Teachings of Jesus (Part 37) Parable of the Minas and His Triumphal Entry by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1947

Teachings of Jesus (Part 37) Parable of the

 Minas and His Triumphal Entry

Read Luke 19:11-27

“While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Jesus used this story or parable to talk about some pretty heavy things; things that would soon take place, and also things that will take place in the future.
– The parable makes reference to Him being rejected by His people.
– It makes reference to Him leaving and becoming the King (of kings)
– It also refers to His ultimate return and the duty of His servants during His absence. For us that’s now.
– The parable also speaks of how He will judge His servants and reward them for their diligence or for being lazy or even being His enemy.
– It speaks of the destruction of those who opposed Him.

In the parable:
– The man of noble birth who was leaving represents Jesus
– The distant country represents Heaven
– The place he’d return to where his servants were, is earth itself
– After Jesus ascended into heaven He was pronounced the King of Kings by the Father.

In Daniel 7:13-14 it says ““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

In Hebrew 1:3-9 it says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

Now most of those Jewish people during that time expected a Messiah and His kingdom to begin when Jesus reached Jerusalem.
But Jesus was letting them know in this parable that He was not going to establish the His Kingdom and deal with the Romans which the Jews hated yet, but indeed He lets them know that there is a great day coming.

In this parable the master gave his servants a Mina. This was a Greek coin which was slightly more than a month’s wage. But in reality, here it represents our life’s and all that He has given us as individuals to use or invest for His Glory.

Someone once said, “The nicest thing about God is that He trusts us to do so much by ourselves.” Barclay

In the parable we read that some of his servants used that which their master had given them to use very well and produces a good return for him. But then some did not. Those who served him well were bless and given even more authority but the one that did nothing, even what he had was take away.
Most of us have heard the saying, ‘If you don’t use it, you’ll use it.’

In Matthew 25:31-46 it talks about Jesus’ return;

“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

In this parable Jesus is making a point of teaching that He was not going to begin reign as Messiah immediately, rather He was going away and would return later to reign. But during His absence, His disciples need to be working with what God has given them for His Glory. We see that He will reward us in proportion to what we have produces for him. The parable teaches that everyone is accountable to God, and everyone will receive what he or she deserves from the King of kings. It is a warning to believers and unbelievers alike.

Now Immediately after telling this parable we see that Luke tells us that Jesus begins His trip to Jerusalem and we see the people celebrating Jesus while on the way.
The people had been waiting for the prophesied Messiah for a long time, and most of them thought that He would free them from Roman oppression; and here Jesus comes on the scene. Many declare that He is the one, the Messiah that was to come. His teachings amazed the multitudes, even the most educated teachers. He performs miracles like feeding the 1000’s, calming a raging sea, walking on water, healing the sick, the blind and demon possessed, and even raising the dead to life. And so as He comes to the Jerusalem the people are excited and celebrate Him as they would a King coming to their town.

Read Luke 19:28-44 “After Jesus had said this, (the parable of the minas) he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

The people were excited to see Him, that is except for the Pharisees who were upset and said something to Jesus about them praising Him. But Jesus lets them know that there was just no stopping them and said, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

As He travels a bit closer to Jerusalem we see that He gets a bit choked up, and Luke records this. Starting in verse 41.
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Like the servants that did not use what their master have given them to use for His glory and was condemned, Jesus knew that would be Jerusalem’s fate. In The year 70, the Romans would destroy Jerusalem.

This triumphal entry or what we call Palm Sunday was not only the beginning of the end of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry; He lets them know it is the beginning of the end for them because of their lack of faith and refusal to obey their Lord.

The question for us today is, are we are going to be like those wise servants that honored their lord and use what He has given us for His glory, or are we going to be like the foolish servant.

God has given us all abilities, talent and possessions to enjoy and use. So the question for us today is, are you going to use them for His glory, or are you going to use them for your own interests, or not at all.

Look and see what the Lord is saying here; one way leads to blessing, and the other not so much. Today choose the right way to go.