Matthew 25:24 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 25:24

Comments

Last came the servant who had received one talent. Though he had received less than any other, he was not excused from making good use of what he had, for his master had given to him in proportion to his ability and would not expect more than was reasonable. But this servant behaved in an entirely different way to the other two and here is the heart of the parable. We need to examine the injustice of his complaint. As so often the Lord helps men and women to see something about themselves which is very obvious from God’s point of view but which they are unable or unwilling to see until it is set before them in the form of a parable. He was given exactly the same opportunity but responded to it in an entirely different way. His complaint was not that he has been given less; he was focused on the profit he was expected to make, not on how much he had received. In fact he had to make less of a return than the other servants, so perhaps his task could be said to easier. But he did not see it that way. ‘Lord, I knew you’, he says. He refers to the past because he was excusing his past behaviour, but, as far as he is concerned, his master’s character has not changed. He is quite certain that he has correctly assessed his master, penetrating that veneer of kindness that had deceived his fellow servants, and discerning his master’s calculating motivation. His master was unreasonable, self-interested. He reaped where he had not sown, and gathered where he had not scattered. Was that all he could see in all this arrangement? He complained that his master expected back more than he had given in the first place. He was a hard man ‘reaping where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered’. To the cynical mind of this last servant, his master was an advantage taker. Never mind that the master had given his servants a totally undeserved opportunity, or that he had remained in employment with a roof over his head as a member of the household, and with food to eat and wages to live off. No, the master was out for his own gain, nothing else. It was all perfectly obvious.

Application

In the same way, the unbeliever is certain that he knows the character of God. He knows that the God he has to do with is strictly just, but lacking in all generosity and kindness. He recompenses men in a rigid way and never gives more than is strictly their due. And yet the parable gives the lie to this assessment, for the reward already given to the faithful servants shows conclusively that the master rewarded his servants far more than strict equity demanded. ‘I will make you ruler over many things.’ Was this the act of a stingy master; one who begrudges any personal loss to himself, and only recompenses rigidly in line with performance? No, it was an act of benevolence that revealed the true heart of the master. Those without faith can never truly understand the character of God; can never really know him, for they judge him from their own narrow perspective, as those who are under the law, and who understand nothing of grace. Yet, grace is also a part of his character and it is the most glorious part. The gospel has been preached in all the world and the offer of salvation has been made to vast numbers. This is a genuine offer in which Christ says, ‘the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.’ Not to take God at his word is to deny ourselves his greatest gifts and to call him a liar.

God is judged by ungrateful unbelief as one who is only trying to take from us. But the truth is that God ‘sows a great deal where he reaps nothing’ (Matthew Henry). Psalm 33:5 ‘The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.’ Never mind that he has given us life and the power of reason; the earth to live on and many evidences of his goodness in spite of the fact that we rebel against him. Never mind also that he has sent his Son into the world to die for us while we were still his enemies and while he would have been fully justified in banishing us to hell for all eternity. All of this is dismissed because of the jaundiced attitude that takes over men’s hearts and they can see nothing good in God at all. How can the same thing be regarded in such different ways? The parable gives us a profound insight into this question and analyses the difference between believers and unbelievers. God is the opposite of an extortioner, but men are determined to justify their unbelief by an assault on his character. How much is read into the motivation of the master that is not there! How many clues were available to this unworthy servant that should have told him the opposite! How many good things we have all received from the Lord that ought to encourage us to seek his mercy! How much he has said and done to dispel our suspicions!

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Matthew 25:24 Commentary and Bible Study