In approaching this final installment of our exploration of the fascinating story Jesus told as He made His last journey to Jerusalem, I thought back about that famous series originated and hosted by Paul Harvey called The Rest of the Story. His episodes reminded us of at least two fundamental realities. One was that stories, including our own, don’t always turn out like we thought they would, and the other was that quite often, the message and impact of the story isn’t unveiled until the end. In light of that, our purpose today is to see the rest of that story we’ve been exploring and to endeavor to grasp its primary message to us and to consider how to apply some of the lessons included in it.

But for the sake of those who are just joining us, let’s begin by taking a quick look back at Luke’s account to review how the story began. 

Therefore He [Jesus] said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ (Luke 19:11–14 NKJV)

Fast Forwarding ~
Sounds like Jesus was laying the groundwork for a real adventure story, doesn’t it? But unfortunately, He just fast forwards to the end of the story without filling in any of the intervening details. Instead, the next scene we get describes the nobleman returning as King, and the action continues like this . . . 

    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. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ (Luke 19:15-19 NKJV)

But as the story reveals, the outcome will be entirely dependent on what we have done in response to the task we’ve been given. Since we don’t know how much time we have before that summons arrives, it would make sense to get busy doing what we can to improve the outcome when it does. Along those lines, there’s an encouraging reality revealed in the story that we don’t want to miss.

When the text says that the King wanted to know how much every man had gained by trading, it’s a phrase translated from a single Greek word, diapragmateúsomai. According to the Hebrew scholar Kenneth Bailey, that term’s primary meaning is, How much business has been transacted? 

 A Change in Perspective ~
The difference may seem slight, but it’s the difference between being evaluated by a boss who only says, Show me the money. as opposed to one who says, Show me how faithfully and consistently you’ve been actively engaging in my business. It’s our faithful involvement, not the volume of our production that Jesus is interested in. The way the first two servants presented their report is important. They said your mina has earned … The reproduction was credited to the power of the commodity invested, not their own skills, talents, or intellect. The farmer who plants a seed is important, but he has no power to make the seed germinate and reproduce itself. The Apostle Paul reinforced that principle in his letter to the Church in Corinth. He said: 

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NKJV)

The  story also reinforces the fact that our relationship with Jesus is built on trust. How the servants handled their seed money during the master’s absence had everything to do with what they believed about him. It was their belief in him that enabled them to engage in the risky work of investing his assets and representing him in a hostile environment. The example of the first two servants is encouraging, but there was a loser in the group and a warning that we must not overlook. Here’s how the rest of the story continues . . . 

“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’” (Luke 19:20–24 NKJV)

Not a Desirable Conclusion ~
It’s a dismal finish for that servant for sure, but the root problem was not laziness. It was a warped view of his master’s character. His inaccurate judgment twisted a gracious call to courageous engagement into a fear-driven, cowardly retreat from responsibility. Instead of putting his mina to work as instructed, he wrapped it in a rag because he saw his master as a hard, self-serving, judgmental ruler who took from others unfairly. Clearly, the master he claimed to be serving was someone he didn’t really know. 

When the King said, “You knew I was a hard man,” it wasn’t a confession. It was an acknowledgment of an opinion the servant firmly believed. Saying “you knew” was tantamount to saying, you were convinced in your heart. He trusted information from wrongful sources, made wrong decisions, and instead of being commended and rewarded, he was reprimanded and lost everything. When the summons for that “Come to Jesus” meeting arrives for us, there are no more second chances, so now is the time to conduct an honest self-examination about whether the service we render presents an accurate picture of the King we represent. 

It’s All About Responsibilities ~
Finally, it’s important that we consider the rewards. Those who might be hoping for an ocean-front villa and a life of ease and comfort, filled with self-indulgent pursuit, need to look for a different king. The commendation offered by the King to the first two servants was based on how faithfully they handled the responsibilities associated with the seed money they had been given. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that the reward He offered was to increase the extent of their responsibility beyond anything they imagined. They went from handling an amount equal to about three months’ work, to being responsible for entire cities!

These are historically significant days. It seems that every newscast is another episode of evil on parade. More than ever before, we should be actively doing business with every gift He’s given. The King we serve will take every act of courage, every offer of kindness, and every good thing we do and multiply its influence. He took things like a poor widow’s mites, a jar of perfume, and a few fish and some bread, and repeated and multiplied their stories into every language ever spoken. Let’s not let anything we were given to work with be wrapped up in a ‘rag’ when He comes.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “Our relationship with Jesus is built on trust . . . It was the servants’ belief in the master that enabled them to engage in the risky work of investing his assets and representing him in a hostile environment.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
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  • “When the summons for that “Come to Jesus” meeting arrives, there are no more second chances. Now is the time to conduct an honest self-examination about whether the service we render presents an accurate picture of the King we represent.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “It’s important that we consider the rewards. Those who might be hoping for an ocean-front villa and a life of ease and comfort, filled with self-indulgent pursuit, need to look for a different king.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)   

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