Luke 19 11-28
Sermon for Second to
Last Sunday.
Luke 19: 11-28
Parable of the Minas
“Great Expectations”
Intro.: Have you ever had great expectations of an event or momentous occasion that in the end seem unfulfilled? I have. Fishing is one of my passions. When I was I was 16 years old my father took me on a fishing trip to a very special trout stream. I remember the trip well. It was on a fall day that was much like today. The sun was shining and its rays bounced off of the brilliantly colored leaves still hanging on the trees. There were lots of fish, salmon -- big ones. These were the fish that I had dreamed of catching all my life. Everything was perfect. I thought. Most of the day I watched other people catch fish. They were using the right bait and using a successful method to fish with. So I changed my bait and I learned their methods. I started hooking fish…and loosing them. My hooks bent. My line broke. As my great expectations turned to knots in my stomach, the sun went down and it was time to go. To this day I have not caught a salmon. All of our lives are filled with these moments. For you, perhaps its the big game or wrestling match that you dreamed about winning, but lost. Maybe its love for another person which in the beginning was so easy because passion was on fire, but now seems like work because it entail responsibility and commitment. Or maybe its a job that seemed to hold so many promises in the beginning but it now feels like a trap. The disciples and the followers of Jesus had great expectations also.
I. Waiting with Great Expectations.
A. The disciples had journeyed with Jesus for quite a while when they stopped at Zacchaeus’s house. They had been hearing about a promised kingdom and they knew this was the last stop on the journey to Jerusalem. They expected Him and His kingdom to come in their presence in Jerusalem. Can you imagine what expectations they might have had? He taught Gods Word with vibrancy and understanding. Jesus had done so many miracles in their presence. He had even raised the dead. He spoke of the coming kingdom of God, a kingdom that He said was with them now. It wouldn’t be long and they would be in Jerusalem, and they hoped that he would establish His reign there. They had great expectations for Jesus. They were wrong and they were right.
B. Indeed the Kingdom of God was at hand, but they would see it established by blood and not by glory. They did not expect that the coming week would end with their teacher hanging on a cross. Oh yes, they could have known if they had listened to Jesus’ words about the suffering that was to come, and must come to Him. This, however, didn’t meet with their expectations. What they didn’t understand was that it was these very means by which He would establish His kingdom. What they didn’t understand was that it was a kingdom that could only be seen by faith.
C. Too often, and in many ways, we are like Jesus’ disciples. As we follow Christ daily, we expect things to go well for us. Sure, some days are bumpier than others, but we feel that we too are on the road to Jerusalem where our Jesus will be made King and everything will be well in our lives. Then the problems come. Sickness comes to us, and the people we love. Our kids get into trouble. Our friends and family members die. We begin to wonder what God has done for us. The trust we once had in God falters and we are ashamed because we are not satisfied with the way things are going. We begin to wonder what kind of king Jesus is anyway. We want his kingdom to be real for us now. We may feel abandoned but we are not.
II. Our King gives us everything we need in His absence.
A. Summarize the parable of the minas
B. How can we apply this parable to our lives? We can consider ourselves to be like the servants of the story. The nobleman is Jesus and the far country he is going to is Heaven where He will assume His royal kingship. Just like the servants in the parable we too have been given one mina – coin (equivalent of three months wages). What does this mina – coin represent? Some people have said that it refers to the spiritual gifts of God. This is unlikely because there are many varying spiritual gifts and they are given in different degrees. In this parable each servant is given the same gift, one mina -- coin. Some people have said that the mina -- coin refers to faith. While this answer seems appealing, it to may be missing the mark. First, we would be faced with the possibility, and insecurity of loosing our own mina – coin (or faith) as the third servant did. This would provide us with no comfort. Certainly none whom God has chosen shall be snatched from His hand. God wants us to be confident in His ability to save and preserve us. So what is it that God gives to each of us that can be used to do his business, which is the business of spreading and proclaiming His kingdom and kingship? The mina -- coin represents the means of grace, the Gospel and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords supper by which faith grows in us and creates faith in people that hear it. It is the gift that all of us have been given in the same measure.
C. There are three important things that are brought to our attention about the mina -- coin, the gifts of Gods Word and Sacrament that it represents. First, we do not have ownership of these gifts. We did not ask for them and we did not earn them. They have been given to us, His servants so that they may work through us. Second, they have been given to us for a purpose. When we, in good stewardship, faithfully receive His Word and sacraments they produce tremendous wealth, including the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and the fellowship of God. The blessings overflow when these gifts are used and the kingdom of Christ is proclaimed in them. Third, it has the ability to grow on its own. Note that the servants don’t say we earned the additional mina -- coin. They say “the mina -- coin you gave me sir, has earned ten times as much. They did not place their trust in themselves, they placed it in their newly crowned king and the gift that He gave them.
III. The Rewards
A. What about the third servant, what did he do that warranted the king taking his mina away? He did not gladly receive what he had been given. Further more, he did not trust the king, nor did he treat Him as king. Had he honored the king he would have done what he was told to do. Instead, he ignores the kings command to do business. So his reward for the rejection of the kings gifts and his lack of faith in there power, is utter poverty. He receives less than nothing. Jesus’ words say it best “as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away”.
B. There is another group of people in this story. The enemies of the king. These are the people that are in opposition to Him and are trying to kill Him. Constantly they oppose Christ’s kingdom and His means of grace. Christ speaks some very harsh words about these people. Those who hate the king and are His enemies will be slaughtered.
C. What about the faithful servants, and yes, you and I. In the parable the faithful servants receive more than they can imagine. They rule over many cities. This is not a pay-back to servants who have done good jobs. This is a graceful award abounding in generosity. Like them, you will receive more than you can imagine.
Conclusion: On my fishing trip with my father I had great expectations. As I mature, I look back on that day and realize that I caught something bigger than any fish. I hooked a memory of a day with my father. That memory will last a life time and has exceeded all of my expectations.
As we wait with expectation for our king to come back. We can be confident and grateful to Him, because He has given us His treasure. By faith we see it. We have His Word which promises that He is with us now, in His Word and His Holy Supper. We are united to Him in our baptisms and His Holy Spirit cries out in us with great expectation --“Come Lord Jesus”.