MEDITATIONS FROM THE PARABLES OF JESUS

THE NOBLEMAN AND THE POUNDS

Read Luke 19:11-27

Jesus spoke this parable as He was nearing Jerusalem to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Many followers of Jesus expected Him to set up and establish an earthly kingdom when He came to Jerusalem, a kingdom in which He would reign over the nation of Israel. With this parable, Jesus sought to teach His disciples that His visible presence would be taken from them for a time and that they would be expected to carry on His work of seeking and saving the lost (v.10) until He returned.

Jesus is like the nobleman in this parable. After Jesus suffered and died upon the cross to redeem all people, He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. From this position of power and glory He continues to build His kingdom. Before ascending to the Father, Jesus entrusted to His disciples the saving Gospel and the task of preaching this Gospel in all the world, to every creature (Mark 16:15-16).

Like the citizens who hated the nobleman, many of the Jews, who had the Old Testament Scriptures and should have come to faith in Jesus Christ and inherited the kingdom, rejected Jesus as their Christ and King. They rebelled against Him.

When Christ Jesus returns on the Last Day, He will examine His servants in regard to their faithfulness in carrying on His work of discipling the nations. Those who have faithfully used the Gospel and sought to gain others for Christ's kingdom will receive a gracious reward in addition to the blessings of forgiveness and eternal life which they already possessed through faith in the Gospel. Those servants who knew their Lord's command and will, but were unfaithful and disobedient, will lose even that which was entrusted to them. All who have rejected Christ and rebelled against Him will be condemned to eternal torment in hell on that Day!

This parable provides a very important lesson to us. We have the pure and saving Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the good news of forgiveness of sins and everlasting life for Jesus' sake. It may be a temptation at times to keep it to ourselves, to wrap it up and hide it lest we lose it; but our Lord not only requires us to preserve it in its truth and purity, He requires us to faithfully use it to seek and save lost souls!

Raise up, O Lord the Holy Ghost, from this broad land a mighty host; their war cry, "We will seek the lost where Thou, O Christ, wilt come." Amen. (TLH, Hymn #506, Verse 6)

Meditations from the Parables of Jesus Index