Matthew 25:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’

NIV: The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'

NASB: The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’

CSB: The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I've earned five more talents.'

NLT: The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

KJV: And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

NKJV: “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

Jesus is painting a vivid picture of His own return to the earth in this interaction between a master and his servants. The master in this parable left huge sums with his servants (Matthew 25:14–19). His intent was for them to put those assets to work, to make him more money. As with the "talents" given to us by God today, their intended use is for God's glory. Those blessings are not meant to be ignored, hidden, or abused (Matthew 25:27). The scale Jesus uses also speaks to the importance of these blessings. Even the servant who was "only" given one talent was entrusted with the equivalent of twenty years of wages!

The first servant makes his report to the master. He tells the master he has made five talents above the five talents given to him by the master. That is a 100 percent return on investment; any master would have been pleased with this enormous success. As a result, the master will express how pleased he truly is and reward the servant richly (Matthew 25:21).

Matthew 25:14–30 compares the kingdom of heaven to three servants of a wealthy master. Each was given resources—the master's assets—and commanded to do business with them while he is away. Two of the servants apply the supplied funds and double the sums of money the master leaves with them. They are richly rewarded when he comes back. The third servant buries the money and does nothing with it out of supposed fear of the master. The master condemns his laziness and evil, casting him out. Jesus' servants must work diligently for Him while waiting for His return, not wasting the talents and resources which they have been given.

Jesus uses two additional parables to illustrate a state of constant readiness for His return after He has gone. His followers should be working for Him while they wait. They must not be like the foolish young women who missed a wedding feast because they forgot oil for their lamps. They must be like the servants who doubled their harsh master's investments while He was away. Jesus concludes with a third descriptive passage, showing how He will judge between the righteous and evil when He returns as King.

Matthew 25 concludes the "Olivet Discourse:" Jesus' teaching to the disciples about future things as they sit on the Mount of Olives. This follows His dire predictions about the Temple and Jerusalem in chapter 24. He gives two more parables to emphasize that they must be prepared for His return. Finally, Jesus describes the moment of His return, after a time of tribulation, when He will judge all who live on earth at the beginning of His kingdom. This leads into Matthew's account of Jesus' Last Supper, betrayal, and arrest in chapter 26.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.