Tawa Baptist

The Master and Servants

Scripture: Luke 12:35-38

Video Link: https://youtu.be/buo39MSYm6M

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 1 Mar 2026 – The Master and Servants by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The servants prepare
  • The master serves
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Complete this phrase: Ready… Set… What comes next? [Wait]  Yes, that’s right Go. Ready, set, go. Or at least that’s what we would normally expect. 

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week we heard about the gracious employer, a parable of how God’s kingdom operates by grace. This week our focus is the parable of the master and servants, in Luke 12. This parable is short, but it takes us by surprise. We are expecting “ready, set, go”. But our expectations are reversed. From Luke 12, verse 35 we read…

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 Blessed are those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 Blessed are those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

What we expect with this parable is: ready, set, go to work. But what we get is: ready, set, recline and receive.

There are two main characters in today’s reading: the servants and the master. The servants are those who follow Jesus, his disciples throughout history. That includes us if we call Jesus, ‘Lord’. The master is Jesus himself.

Let’s start with the servants. We, the servants, need to be prepared for when Jesus, our master, comes.

The servants prepare:

Apparently, Wellington has between 50 to 80 earthquakes each day. Thankfully, only 100 to 150 are strong enough to be felt each year.    

The last significant earthquake in Wellington, of 6 or more on the ricker scale, was back in October 2023.

Wellington has dodged a few earthquake bullets in recent times. No one thought Christchurch would be hit as badly as it was. That’s the thing about earthquakes; we can’t predict when they will happen. We know they will happen, that is certain. We just can’t say when, so we need to be ready all the time.

Being ready all the time does not mean living in a constant state of anxiety, always on edge. That would not be helpful. Being prepared means having stores of canned food and water. Keeping a grab bag and first aid kit handy. We don’t know when a really damaging earthquake might hit, but we prepare by having emergency supplies ready to go.

In the parable we just read, from Luke 12, Jesus tells his disciples to…

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet…

Jesus sometimes used the image of a wedding banquet to paint a picture of our future hope, when God’s kingdom is realised in its fullness. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah also used the image of a banquet to illustrate our future hope. From Isaiah 25, verse 6, we read…

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

This prophecy came to be known as the Messianic banquet, for it pictures the salvation created by the Messiah. Christians believe Jesus fulfils this prophecy. After his death and resurrection, Jesus (the Messiah) ascended to heaven.

One day he will return in glory and when he returns the picture of Isaiah 25 will be realised. That’s our future hope.

Like an earthquake, we don’t know when Jesus will return but his second coming is certain, and so we (his disciples) need to be prepared. Unlike an earthquake though, which causes death and destruction, the Lord will swallow up death forever and wipe away the tears from all faces.

Although most Bible commentators agree Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:35-38 is referring to the Lord’s second coming, we need not limit the Lord’s activity to some unknown future date. The risen Jesus is active by his Spirit now. Jesus may come to us personally at any time before the conclusion of human history. We, the servants of Jesus, need to be ready to obey Jesus at every moment.     

So how do we prepare for Jesus’ return? Well, being ready for Jesus does not mean having supplies of water and baked beans handy. We make ourselves ready by being faithful. Being faithful means living our lives now (today) in a way that anticipates Jesus’ return in the future.

Imagine someone lets you stay in their house rent free while they are away. It’s a really nice house with a pool and a garden and plenty of rooms. You are thankful for the accommodation because you don’t have a place of your own. They are doing you a favour.

You don’t know how long the owner will be gone for. Maybe a few days, maybe a few years. In the meantime, you take care of the house. You don’t throw wild parties or trash the place. You mow the lawns regularly. You feed the pets, take the rubbish out and respect the neighbours.

Looking after the place is how you look after your relationship with the owner. That’s what it means to be faithful. In verse 35 Jesus uses two images to help us see what it looks like to be prepared for the master’s return.

First, he says, be dressed and ready for service. This is a bit of a paraphrase. The original text literally says, ‘gird up your loins’. The phrase, ‘gird up your loins’ comes from the Old Testament. Men and women at that time and in that culture usually wore long robes. It was cooler in a hot climate.

However, when you needed to get somewhere in a hurry or do any sort of physical labour, the robe got in the way. ‘To gird up your loins’ meant tying a belt around your waist and tucking the robe up into the belt, allowing you to move more freely and get the job done. Basically, to gird up your loins is to be work ready. It’s like saying, ‘roll up your sleeves’. 

Most famously, the Lord God told the people of Israel to gird up their loins on the night of the first Passover. The people needed to be ready to leave Egypt quickly. When Jesus comes knocking on the door of your life, it is like an exodus from the slavery of sin and death. You need to be ready to move.

Okay, so that’s what gird up your lions meant 2000 years ago. What does it mean for us today? Well, if you work on a building site, then girding up your loins means having your work boots on and wearing your hi-viz gear.

Or if you are a teacher, then the equivalent of girding up your loins is having your lesson plan ready for when the bell rings and the students turn up.

Or if you are a cricketer waiting to bat, then girding up your loins means having your pads and box on.

Or if you are a surgeon, then girding up your loins is like scrubbing your hands and putting on gloves and a surgical gown.

But what if you are Christian? What does it mean to ‘gird up your loins’ then?

Robyn and I have lived in the same house for over 20 years. During that time, we have accumulated a lot of stuff. After Christmas last year, we had a clear out. We decluttered the garage and our cupboards. Quite a bit of stuff went to the tip or was given away. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. In fact, it felt quite good and now our house is that much easier to keep tidy.

Girding up your loins is not about adding anything. Girding up your loins is about decluttering your life. To gird up your lions is to free yourself from those things which hinder your obedience to Christ.

The things that hinder our obedience to Christ may include unhelpful excesses, like spending too much time on the internet or drinking too much or taking on too much debt or whatever.

But the things that hinder our obedience to Christ can also include good things. Things that may benefit others but don’t really fulfil God’s call on our life.

Jesus called his disciples to bear witness to his death and resurrection and then to proclaim the gospel. That’s what Jesus wanted them to do.

But what if Peter, James and John went back to fishing fulltime, after Jesus ascended to heaven? What if they decided not to be apostles? I mean fishing is a good occupation. It feeds people, right?

Yes, fishing can be a good thing, but to spend your life fishing when Jesus wants you to preach the gospel, is to disobey the Lord. For Peter, James and John, girding up their loins meant leaving the family fishing business behind so they could make sharing the gospel their fulltime gig.  

What is getting in the way of you obeying Jesus? What is it (good or bad) that makes you too busy to pay attention to Christ? Girding up your loins is about decluttering your life, freeing yourself to be more responsive to Jesus.   

As well as being dressed and ready for service, Jesus also says (in verse 35) to keep your lamps burning. They didn’t have electricity in the first century. Lamps, at that time, were fuelled by oil. To keep your lamp burning meant keeping the oil topped up and the wick trimmed.  

Lamps of course provide light. Without a lamp the servants would not be able to see. They would be walking around in the dark, blind. To keep your lamp burning is to ensure you can see clearly, to keep your perspective. But lamps also enable you to be seen by others. Lamps help to identify you.  

When I was younger and fitter and lived in Hamilton, where the roads are wider, I used to ride a bike everywhere. When riding at night I always had my lights on, back and front. My bike lights helped me see where I was going but more importantly, they helped me to be seen by other traffic. My lights identified me as a cyclist so cars could avoid hitting me. I always kept a spare set of batteries handy, for my bike lights.         

As I understand it, the lamp in Jesus’ parable symbolises our faith as servants of Jesus. It is the light of our faith that enables us to see in the darkness of this world, so we can do the work Jesus has for us to do. More than this, it is the light of our faith that identifies us as followers of Jesus.    

To ‘keep your lamp burning’ is to keep the light of your faith going. We do this by maintaining regular rhythms of prayer, Bible reading, rest, gathered worship and fellowship with other believers. As we keep these sacred rhythms, we make room for the oil of God’s Spirit to fill us.   

We must not miss the fact that Jesus compares his followers to servants.

The Greek word, doulos, can mean servant or slave. The servants in view here are men and women of low status.

Humility is required to be a follower of Jesus. The work of a Christian disciple is not glamorous. It is often menial and tiring. Our time is not our own. Nevertheless, there is a certain dignity in being a servant (or slave) of Jesus, for we are serving the King of heaven and earth. We are serving God’s good purpose. We belong to Jesus.

The master serves:

Okay, so we have heard how the servants prepare. What about the master?

In verse 36 we read that, when the master returns, he comes and knocks on the door.  What a curious thing. Why does the master knock on the door of his own house? I mean, when I come home, I don’t knock on the front door of my own house. No. I just let myself in.

But as I thought about this, I remembered that when the kids still lived at home, I would knock on their bedroom doors before entering. It’s respectful, it’s good manners. You knock on internal doors because you don’t want to scare people or barge in on them.  

The master of the house in Jesus’ parable is probably not knocking on his front door. He is more likely knocking on an internal door, to the servants’ quarters perhaps.

The point is: Jesus, our master, is respectful. He does not force his way into our lives. In his grace Jesus allows us to invite him in. The question is, will we open the door and let Jesus in immediately? Or will we make him wait?

In verse 37, Jesus says: Blessed are those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. He says it again in verse 38: Blessed are those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 

The servants here do not put their pyjamas on, turn out the light and go to bed. No, they keep their work clothes on and leave their lamp burning, ready to receive their master at a moment’s notice. They are not passively waiting. They are eagerly expecting their boss. The slaves don’t have their own agenda. The only agenda they serve is their master’s agenda.

The Greek word for blessed here is Makarios. It’s the same word Jesus uses for the beatitudes in Matthew 5. You know, ‘blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the pure in heart’, and so on.

Makarios is a state of spiritual wellbeing. To be Makarios is to be fortunate, happy, well off, in a relationship of favour with God. It’s not just that the servants will be blessed in the future. They are blessed now. They are in a fortunate position now.           

Jesus reverses our understanding of what it means to be blessed or well off. We think we are fortunate or blessed if we win Lotto or if we enjoy good health and live in a nice neighbourhood. But that is not how Jesus sees it.  

By the values of this world, a lowly slave who is always walking around with their loins girded ready to work, is not considered well off. Indeed, staying up all night losing sleep is not considered a blessed or fortunate state of being.

Just like being poor in spirit or grieving is not considered a fortunate state.

But, according to Jesus, those who strip off all that hinders them from obeying him, are blessed, they are fortunate. Those who set aside their own agenda and eagerly await Jesus’ return are blessed now. They are not doing this to earn a blessing or to curry favour. They love their master and long for his presence. Their reward is intrinsic; the joy of seeing their master again.  

The real surprise (both for us the listener and for the servants in the parable) comes in the second part of verse 37 where Jesus says: Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 

We were expecting; ready, set, go to work. But what we get is; ready, set, recline and receive. The idea of the master of the house girding up his loins to serve his servants was unthinkable for a first century middle eastern audience. That would never happen.

These servants were near the bottom of the heap and the master was at the top. What master would humiliate himself by serving his slaves like this?

It is a complete role reversal.

By the master’s actions the slaves cease being slaves and become beloved friends and guests. Because that’s what you do for your friends, you serve them. They are changed by the self-emptying love (the undeserved grace) of their boss.

The master in this parable reminds us of Jesus. Because that’s what Jesus did in going to the cross. He humiliated himself. He served us. He fed us with his very body.

In his letter to the Philippians the apostle Paul gives this picture of Christ, saying…

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: 6 who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Even though Jesus is the supreme master (the master of all masters) he comes to those who faithfully wait in expectation for him and he serves them.

He serves us, turning us from slaves into beloved friends.

Conclusion:

On the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus acted out this parable as a foretaste of the Messianic banquet to come. During the last supper, Jesus girded up his loins and served his disciples by washing their feet.

Peter didn’t want a bar of it at first. But Jesus told Peter he must let him do this or Peter would have no part in him. As much as it goes against the grain, we must allow Jesus (our master) to serve us – we must receive his grace – for only then will we be transformed from slaves to beloved friends.  

The right response to the Lord’s grace is faithfulness. Being faithful means serving Jesus’ agenda, not cluttering our lives with of our own agenda.

What then is Jesus’ agenda? The night before he died Jesus impressed upon his disciples three things:

The importance of loving one another. The importance of service over position. And the importance of unity in the body. Love, service and unity, they go together and they are what we do in preparation for the return of Jesus, our master. 

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus, you are our master, we belong to you. Thank you for serving us by going to the cross in obedience to God the Father. May you go on filling us with the oil of your Spirit that the lamp of our faith would not go out. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:35-38. Why did Jesus tell this parable? How might Jesus’ original audience have been surprised by this parable? In what ways is Jesus like the master? 
  3. How can we prepare for Jesus’ return? What does it mean to gird up your loins? What is getting in the way of you obeying Jesus? What takes your attention away from Christ?
  4. What does it mean to ‘keep your lamp burning’? How do you (personally) do this? What (or who) fills your lamp with oil?
  5. Why does the master knock on a door in his own house? What might this suggest about the master? What does it look like to open the door of our lives to let Jesus in?
  6. What does it mean to be blessed (Makarios)? Why are the servants in the parable blessed?
  7. What change occurs for the servants as a consequence of the master serving them? Have you received Jesus’ grace / service for yourself? 

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 1967.
  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: St Matthew’, 1963.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • Craig S. Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 2009.
  • R.T. France, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008. 
Tawa Baptist

The Ten Minas

Scripture: Luke 19:11-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/IzbzrX5dtkY

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There is usually more than one way to look at something. For example, take the sentence: A woman without her man is nothing.

Many people will read that and immediately take offense because, depending on your attitude to women, it could sound like you are saying, women are nothing without men, which is not true of course.

But there is another way to read this. If you change the emphasis and say:

A woman, without her man is nothing, then it sounds like you mean men are nothing without women, which is equally untrue.

Personally, I don’t like this sentence. Whichever way you punctuate this phrase, it creates a false dichotomy. Our value as human beings does not depend on gender politics. Our value comes from God. 

The point is, there is more than one way to interpret things. In fact, the way we interpret something often reveals our underlying attitudes and prejudice.

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. The parables of Jesus can be interpreted in more than way. And the way we interpret them reveals our underlying attitudes about God and others. Put simply, Jesus’ parables interpret us. They hold a mirror to our soul, showing what we really believe.

Jesus’ parables are not just saying, ‘This is what God and his kingdom are like.’ They are also uncovering and challenging our underlying assumptions and prejudices about God.

The Ten Minas:

This week’s parable, in Luke 19, is sometimes called the parable of the ten minas. Just to be clear, Jesus is not talking about ten men digging for coal underground, nor is he talking about ten children. A ‘mina’ here is a sum of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages.

Whether you have heard this parable before or not, it will hold a mirror to your soul. How you choose to interpret it reveals something of what you really believe about God and yourself. From Luke 19, verse 11, we read…   

11 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. ‘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.’”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

The first world war began in July 1914. The allied soldiers could often be heard saying, “We’ll be home by Christmas”. Expectations of victory were running high. People imagined a quick war. Why? Because their underlying assumption was, the enemy is weak and we are strong. Perhaps they also thought, God is on our side.

Tragically, they were not home by Christmas. Millions never came home at all. The enemy was stronger than they had assumed and the war lasted over four years. Many became disillusioned and lost their faith in God because of the false expectations they started with.

Expectations live in the human imagination and that makes them dangerous, because the human imagination knows no limits. The greater the expectation, the greater the risk of disillusionment when those expectations are not met.

At the time Jesus told the parable of the ten minas, the expectations of the people were running high, too high. The people thought Jesus was about to quickly overthrow the Romans and restore Israel’s political power. We’ll be home by Hannukah. Israel assumed God was on their side, politically. They thought they knew what God wanted and, like many of us at times, they overestimated their own strength, their own importance.

That’s why Jesus told this parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

No. Things were not going to unfold as quickly as people thought.

Jesus needed to put the brakes on people’s expectations. He needed to challenge people’s assumptions about themselves and about God. Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to start a revolution or overthrow the Romans. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.    

Jesus begins his parable by saying, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return…” Who is Jesus talking about here? Who is the man of noble birth? Well, Jesus does not say.

However, we do notice some striking parallels between the man of noble birth and Jesus himself. After his death and resurrection, Jesus would ascend to heaven where God would appoint him as King. Then one day, at some unspecified time, Jesus will return in glory. This reading fits with the larger gospel narrative.

The point not to be missed here is that the man of noble birth goes to a distant country, which indicates the nobleman would be gone for some time, thus reinforcing the idea that God’s kingdom was not going to appear at once.    

Before he goes away, though, the nobleman calls ten of his servants together and gives each one a mina. As already mentioned, a mina is a measure of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages. He tells his servants to put the money to work. Trade with it. See what you can do.

If Jesus is the nobleman, then the servants are those who know Jesus and confess him as Lord. Those who are part of Jesus’ household and are obliged to obey him. Jesus’ disciples in other words.   

Jesus does not define what the minas represent, we are left to interpret that for ourselves. Logically, we could say a mina is whatever resource Jesus has entrusted to us.

Some people think of the minas in literal material terms, like actual money or possessions. Others think one’s mina could be a special ability or God given talent, like being good with children or good with words or music or whatever.

We do well to include a spiritual meaning for the minas. For example, the minas may represent the faith, hope and love we have in Christ, or perhaps the word of God, the gospel we received, or maybe the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. At its heart, I think of the mina as symbolic of God’s grace for us personally. Grace always comes first. Without God’s grace we can do nothing.  

How do you understand Jesus’ gift to you? And, what are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?

The plot of the parable thickens in verse 14 where we read: “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

This twist in the story finds another parallel with Jesus’ own experience. At the time Jesus told this parable, he was popular with the people. But in little over a week the crowds (egged on by the religious leaders) would reject Jesus, calling on Pilate to have him crucified. They did not want Jesus to be their king.

Kenneth Bailey points out what would have been obvious to Jesus’ Middle Eastern audience but is less obvious to us. The parable imagines a time of political transition and instability. It is by no means certain at this point whether the nobleman will be made king. People don’t like him.    

This puts the nobleman’s servants in a difficult position. Given their master has many enemies, who will support their business ventures which are funded by the nobleman? Some of those enemies may even sabotage their efforts. Trading in an uncertain environment like that is risky.

Worse than that, what if their master is not made king? They will probably suffer repercussions from their master’s enemies. The smart thing would be to keep your head down and hide your association with the master.

Now it becomes clear why the nobleman gave his servants money and told them to trade with it. He wants to know if his servants are willing to take the risk and openly declare themselves as loyal to him, during his absence, in a world where many oppose his rule.

In Latvia, the Lutheran church asks those who want to become pastors an important question: When were you baptised? If the candidate for ministry was baptised during the period of Soviet rule, when the church was persecuted, then they had risked their lives. They had openly declared themselves to be loyal to Jesus in a world that opposes Jesus’ rule. They had put the mina of their faith to work in the marketplace.

But if the candidate for ministry says they were baptised after the period of Soviet rule, well the seminary asks a lot more questions.

As Kenneth Bailey notes, “In the parable the master challenges his servants to live boldly and publicly as his servants using his resources, unafraid of his enemies, confident in the future as his future.” [1]

The church is not persecuted in New Zealand, but we are often misrepresented and misunderstood. Do we have the courage to risk publicly owning our faith in Jesus? Ultimately, and perhaps inconveniently, that is what it means to put our mina to work in the world.   

Verse 15 confirms the nobleman was in fact made king. Again, this parallels what happened to Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven bears witness to his legitimacy as God’s appointed King.

The first thing the master does on returning home is call for his servants.

He wants to know what they did with the money he had given them, not because he is interested in making money, but because what they did with the money will show where their true loyalty lies.    

The first two servants report to their master how they have turned a profit. One servant earned ten minas (a 1000% return) and the other, five minas (a 500% return). Given the difficulty of trading in that politically unstable environment, those sorts of returns suggest the master was gone for a very long time. You don’t make a 1000% return in just 12 months.

But notice how the servants speak to their master. They say: ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’  ‘Your mina has earned five more.’ The servants are humble, giving credit for their success to the master. They understand that without the master’s gift they would have nothing to offer. It is all by God’s grace.

Notice too the master’s response. He commends these servants for their trustworthiness or their faithfulness. They were not afraid to hide their loyalty to the master. They traded openly in the marketplace in confidence their master would return as King.

A British journalist once asked Mother Teresa how she kept going, knowing that she could never meet the needs of all the dying in the streets of Calcutta.

She replied, “I am not called to be successful; I’m called to be faithful.”      

Although two of the servants in the parable were successful, the master commends them for being trustworthy or faithful. The master is clearly very wealthy. He doesn’t need more money. He needs to know who he can trust.

This offers us some encouragement. We may not be successful in a numbers sense. We may have little control over the outcome of our witness for Christ. Our part is to remain faithful and leave the outcome with God who is able to work all things for good.   

The reward for proving trustworthy is being given even greater trust.

The servant who earned ten minas is put in charge of ten cities and the servant who earned five minas is entrusted with five cities.

Sadly, not all the servants proved faithful. Another servant appears before his master with an excuse. He says: ‘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.’  

Now, if you have failed your boss and are having to give account for your actions, you don’t start by insulting him. You pay him a compliment to try and soften him up. Why then does this servant basically accuse his master of being a hard man and a thief? Because that sounds like an insult.

Well, the servant probably thought he was complimenting his boss by calling him a hard man. Some people like to think of themselves as a bit gangster, a bit tough, not prone to suffering fools. Some people get off on thinking that other people are scared of them. Not this boss though. The third servant has completely misread his master’s character.

The master does not admit to being a hard man and a thief, but nor does he correct the servant’s prejudice. He judges the servant by his own words.

Jesus is just and fair. He judges us by our own standards. The measure we use for others is the measure the Lord will use for us.

The servant’s words provide a mirror to his soul, reflecting his deceit.

The master knows the servant is lying and points out the inconsistency in what he says. If the servant really was afraid of the master, he could have at least put the mina on term deposit with the bank. In other words, he could have gone with a low-risk investment and still had something to show for it.

The truth is the servant here was too afraid to publicly identify himself with his master when it was risky to do so. But the servant’s problem runs deeper than that. The wicked servant never properly accepted the master’s grace in the first place and so he did not know the master’s true character.  

The wicked servant might represent anyone who is offered the mina of God’s grace but lays it aside, not accepting it personally. Without a deep experience of God’s grace, we won’t develop the loyalty to put our faith out there.

Have you accepted God’s grace for yourself personally?

The master in the parable takes away the wicked servant’s mina and gives it to the servant who has ten minas. The first thing we notice here is the master’s generosity. Even though the capital and the profits are rightfully his, the master let’s his faithful servants keep the money. This shows the wicked servant’s estimate of the master, as a hard man and a thief, was very wrong.

Not everyone can see the master’s generosity though. Some protest saying… ‘Sir he already has ten!’ To which the master replies: ‘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.’

I understand this to mean, ‘use it or lose it’. Faith is like a muscle. Just as our muscles become weak and waste away if we don’t use them, so too our faith becomes weak and wastes away if we don’t exercise it. Exercising your faith means more than just reading your Bible and praying, although that is a good place to start. True faith calls for obedience, actually doing what Jesus asks.  

Jesus does not say what happens to the wicked servant after that. I guess three scenarios are possible: Either he kept his job, or he was fired or he resigned.

After he publicly denied Jesus, Peter did not resign, nor did Jesus fire him. In fact, Jesus restored the repentant Peter, trusting him with more responsibility.

It was a different story with Judas though. After betraying Jesus, Judas quit. The Lord did not fire him. We must not lose faith in the grace of God. If you fail, do not condemn yourself and do not quit your faith. Repent. Jesus rewards faith.

After the master has dealt with his own household, he then turns his attention to his enemies, those who do not want him to be king, saying: bring them here and kill them in front of me.

This ending is problematic for some. If the king represents Jesus, then how do we reconcile the killing of enemies with the Jesus we read about in the gospels? Other earthly kings do this, but Jesus is not like other kings.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies. From the cross he said, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’ 

Some say the parallels between the nobleman and Jesus should not be pressed too far. So Jesus is like the nobleman in some respects but not in every way and not in this last respect.

Others say Jesus has every right to execute his enemies when he returns. Indeed, justice requires it. You could say a quick death is a relatively merciful outcome for those who oppose God’s rule. They are getting off lightly.

Whatever the case, the point seems to be that in the end (at the judgement) there is a negative consequence for those who continue opposing Jesus and a reward for those who are faithful to Christ.    

Conclusion:

Jesus leaves his parable with some loose ends. He does not quench the thirst of our unanswered questions. He lets the parable interpret us.

What we can say with confidence is that Jesus, the King, will return in glory one day. It may be a long wait, but he will return. In the meantime, we are to receive his grace and put our faith to work, remaining loyal to him in a world that is sometimes hostile.

Let us pray…       

Jesus, we thank you for your grace. Give us wisdom and courage to put our mina to work and remain faithful to you. And when we fail, restore us we pray, to the praise of your glory. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How did you initially interpret the sentence: ‘A woman without her man is nothing.’ (Be honest) Why do you think you interpreted it this way?
  3. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the ten minas. What was Jesus’ purpose in telling this parable? Why did Jesus give his servants minas to trade with, in his absence? What parallels do you observe between Jesus and the nobleman? Where do the parallels stop (or do they)?  
  4. How do you understand Jesus’ gift (of a mina) to you? What are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?
  5. How do you understand the phrase: ‘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.’?
  6. What do you think happened to the wicked servant? Why do you think this?
  7. What does it mean to accept God’s grace for yourself personally? Have you done this?

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Luke’, 1965.
  • Leon Morris, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: Luke’, 1976.
  • Fred Craddock, ‘Interpretation Commentaries: Luke’, 1990.
  • Darrell Bock, ‘NIV Application Commentary: Luke’, 1996.
  • Joel Green, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke’, 1997.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008.  

[1] Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, page 401.  

Tawa Baptist

The Fig Tree

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9

Video Link: https://youtu.be/DGLyluurx5s

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Suffering, Sin and Repentance – Luke 13:1-5
  • The Parable of the Fig Tree – Luke 13:6-9
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

All fruit trees produce flowers. Usually, the flowers grow on the outside of the tree so you can see the flower. But fig trees are different. With fig trees the flower is inverted, it is hidden inside the fig itself. To see the fig flower, you must cut the fruit open. Figs are beautiful on the inside.

Today we continue our Testimony of Trees series by focusing on the fig tree. (Not to be confused with the sycamore fig which we heard about some weeks ago.) The fig tree (scientific name: Ficus Carica) is mentioned many times throughout the Bible, including most famously in Genesis, where Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nakedness.

This morning’s message though focuses on Jesus’ parable of the fig tree in Luke 13. From verse 1 of Luke 13 we read…

Now some came at that time and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Dig it out! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit in the future, fine! If not, then dig it out.’”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Suffering, Sin and Repentance:

To properly understand Jesus’ parable of the fig tree, we must first come to grips with what Jesus is saying in verses 1-5 of Luke 13. In the context, Jesus is talking about God’s judgement and mercy, which calls us to bear the fruit of repentance.

Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in direction. It’s an internal change of attitude that results in an external change in behaviour.

Let me illustrate with a story…

Once there were two brothers who lived on neighbouring farms. For many years they got on well until a small misunderstanding developed into a major argument. Tit for tat bickering and retaliation only escalated the ill feeling.

One morning there was a knock on the older brother’s door. On the porch stood a man with a toolbelt. “I’m looking for some work”, he said. “Would you have a job for me?”

“Yes”, said the farmer. “You see across the creek there? That’s my brother’s farm. Last week there was a paddock between us. Then he took his bulldozer to the riverbank and flooded the field. Now there is a swamp. But I’ve got a plan to fix him. See that pile of timber? I want you to build me a fence, tall and solid, so I won’t see him or be reminded of him.”

The carpenter looked at the creek, before answering. “I think I understand the situation. Leave it to me. You’ll be pleased with my work.”

The older brother went to town for supplies and was gone for most of the day. When he returned his eyes popped wide in surprise and his jaw dropped. There was no fence at all.

Instead, he found himself looking at a foot bridge, stretching from one side of the creek to the other. It was a sturdy piece of carpentry, built to last.

There, on the far side of the bridge, was the farmer’s younger brother walking towards him. When the two brothers met in the middle, the younger one said, “You are the bigger man to build this bridge after all I’ve said and done.”

Relieved and humbled the older brother said, “I just want my brother back. I’m sorry.” The two men hugged and agreed to forgive the past.

The carpenter was gathering his tools ready to leave, when the older brother said, “Please stay, I’ve got plenty of other jobs for you”. The carpenter replied, “I’d love to, but I’ve got more bridges to build.” [1]

Before the brothers could be reconciled, they both had to repent. They both had to experience a change of mind that led to a change in the way they related to each other. But neither brother was able to change their mind without help.

The carpenter’s bridge provided the catalyst both brothers needed to imagine a different future, to forgive their differences and move forward together.   

Luke 13 begins with some people coming to Jesus and telling him that Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galileans with their sacrifices. Pilate was the Roman governor in charge of the province at that time. Later, Jesus would stand trial before Pilate.

Pilate did some terrible things while in office. Apparently, on this occasion, he had his soldiers slaughter some Jews from Galilee while they were offering sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. The blood of the Galileans mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

It would be like a foreign military force coming into this sanctuary and shooting people in the congregation while we were sharing communion.        

It is well known that truth is the first casualty in any war. Whether the people reporting this incident to Jesus were just spreading rumours to gain support for the cause of Jewish nationalism or whether they were being truthful, is unclear. Either way, Jesus is expected to respond with indignation and sympathy, loudly denouncing Pilate.

Those reporting this violence want Jesus to build a fence between them and their enemies. But Jesus doesn’t do what’s expected of him. Instead, Jesus (who is motivated by a deep concern for people’s wellbeing) builds a bridge by telling them to repent or they too will meet with a violent end.

Kenneth Bailey paraphrases Jesus’ meaning here. It’s like Jesus is saying… 

“You want me to condemn evil in Pilate. I am not talking to Pilate. He is not here. I am talking to you. Evil forces are at work in your movement that will destroy you, Pilate or no Pilate. You must repent or all of you will be destroyed by those forces.” [2]   

Jesus is telling these Jewish nationalists that they have more in common with Pilate than they realise. The same evil that is in Pilate is also in them. If they don’t repent of that evil, if they don’t get off the path of violence and retaliation, they will all wind up dead.

Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” Jesus shows incredible courage here. He does not react negatively. He decides to respond positively.

Jesus’ brave decision to rewrite the script, by calling for repentance, puts him at risk of being physically attacked on the spot by the Jewish patriots. Those who fight for what they believe is a just cause assume the struggle for the cause makes them righteous. It does not.

Seeing a teachable moment, Jesus asks the question (in verse 2), do you think those who perished were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered in this way. I tell you, no.

Then Jesus goes on in verse 4 to give another example: Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no!

The Galileans, allegedly killed by Pilate, are an example of suffering caused by human evil. While the 18 people, killed by a collapsing tower, are an example of suffering caused by natural disaster.

We are reminded of Job here who lost his children and his wealth through a combination of human evil and natural disasters. Sadly, Job’s friends thought Job’s misfortune was caused by some grievous unconfessed sin.

There was and still is a belief that personal misfortune of any kind, whether poverty or illness or natural disaster or whatever, is the direct result of sin. Therefore, if something bad happens to you, that means God is punishing you. This only adds insult to injury and further alienates someone who needs support.  

In the Old Testament, the fig tree was symbolic of peace and prosperity.

For example, in 1st Kings chapter 4, we are told that: During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree. 

To sit under your fig tree eating figs, therefore, was to be blessed by God.  

But what if your fig tree is taken away? Does that mean you are under God’s curse for doing something wrong? Well, not necessarily.  

In John 9, Jesus’ disciples notice a man born blind, and they ask whether the man’s blindness is due to his own sins or the sins of his parents. Jesus says: 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 

Correlation does not prove causation. Just because someone suffers in some way, it does not automatically follow that God is punishing them. There isn’t always a one-to-one relationship between the sin of an individual and their suffering. Sometimes there is, but not usually.

This world does not operate by karma. It operates by God’s grace. Everyone sins. Everyone falls short. Everyone, at some point, commits an evil act. Just as we all fail to do the good God wants us to do. If there were a direct link between sin and suffering, we would all be poor or sick or maimed or worse.

It is only by God’s grace and mercy that we don’t suffer more.       

When talking about the relationship between sin and suffering, some theologians use the phrase ‘a loose causal weave’. A loose causal weave means that while there is a connection between sin and suffering in a general sense, that connection is not always well aligned where the individual is concerned.

For example, looking at history we can see that nations which blatantly disregard God’s laws do come to ruin eventually. Within those nations, there will be some relatively innocent or righteous people who do not deserve the same treatment as the rest, and yet they suffer just as badly because they are part of that society. On an individual level there can be collateral damage.

From our limited human perspective, it often seems this life is not fair, which is precisely why we need to believe that this life is not all there is and that ‘the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice’.

We need to believe in a day judgement when God rights all wrongs. Otherwise, we will attempt to get justice for ourselves by taking revenge. None of us are in a position to judge.  

Jesus does not call God’s justice into question. Jesus says those killed by Pilate and the 18 who died in the tower collapse were not worse sinners, but sinners all the same. Therefore, they were not innocent. But that is not why they died prematurely. Their deaths serve as a warning to us all to repent while we still can, for none of us knows when our time is up. 

Jesus preached urgent repentance because faith with repentance is how we get on the right side of God’s judgement. As I often say, God’s judgement is not at odds with his mercy. God’s judgement and mercy are one. Indeed, they are in conversation with one another. Which is where the parable of the fig tree comes in…

The Parable of the Fig Tree:

Many fruiting trees are pollinated by bees and other insects who visit the flowers for nectar and in the process collect and pass on pollen.

The fig tree is different though. As I mentioned at the beginning of this message, the fig flower is inverted, it is hidden inside the fruit, where bees can’t get to it. So how is the fig tree pollinated?

Some varieties of fig trees are pollinated by a tiny insect called a ‘fig wasp’.

The fig wasp is not like the big German wasps we are familiar with. A fig wasp won’t sting you; it is too small for that. The female fig wasp crawls through a small hole in the fig and lays her eggs inside the fruit.       

In the process of depositing her eggs, the female transfers pollen from her original host fig. This pollinates some of the female flowers on the inside of the receiving fig and allows them to mature. After the female wasp lays her eggs, she dies, and the cycle continues with her offspring who leave their host fig and lay eggs in another fig. Essentially, the fig tree needs the fig wasp.

Why am I telling you this? Well, Jesus’ parables are a bit like the fig wasp and our minds are like figs. The parables of Jesus are small enough to get under our skin and into our imagination, where they pollinate our thoughts with the ideas of God’s kingdom. Jesus’ parables bring a new way of thinking which (if we let it) leads to repentance.

From verse 6, Jesus tells his parable of the fig tree, saying…

“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Dig it out! Why should it use up the soil?’

Before we finish the parable, let’s pause to observe a couple of things.

Firstly, for Jesus’ original Jewish audience, the vineyard was a metaphor for the nation of Israel.

Isaiah 5 famously gives us the song of the vineyard, where Israel is the vineyard and God himself is the one who planted the vineyard. The vineyard does not bear good fruit. The Lord looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Therefore, God allowed the nation of Israel (his vineyard) to be destroyed. This happened with the exile.

Relating Isaiah 5 to Jesus’ parable of the fig tree, we can say that the vineyard represents God’s people. However, Jesus’ parable isn’t about the whole vineyard. It is focused on just one tree in the vineyard, specifically the fig tree.

What (or who) then does the fig tree represent? Probably not the nation of Israel as a whole. Some say the fig tree represents Israel’s religious leadership who (at that time) appeared righteous but were not actually producing the fruit of justice or mercy.

Thinking more broadly, the fig tree could represent any of God’s people who make an outward show of religion without bearing the fruit of genuine repentance.

In verse 7, the owner says to the man who takes care of the vineyard that he’s been coming to look for fruit for three years and not found any. It typically takes two or three years after planting for a fig tree to start bearing fruit, so it is reasonable to expect fruit after three years.

The command to dig out the tree reminds us of Luke 3, where John the Baptist warned that the axe was already at the root of the tree and any tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down.

That said, we should not miss the vineyard owner’s heart here. The vineyard owner is not hell bent on destruction for destruction’s sake. He is concerned for the wellbeing of the whole vineyard. If he allows fruitless trees to take up room and exhaust the soil, he is not being fair or kind to anyone.   

Then comes the twist in verses 8 and 9, where the worker says to the owner: 8 “‘Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.

 9 If it bears fruit in the future, fine! If not, then dig it out.’”

Notice here how the fig tree needs outside help. The fig tree cannot save it itself; it needs the orchard worker to advocate for it and fertilise it. Just like the brothers needed the carpenter to build a bridge. Just like the fig fruit needs the fig wasp.

You might be wondering: who is the worker who intercedes to save the tree?

We might think the worker is Jesus, but it is probably better to think of the vineyard worker as a personification of God’s mercy, while the vineyard owner is the personification of God’s judgement. [3] Therefore, God’s judgement is in conversation with his mercy. God’s judgement is informed by his mercy.

God knows he has to take action where a fruitless tree is concerned (for the sake of others in the vineyard), but he still feels a tender mercy toward the fruitless tree and would prefer to see it saved and bearing good fruit.    

We are reminded of what the apostle says in 2nd Peter 3, verse 9…

 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. 

Time is grace. If we are not being fruitful for God’s glory, then the best use of our time is repentance.

Conclusion:

As is often the case, Jesus’ parable is left open ended. We, the audience, are in suspense. Did God’s mercy convince God’s judgement to wait a while longer? Did the vineyard owner agree to give the fig tree another chance? And if the fig tree was given another chance, did it eventually manage to bear fruit?

We are not told.

We don’t know when God’s judgement will come. In the meantime, we are better to ask ourselves whether our lives bear the fruit of repentance. Repentance will look different for each of us, depending on our sin.

If our sin is pride, then repentance is walking humbly with God.

If our sin is greed, then repentance is generosity.

If our sin is resentment, then repentance is being ready to forgive.

If our sin is violence, then repentance is gentleness.

If our sin is deceit, then repentance is truthfulness.

If our sin is theft, then repentance is honest work.

If our sin is gossip, then repentance is self-control. You get the idea.

But remember this. We cannot repent without help. The key to bearing the fruit of repentance is not trying harder. The key to fruitfulness is abiding in Christ. 

Let us pray… 

Merciful God, we thank you for your patience and for the grace of time.

When we stray off course, change our minds and gently set us in the right direction. Help us to remain in Christ that we would bear good fruit for your glory. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How is the fig flower different from most other flowers?
  3. What is repentance? Why is repentance necessary? How do we repent?
  4. Why do we need to believe in God’s judgement? Why do we need to believe in God’s mercy?
  5. What might the fig tree in Jesus’ parable represent? What might the vineyard owner and worker respectively represent? What is the main purpose of Jesus’ parable of the fig tree in Luke 13?
  6. Does your life bear the fruit of repentance? Does God want you to change your mind and direction in life? If so, what might that change look like? 

[1] The story of the bridge building carpenter is adapted from a story by J. John and Mark Stibbe in their book “A Barrel of Fun”, page 173. 

[2] Kenneth Bailey, “Through Peasant Eyes”, page 79.

[3] Refer Kenneth Bailey’s book, “Through Peasant Eyes”.