Reflective Bible Study

While there are plenty of things we could focus in on in this parable, let’s focus in on the ten servants. In Matthew’s similar parable, there are only three servants, but this parable has enough unique details in it that makes me think Jesus shared this similar parable to a different group of people. In our discussion of the ten servants, our big idea will surface.

First off, we have ten servants, and some people who are “enemies” of the “important man”. For the purposes of our discussion, we’ll include these two groups of people together, though there are not any details to keep them from being two distinct groups.

The first and second servants see this as an opportunity to show their leadership ability. The first servant is especially resourceful, turning three months of pay into thirty months of pay – and presumably not using any of it to live off of. The second servant is still resourceful, but his accomplishment is turning the three months of pay into fifteen months – and also presumably not using any of it to live off of.

These first two servants are exceptionally resourceful, and because they freely bring the money back to the important man (now king), we can rightfully assume that they are not included in the group of enemies.

The third servant’s defining quality is fear. Fear of the important man, fear of making a mistake, fear of even trying something. He does seem to realize that this is a test, but he doesn’t conclude that he is being tested on the results. The important man says that he wants these servants to put the money to “work” (v. 13), but this servant seems to scared and/or timid to do anything with the money other than hide it. At the new king’s return, we see that his fear to move forward cost him the opportunity to be positively noticed. Instead he is chastised and the money taken and given to servant #1.

The third servant also freely brings the money back, so we can assume that while he isn’t very bright or resourceful, he is not among the enemies of the new king.

The last seven servants are not mentioned, which implies that they either squandered the money, didn’t bring anything back, and/or they are all enemies of the new king. These enemy-servants are the least bright of all. When the important man left, there was no question or doubt that he would be made king. These enemies seem to think that this detail is up for debate, and that they can change this course in history – but they are mistaken.

This arrogance cost them their lives, which leads us to our big idea for this passage: Jesus has left each of us with resources and opportunity while He is “being crowned King”. This detail is not up for debate and won’t be changed. When He returns, would it be better to have been resourceful, or an enemy?

On one of Jesus’ trips to the temple, He is challenged with a question about where He got His authority. This question is significant, because at this later stage of His ministry, Jesus cannot afford to slip up in a way that would make Him lose credibility.

But while the Pharisees question was a trap, Jesus responds with an equally trapping counter question. Mathew tells us that Jesus responded by saying, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?” (v. 24-25a)

In my mind, Jesus responds without even missing a breath. He promises to answer them if they answer a question for Him. It is as though Jesus had been waiting for them to ask this question, and Jesus may have been surprised that it had taken this long.

The question Jesus gives is almost identical, but it is about someone else – John the Baptist – and it is focused in on the same issue: authority.

The Pharisees discuss their possible responses and realize that they are trapped by their unbelief and by the crowd’s opinion. By asking a counter question, Jesus successfully avoided answering a question that would have either damaged His reputation, or prematurely ended His ministry.

We can learn from Jesus that sometimes countering a challenging question with a different question is the best response we can give. While Jesus could have answered with a direct statement, or even with an indirect one, neither option would have been the best response in this case. Sometimes, the right question shared at the right time is the best response we can give.

In our passage for today, we have a great example of what it is like for someone experiencing an event when compared with someone looking at the evidence from the outside. To a skeptical eye, this miracle Jesus does could be rationalized away using the term “circumstantial evidence” – which is another way of saying, “there could be a connection, but there is no way to definitively prove it.”

Jesus prophesied that the official’s son will live by responding, “Go. Your son will live,” While this appears to be a literal statement, Jesus could be symbolically talking of a future life in heaven, or even simply that a doctor present will successfully break the fever.

However, this is looking from a skeptical third party set of eyes. Those within the heart of the situation saw things differently, starting with the official himself: “The father knew that one o’clock was the exact time that Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live.’ So the man and all the people who lived in his house believed in Jesus.” (v. 53)

It is almost certain that this official had hired the best doctors in the area to come and help heal his son, and none of them would have been successful. This is strongly implied in the father’s words when he begs Jesus to “come before my child dies.” (v. 49)

Jesus was this official’s last hope, and experiencing a miracle for him was significantly different than hearing about the miracle as a person in the crowd. This official and everyone living in his home believed in Jesus.

Whether one chooses to rationalize a circumstantial miracle away or not, we can see from those closest to the event that they clearly saw the miracle present in this event – and they tag Jesus as the Source behind this healing.

Like most passages in these journal entries, there are numerous ideas that stand out to me. Today’s entry is no exception. In this journal entry, we’ll focus on one of these ideas and what it means for each of us.

Probably the most unsettling verse in this passage is verse 25: “Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”

This verse is very unsettling because it clearly shares that there will be a point in time where it will be too late to accept Christ. There will be people who thought they could wait, but then end up missing out.

What makes verse 25 even more disturbing is how the people respond in verse 26: “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’”

The people who are left out are very familiar with Jesus. They know who He is and they seem to have spent time with Him, but something is missing, and that something is revealed in verse 27: “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”

This dialog leads us to the really big idea for this journal entry: It doesn’t matter whether we know Jesus; what matters is that Jesus knows us!

This challenges the idea of “once-saved-always-saved” that many Christians believe, or the idea that a simple prayer is all it takes. Having eaten and drank with someone says that they knew each other at one point, but some point in the past doesn’t mean that there is an on-going relationship in the present.

This is a challenging thought for me, because it pushes me to be a lot more intentional about my time with Jesus. Quiet time is a start, but for it to be effective, it must be “quiet time with Jesus”. Busy time is inevitable, but instead, why not make it “busy time with Jesus”. Sure the busyness might be jumping between work “emergencies”, but what would happen if you thought of it as time you are spending with Jesus, where the two of you are tackling the tasks together?

This is a novel, mind-stretching thought. However with that said, remember our big idea: It doesn’t matter whether you know Jesus; what matters is that Jesus knows you!