WHAT DO THE TALENTS OF MATTHEW 25 REPRESENT?
By M. C. W.
It is not our purpose to give a thorough exposition of this parable, which is found in Matt. 25: 14-29. The parable of the pounds, which is very similar, is found in Luke 19: 11-27. The first two verses of the parable of the talents read as follows:— "For the kingdom of Heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey." The man traveling into a far country represents the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to offer himself a sacrifice for sinners and to redeem the world, which had passed from its rightful lord to the dominion of Satan. Christ was successful in his mission to earth. He died and rose again, triumphant over death and the grave. He then leaves the world, for which he had paid the purchase price, and goes to "a far country" (Luke 19:12), there, in the end of his ministry as priest, to appear before the Father (Dan. 7:13, 14), "to receive for himself a kingdom [this earth], and to return," to judge the world and take possession. Luke 19:12; Matt. 25: 31-34. The talents represent something that is intrusted to his servants, to use to his glory, till his return. This use would cause increase or growth of that represented by the talents. What do these "talents" or "pounds" represent? It is an important question. The "well done" to those who improved their talents, and the fate of him who buried his in the earth, indicate in no meaningless way the importance of not only knowing what these talents are, but possessing them and using them to the glory of God. Those who interpret the parable by itself, or, rather, by their own imagination, have made many guesses as to what these talents represent. The general meaning given to them is that they represent the natural intellectual or physical abilities of the individual, that which makes men of use in life everywhere, which gives them success. But notice, the talents are not the natural ability; for they were given "to every man according to his several ability." The ability was before the talents. The servants possessed the ability (natural ability, presumably) prior to the bestowal of the talents by their lord. Therefore, the talents are not the ability. What then do they represent? The parable does not inform us, nor does it so present it that we would naturally adopt a right interpretation. Are we left to the parable and our own imaginations alone? It cannot be that in so important a particular the Lord has thus left us. In fact, a parable is not designed to reveal truth, but to illustrate and enforce truth. We must base doctrines on those scriptures about which there can be no question. The parable must be understood by comparing it with these scriptures, taking into consideration, of course, the circumstances under which it is given and the lesson designed to be taught. In these latter particulars there would, doubtless, be no difference of opinion. What then do the talents represent? Are there other scriptures that will make this plainer?—There are. God has revealed in plain terms just what he bestowed upon his people when our Lord left this world to go to the "far country;" and by comparing these, spiritual things with spiritual, we will find that the parable of the talents will glow with new life and beauty, and while it may increase our responsibility it will give added encouragement. The first scripture to which we will turn as explanatory of the talents is Eph. 4: 8-11. The eighth verse speaks of the ascension of Christ, that is, the time when he went away into a far country, and presented before his father the multitude of captives, the first-fruits of his triumph. See margin, and Matt. 27: 52, 53. The last part of the verse states in positive terms that when he ascended, or went away, he "gave gifts unto men." This is what is stated in the parables. Before he left for the "far country," he gave the pounds and talents.391The next two verses are parenthetical. Verse 11 states what some of these gifts were: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." Verse 12 states for what purpose these gifts were bestowed: "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." These were all for the glory of God and the advancement and increase of the cause of Christ. The talents were given by the lord to his servants, in order that he might receive increase of his own. Matt. 25: 27. The gifts were to be placed in the church for a certain time, which is shown in Eph. 4: 13: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." The unity of the faith has not yet come, nor will it till just previous to the return of the Master. Then that which is perfect will come (1 Cor. 13: 8-10), then these gifts of prophecy, etc., will cease. So the pounds were given to the nobleman's servants, and they were told to "occupy till I come." Those pounds were to be used to the glory of Christ till he came. The gifts were given for the same time, another proof that they are identical. In the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians is another enumeration of the gifts. We are there told that they are not natural endowments received by birth, but are gifts of the Spirit of God. Verses 4-6. So the talents were not the natural ability, but they were bestowed according to that ability. The gifts were given to each one, and were given that they might profit by their use. Verse 7. The talents were also given to each one that they might profit by their use. Matt. 25: 15, 27, 29. God divides the gifts "severally as he will" (1 Cor. 12: 11); so does the bestower of the talents. In all these particulars the evidence is conclusive that the talents represent these gifts. They are given by the same one, at the same time, to the same ones, for the same purpose, to continue the same period of time, namely, the gospel age. Certainly the evidence is sufficient to show that the gifts of the Spirit and the "talents" and "pounds" are identical. These gifts and their use we will consider in a future paper.