While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately. 12 So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ 14 His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ 15 But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ 17 He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ 18 Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ 19 And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ 20 Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ 22 He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; 23 why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ 25 But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”
Jesus is nearing Jerusalem. The crowd expects the kingdom of God to appear at once, perhaps as a visible, political triumph, because many in Israel looked for the Messiah to restore the kingdom of David, free them from foreign rule, and establish justice in Jerusalem. In this setting he tells a parable to correct that expectation and to show that there will be a period of apparent delay, during which his followers must be faithful with what he entrusts to them.
He speaks of a nobleman who goes to a distant country to obtain kingship and then return. The image reflects a familiar pattern in the ancient world, but in the parable the nobleman points to Jesus himself. After his death and resurrection, Jesus will go to the Father and receive a kingdom (cf. Dan. 7:13-14), and he will one day return. The “fellow citizens” who say, “We do not want this man to be our king,” represent those who reject his authority. Their cry echoes the resistance to God’s chosen king found throughout the Scriptures (cf. Ps. 2:1-3).
The nobleman calls ten servants and gives them ten gold coins, one each. A single coin was a significant sum, yet still called “a very small matter” compared with what is to come. Each servant receives the same amount, so the focus is not on unequal natural abilities but on what each one does with what is entrusted. The command, “Engage in trade with these until I return,” describes the time between Christ’s ascension and his return. Servants of Christ in every age are to put his gifts to work: the gift of faith, the good news of the kingdom, the grace of the Spirit, and the responsibilities and opportunities placed in their hands so that others may be led toward the kingdom of heaven.
When the king returns, he calls the servants to give an account. The first says, “Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.” The wording matters. He does not boast about his own cleverness; he points to what the king’s coin has produced. The master’s reply, “Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities,” shows that faithfulness with what seems small in this world prepares a person for greater responsibility in the kingdom (cf. Lk. 16:10). The second servant’s fivefold gain is also praised and rewarded with authority over five cities. The reward is not mere payment but a share in the king’s rule.
The third servant tells a different story. He has kept the coin wrapped in a handkerchief out of fear. His description of the master as a harsh and unfair man reveals a distorted view of the king’s character: “You take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.” He has not used the gift at all. He has not actively opposed the king, but he has refused to act on the trust placed in him. The king’s response shows that such passivity is still unfaithfulness. Even the simplest step—placing the money in a bank—would have recognized the responsibility given. The problem is not lack of ability but lack of trust and readiness to act.
“With your own words I shall condemn you,” the king says. The servant’s excuse becomes the measure of his failure. If he truly believed the king was so demanding, then doing nothing at all made even less sense. The parable reveals how, at the judgment, what a person has chosen and believed about God is brought to light; we are not judged only on having sincere opinions, but on whether we have honestly sought the truth about God and responded to the light God has given to all. The servant’s fear and mistrust led him to bury the king’s gift instead of using it.
When the single coin is taken from the unfaithful servant and given to the one who already has ten, the onlookers protest. This leads to the saying: “To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” In this context, “having” means receiving and using the king’s gifts in faith and obedience. Those who do so are able to receive even more. Those who persistently refuse to act on what they have been given—even though they have enough light to understand and respond—end up losing even the little they possess (cf. Lk. 8:18). Grace is meant to grow; when it is resisted or left idle, it withers.
The final verse speaks of the king’s enemies who did not want him to reign: “Bring them here and slay them before me.” This uses the language of ancient royal judgment to express the seriousness of rejecting God’s anointed King. It is not a command or permission for earthly violence but a stark image of final judgment, echoing the Scriptural pattern in which those who persistently oppose the Lord and his Christ face a decisive and irreversible outcome (cf. Ps. 2:4-6). The parable holds together two truths: Jesus is the rightful King who will receive the kingdom and return, and his coming brings judgment for all—generous reward for faithful servants and just punishment for those who stubbornly refuse his reign.
The parable teaches that Jesus is the King whose reign is not yet fully visible, but who has already entrusted his gifts to his servants. The time before his return is not empty waiting. It is the time in which his followers are to live by faith, make use of the gifts he has given, and let his grace bear fruit in the world. What matters in this in-between time is not how much each one has been given, but how faithfully each one trusts the King and acts on what he has placed in their hands.
Lord Jesus, our King, thank you for the gifts you have entrusted to your servants. Help us to know you as generous and faithful, not as harsh and distant, and to let your grace at work in us bear fruit that honors you until you return in glory. Amen.
___________________
Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
Comments