Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  2024  Day 266

September 21;      Luke 19:15;       63/260(III);      ‘Reporting to the Lord’

Luke 19:15 "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

This parable and the parable of the talents (Matthew 25) are very similar.  Verse 12 tells us that a nobleman went to a far country to receive a kingdom and then he would return.  That Nobleman is Jesus and He went to heaven.  The ‘kingdom’ Jesus received was the Church.  The return of the Nobleman will be the rapture of the Church.  Every believer (servant) will stand before the Lord Jesus and report to the Lord what they did with the ‘money’ (talents) they were given.  In Matthew’s parable of the talents, each servant was given a different number of talents and were rewarded based on how faithful they were with the talents they were given.  The servant who receive five talents doubled them and the servant who received two talents double them as well.  Though the number of talents varied, the reward was the same.  We are rewarded by the Lord for our faithfulness to use the talents He has given us.  We will never be compared with anyone else.  Matthew’s version teaches that each of us will be rewarded based on our faithfulness to use what we are given for the kingdom of God.  Luke’s version teaches the same thing in a different way.  The ability of each servant varied (one gained ten minas another five minas).  Though their ability level was different, as long as they were faithful to do the best they could, based on the ability they had, they were both rewarded.  In the parable in both Matthew and Luke, the servant who did nothing with what was given him was reprimanded.  Use what Jesus gives you.