The explanation of the parable of the talents that Jesus narrated was with the intention that his anointed disciples would know what he expected of them. However, even if we are not anointed, we can learn from this story and look for a meaning in relation to our daily lives.
Jesus told his disciples this story while giving them a prophecy that would come to pass when he became king and the last days began. Therefore, the parable of the talents is part of that prophecy. As it appears in the following passage:
“And while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him apart, saying: Tell us, when will these things be, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age? Answering Jesus, he said to them: See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying: I am the Christ; and many will deceive” (Matthew 24:3-5)
Explanation of the parable of the talents and what it represents
To understand this story, it is necessary to know the meaning of the word “Talent” which refers to a large sum of money and in the time of Christ one had to work hard for up to twenty years to obtain a single talent. In the same way, it is important to know the meaning that the anointed receive the final seal, which reveals to us that Jehovah gives his approval so that they have eternal life in heaven.
In this way, Jesus told this story to show his disciples that they must strive to fulfill and obey God’s will. One of the things that the Lord demanded and highly valued was preaching, and through it he gained many followers. However, he knew that he had to preach even more.
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As expressed in the parable of the talents, man entrusted his slaves with the talents, Jesus Christ asked the anointed for the mission of preaching. Therefore, the talents represent the responsibility of preaching and discipling.
Although each slave received a different number of talents, the man in the story gave five talents to the first slave, two to the second, and one to the third, as stated in Matthew 25:15. The man, for his part, expected the three of them to work hard to earn more money for him. Likewise, Jesus expected the anointed to preach with dedication.
Following the explanation of the parable of the talents, the two slaves who obtained the most money represent the faithful anointed in the last days. They have been working hard in preaching, especially since 1919. In the story told by Jesus, the two slaves got different amounts of talents. However, this does not mean that there are two groups of faithful anointed ones.
In this regard, we must remember that the two faithful slaves repaid the man double what they had obtained. Which lets us see that the two worked equally hard. But as mentioned above, we must consider the fact that it is not only the anointed who are to preach with fervor.
So Jesus wants all of his followers to try very hard to make more disciples. And this was what the Christians did in the first century.
And nowadays the word of God is being preached even more and due to such effort many people manage to be baptized every year. So this is strong proof that preaching is an essential part of Jesus’ prophecy about the end times.
The second coming of Christ on earth
One of the aspects referred to in the parable of the talents is the arrival of Jesus on the day of tribulation, where Jesus says: “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19).
This leads us to the question about the coming of Jesus, since it is said that he will come in the final part of the great tribulation. But the precise time of this arrival is not known: “At an hour you don’t think it is, the Son of man is coming” (Matthew 24:30, 42, 44).
In this order of ideas, in the story of the talents, Jesus was also talking about when he comes to judge people and totally destroy Satan’s world. In the parable it is mentioned that when the man came from the journey, he said to each of the first two slaves: “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful about a few things.
I will name you over many things” (Matthew 25:21, 23). He said this because he realized that the first slave had obtained five more talents and the second slave had acquired two more talents.
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In this way, before the great tribulation occurs on earth, Jehovah will give the final seal to the faithful anointed ones who are still on Earth. Which means that Jehovah will have given them his defining approval. Therefore, before Armageddon occurs, Jesus Christ will take them to heaven as a prize.
For those who hope to live in Paradise and help the anointed to preach, Jesus Christ will judge them and allow them to live in Paradise under the Kingdom of God, as visualized in the following passage from the Bible:
“Then the King will say to those on his right: Come, blessed of your Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34).
What does the lazy and bad slave represent?
The parable of the talents tells us about the third bad and lazy slave, where Jesus explained that this slave did not use the talent to get more money. But he also did not take it to the bank to acquire interest, but he buried it, so the man took the talent and gave it to the first slave because he considered that this third slave had done wrong. Then he kicked the bad slave out of his house.
In this way, Jesus Christ urges us to make good use of talents and not act like this third slave, since we should be faithful to God forever. In addition, he warns all the anointed that they should be prepared and alert. So what Jesus Christ wanted to express to us in this story is that we work hard and with effort to not be like this third slave.
On the other hand, in this parable Jesus refers to what could happen if they became unfaithful, and refers to those anointed who have refused to preach.
The reward of preaching
The parable of the talents teaches us that Jesus entrusted to the anointed something very precious, which is the value of preaching and the willingness to make disciples of Christ. This story also teaches us that we must work very hard and preach the gospel to every creature so that no one is lost and can have eternal life, that is the purpose of his teachings, exhort us to do his will and be prepared for the end of time after his second coming on the day of the great tribulation.
The reward is salvation, eternal life, which is a promise from our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, if we faithfully preach and do everything Jesus commands us, he will reward us, as can be seen in the following quote:
“His Lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant; You have been faithful over a little, I will put you over much; enter into the joy of your lord.”
(Matthew 25:23).
It should be noted that in the first century, Jesus entrusted to the anointed the talents that represent the responsibility of preaching and making disciples, according to the fulfillment of that great commitment, they will obtain God’s approval or not.
So in this parable, Jesus Christ focused on the anointed ones who are still alive on earth when he comes to earth on the day of great tribulation. However, the faithful anointed who have died before the great tribulation receive God’s approval once they die.