still count the times I have gone out to personally evangelize an unbeliever on the fingers of one. No, I don’t say that proudly. I say it with a certain degree of fear and trepidation, however many ways I’ve found to excuse myself for that fact. He has given me no mission beyond that which He has already equipped me to handle. So, what’s my problem? At this point, I need to stop for the day, but it’s a worthwhile thought to chew on, and I doubt not that He will appoint me time to do so.
[10/02/10] With men’s group coming up swiftly this morning, I still want to take the opportunity to look at this selection of verses that come to us as paralleling the passage at hand. Let me emphasize, as I turn to them briefly, that the focus in these parables is not on the quantity invested, but in the appropriateness of what was invested – each according to his ability. Keep that thought in mind, and then consider these points. We each have different gifts, those gifts which God’s grace has given us (Ro 12:6). Let me add the refrain: each according to his ability. God has given us gifts that perfectly befit our capacity to use them, not in any way beyond what we can handle and what we can use wisely. Therefore, Paul is able to continue, “So let us exercise those gifts accordingly!” Elsewhere he writes, “The One Spirit of God is at work in all this, giving to each individual as He wills” (1Co 12:11). You see, to each of us grace was given, each one receiving the measure of Christ’s gift that suits (Eph 4:7). And Peter joins in. “Each of us has received a gift. This gift we should be using to serve each other as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1Pe 4:10).
This is a beautiful depiction of how life in the body of the church is to be. Each with his particular part to contribute, each seeing to it that what he can contribute he does, and he does so as will best benefit the whole of that church body. There is no competition here. There is no jealousy, no envy. This is the body working as a body. There is nothing in it of me wishing I could be doing his job or him thinking he’d be better at doing mine. Each doing what God set him there to do, that’s all. Of course, this will require of us that we actually take time to consider just what it is God has invested in us as well as how we may best put that to use in support of His kingdom. But, the result! Marvelous!
All that being said, though, I think that reinforces a misperception of the mention of talents. Talents, in this text, are not particular abilities of a given individual. There may indeed be reasonable application of the parable to those abilities we have, but that is not, in the end, what the parable is about. Talents, as becomes more clear by the use of the mina in Luke’s variant, are monetary units. They are assets, if you will, and this is where the parable is truly focused.
Let me translate the picture into the kingdom setting that it is intended to point out to us. We have a king gone to take the crown of his kingdom. This is none other than Jesus and His impending return to heaven to take up the crown for which He was born. In the meantime, He is leaving this kingdom which is His by right, and in His absence, He has left His slaves to run the business of His kingdom and to do so profitably.
What are these resources He has left us, that we are to be investing on His behalf? I would venture to suggest that the greatest investment He has made in us is that Gospel message itself, the great good news of Salvation. More directly, the profit of that message is the ones who are saved. If the promised business of His disciples is fishing for men, then clearly it is the souls of men that He is looking at as profit, those saved from the enslavement of sin. This is the message for the disciples.
Let me try a more blunt exposition. “I AM is going away for a time and leaving you in charge of the day to day operations. I don’t know when I’ll be back, nor will you know until I return. In the meantime, I’m counting on you to not only maintain the place, but to increase its value. That is my command to you, to do the King’s business in My absence. Go therefore and make disciples…”
That is what the parable is about, it’s a picture of the whole span of the Church age, if you care to divide time by such categories. Look at those three categories of people that are shown in Luke’s account. There are those who prove faithful even in the absence of the Lord. There are those who, while not faithful to His command are at least not openly opposed to Him. Then there are those who are rightfully His own citizens who have actively sought to overthrow His rule even before it’s properly begun.
Now, much is made of this third crowd, and efforts are expended in trying to explain what historical event Jesus is alluding to here. Certainly, there is historical precedent in Israel for just such behavior towards those whom Rome has imposed upon them. Whatever that precedent, however, it is His own kingdom that Jesus is looking at, and His own impending trip home to receive the crown of the kingdom. Who, then, are these citizens who hate Him so that they even cry out to God to send some other Messiah? The obvious culprits would seem to be those Sadducees and Pharisees who have so vocally and physically opposed the ministry. I think, however, the picture is larger.
I would maintain that these rebels represent all who reject the Gospel. We are told that at the last, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. But, nowhere is it implied that all who do so shall do so willingly or gladly. No, there are those who will find it impossible, however much they might like to have refused, those who are forced to their knees in confession. These same are the ones who will find no escape from that final judgment at the throne of the One True Lord and King. These are the goats, those who will go from heaven’s courtroom into eternal judgment. Indeed, looking back at the text, I see that the parable of the sheep and the goats comes immediately on the heels of this parable, explaining by its inclusion exactly what Luke’s version explains by the enemies of the king. Oh, they shall be ruled by this King they would not have, and they shall find it most onerous.
This should lead us to a clearer, if more disturbing, picture of who that other slave represents. Here, again, I think the key to who that slave is lies in the conclusion the parable draws. “From the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” OK, so let’s be honest. There is absolutely no way in which that sentence can be taken literally. For, if he has nothing, there is nothing to take away and, if there is something yet to be taken from him, then he had something. Given that this is so, I do not feel it would be incorrect to modify one word to make sense of the whole, thus: “even what he thinks he has shall be taken away.”
Here, I think, we are actually seeing the scribes and Pharisees and their ilk. Why? Because a large part of the problem with that other slave is that his whole sense of the Master is so wholly incorrect. Looking upon a merciful God, they see only wrathful vengeance. Looking at Hope, they see only cause for fear. The God they think to please by their efforts, the God they think they are able to explain (and they alone!) is so completely different from their understanding as to be unrecognizable in their description of Him. They see a harsh taskmaster, where there is really a loving Lord. They see a tyrant waiting for an excuse to punish, where in reality there is a Father waiting for a reason to forgive, indeed providing a reason for Himself.
But, this is not the end of the image. The Pharisees are not alone in this error. Indeed, the type persists even to this day. In some sense, this is what’s left when one removes the ‘church within the church’ the portion within that invisible boundary that demarks the true believers from those who claim the title of Christian without any real commitment to Christianity. You know the type. They come because it is socially acceptable. They come because it is seen as a way to further one’s business or political interests to be seen as a member. They come, perhaps, because it’s a pretty safe place to seek a date. They come for any number of reasons, and they stay for any number of reasons. They stay, and to our eyes, they probably even seem sincere in their faith. Yet, the message of this parable is that they are not. They may even think they are, but their faith is not in God, it’s in some idol manufactured from their own wants and imaginations, to which they have applied a cheep label claiming that the idol is indeed God. But, it is not nor can it ever be. God is Who He says He Is and He will not be otherwise for any man.
So, we find John speaking of those ‘went out from us, but they were not of us’ (1Jn 2:19). My! They had been in the house of God, under the discipling of one of the very Apostles, and yet, they were not hearing, not learning. They were seeking opportunity, they were seeking to make a name for themselves by association. So, they ‘went out from us.’ How should that be understood? Is it simply that they finally couldn’t maintain the charade any longer, and left? Well, John is talking about the antichrist spirit in that portion of his letter, and I don’t think that spirit is inclined to just depart and leave the true believers alone. No, that spirit is bent on the destruction of Truth. In order to do so, he will cover himself in that same Truth he hopes to destroy, changing but a thread or two in hopes of deceiving those who would cling to Truth. His lies are cleverly constructed to avoid detection. Having an apostolic blessing upon his departure would give such a one great credibility in the Church, wouldn’t it?
Yet, the conclusion the Apostle delivers is that ‘they were not of us.’ Whatever their appearance, the reality is that they never believed, they never cared for the Truth at all. Whatever it was they worshiped when they were in the house, it wasn’t God. Whatever it is that they are promoting now, it isn’t God.
I have no doubt that any one of us who has been around the church for awhile has known somebody that fits this picture. They were, perhaps, serving God’s people well, so far as we knew. By our lights, they were true men and women of God, clearly devoted to Him. And yet, they are gone. No, I’m not discussing those who, as I find myself having to do, depart because they are called, for whatever purpose, to take up residence among a different portion of God’s people. Granted, many do this on the most frivolous of excuses, but there are real reasons to do so, and there are even real reasons to do so that do not require that those departing denounce what they departed, nor that those who remain denounce those who depart. That’s not what’s in view here. I’m talking about those who, after years of apparent faith, even apparently very active faith, are no longer to be found in any house of God. They may even be seen actively opposing God’s work of a sudden, and the people of God are shocked and dismayed! They are shocked and dismayed, mostly, because it occurs to them that if this one could fall away, why so could they! It could have been me! Oh, the fear that comes in such a thought! It is that fear that John is addressing in his own flock. No! They did not fall away. They were never of us! They left precisely so that this would become obvious to you.
This is one category to which we might apply the image of this other slave, and with such an image in mind, it is more reasonable, perhaps, to see him consigned to the place of the rebels, to join them in their punishment. But, allow the image to go one step further. There is another trait in this other slave which sets him apart from his fellows. Those others not only show no evidence of having misconceptions about the Master, but they treat Him as the Master. They obey! They obey in this most critical of operations. They have been left to increase the kingdom in the King’s absence, and they have gone to it with great effort!
Again, I don’t really think we are called to get caught up in the contest of chasing profits, even in this spiritual sense. But, look at those profits! Threefold, Fivefold, Tenfold! What investment firm would not be anxious to hire an investor that could gin up such returns? More importantly, what sort of effort do you suppose these men went to that they did generate such returns? These are active believers, out doing what the Lord has given them to do, spreading the kingdom with every footstep.
Now, I confess that, thinking in this light, I find myself really wanting to say that this is more than simply a matter of evangelism. I find myself leery of reaching such a conclusion, though, because I fear it would be nothing more than making excuses. Yet, there is that larger sense of a life displaying the fruits of the Spirit, a life lived as evidence of this King of kings Who saved us, Who by His own sovereign choosing now indwells us. If He is truly within, how can there possibly be no change without?
I must force myself to consider this, however much I would prefer not to. “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” Yes, we accept this as Truth. And yet, what does that Truth say of us, of me? What is the corollary to this statement, the elliptical application? “If you don’t keep My commands, you don’t love Me.” Shouldn’t I hear that echo of what Jesus says? If you are not doing as I have told you, you are clearly not My sheep. If you are not staying away from those things I have commanded you to avoid, how then are you My servant? How then are you yet so bold as to come into My presence?
Maybe I’m not alone in this. Maybe it’s the common state of every believer down through the ages, but it seems as though it ought not to be. Maybe, however much we are in God’s hands and being refashioned in His image, we are all such that we see only the remaining blemishes, only the vast number of ways in which we fail of His image. Maybe it is also the common lot of mankind to be forever off in our self evaluations, whether in one direction or the other. If we are not beating ourselves up unnecessarily for our shortcomings, then we are praising ourselves undeservedly for our accomplishments. But, there’s a message in this other slave that I really need to take seriously. What profit am I to the kingdom?
What am I doing with this stuff God has invested in me? I could write that question off, noting how we are rarely given opportunity to see what comes of our efforts. Indeed, I could go a step farther and suggest that we oft-times don’t even know that we’ve made an effort. Oh, yes, there are those who are pushing tracts into every hand that crosses their own. There are those who are out on the street corners shouting about Jesus. Perhaps they’ve got it right. Perhaps not. I don’t believe that a blanket statement can be made either way. There are those who will respond such approaches, and those who will be pushed away by them.
Over the years, there have been many different theories of evangelism put forward. There’s been so-called power evangelism, drawing people with miracles, or what passes for miracle. There’s been service evangelism, seeking to make people more amenable to God by going out and doing things for them. There have been all manner of other methods suggested to make the Gospel more enticing to the world. Yet, for my own part, I am always drawn back to that Francis of Assisi quote, which I will paraphrase as, “preach always, and if you must, use words.” What is that? It’s lifestyle evangelism, I suppose, but to me it’s something far stronger, far deeper. Shall I dub it ‘character evangelism’? That’s what I would suppose the monk and his God are trying to impart with that simple message.
Listen, if my character is truly being remade by God that I might more properly reflect His image, then you know what? My lifestyle is going to start reflecting Him. What does that mean? It means there’s going to be far less of the profit-at-all-cost mentality, for more of treating others as more important than myself. That means that those things that service evangelism tries to goad us into doing will be second nature to me. I will help the helpless, because that’s who I am. I will respect all people because I see the reflection of God in them, however distorted, and because I see myself in them, too. I will not lose sight of who I was when God found me, but will allow that memory to instill in my character a mercy that would otherwise be foreign to me. As to power evangelism? There is no greater miracle in all of history than that God should save the likes of me. If that salvation is evident, and if the change is real, I do not see how it could be anything but evident, then it’s going to show. People will notice, whether I’m wearing the latest in Christian T-shirts, or simply dressed like usual. People will notice, whether my back pocket bulges with a mini New Testament or whether I am simply living life.
R. C. Sproul loves that phrase ‘Coram deo’, and it is with good reason. Before the face of God: living like we remember that He is with us always, living with that sense David had, that whatever we do and wherever we do it, we do it in His face. We either please Him because even though we don’t see Him, yet we do our utmost to do as He would have us to do, or displease Him by our utter negligence for what He desires in us. So, what am I doing with God’s investment in me? Honestly, if I had my choice, I’d probably hide it more often than not, for fear of my own failings giving Him a bad name. No, the real answer is more that I would not wish to face the rejection. But, the Truth is that I cannot hide it. I am what He has made me, who he has made me, and that me is not the me I knew before He met me.
Is there fruit in this? Is there profit to my King for the way I seek to live as He would have me to? Oh, I pray it is so! Indeed, I pray that as I have spent these last several days considering this parable, I would be motivated to be more active in seeking ways to serve His purposes. I pray that I would, because of this time with Him, hearing Him, be more inclined to heed His command, more immediate in doing what He has told me to do and to avoid what He has told me to avoid.
Lord God, let this be! Let me find a new power as You work in me, that I might be more fruitful, that You might find no reason to regret having entrusted what is Yours into my hands. No, not that You would ever regret Your own decisions, for You are wise beyond measure, and free of all error. Never yet have You been given cause to repent of Your decisions, and it certainly won’t start with me! But, Lord! I pray I am found faithful when You come to take stock of the kingdom You have inherited. I pray that I shall be pleasantly surprised when I am brought to account, discovering in that moment the lives that were effected because my life was effected. Lord, give me ears to hear and a heart to act on what You speak in those ears!
As I start to wrap up this piece of the study, I want to stay focused on this on this issue of obedience, but while shifting the angle at which I look. There is something of a thematic constant with Jesus as He teaches in these parables, a thematic constant that I might sum up in the words recorded in Luke 8:18. “Therefore take care how you listen!” As Jesus speaks those words, He also makes the same point made in this parable. If you have, more will be given, if you don’t, even that which you suppose you have will be removed. It is, then, distinctly connected to the thought presented in this parable. This is how it all plays out, so take care how you listen. Don’t be a hearer of the word only, but be a doer of the word.
It’s insufficient to understand the Scriptures, however accurate our understanding may be. For, if it remains just a matter of understanding, just a mental exercise, then frankly, we haven’t even begun to understand. It is often the case, as Jesus presents these parables, that we might feel inclined to give the hearers a pass for failing to grasp what He was saying. After all, He told us Himself that the parables were designed to keep those who heard them from understanding them, right? Well, no. Not exactly. His parables, if one will pay them heed, are very straightforward. They are designed, in reality, to make their point inescapable because the setting in which the point is made is so familiar. We may lose some of that in our day, but at the time, the messages were meant to be understood. That there would be those who heard without hearing was not due to some fault in the fashioning of those parables. The fault was in the willful deafness of the listeners.
Let me offer one simple case in point. Just a little farther on in Luke’s gospel, we are presented with the parable of the vine-growers (Lk 20:9-16). Here, Jesus is far more directly focused on the opposition He faces from the religious hierarchy in Jerusalem. The judgment implicit upon Israel’s actions is laid out plainly. At the close of this, every man in that crowd understands what will become of those vine-growers. Why, they are not laborers or businessmen! They are thieves and murderers of the first order! Of course the owner of that vineyard will have his vengeance upon them. They killed his very son! Ok, great story, clear conclusion. But, it’s a story. Maybe those listening to Him missed the point, failed to see who the vineyard owner was representing. But, no! Look at the conclusion. “When they heard it, they said, ‘May it never be!’” This is that same exclamation Paul uses repeatedly in Romans, when putting forth a position that is so wrong as to be unthinkable. Should we continue to sin, so that God’s grace can be shown more often? May it never be!
There is something in that exclamation that suggests to me that contemplating such a result was to consider a fate worse than death. It was such a terrible possibility that one would rather die than be found party to the outcome. Continue sinning and call it a good thing? I’d rather die! See God come and toss Israel out of the Promised Land? I’d far rather die! Listen! If those who heard this had not understood what Jesus was getting at, there would have been no such cry from them. If they thought it was maybe about somebody else, maybe a few at the top, or something along those lines, there would not be such passion in their rejection of the message. No, this is more along the lines of the cry of the disciples when Jesus states that one of them will betray Him. It’s not me is it? Oh, God! Say it isn’t me! This is of the same nature. You’re not talking about me as one of those who is so foolish as to abuse God like that, are you? I mean, sure, I could see it with maybe the Sadducees, but me? I do everything I can to follow His ways.
Take care how you listen! By that “May it never be!” these have confessed that they understood exactly what Jesus was saying. They did not miss the least part of it. I think I can be assured that they did not even miss that He was the son whom the vine-growers killed – or would soon kill, as the real account unfolded. They got it. Their ears heard. But, what did they do with it? Did they assess themselves and seek to make a change? No, they stopped at denial! It cannot be! Not us, Sir! Nope. Never gonna happen.
Now, lest we be too harsh on them, I would note that Peter not all that long ago had reacted in almost identical fashion to what Jesus was teaching. You’re going to be killed? May it never be! Makes no sense, Jesus! We know Who You are! You’re God’s very Son, so how can You even suggest that You would die at the hands of worthless men? Peter heard, but he didn’t want to believe. These men heard, but they refused to believe. We can’t possibly be that evil! I mean, we’re at temple every week, daily for some of us. We tithe religiously. We give alms to the poor as often as opportunity affords. We honor the Sabbath scrupulously. How could you suppose that such as we would do that sort of thing? But, the heart is deceptively wicked beyond all measure, and if we will not come before God with the earnest desire that He would reveal to us where our own evil lies, then we will swiftly find ourselves in the same place as these men, rejecting Jesus even as we suppose ourselves to be worshiping Him.
That is a truly scary thought, as well it should be. But, I fear it is terrifyingly accurate. In every moment that I do what I know my Lord has told me not to, I am allying myself with those vine-growers, and with those who killed the prophets. In every moment that I delay when I have a clear command from my King, I proudly proclaim myself a stalwart in the rebel army, however much I may sing His praises. Listen, I would love nothing more than to be as pure and accurate as I like to think myself when it comes to the Truth of Scripture.
I will say with absolute certainty that I am so fully convinced of the irrevocable gift of God’s grace that is the sole source of salvation, and that I have indeed tasted of that salvation, that nothing short of the audible voice of God telling me I’m dead wrong is likely to shake that conviction. But, that is a far cry from supposing that I understand everything in perfection, and farther still from any claim I might make that I have attained to the goal He sets. No! I’m not so foolish as to even think such a thing, at least not for more than a fleeting second. Even with the lying of my heart, I know myself too well. But, how much faster might I progress if my heart would lay hold of what my mind understands? How much more would I reflect my Lord and King, my Savior, my God, my Beloved today if I would really come to believe that anything less is aligning myself with these vine-growers who were destroyed? How much more would I make the effort, if I recognized the danger of finding myself to be that other slave?
Take care how you listen, o, my soul! Give ear to the Lord, my heart. O, that I might be found a man of true understanding, understanding shown in the actions of my daily existence. God, I lay it in Your hands, for it is that sort of thing that can only be achieved by Your own right arm, and therein is Your promise anyway. But, as best I may, Father God, I commit myself once more to be wholly in accord with Your purposes, to lay aside my petty desires, to renounce every claim to any kingdom of my own, that You might truly reign supreme in me. With the best understanding I can muster, I join myself with that prayer You prayed to teach us the way. Let Your will find in me an obedient servant, instant to obey with wholehearted effort.
