The King and His Retribution, Part 3 | When the King Returns

Luke 19:20-27

Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Luke 19 as we finish up the parable of the minas, Luke 19:11-27, “As they heard these things, he,” Jesus, “proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, ‘A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

“When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant. Because you’ve been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ He said to him, ‘And you’re to be over five cities.”’

“Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief. For I was afraid of you because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest.’

“He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas. ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

So after hearing this vile justification by the servant, after delivering a just condemnation, the king passes sentence, and then executes the sentence. The swift execution. The swift execution. In any trial, in any courtroom, after the prosecution has rested, after the judge has made his decision and dropped his gavel, condemned the guilty, there is a sentence to follow. There’s a sentencing phase. And we, here we enter into the royal courtroom, presided over by a king, and so unlike our legal system, justice here is swift, isn’t it? He is lawgiver, judge, jury, executioner, all wrapped up into one man. With the king, sovereign, he’s the entire government, embodied in one person. Everything is much more efficient. Justice is much swifter, and that’s a good thing in the, in the hands of this good king.

The condemnation is in verse 22, and now the sentence is handed down, verse 24. And we see then it’s followed by a protest in verse 25, which then is answered, and then finally the execution in verse 27. First, let’s look at the sentence, verse 24. “He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’” When the Lord takes away that which he has entrusted to every one of his servants, what is he saying here by taking this guy’s mina away? I mean, if the mina represents what every true servant of God’s household in Christ’s Kingdom has received, which is an equal measure, the gospel, at the very least, taking away the mina is saying what? You can no longer identify as my servant. That’s what he’s saying.

 To take the mina away is tantamount, as we’re saying, tantamount to removing a lampstand. Just as Jesus is no longer gonna allow a church to identify with him or in the terms of the parable, to have the privilege, or having the mina, bearing one of the lampstands, the same principle applies to an individual believer. Professes to be a believer, professes Christ, but he hides his mina and he never uses it.

This false pretender who disdains the nobleman, he’s sided with the rebellious citizens, essentially, hasn’t he? He, too, refuses to have this man rule over him. He’s demonstrated he does not want this guy to rule over him. How does he demonstrate that? By not doing what he says. His mask has been removed; his true character is revealed. He’s exposed as a fraud, a false servant. So the sentence is passed. This man is no longer a member of the master’s household. Where does he go? Outside.

Protest is a voiced here in verse 25. The protest is not about the sentence that’s passed upon the servant. That’s patently just. Everybody sees that. The protest is about the Lord awarding another mina to the already successful servant. Verse 25, “They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas.’” But, number of commentators believe verse 25 represents an interruption from the crowd. They interject. The audience of Jesus is so engrossed in the story, so emotionally engaged, they just jumped in, interrupted Jesus, protested out loud. They refused to let Jesus finish without an explanation.

And I’ll admit that’s an attractive point of view. I could be persuaded if I’ve tipped a little bit. But I think Luke is so competent as a narrator that I think he’d be able to make it very clear that if it was the crowd protesting, or if this protest is a part of the story. I think here it’s a part of the story. I think it’s best to see it that way. But still, I do think that this represents Jesus knowing this is a big deal. He can sense the unease of the crowd around him, their agitation. “Give it to the one who has ten minas.” What, hoo ha hoo ha? What? Take the mina away from an unfaithful servant who wasn’t using it anyway? That’s clearly just, okay, we get that. No problem. Hand it over to the guy who already has ten minas.” What do they say? That’s not fair. It’s not fair.

Let’s consider a few theological principles about the way God works. First, God is absolutely sovereign, isn’t he? He’s absolutely sovereign. He chooses who gets what and how much. He chooses whom to reward and in what measure. He creates as he wills. He decides as he pleases, and he acts according to all his good pleasure. He’s sovereign, which is always right and never wrong because, second, God is perfectly just. God is absolutely sovereign, and he is perfectly just. The judge of all the earth will always do what’s right. He’ll always think what’s right, decide what’s right, speak and act with righteousness, because it is the essence of God to be righteous. Take away righteousness, and God is not God.

The third, God is freely gracious, also. Means his grace is never owed. If it were owed, it would no longer be a matter of grace, right? It’d be a matter of justice if it were owed. So if it’s a matter of justice, see point two. But if it’s grace, then it’s a matter of divine freedom. He has freedom to dole out his gifts as he wills, in whatever measure he wills, to whomever he wills, however he wills, and for how long he wills.

As recipients of his grace, our sole duty is to receive his gifts with a heart of gratitude, enjoy the gift that he’s given, and steward that gift faithfully according to the will of the giver; according to his will, his design, his intention. So the king in the parable representing Christ, he acts according to the prerogative of absolute sovereignty, in the confidence of perfect justice, and by the freedom of his grace to give as he sees fit.

And let’s add a fourth theological principle to our little list. God’s absolutely sovereign, he’s perfectly just, he’s freely gracious and, we see here, he is tremendously generous, tremendously generous. God is love and love is a giving, generous attribute. That’s why when I see a person who professes to be a Christian but doesn’t show any love, I got a lot of question marks. God is characterized by love, and he takes great delight in pouring out blessing, and doling out kindness after kindness, and showering his people with mercy and compassion. He simply loves being generous.

He does good to the evil and the good, to the just and the unjust, to the righteous and the unrighteous. Just gives and gives and gives and gives. He never stops giving. So to take the one mina from the pretender, that’s just, that’s just, just and right. The man squandered the stewardship he’d been given, treated his gift like cheap grace, took it for granted, despised it, thus proved to be a false disciple.

But then to give the mina to the one who had already had ten minas? You know what Jesus wants us to see here? He wants us to see in this king the generosity of God and the generosity of Christ. He takes great delight in giving, and he does it over and above. He pours out blessing upon blessing upon blessing. And we tend to think in our human, typical human limitation, along the lines of the reasoning of verse 25, Lord, he already has ten minas. He’s good. It’s good enough. I mean, come on, give him too much, he’s gonna, it’s gonna, it’s gonna make him slothful.

Jesus wants us to see something completely different in the divine arithmetic of generosity. He doesn’t stop. Ten minas is just the beginning of his generosity. It’s just the start. More is coming. And believe me, beloved, you have no idea of what is in store for those who love God. He’s gonna give, and he’s gonna give, and he’s gonna give.

Don’t fail to notice what the king says in verse 26 as he answers. He says, “‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given.’” It’s not just the one with the ten minas who’s receives more, it’s to everyone who has. If your mina earned .00000001% more, right? It, if there’s been an earning on your mina. Guess what? Abundant blessing upon you. All servants, already recipients of the King’s grace, they are all also going to receive of the magnanimity of his generosity.

 All right, returning to the false pretender, the bad guy, boo, hiss, hiss, here he is. One more time we want to look at him. Jesus also puts the words of explanation into the mouth of the king. Verse 26, he says, “‘Take away the mina. Give it to the one who has ten minas.’” And, “‘From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’” And when the king says, “The one who has not,” of course he’s not talking about taking the mina that he originally gave him. That’s the very thing he’s taken away. It’s not as if he’s given the guy nothing. It’s not as if he has absolutely nothing here. Like the other nine servants, he started with what the nobleman gave him, and he refused to do anything with it. He spurned the master’s grace. He treated that gift and, by extension, treated the master as well, with cold indifference.

So this saying, “‘From the one who has not even what he has will be taken away,’” that saying is from Jesus’ earlier teaching in Luke 18. It’s a warning. “Take care how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given. And from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” It’s a warning. He instills the same level of sobriety in his disciples, warning them in Matthew 13:11, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it’s not been given.” To those who hear this parable and ignore it, just keep on moving ahead, they haven’t received the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. “For, to the one who has, more will be given and he’ll have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Warning is so clear, that to all who hear the gospel, all who hear preaching, all who hear sermons, Jesus wants them to realize they are responsible for what they hear. They have a duty to make use of the gospel, to use truth like a mina granted by a gracious Savior, so they might put it into work for the service of the Kingdom, for the glory of God.

Let’s be very clear about this, lest there’s any mistake. The one who, like this unfaithful servant, the one who fails to put the mina to use, does not matter how long he’s been listening to sermons. Doesn’t matter if he’s been listening to and learning from the best preachers and teachers. Doesn’t matter how long he’s been a member of a doctrinally-sound, biblically-healthy church. Doesn’t matter if he’s been sitting under expositional preaching, even in the church of Ephesus itself. Doesn’t matter if he’s, knows to discern between good and bad preaching. If he fails to use the mina, invest the mina, put the mina that he’s received to work, that man or that woman is not a true Christian, but a false pretender. Even what he thinks he has, even what she thinks she has, even that will be taken away.

Well, what’s the final end of the wicked servant, unfaithful servant? Just briefly turn over to Matthew chapter 25 in verse 24. Jesus adds a note of great consequence. We see in that passage, it’s, it’s implied here as well, which I’ll show you, but Jesus tells the parable again, as I said in Matthew 25, and from the perspective of where we are at Luke 19, it’s just a few days from now. It’s just a slightly different version of the parable, but same structure, similar elements. And note the clear warning about the fate of the unfaithful.

Look at Matthew 25:24. “He also who had received the one talent, came forward saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you scattered no seeds. So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I, I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I’ve scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, give it to the one who has ten talents, for to everyone who has more will be given, and he’ll have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Outer darkness. This place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? What’s Jesus talking about there? Picture of Hell, isn’t it? The fate of the unfaithful is to be sentenced, along with all the rebels and all the enemies of God, to spend eternity in Hell, in eternal conscious torment. The unfaithful are self-deceived, and they are shocked at the verdict. According to Matthew 7:19, they’ve claimed to be fruit-bearing trees, but they bear no fruit and they’re cut down and they’re thrown to the fire. But they think they’re faithful trees.

Jesus tells us, “Look past what they say, look past their claims, and you will know them by their fruits.” And then these memorable words in Matthew Chapter 7, verse 21 and following, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who’s in Heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

It’s a sobering reality that this wicked servant, Luke 19, you can go back there, he’s one of those. King has rewarded the faithful. He’s recompensed the unfaithful. And now, in the interests of justice, there’s one more group to deal with. Those in verse 14, hated the king, rebelled against him. Most of the parable, we see, has been focusing on the king’s household. We notice that he does what’s wise and prudent. He cleans up his own backyard first, before he turns to deal with the rebellious citizens outside his gates in his own country. Reminds me of what Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:17, “For it’s time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who don’t obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous are scarcely saved, what’ll become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Those who refuse to bow the knee to the king, Jesus portrays their fate in verse 27. He does it graphically. “As for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.” The unfaithful servant is now grouped in with them. He didn’t say, “I don’t want this man to rule over me.” He just didn’t let the man rule over him. His actions tell the truth. He’s cast into the lot of the enemies. Very strong, vivid language here. Drag them here. Execute them before me. Our king takes personal responsibility for the execution of the rebels. He makes sure that the last face that they see before they enter into eternal judgment is his. The king on his royal throne, personally witnessing their execution. That’s the image that they’re gonna take into eternity.

Whatever your view of Jesus is, if it does not include the picture of him presiding over the execution of his enemies, then you’ve got a wrong view of Jesus. He is a great king. He is a mighty sovereign. He is not to be trifled with, as those who rebel against him are gonna find out, but too late.

Well, we know that the nobleman-become-king is Christ. The Kingdom that he receives is the Kingdom of God. And when he returns, he will take possession of the world that’s his. He’ll put all his enemies under his feet. Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

At his second coming, Christ will come reward the faithful, all those who are true Christians, who are known as such, by bearing fruit, by using the mina that each one has received, mina of the gospel. Why do they do that? Because they love their nobleman-become-king. They rejoice to see him come in his glory, count it a great honor, glorious privilege to serve him, a profound joy in a spirit of humble, hardworking gratitude. That’s how the true servants are.

Also at his second coming, Christ is gonna rep, recompense the unfaithful, all those who are false Christians. And they’re known as such because they bear no fruit. They don’t invest the mina of the gospel. They hide it, keep it tucked away, hidden, refusing to let its power multiply and bear fruit. Fake Christians occupy many seats in many churches, and as slothful pretenders they will join the rebels in the eternal torment of judgment.

And when Christ returns, he will put all his enemies under his feet. He will execute the evil. He will slay the wicked. The world is going to be, on that day, put to rights, when God reconciles all things to himself, rightly aligning everything, all things, to his perfect justice, so that righteousness is the standard, and it covers the earth like the waters cover the sea, and righteousness is done on earth as it is in Heaven.

So my friend, what about you? Where do you stand? And whatever God has given you to do, whatever place he’s assigned to you, whatever roles he’s given you, put you in, are you doing all your work to glorify God? Do you adorn the gospel in how you conduct your work or not? Are you opening your mouth to proclaim the gospel to unbelievers? If any honest self-examination before the Lord frightens you, take the time now because God is patient, as we read from 2 Peter 3.

Take the time now to do what the wicked servant failed to do. What is that? Confess your sins. Humble yourself before him. Confess your sins to the Lord, ‘cause he knows them all anyway. Seek His forgiveness. Ask him to give you the gift of faith and repentance, that you might not be swept away in judgment, but would stand with the righteous, welcoming, rejoicing at his coming, knowing that there is a glorious future of magnanimous generosity from God for you forever. Let’s pray.

Our Father, we thank you so much for, again, for sending the Lord Jesus Christ, and giving us this nobleman who you have made king. We thank you that we belong to him, and that we are servants in his household, that you have granted to us the gift, the precious gift of a mina. You’ve given us time, gifts to serve one another, serve others. You’ve given us this precious gospel.

We pray that you would help us to be faithful. Help us to see your heart of love, your heart of generosity, and let us be like you. Let us demonstrate and show the world our love for you. Let, let them see how much we love you by how much we work for you, how much we desire to do in your name, to be bold and, and outward with our profession of faith in Jesus Christ, to be clear about the Gospel, to be lovers of people, lovers of sinners, lovers of saints.

Help us to give ourself to the work of the ministry with the days we have, with the time we have. Let us not be slothful, indolent. Let us, let us never, ever try to blame you. Let us instead see you as all glorious, wise, loving, kind, good, and our king as the most noble, and the fairest of ten thousand. We love you, father. Because of him, in his name we pray. Amen.