City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

Luke 19:11-21 (ESV)

¹³ “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven
    there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him.
¹⁴ And to him was given dominion
    and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
    that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

John 3:10-13

Reflection

The Jews knew the scriptures well. They studied them, memorized the entire Torah at an early age, and tried to follow all the Mosaic laws. They knew the Messiah was going to come and judge the Earth and they looked forward to this while being oppressed by the Romans. This understanding is scriptural, but the Jews missed a significant part that had to happen first. Before Jesus could take the throne, he had to ascend into heaven. But in order to ascend, he had to first descend. So there had to be a descension and ascension before the coming judgement. The Jews missed this completely because they lived in such oppression and was looking for God to provide them a way out. This is why we have the whole discussion that Jesus had with Nicodemus in John 3, asking him, how can you be a teacher of Israel and not understand this?

So now we are setting the stage for Luke 19:11 as Jesus is telling the parable. The Jews want the kingdom of heaven to come now. So Jesus starts the Parable of the Ten Minas by stating that a nobleman goes into a far country to receive himself a kingdom and then return(v 12). The kingdom in the far country is what Jesus has currently come to do(to reach the gentiles). We are the kingdom in this far country and we are currently living out verse 12. The return will be the return of Jesus as the final judgement on Earth. Then in verse 14, we see how Jesus is describing the treatment that the Jews are giving to Jesus who is coming to build the kingdom of God on this Earth. They do not want Jesus to reign over them.

So Jesus shows that both the servants who are doing the work and building the kingdom and those who are not will be judged according to what they do. Will the Jews turn to Jesus or away from Him as His kingdom is being built in in a faraway land.

Application

This parable is written in a slightly different way in Matthew and Mark. Though, we can see how Luke portrays this in his gospel in a slightly different way. Keep in mind that Jesus probably preached on this parable(and all the other parables) multiple times with different variations based on the audience.

Though, for this version, we should understand the context that the kingdom of God is currently being built. God is reaching out to the Gentiles and bringing in all believers to His kingdom. What are you doing to help move this mission along? Because Jesus will come back to Earth one day and there will be judgement on the Earth, both for Jews and Gentiles. We should operate with a sense of urgency.

Prayer

Father in heaven, thank You for the Words You have shared to me in the Scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit open up my heart to better understand You and the gifts You have given me to use for Your Kingdom on this earth. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.