Have you heard the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27)? It’s sort of the creepy, leering uncle to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). I say that because it seems sensible enough for the most part, but it has those quirky parts that would never make it into the children’s Bibles.
But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.
Luke 19:27
For the bulk of my Bible-reading life, I’ve assumed the parable of the minas was just a repetition of the parable of the talents that somehow lost a few things in transmission. It has ten servants instead of three. Each is given one coin, instead of differing amounts. And, of course, those citizens don’t want the guy to be their king, so he has them executed.
But for a number of years now, I’ve argued that we ought to understand such parallel passages on their own, within their own context. Perhaps these two parables really have different things to say to different audiences. So in my current study of Luke, I gave this one a fresh shot.
The Question of When
And now I arrive at my second assumption with respect to this parable. Because of my first assumption (that it’s basically the same as the parable of the talents), I’ve always assumed that it speaks of Jesus’ second coming and the future judgment of humanity.
A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
Luke 19:12
It seems so self-evident:
As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
Luke 19:11
They supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately, and they were mistaken. So he tells them this parable to inform them of the great delay that must take place before his return. Easy peasy.
But hold on. Luke doesn’t say that they were mistaken. He doesn’t say, either, that Jesus aims to correct them. What if he told the parable not to correct their mistake, but to affirm the fact that they’ve finally started listening to him (see, for example, Luke 17:21)? Maybe it’s not the timing of the kingdom that they’re wrong about, but the nature of it. That, in other words, though it will appear immediately, it will not bring good news for most of them. The time has arrived for a reckoning.
Help from the Context
From the first phrase of Luke 19:11, we must ask: “What things did they hear, which prompted their enthusiasm for the kingdom’s appearance when he got to Jerusalem?” And we get much help in the immediate proximity. Check out Luke 19:9-10.
And we also ought to ask: When did Jesus, and the original audience to this parable, expect this severe reckoning to take place? What exactly is he describing by telling a story about a great king returning home to check on his appointed servants? We get much help in the succeeding vicinity. Check out Luke 19:41-44.
At this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus has—yet again!—just reminded his disciples why he is going up to Jerusalem (and Luke has spent 10 chapters describing that single-minded journey):
See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
Luke 18:31
So what did the prophets have to say about this arrival in Jerusalem? And how does the parable of the ten minas connect with what those prophets had to say? Help is available, especially in Malachi 3:1-5 and Zechariah 9:9-10:12.
Your Turn
I’ll leave it there for now, so you can examine the text yourself and consider these questions. Hopefully I’ll get to write more on it next week, after you’ve had time to ponder the matter.
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