Commentary - Luke 19:11-27

Bird's-eye view

In the Parable of the Ten Minas, Jesus confronts a critical misunderstanding among His followers as He makes His final approach to Jerusalem. They were buzzing with the idea that the kingdom of God was about to show up in a blaze of political glory, right then and there. Jesus tells this story to correct their eschatological timetable and to define the nature of their responsibilities in the meantime. The parable is about a nobleman who goes away to receive a kingdom and then returns. This is a clear picture of Christ's ascension and His eventual return in glory. In the interim, His servants are not to be idle spectators but active, enterprising stewards of the resources He has entrusted to them. The central theme is faithfulness in the king's absence.

The parable features three groups: the nobleman (Christ), his slaves (the disciples), and his citizens (unbelieving Israel). The slaves are given a charge to "engage in business," a command for productive kingdom work. Upon the king's return, there is an accounting. Faithful, risk-taking stewardship is lavishly rewarded with greater responsibility in the kingdom, while fearful, do-nothing sloth is exposed and judged. The parable climaxes with a stark and violent judgment upon the rebellious citizens who rejected the king's rule. This story is therefore not just a lesson in personal ethics; it is a covenantal declaration about the nature of the kingdom, the responsibilities of discipleship, and the certainty of a final, discriminating judgment.

Outline

Context In Luke

This parable is strategically placed in Luke's narrative. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for the final time, the Triumphal Entry is just around the corner (Luke 19:28ff), and the atmosphere is electric with messianic expectation. The healing of the blind man near Jericho and the salvation of Zacchaeus have heightened the sense that something momentous is about to happen. Luke explicitly states the reason for the parable: Jesus "was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately." This story serves as a crucial corrective. It tells the disciples, and the crowd, that the kingdom will not be an instant political takeover. There will be a period of delay, the time between the king's departure and his return. This parable, then, is part of Jesus' final instructions to His disciples before the cross, preparing them for a long haul of faithful service in a world that is largely hostile to their Master's rule.

Key Issues

The Business of the Kingdom

The central command in this parable is pragmateuomai, translated as "engage in business" or "do business." This is not a suggestion to be passively pious. It is an active, robust command to take what the king has given and make something of it. The mina given to each slave was a significant sum, but it was identical for all. This differs from the Parable of the Talents in Matthew, where the amounts vary. Here, the focus is not on the initial endowment but on the productive faithfulness of the servant. The kingdom of God is not a holding company for saints waiting for the rapture bus. It is a dynamic, enterprising, risk-taking venture. The gospel is the capital, and we are the stewards commanded to invest it, leverage it, and work it until the whole world is leavened. This parable is a foundational text for a muscular, optimistic, and industrious Christianity that expects to see real returns on the Master's investment in this world, before His return.

Verse by Verse Commentary

11 Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

Luke gives us the explicit reason for the parable. The crowd is on the verge of a misunderstanding of monumental proportions. They see Jesus, the miracle worker and heir of David, heading to the capital city, and they put two and two together and get five. They assume He is about to kick out the Romans and set up a glorious earthly kingdom right away. Jesus tells this story to pump the brakes on their enthusiasm and to recalibrate their expectations. The kingdom is coming, yes, but not like that, and not right now. There will be an intervening period, and what His followers do during that period is of ultimate importance.

12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.

The nobleman is Jesus. The distant country is heaven. The receiving of the kingdom is His ascension and session at the right hand of the Father, where He is given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). The key phrase here is "and then return." His departure is not the end of the story. He is coming back, but only after He has received the kingdom. This framework establishes the entire Church age, the period between the ascension and the Second Coming.

13 And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’

Before he leaves, the nobleman makes provision for his affairs. He entrusts his assets to his slaves. He gives each of them one mina, a sum equal to about three months' wages. The gift is the same for all, indicating that all disciples receive the same fundamental gift of the gospel and the Great Commission. The command is explicit: "Engage in business." This is a command for productive activity. They are not to bury the treasure, hide it, or just keep it safe. They are to work it, trade with it, and produce a return. The time frame is also explicit: "until I come back." Our work has a deadline.

14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

Here is the second group in the story. These are not the slaves, but the "citizens," the subjects of the kingdom he is going to receive. This represents unbelieving Israel, the religious establishment that explicitly rejected Jesus' kingship. Their cry, "We do not want this man to reign over us," is a direct echo of the Sanhedrin's rejection of Christ before Pilate. This establishes the context of hostility in which the faithful slaves must conduct their business. They are working for a king whom the world around them hates.

15 And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business.

The return of the king is the day of reckoning. The first order of business is the audit. He wants to know what his servants have done with his capital. This points to the final judgment, where believers will give an account of their stewardship (2 Cor. 5:10). The judgment is not about whether they are saved, they are already "his slaves", but about their faithfulness in service.

16-17 So the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’

The first slave reports a thousand percent return. He was enterprising, diligent, and successful. Notice his humility: "your mina has made ten minas." He gives the credit to the master's capital, not his own genius. The master's response is pure grace. He commends him as "good" and "faithful." And the reward is staggeringly out of proportion to the initial task. Because he was faithful with a little bit of money, he is given authority over ten cities. This teaches us that faithfulness in our earthly stewardship is the training ground for our eternal responsibilities. How we handle our earthly mina determines our capacity for heavenly rule.

18-19 Then the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

The second slave was also faithful, though less spectacularly successful. He produced a five hundred percent return. He too is commended and rewarded. His reward is proportional to his faithfulness: five cities. This demonstrates the justice and discernment of the king. He rewards according to the fruitfulness that resulted from faithful labor.

20-21 Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth; for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’

Now comes the worthless slave. He returns the initial investment, not a penny more. His excuse is a slander against the character of his master. He says he was motivated by fear. He paints the master as a harsh, grasping, and unjust man. This is how the unfaithful heart always views God, as a cosmic tyrant, a celestial killjoy. His theology was corrupt, and his corrupt theology led directly to his inaction. He did nothing because he believed a lie about his master.

22-23 He said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’

The king's judgment is swift and devastating. He turns the slave's own slanderous words against him. "Alright," the king says, "let's assume for a moment that your twisted view of me is correct. If you really believed I was that harsh and demanding, the bare minimum you could have done out of sheer self-preservation was put the money in the bank." Even that would have produced some interest. The slave is condemned not for a bad investment, but for doing nothing at all. His excuse is exposed as a lazy sham. He wasn't paralyzed by fear; he was motivated by sloth.

24-26 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

The judgment is executed. The unproductive capital is stripped from the worthless slave and given to the most productive one. The bystanders are surprised by this, it seems unfair. But this is the law of the kingdom. To those who faithfully use what God has given, more will be given. Capacity for service and blessing increases with use. But for those who neglect their gifts, who bury God's grace in a napkin, even the little they have will be forfeited. Grace is not static; it must be exercised.

27 But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’ ”

The parable ends with a jarring and violent command. After settling accounts with his slaves, the king turns to his enemies, the citizens who rejected his rule. The judgment upon them is absolute and final. This is a direct prophecy of the judgment that would fall upon first-century Jerusalem for its rejection of the Messiah. The language is stark because the offense is heinous. To reject the rightful king is to invite utter destruction. This is the "wrath of the Lamb." Christ is a gracious savior to those who trust Him, but He is a terrifying judge to those who defy His reign.

Application

This parable forces us to ask a number of pointed questions. First, what is our view of the King? Do we see Him as the generous nobleman who has entrusted us with a glorious gospel and a world of opportunity? Or do we, in our heart of hearts, see Him as a strict, demanding man, leading us to a fearful and unproductive faith? Our theology will always drive our activity, or lack thereof.

Second, what are we doing with our mina? The gospel is not a treasure to be hidden in a cloth for safekeeping. It is capital to be invested. It is seed to be sown. It is a sword to be wielded. We are called to "engage in business," which means taking spiritual risks for the kingdom. This looks like sharing the gospel with a neighbor, starting a new ministry, planting a church, discipling our children in the faith, and applying the lordship of Christ to every area of life. A fearful, timid, do-nothing Christianity is a direct contradiction of this parable.

Finally, we must remember that the King is coming back. There will be an accounting. The commendation "Well done, good and faithful slave" is the great prize of the Christian life. Our faithfulness in the small things now is what qualifies us for greater rule in the age to come. This parable should fill us with a holy ambition, not for our own glory, but for the Master's. Let us therefore be about His business, so that when He returns, He will find us faithful and receive His own with interest.