The parable illustrates that final day when all men will be judged. No secret will be hidden from God and he will bring all things out into the open for all others to see, to the vindication of his justice. God of course knows all things without having to investigate, but Christ permits us to see his judgment in these terms. All men and women and children will give an account for what they have done with their lives. Of particular importance is what we have done with his truth, with the gospel. Have we studied it, weighed it up and acted on it, or have we ignored it and set it to one side? Have we seen our great need to forgiveness and humbled ourselves in repentance, responding to Christ’s invitation to come and bowing the knee to him in obeisance? Or have we hardened our hearts and pursued the pleasures of sin and consumed our lusts on the things of this world?
This is the preacher’s opportunity to speak of a very personal reckoning. For the one who invested his five talents, there has been great gain. What sort of gain? He has gained a deeper understanding of God’s truth; he has developed a greater appreciation of the being of God and how worthy he is of praise and thanksgiving. He has learnt to pray for all his needs, and through trials he has learnt to trust God in every circumstance. He has advanced in holiness, in hatred of sin and love of righteousness, and he has grown to be more like his Lord and Saviour. He has had many opportunities to love fellow believers and to do them good. He has been used to bring others into the kingdom of heaven through his witness and personal walk of faith. He has seen that this world lies in the power of the evil one and is passing away. He longs more for the return of Christ and to see him face to face.
The servants traded with their master’s money, and all that the Christian gains is given to him by the Lord. Every blessing that we receive and the ability to make further gains through faith comes to us through Calvary. Christ has purchased redemption for us at great cost to himself. None of these wonderful blessing would be available to us if he had not died for us on the cross. The cost to him was so enormous that we can only begin to grasp it. We must explain to those who are outside that according to the eternal divine plan, Jesus Christ became our surety and experienced our eternal punishment in hell. He satisfies the justice of God, so that God can forgive us and still remain true to himself. The Lord’s substance has achieved all this for us.