Luke 19:11-28 – The Parable of the Ten Minas

Read: Luke 19:11-28

Relevant Passages:

• See Matt. 25:14-30 for a parallel account
• v. 16 Sir, your mina has earned ten more.
• V. 17 because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.

Extra Info:

• v. 11 the kingdom of God was going to appear at once  While it is not clear what the people thought the coming of the kingdom of God would look like, it seems that they thought that the Messiah would come as a great political or military leader who would defeat the Roman overlords and restore the nation of Israel’s independence and glory.  It seems that they also thought that this would happen very soon because Jesus, who had been travelling, was now getting close to Jerusalem.  While the kingdom of God is present in the person of Jesus Christ, it does not come through political power or military might.
• v. 12 A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then return.  This actually happened in 40-39 BC when Herod the Great went to Rome and was elected “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate, and in 4 BC when his son, Herod Archelaus, went to Rome and was made ethnarch (but not king) by Caesar Augustus of most of his deceased father’s kingdom.  Jesus would also soon be leaving for a “distant country” and would return in the future as king.
• v. 13 ten minas A mina was worth about 100 drachmas or denarius.  A drachma or denarius was worth about a day’s wages, so a mina is equivalent to about 3 months wages.  In Luke’s account of the parable, each servant is given the same amount, one mina.
• v. 14  a delegation went after him  A delegation of Jews also went to Rome to oppose Herod Archelaus’s claim to rule, but they were not successful.

Observation:

1. What command did the nobleman give to his servants before he left?

2. Where did the first and second servants direct the credit for the increase in the value of the money entrusted to them?
3. What did the third servant do with his coin and how much did it earn?
4. What did the king do to the third servant in response?

Interpretation:

1. Who does the nobleman in Jesus’ parable represent?
2. Who do the servants represent?
3. Why did the king take away the mina of the third servant and disqualify him from ruling over a city?
4. The first and second servants have a much different attitude towards the king than do the third servant or the people who oppose the king.  Describe that difference.

Application:

1. What would your life look like if you believed that God was a good and loving God?  What would your life look like if you believed that he was a hard and cruel God?
2. Looking at things from God’s perspective, which of the two situations in question 9 would be the more fruitful and faithful life?
3. What will happen to those who oppose the rule of the king?