Luke 19:11-27

Two themes

1. The Messiah will be largely rejected

2. Be busy for the King while you wait for him. 

1. The King rejected.

Jesus had just said, “salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house today.” This meant to them that the Kingdom of the Messiah has arrived. Jesus also knew that he was going to enter Jerusalem the next day and they would all assume he was going to go physically overthrow Rome right then. 

Parables are not allegories. There isn’t a one to one translation/meaning for each aspect of the story. 

There are times when Jesus draws out what God’s character is like by comparing to other things. Often Jesus describes Kingdom principles by using familiar touch points (even evil people/situations). We should not use those same parables to learn about God’s character. 

Jesus is grabbing a real touch point that people had just lived through in King Archolas. 

Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of his own time. Eventually the masses rejected him as well. 

2. The King will be gone; how should we behave in his absence?

The meaning is the challenge to use the resources that God has given each of us to expand His Kingdom. The king didn’t tell the servants the exact way they should each use the resource given to them. Don’t wait for God to give you a divine neon sign for how to work for His Kingdom. Just look around and see what you have and use it. The point here is not to answer whether we get different amounts to start with, but with what returns we get. The only wrong choice is to do nothing. Faithfulness is the point. Faithfulness is success. The master is equally delighted with each servant’s return even though they were different amounts. Don’t get caught in comparison with others. We should be saying, “what do I have?”

We have knowledge of the Gospel! That is our greatest resource. We have been commanded to use our resources. If we don’t, we are living in disobedience. 

In saving you, He has also called you. 

Observation: 

The parables are always with the person in charge coming back; not the followers escaping and going somewhere else.