What does Luke 19:11 mean?

This is the last story before Jesus enters Jerusalem on His way to face crucifixion. He is traveling from the east, from Jericho. He has just brought physical sight to a blind man and spiritual sight to a tax collector (Luke 18:35–43; 19:1–10). Crowds surround Him, including a great many of His disciples who think He is going to establish His kingdom and drive out the Romans. The Twelve think He is going to install them as princes.

Jesus tells the parable of the ten minas to prepare them for what's really going to happen (Luke 19:11–27). To rule the kingdom, He can't take it; He must receive it. It will take time before He returns to assume His place as King. Until then, the members of the crowd need to figure out what they believe and if they're willing to commit to that belief.

This is remarkably like the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). In both cases, a man goes on a journey and entrusts servants with his resources. When the man returns, he rewards or punishes the servants depending on how well they served him.

Yet, there are important differences. In the parable of the talents, the servants receive different amounts of money; this represents their different abilities, time, and spiritual gifts. Here, they all receive the same amount of money, representing the one thing all Jesus' followers share equally: the gospel. Another difference is that in this parable, the servants face resistance (Luke 19:14). There's a faction within the land that does not want the nobleman to return as king. This isn't just an issue of faithfulness, stewardship, and responsibility. The servants will have to keep a great deal of loyalty to continue to publicly serve a master who is so opposed.