The Parable of The Ten Minas: On Faithfulness | Luke 19:11-28
Brian Hedges | February 6, 2022
Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Luke 19. If you’re using one of the Bibles in the chairs provided for you, it’s page 878; Luke 19.
I grew up in a pastor’s family, and one of the things that meant is that we frequently had visitors come through our home, and especially visiting ministers and pastors. When I was about eleven years old there was a preacher who visited our house with his family, and this guy had a large personality. He was absolutely brilliant, he was one of the smartest people I’d ever met up to that point in my life. He had all kinds of interests, and I really enjoyed getting to know this guy and hearing him talk.
He had a great interest in books and literature, he was well read, and he was talking about a series of novels that he really loved, and it really piqued my interest. He told me during that visit, “I have four sets of this series of books, and I’ll send you a set.” It was actually a set of 24 books that he was supposed to send.
The next week I was eagerly checking the mail every day, waiting for that set of books to arrive. And the next week I was still looking, waiting for that set of books to arrive. Eventually, after a few weeks, I realized they were never going to come. I was just eleven years old, and I think it was the first time that I had really encountered someone breaking a promise to me.
What I was seeing was a lack of faithfulness in someone who wore the mantle of ministry. The interesting thing is that years later, at my very first pastorate in Lawn, Texas, a little church in Lawn Texas, I pastored a church that this man had pastored probably about three or four pastors before me. One day I was kind of rummaging through the archives in the church, and I came across an ordination certificate that had this guy’s name on it, and then in big, block letters was written the word, “Void.” His unfaithfulness in little things had eventually affected big things in his life. He had lost his marriage, he had lost family, and he had lost his ministry.
I think we underestimate the importance of faithfulness, and it’s so important in the teaching of Jesus, and stories like that stand in such stark contrast to the example of faithfulness we have in folks like Mark and Stephani, for whom we’re so grateful this morning.
I want us to talk about faithfulness as we continue in this series in the parables of Jesus. We’ve been looking at parables in the Gospel of Luke, and each week we’ve been trying to focus one parable and one practical aspect of the Christian life that is taught in that parable.
Last week we talked about humility in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and when we talked about the prodigal son it was about repentance. We talked about the persistent widow; it was about prayer.
Today we’re going to read a parable that I think is one of the lesser known parables, the parable of the minas. I have never heard a sermon on this parable, I’ve never preached a sermon on this parable until nine o’ clock this morning, so it’s been a challenging passage for me to dig into, to try to understand, and to try to apply as well. I think it’s a passage that will challenge us; it’s a challenge to us to be faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are things in this parable that will perhaps raise your eyebrows or maybe even offend your sensibilities, but remember, that’s part of Jesus’ teaching method. He says things to shock us, to get our attention. His parables always have a punchline; there’s a sting in the tail, something that’s meant to convict us and to awaken us to our need for his grace and his calling in our lives. That’s true in this parable as well.
We’re going to read the passage. It’s Luke 19, and I’m going to read verses 11-28. We’re going to read the whole thing, so it will be familiar to you. It’s the parable of the minas, and a mina was a unit of money, a measurement of money. It amounted to about three months’ wages. When we’re reading about the minas each person is receiving, that’s what they’re receiving; about three months of wages for a laborer in that day and time. Let’s read the word of God.
Luke 19:11-38: As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, ‘A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, “Engage in business until I come.” But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, “Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.” And he said to him, “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.” And the second came, saying, “Lord, your mina has made five minas.” And he said to him, “And you are to be over five cities.” Then another came, saying, “Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?” And he said to those who stood by, “Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.” And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten minas!” “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”’And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”
This is God’s word.
This is a parable that is both about the kingdom of God and about faithfulness to Christ, the King, as we are waiting for his kingdom. I think we can break it down into three points, and we could do this according to the narrative structure of the parable, as well as think about it in relationship to faithfulness. So, according to the structure of the parable, we could say:
1. We Are Waiting for a Kingdom
2. We Must Be Faithful While We Wait
3. The King Will Reward His Faithful Servants When He Returns
This shows us the context for faithfulness (as we wait for the kingdom); it shows us the nature of faithfulness, and that’s where I want to dig into the practicality of what this looks like in our lives, the nature of faithfulness as we wait for the King; and then, finally, the motives for faithfulness, as we think about the accountability as the King rewards his faithful servants when he returns.
Those are the three points; let’s take each one in turn.
1. We Are Waiting for a Kingdom: The Context for Faithfulness
It’s important that we read this parable in its context, and Luke, introducing the words of Jesus, gives us that context in verse 11. “As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.”
You have to remember that this was near the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He’s been teaching for about three years now, and he has just made the final journey towards Jerusalem. Earlier, in Luke 19, he’s been in Jericho, some 17 miles from Jerusalem, and this is where he called Zaccheus and salvation came to the house of Zaccheus, the tax collector. Jesus has healed blind me in Jericho, and he’s been healing people. Jesus has a reputation now.
People are beginning to think this might be the Messiah, so the expectations of people were really, really high. In fact, Jesus now will take this journey from Jericho to Jerusalem, and as he goes he’s telling this parable, but as soon as he gets to Jerusalem, do you remember what happens? It’s the triumphal entry! It’s Palm Sunday. He comes into Jerusalem; he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, you may remember, and people proclaim him as the king. “The king has now come.”
The expectations of people were that when the Messiah would come, the Messiah would come in great might and military victory, he would come and he would kick the Roman boot off of the Jewish neck once and for all. That’s what they were looking for. They were looking for this visible, powerful revealing of the kingdom of God.
Jesus, knowing that, knowing that they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately, tells a story. The story is a story about a nobleman who goes into a far country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then returns once he has that kingdom.
There was actually historical background that people would have known exactly what Jesus was talking about. In Jericho there was actually a palace, a royal palace that was built by Archelaus. Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great, and Archelaus, years before, had gone to Rome to receive the authority to be the successor to Herod the Great, to be the next king over Judea. But a delegation of Jews had also been sent to Rome, to Caesar Augustus, who were contesting this, who were protesting this. They were essentially saying, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” That’s the actual background to the words that Jesus is saying here.
I think what Jesus is showing us is that the kingdom comes in these two stages. The nobleman here goes to receive a kingdom, and once he’s received a kingdom he returns. In the same way, Jesus when he appeared in his earthly ministry, he came proclaiming the kingdom of God. He said, “It’s near.” The King himself was present, but the consummation of the kingdom, the full unveiling of the kingdom of God, awaits his second coming.
You might think of it in terms of the victory of the Allied forces during World War II. You probably have all heard of D-Day and VE-Day and VJ-Day. D-Day was the day of the decisive victory against the Axis, right, the powers of Nazi Germany and these other countries during World War II. It was June 6, 1944. That was the day the decisive victory was won.
But there was still another year or year and a half of war. VE-Day, victory in Europe, was not declared until May 8, 1945; and VJ-Day, victory over Japan, was not declared until late summer of 1945, September. So there was a gap. There was this interim period between the decisive victory and the actual end of the war.
You might think of the kingdom of God along the same analogy. Jesus Christ has come, and he has won the decisive victory. He has established his kingdom in the hearts of his people. He says earlier in the Gospel of Luke, “The kingdom of God is among you,” or is within you. The kingdom of God has come, but it has not come in its fullness, it has not come in power. It is not established as the kingdom of God on earth. We’re still waiting for the consummation of the kingdom.
I think what that means is that it establishes for us the context within which we now serve King Jesus. We serve as the servants of the Lord who are waiting for the fullness of the kingdom to come, but it hasn’t come yet. We might say that the primary theological point of this parable concerns the kingdom of God, this interval between the first and second comings, but the practical aim of this passage is to underscore the importance of faithfulness to the king as his servants while we wait for his return. So that’s the context; we have to understand that.
2. We Must Be Faithful While We Wait: The Nature of Faithfulness
That leads, then, to the second point, the nature of faithfulness, why we must be faithful as we wait for the king. I think we see this in the parable itself in verse 13 and then in verses 16-17.
In verse 13, before the nobleman goes on this journey to the far country, he calls ten of his servants, he gives them the ten minas, and he says to them, “Engage in business until I come.”
The mina, as I said, was money. It was three months’ worth of wages. When he says, “Engage in business until I come,” he is expecting them to invest that money so as to bring a return, so as to yield some dividends. The New Living Translation puts it like this: “Invest this for me while I am gone.” The old King James simply said, “Occupy until I come,” and the idea was, “Get busy. Do business. Use this money as a resource to do business in my name.” These servants, then, are stewards of the king who are entrusted with this wealth, and they’re meant to use that for the king, for when he returns with the kingdom.
In verses 16-17, then, you have the moment of reckoning, when the king returns and the first servant is called to account. I think this is where you see the issue of faithfulness really emphasized.
Verse 16 says, “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’” Notice what he says. The king says to him, “‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’”
We read that, and you might recognize the words. It’s almost the same words that Marv quoted a while ago, because it’s parallel to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. That’s where you have those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master.” It’s underscoring for us the importance of faithfulness, that we are to be faithful as servants of the king while we await his return.
Now, let’s turn towards a practical focus for a few moments, and let’s just think about, what does that mean? What does it mean to be faithful as we wait for the return of King Jesus? What does that mean? What is faithfulness, and what does it look like?
Jerry Bridges has written a wonderful book called The Practice of Godliness, and Bridges suggests that faithfulness entails three qualities. He calls them absolute honesty, utter dependability, and unswerving loyalty. Think about each one of those for a minute.
Absolute honesty. Faithfulness means that someone is honest, he’s truthful, he’s trustworthy, he’s faithful in his words and in his actions. This is someone who never cheats, never lies, not even white lies; someone who does not color or shade the truth for the sake of convenience or to avoid embarrassment. Someone who is faithful to the core, faithful in his words.
You find this in wisdom literature. For example, Proverbs 14:5, “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.” Absolute honesty; that’s part of the quality of faithfulness.
Or take utter dependability. What is this? It’s keeping your commitments. It’s honoring your word. It’s fulfilling your vows, it’s being reliable even when it’s costly.
Do you remember how in Psalm 15 the psalmist asks, “Who will dwell in the Lord’s holy hill?” Part of the answer is that it’s the person who “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” The person who keeps his promises, who keeps or fulfills her vows.
Then there’s unswerving loyalty. This is constancy in devotion to a person or to a cause through thick and thin.
Now, when we start thinking about faithfulness in these terms we begin to see what a rare quality it is. I mean, this is something that is greatly needed, isn’t it, in our day. I think anyone would value this in someone else, and it’s especially important in our relationship to Jesus Christ.
Here’s another definition from one commentary. “Faithfulness describes the man on whose faithful service we can rely, on whose loyalty we may depend, whose word we can unreservedly accept; it describes the man in whom there is the unswerving and inflexible fidelity of Jesus Christ and the utter dependability of God.” That’s faithfulness.
What does that look like? Let’s apply it even more. Let me suggest four areas of life where we need faithfulness.
(1) Number one, faithfulness in stewardship, the stewardship of our resources and our opportunities, the thing that God has entrusted to us. The servants in this parable are stewards; they are entrusted with that which belongs to the nobleman. It’s his money, but they’re in charge of it, and they are meant to invest it during the time when he’s away.
It’s similar to the parable of the talents. The real difference is the talent was a greater sum of money, and in the parable of the talents in Matthew 15 the different servants are given differing amounts of money, different amounts of talents. Here, all of the servants are given the same amount of minas.
We could say that both of those things are true in different ways. There are some things that we all have in common. We’re all given the same gospel, we’re given the same Bible. We all have the same amount of time in a day. You have 24 hours in a day, you have 168 hours in a week. We have some of the same basic opportunities and resources.
We also have differing capacities. We have differing amounts of wealth, we have differing opportunities. We need to be faithful with both the things we have in common and the things which are different. Any of our resources, the opportunities that God has entrusted to us, we are called to be faithful in using that for King Jesus.
Listen to what Jesus says at the end of another parable, the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16. There, Luke 16:10-12, Jesus says, “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”
There’s faithfulness on three levels right there: faithfulness in little, faithfulness with money, faithfulness in that which belongs to another. That’s what we’re called to; we’re called to be faithful with our resources, to be faithful in our stewardship.
(2) Secondly, another realm of faithfulness is faithfulness in relationships. This is one of the areas where it’s so desperately needed in our lives, faithfulness in our relationships. This means being a man or a woman of your word; it means keeping your promises. It means honoring your commitments, it means fulfilling your vows. “A faithful man who can find?” Proverbs asks, and that’s what it’s looking for; someone who is faithful to the end.
We see this in the New Testament as well. For example, Paul in his letter to Titus addresses servants, and he tells them that the servants are to always obey their masters, they’re not to steal, but they are to show themselves as entirely trustworthy. That’s the word “faithfulness.” Entirely trustworthy and good, and Paul says that if they do that they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. They will adorn the teaching, make it attractive. That’s one reason why faithfulness is so needed in our lives as Christians. We make the gospel attractive to others when we are faithful in our basic commitments.
What does that mean? It means being a dependable, responsible, reliable person, and it comes down into the nitty-gritty details of our lives. It means things like this—it means showing up to work on time, or showing up to your class on time or your ministry area at church; it means paying your bills; it means honoring your commitments to your spouse, your children, your employer, your friends, your church, and others. It means keeping your promises. It means things like sticking with your team through the season, even if you’re sitting on the bench. It means safeguarding the confidence of others. If somebody tells you something in confidence, you keep that secret; you don’t go and share it with somebody else. You keep your word, you keep the confidence. You become a dependable, trustworthy person.
Listen, you’ve probably had this experience, as I have as well. There are people I have known, people who were dear friends that I deeply loved, but there are some things I wouldn’t tell them, because I just knew they had loose lips. I knew they would tell somebody else, and there are some things I just wouldn’t tell them.
We should not be like that, brothers and sisters. We should be so trustworthy with our word that we can be depended upon. We should show up! Faithfulness; it sometimes just means showing up and doing what you are called to do, what you have committed to do. It even comes down to things like keeping up with your schedule, right? If you’ve signed up for something, you are there. It’s faithfulness in relationship to others.
(3) This, of course, then also means faithfulness in ministry. When we think within the realm of church. When you and I become members of the church, we make promises to one another. We take membership vows. There’s a church covenant, and we are making basic commitments to one another and basic commitments to the church. Part of faithfulness means fulfilling those commitments.
In 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 Paul says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and as stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”
I think it’s interesting that one of the most often-repeated words describing servants of the church in the New Testament is the word “faithful.” “Timothy, my beloved and faithful child,” 1 Corinthians 4:17. “Epaphras, a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,” Colossians 1:7. “Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord,” Ephesians 6:21. “Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother,” Colossians 4:9.
Is that true of you? Are you a faithful brother, a faithful sister, a faithful servant, a faithful minister, a faithful church member?
(4) Fourthly, faithfulness means, especially and most essentially, faithfulness to Christ himself. It’s fidelity to him, it’s loyalty to him, it’s continuing to obey him and to walk with him. This is the most basic category of faithfulness, the category that embraces all the others; faithfulness to the Lord.
I think we can say, and I don’t think it’s an overstatement, that in New Testament terms, to be a Christian is to be faithful. That means to be a person of faith, a person who believes, but it also means to be a person who is faithful to the Lord. Do you remember how Paul addresses the church of Ephesus in Ephesians 1:1? We read over this so fast, like it’s a throwaway word; it’s not. This is describing what a true Christian is. Listen to what Paul says.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.”
That’s what a Christian is. A Christian is a saint, a sanctified one, a holy person who is faithful in Christ Jesus.
The book of Revelation uses a threefold description of Christians in Revelation 17:14, describing Christians those who are chosen and called and faithful. In Revelation 2:10 there’s this exhortation to suffering Christians, and it says this: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” It’s faithfulness to the Lord even at great cost.
The most recent biography that I’ve read was the memoirs of James Fraser of Brea, who was a Scottish Puritan during the 17th century. He wrote these memoirs; it’s basically like his diary, journal entries, an accounting of his life. It’s a really unique, remarkable piece of literature. I’d never heard of this until a few months ago, then discovered it and decided to read it. It was really helpful.
Here’s a man who, first of all, struggled with incredible doubts, great discouragement. It took him a long time to really come to a settled peace and assurance that he was a Christian. But he faithfully kept seeking the Lord; he didn’t quit. He just kept seeking the Lord. He would backslide, he would go periods of great dryness and feel like he was far from God, but he kept seeking the Lord. That was part of what faithfulness looked like.
Then he was called to ministry, and when he’s writing about how he knew he was called to ministry, you know what verse he quoted? Luke 19:13; in the old King James, “Occupy until I come.” He was the only person I know of that was called to ministry with that verse. “Occupy until I come.”
He quotes that verse numerous times; so he was a preacher. Now, here’s the deal. In 17th-century Scotland, during the period in which James Fraser of Brea lived, to be a preacher outside of the established state church meant you were persecuted, and he was. They didn’t want him to preach. So three times he was imprisoned, and he was eventually banished from Scotland, suffering for his faith. He was faithful, though; faithful to the Lord.
You know, I think we need those kinds of examples, those great heroic examples of heroes of the faith from years gone by. But we also need the ordinary, everyday examples of folks who are faithful in ministry, faithful in their relationships, faithful to their commitments; the basic rank-and-file Christian, the foot soldier in the army of Christ who is just faithful to his post. We need both kinds of examples, because all of us are called to faithfulness.
3. The King Will Reward His Faithful Servants When He Returns: Motives for Faithfulness
Why should we be faithful? I’ve already suggested some reasons, but I want you to see motives for faithfulness from the text, point number three. What we see here is the accounting. We see the king who rewards his faithful servants when he returns. It gives us motives for faithfulness. I want to suggest two motives. One motive is less comfortable for us and one, I think, will be more encouraging. We could say the first motive is judgment, Christ the coming king. The second motive is salvation, Christ the crucified king. I want you to see both of these.
(1) First of all, judgment. This is really the majority of the parable, verses 15-27. Let’s read it again, okay? This is the word of God; I want it to rest with some weight on our hearts and on our minds. I want us to hear what Jesus Christ the Lord taught his disciples, and what he taught has something to do with judgment and our accountability to him. Listen to what he says.
“‘When [the nobleman] returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, “Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.” And he said to him, “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.” And the second came, saying, “Lord, your mina has made five minas.” And he said to him, “And you are to be over five cities.”’”
But then, in verse 20, you have the third servant. The third out of ten; we don’t know about the other seven, but the third out of ten; and this is the servant who has been unfaithful because he’s been fearful. Eugene Peterson calls him the minimalist; he did the minimal that he thought was necessary. Listen to how it goes.
Verse 20: “‘Then another came, saying, “Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?” And he said to those who stood by, “Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.”’”
There’s an accounting; there’s a reckoning. There’s a reward for those who are faithful, and there’s stern rebuke for those who are not faithful.
Brothers and sisters, it is right and appropriate, when we really reckon with the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament, for judgment to be one of the motivations for our faithfulness. You see it right here in this parable, and I could probably quote a dozen or more texts as well, but listen to just a couple.
James 2:12 says, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” He’s writing to Christians.
2 Corinthians 5:10; Paul says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Read Romans 2, read Romans 14, read 1 Corinthians 3, read 2 Corinthians 5. These are all in the epistles, and it’s full of judgment language. Not to mention the teaching of Jesus; read Matthew 25 and all the parables there.
The Scriptures are really clear on this. There will be judgment, there will be a reckoning; we will be held accountable for our service to Christ and whether we have been faithful or not.
The most helpful person I read on this part of the parable was actually Eugene Peterson. I wouldn’t agree with Eugene Peterson in everything he writes, but this was helpful, his little book on the parables called Tell It Slant. This is what Peterson says about the minimalist.
“The story is unrelenting. Self-serving minimalism is not an option. There are no non-participants in Jesus’ kingdom. The final Samaritan story is an uncompromisingly severe judgment story. The description of the third servant takes up seven out of the seventeen verses in the story. More space is given to the judgment delivered on the play-it-safe, cautious, non-participating non-servant than the other nine servants, let alone the petitioners against the king’s rule, who only get one verse." Listen to this: “A timid refusal to obey makes us liable to the same judgment as overt and defiant disobedience. Obediently following Jesus in this already inaugurated kingdom of God is serious business indeed.”
Here’s an exercise for you. Imagine yourself standing before Jesus Christ on the day of judgment, giving an account to him for how you have used your resources, how you have responded to the gospel, how you have shared the gospel and shared his word, how you have used your gifts, your talents, your opportunities, how you’ve been faithful to him or not in your commitment, in your obedience. It calls for some serious self-examination and repentance for every one of us.
(2) If the sermon were to end there, it would be deeply discouraging, but it doesn’t end there, and I think the text gives us justification for adding another motive.
After this scene of judgment, after the judgment of the unfaithful servant, after the judgment of those who protested, “We don’t want this man to reign over us,” the next verse, verse 28, has another reference to Jerusalem. It brackets the parable, along with verse 11. There’s another reference to Jerusalem, and this is what verse 28 says. “When he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”
What is he going to do when he gets to Jerusalem? He is going to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, he’s going to be proclaimed the king, he’s going to cleanse the temple, he’s going to stand on the outside of the city and weep over it for their sins and for the impending judgment.
Then, over the next week, Jesus is going to intentionally and strategically have a series of conversations and do a series of things that will lead inevitably to the cross. When you read the kingdom language in the rest of this gospel, for example in Luke 22, Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God as he sits at a Passover meal with his disciples, with bread and a cup of wine, and he is saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood, which is established for you.”
Then he will be crucified with a crown of thorns pounded into his skull, with a sign over the cross that’s inscribed, “The King of the Jews,” people mocking him as the king. But here he is; he is the dying King, he is the crucified King. A dying thief next to him will say, “Remember me when you come into your Father’s kingdom,” and Jesus will assure this wicked man who has expressed faith, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
One of the last things that Jesus said when he hung on the cross was this: he prayed a prayer, and he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
You know who he’s praying for? He’s praying for his enemies, the very ones who crucified him. Here is a King who, though there will be judgment in the future, here’s a King that in history is crucified for his people, crucified for his enemies, led like a lamb to the slaughter, praying for their forgiveness.
Why should you be faithful to this King? Judgment, yes, but especially salvation, because this is the King who has been faithful to you. If you’ve been unfaithful to him this morning, there’s space for repentance, there’s time to seek the Lord. You can repent of your unfaithfulness, you can seek his grace, seek his mercy, go to the cross of the crucified King, ask him to forgive you, ask him to restore you; then get up off your knees and march forward as a faithful soldier and servant of Jesus Christ. Church, that’s the call for us this morning. Let’s pray together.
Brian G. Hedges
