What is your typical response when someone gives you a lavish gift?
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:21 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 25:14-30
The parable of the talents follows immediately after the parable of the wise and foolish maidens. A talent was the largest monetary unit of the ancient world. One talent was equal to 6,000 denarii. The amount entrusted to the servants is huge, implying a great deal of trust on behalf of the master.
The servants in the parable do not know how long the master will be gone, but they are to be vigilant and faithful until the master returns. The servants will be held accountable for how they use the resources entrusted to them while the master is gone.
- Were the servants actively working on the master’s behalf, or were they only concerned
about their own security? How so? - Why would the master trust the servants with so much money?