Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. (Luke 19:11)
Jesus and the disciples were almost to Jerusalem, and He had been preparing them for what was going to happen to Him there, but the disciples still didn't believe or understand what He meant. Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. (Luke 19:12-15)
In this parable, Jesus is the "certain nobleman"; the disciples and all of us who have believed in Him are "his servants"; the Jews and all unbelievers are "his citizens who hated him"; His fulfilling of the Will of God is His "receiving of the kingdom"; the commandment He would give the disciples and has given to all of us who believe in Him to go make disciples is the "money, which we should gain more of by trading". A disciple, Stephen would later testify to the children of Israel, before they stoned him, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,..." (Acts 7:51-52)
Even though his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us', He still returned, having received the kingdom. He's reassuring His disciples not to worry about what's going to happen to Him. The kingdom of God would not appear immediately on the earth, but it would be established in eternity. Then, He will return to them and all of us who believe in Him, and when He does, each one of us will have to answer to Him for how we handled "His gospel" and the command to make disciples. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ (Luke 19:16-19)
“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ (Luke 19:20-23) The first two servants took what the nobleman had given them and increased it double, but this third servant had done nothing with what he had received. Remember the commandment the nobleman gave them; he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
God did not just put us on this planet to take up space. We are to glorify Him, and lead others to Christ. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17) “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’” (Luke 19:24-27)
There are three separate consequences for each group. If we do what we are commanded to do by God, we will receive a great reward; If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. (I Corinthians 3:14) If we do not do what we are commanded by God to do, If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (I Corinthians 3:15) But for those who refuse to believe in God and the Word of God, God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. ... They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried. (Nahum 1:2-3, 10)
Everyone likes to talk about the love of God, but a part of love is also discipline. We want God to conform to what we want Him to be, but He has said, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; ... (Malachi 3:6) God is jealous, and the Lord avenges! Yes, He is slow to anger, but the day of judgment is coming for every single one of us who has, is and will live. Either we will hear, "Well done, good servant!" Or, He will charge us as an enemies of His, who did not want Him to reign over us, and He will command that we be slayed before Him! Yes, God is a loving God, but He has clearly warned us in His Word the consequences of disobeying Him; that too is Love! Out of our own mouth He will judge us!
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