An Unopened Gift

Matthew 25:14-30

November 16, 2008 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction

It is hard to understand this parable without looking back. So turn with me to Matthew, chapter 24. Jesus came to Jerusalem knowing that at the end of the week he will be put to death on the cross. So during this week he taught his disciples about what was to come. Chapter 24 describes the coming destruction of the temple, which happened in A.D. 70, and the signs that would appear prior to this event.

Jesus then went on to tell them that he would come to them again. In Matthew 24:30 he said, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”

However, they won’t know exactly when this will happen. If they are to be ready for Jesus’ return, they must live as faithful followers of Jesus. If they are not ready, they may find that they are not among the faithful in heaven with Jesus.

Then in chapter 25 Jesus begins with a story about the ten virgins – five of whom were prepared and five who were not and missed the wedding banquet. Jesus said they needed to be ready, “because you do not know the day or the hour.” [Mt.25:13].

Jesus’ followers must be faithful and ready.

The Gift of Gold
Then Jesus told them the parable I read to you from Matthew 25:14-30, about the three servants who were each given bags of gold.

It wasn’t unusual for a master, or business owner, to put his servants in charge of his business while he was traveling, even though he might be gone for long periods of time.

This man was very wealthy. Each bag of gold, or talent as it says in some translations, was worth about 15 years of income for a common day laborer. For a person who today earns $1,500 a month, $18,000 a year, a bag of gold would amount to $270,000. That’s a lot of money and responsibility. And remember that one man was given 5 bags of gold, which would amount to $1,350,000.

The man who was given 5 bags of gold and the man who was given 2 bags of gold each invested the gold and doubled it. They were obviously risk takers, people who were not afraid to play the stock market.

The business owner was very happy with these two men when he returned and found that they had doubled his money. In fact, he gave them even more money and responsibility in his business.

Hiding the Gift

However, the other man, the one who received one bag of gold, the $270,000, wasn’t so daring. He had heard stories about what a hard man his boss was. He believed his master was hard to please and took advantage of other people to increase his wealth. He was afraid of what his master would do if he lost money.

So he didn’t risk this large some of gold he had been given. He hid it, buried it, so he could return it to his master safely. He decided to play it safe. But instead of being praised for keeping his master’s money safe, he was condemned. He got fired – thrown out. He lost everything. Does that seem fair?

If an economic crisis such as we have been going through recently had happened in their time, and they had taken a major loss of their master’s money, how would the master have responded? He might have been very hard on the three men he had entrusted with his wealth. There are times when playing it safe, not taking a risk, especially with someone else’s money, is the smart thing to do.

So why was the master so hard with the man who gave him back all of his money? What had he done to deserve such harsh treatment?

We must understand that all we have, including our money, belongs to God. Your ability to earn money, your talents are from God. So the question is then, how do we use the money and all God has given us?

Jesus will return, just as the master in the story returned. When he does return we will have to give an accounting to God for what we have been given. Will we be ready? Have we been faithful servants?

Open God’s Gift

When we look at this parable we see that in each of the parables in Matthew 25, Jesus was warning the Pharisees that time was running out.

· They needed to show themselves faithful to God.

· They needed to get ready for God’s judgment.

So when we consider the actions of the third man, who hid his master’s money, we see a man who didn’t understand the true value of the gift he had been given. He also didn’t understand the goodness of the one who gave him the gift.

If God gave you a million dollars to use for his kingdom work, would you play it safe and hide it so God wouldn’t get mad if you lost some of the money?

If someone gave you a gift for your birthday, would you admire the pretty wrapping paper and bows and then put it away on a shelf and never unwrap it? If you opened the gift would you put it in your closet and never use it?

Jesus was trying to get the Pharisees to understand that God had given them a priceless gift but they had not opened it; they had hidden it.

The gift? The Law of Moses! They had been given responsibility for teaching the people about God’s Law and helping them know God.

Instead, they had kept it for themselves. They were the experts and the keepers of the Law, but they kept God’s teachings hidden away from people. The Pharisees kept the knowledge of God safe.

So God sent his Son, Jesus, to show people how much God loved them and how much God wanted people to know him. But the Pharisees rejected Jesus and planned to put him to death to get rid of him.

They couldn’t understand a God who loved them. To the Pharisees, God was a hard God, who would judge and punish them. God responded to them as they expected.

Jesus’ word was a warning that God would soon take this gift away from them and give it to those who would receive it with joy and use it to show others God’s love.

I heard a story some years ago about a young man who had hoped to attend a university so he could have the career he really wanted. But without the financial help of his family he knew he couldn’t. He was hoping his parents and grandparents would come up with enough to make this dream possible. Yet, when graduation day came, no gifts of money came from his family. His grandparents gave him a Bible, but that sure wasn’t going to pay for college.

So the young man stayed home and went to a local junior college. He also worked to pay for his tuition. Without the degree he had hoped to get, he couldn’t get into his chosen field. So he worked at jobs that didn’t pay a lot or really challenge him. One day as he sat alone in his apartment feeling discouraged his eyes fell on the graduation Bible his grandparents had given him. He took it off the shelf and opened it – for the first time since he had received it. And as he leafed through it, an envelope fell out. In that envelope was a check from his grandparents. The check would have covered his tuition at the university he so wanted to attend. [Source unknown].

An unopened gift is worthless. He had buried the gift and with it his dreams. The Bible, God’s Word, not only held the money he needed, but also a wealth of wisdom and direction for his life.

Conclusion

Jesus’ warning to the Pharisees was ignored. Time ran out. They suffered the consequences because they refused to open God’s gift and share it with others. They were worthless servants.

For us to believe in Jesus, and receive his gift of forgiveness of sins and everlasting life, and then do nothing with this gift is a sin. We are no better than that “wicked, lazy servant.” [v.26].

God has given each of us a gift of amazing value. We have the Word of God which is filled with wisdom from God and gives us a glimpse of how great God’s love is.

We must take time to open it and read it. We must let it grow in our hearts and minds so that the light of Christ shines through us. Don’t hide it.

Even more important is what affect Jesus has on our lives. We have this precious gift of salvation, this gift of forgiveness and new life in Christ. The only way this treasure can increase is if we invest it, use it.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” [Mt. 5:16]. We can’t hide our light and hope to please God. We have to shine for Jesus.

To be good and faithful servants we must let his light shine to the world so others can find their way to Jesus. Our faith in Jesus Christ has to be invested if it is to increase. An unopened gift is worthless.

· Don’t let what you don’t have keep you from seeing what you do have!

· Don’t let your fears of what might happen keep you doing what you can do.

Let the gift of God – his precious, priceless Word – grow in you, so that you can invest yourself in the lives of others for Jesus’ sake.

Share the treasure with which you have been entrusted – the Good News of forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Celebrate that you have been found ready and faithful, when Jesus comes again. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright ©2008 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.