Tuesday 19 November 2013

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - How will I show through my life that I have opted for Jesus the king?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Macc 7:1, 21-30; Lk 19:11-28

The parable in the text of today is from the common source of Matthew and Luke known as “Q”. However, Matthew (Mt 25:14-30) presents it differently. While in Matthew there are three servants who are given five talents (a talent was equivalent to 20 years wages for a common labourer), two and one talent respectively, in Luke there are ten servants who are given one mina each (a mina was about three months wages for a common labourer). The amounts in Luke are much smaller than in Matthew. Though there are ten servants, we are told only about three. The first of the three has earned ten minas with the one he was given, the second has earned five and so these are given charge of ten and five cities respectively. The third returns the mina to the king because he was afraid of him and knew him to be a harsh man. After berating the man for not putting the mina into the bank, which would have earned interest, the king commands that his mina be given to the one who already has ten.


The point, which Luke seems to make in this parable, is that responses to Jesus the king have a decisive role in human destiny, for responses to him determine life and death. There is no “safe” position. The only road to success is to take risks as taken by the first two servants.

4 comments:

  1. Dear Fr. Errol, the bank referred to here, is it the bank we have today or were they different?

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  2. If my fading memory serves me right, I cannot recall any other instance in the Bible where reference has made to a Bank.

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  3. Luke 19:23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.

    M

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your question on Banks -
    in a bank account? Literally means “on a (moneylender’s) table.” See Mark 11:15; Matt 21:12; John 2:15. The Greek noun trapeza was commonly used in this financial sense in classical and Hellenistic Greek texts.

    ReplyDelete

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