INTERPOLATING JESUS’ PARABLE of the “TALENTS”
Let’s interpolate Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents” to illustrate to us the correct way of viewing, discerning, and executing the spiritual supernatural message of salvation contained in all of His parables about the kingdom of God/heaven that is present on earth at this time and Christ’s judgment of what is yet to come. This parable illustrates the spiritual processes of justification, sanctification, eternal glorification, and eternal condemnation.
The Parable of the Talents:
The Parable of the Talents (Luke 19:11-27) “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
“’For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:14-30) NKJV
I will interpolate the Parable of the Talents by inserting brackets {} and inserting words, phrases, and Scriptures to reveal the processes of justification, sanctification, eternal glorification, and/or eternal condemnation.
The Parable of the Talents interpolated. ({Compare to} Luke 19:11-27 {Parable of the Minas} “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country {Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth} (1), who called his “own” {key word for sanctified} servants {“Born Again” adopted Children of God set apart for ministry} and delivered his goods to them {Directed them in giving them their mission of their ministry/work of winning and discipling sinners to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, Lord God, and Master.}. And to one he gave five talents {opportunities to use their testimony to reach sinners for Christ}, to another two, {same} and to another one {same}, to each according to his own ability {/during his/her life time}; and immediately he went on a journey {back to heaven (2)}.
(1) He {Jesus} said to them, You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world (of this earthly order); I am not of this world. (John 8:23) AMP
(2) But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. And when He had said this, even as they were looking [at Him], He was caught up, and a cloud received and carried Him away out of their sight. (Acts 1:8-9) AMP
{During His absence} “Then he {Christ’s disciple} who had received the five talents {his salvation} went and traded with them, and made another five talents {won five lost sinners to Christ as their personal Savior – their process of justification}. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also {same as above}. (3) But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money {He did NOT share his testimony/bear fruit with anyone for Jesus Christ!}. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. (4) {At the end of the age, Jesus brought them before Him to judge them according to their works. (5)}
(3) For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him, and his partners too-James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for the souls of men!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and went with him. (Luke 5:9-11) TLB
(4) For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory (majesty, splendor) of His Father with His angels, and then He will render account and reward every man in accordance with what he has done {pass judgment on every person}. (Matthew 16:27) AMP
(5) Behold, I am coming soon, and I shall bring My wages and rewards with Me, to repay and render to each one just what his own actions and his own work merit. [Isa 40:10; Jer 17:10.] (Revelation 22:12) AMP
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ {He was judged and awarded His eternal glorification.} He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (6) {He was judged and received the same reward – eternal glorification.}
(6) But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. (Hebrews 11:6) AMP
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. {Because that is the work of all of Christ’s adopted children.} And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ {He did NOT win ANY lost sinners/bear lasting fruit to Jesus Christ as their Savior! (7)}
(7) You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you. (John 15:16) AMP
“But his lord {Jesus Christ as Judge} answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. {That was YOUR /work/ministry!!!(8)} So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. {My OWN is the KEY phrase! You did not win any sinners/My own offspring to Jesus Christ as an adopted Child of God. As our creator, He is the Father of the eternal spirits of each of His own offspring. (9)} So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. (10)
(8) For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. (Ephesians 2:10) AMP
(9) All things were made and came into existence through Him {God the Son – Jesus Christ the Son of Man}; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. (John 1:3) AMP
(9a) For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. [Isa 25:1; 40:9-11; Matt 28:18; Luke 2:11.] (Isaiah 9:6) AMP
(9b) Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! (Hebrews 12:9) NIV
(10) And [said Jesus,] I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away. (Luke 19:26) AMP
‘For to everyone who has {won lost souls to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior}, more will be given, and he will have abundance (11); but from him who does not have {did NOT win sinners to Jesus Christ}, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ {Christ’s judgment of eternal condemnation.} (12) (Matthew 25:14-30) NKJV
(11) He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7) AMP
(12) For God {the Son} shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. [Matt 12:36; Acts 17:30,31; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5.] (Ecclesiastes 12:14) AMP
I pray that by now you are seeing that the interpolation of any parable is quite easy. Just look for the spiritual processes of justification, sanctification, eternal glorification, and/or eternal condemnation and insert them/lay them alongside of the physical implications of the parable and go from there!
Let me paraphrase the above parable: God the Son – Jesus Christ the Son of Man – came to earth bringing with Him the kingdom of God/heaven and the work – God’s foreknown and predestined plans that goes with it of winning and discipling lost sinners to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, Lord God, and Master. He called His “own” servants – those lost sinners whom He justified because they had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and now whom He sanctified/set apart to go out into all the world to win souls using the numbers 5, 2, and 0 to Jesus Christ. These numbers are our guidelines as to the numbers for the lost souls for us to win to Jesus Christ.
To find the parables correct interpolation, look for what the new justified convert does after his/ her conversion i.e. during the process of sanctification during their ensuing lifetime. The actions of their faith can either lead them to eternal glorification or eternal condemnation.
He gave to His own servants {indicates they were His “Born Again/”justified servants} his goods – His ministry/sanctification for them in His kingdom here on earth – that’s you and I – to continue to build His kingdom here on earth – Christ’s Bride Church with Its spiritual supernatural Biblical Christian Worldview. (13)
(13) What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]? (James 2:14) AMP
(13a) So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead). But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith. (James 2:17-18) AMP
(13b) You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God) through what he does and not alone through faith [through works of obedience as well as by what he believes]. (James 2:24) AMP
(13c) For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead. (James 2:26) AMP
Jesus’ giving of different amount of talents to His servants is often interpreted to mean that He gave them a specific amount of money and for that amount to gain monetary interest as is commonly practiced. This is supported in what He told the unfruitful Make Believer, “So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.” (Matthew 25:27) NKJV But this is not the correct interpolation because Jesus said He “would have received back ‘my own’ with interest.” What/Who are His own – money (13) or His lost souls/sinners offspring? (14)
(13) Now the Pharisees, who were covetous and lovers of money, heard all these things [taken together], and they began to sneer at and ridicule and scoff at Him. But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God. [1 Sam 16:7; Prov 21:2.] (Luke 16:14-15) AMP
(14) Thus says God the Lord–He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it {at their conception}: (Isaiah 42:5) AMP
(14a) Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it {upon their death for judgment}. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) AMP
The main way the kingdom of God/heaven – Christ’s Bride Church – is built here on earth is by True Believers who are reading their Bible, following the leading of God the Holy Spirit, and are using their testimony to win lost souls/sinners to Jesus Christ. The examples for this are of the three servants/Saints during their sanctification process whom He gave talents/salvation and their justification and equipped them each according to their ability to properly minister and share the Word of God to the lost offspring in the world – all of sinful man. They are each now involved in their individual process of sanctification – living lives set apart by God that glorify their faith in Jesus Christ and the winning and the discipling of lost souls/sinners to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is waiting and watching to see what each will do with their free gift of Salvation. (15)
(15) Until John came, there were the Law and the Prophets; since then the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone strives violently to go in [would force his own way rather than God’s way into it]. (Luke 16:16) AMP
During the lifetime process of sanctification of these three servants/Saints, each revealed their true worldviews towards God and the things of God. Two of the servants invested their talents i.e. their salvation by sharing their testimonies which won lost souls/sinners in the world to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. One servant won five souls to Jesus Christ. Another servant won two souls to Jesus Christ. But the last servant knew his master was a man who was demanding of his service to him therefore he “buried his feet in the ground” (16) and did not win any souls/bear eternal fruit to Jesus Christ during his Born Again lifetime i.e. he did not witness nor give testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior to the lost souls/sinners of the world. The numbers are important because they indicate the number of lost souls/sinners you are to bring to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. It is interesting to note that Jesus gave each one according to his ability. Does this mean that He foreknew that His servant/Saint who received the one person to lead to Christ would NOT succeed in this work/ministry? I KNOW THAT I AM REPEATING MYSELF, but this is the fruit/work that God requires of you and that He predestined for you to do. (17)
(16) And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15) NKJV
(17) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) NKJV
When Jesus returns at His Second Coming bringing His judgment, He will open the Book of Remembrance to make an accurate assessment and judgment for the rewarding of each Saint’s work/inheritance. (18) If you will notice in the parable, the Saints who had lived lives that glorified their faith in Jesus Christ bore eternal fruit for Christ i.e. won lost souls/sinners to Jesus Christ, were both given the same reward/inheritance/eternal glorification as True Believers in the kingdom of God/heaven. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:21, 23) NKJV (19)
(18) A Book of Remembrance. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name. (Malachi 3:16) NKJV
(18a) Jesus Testifies to the Churches. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12) NKJV
(18b) And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory. (Romans 8:17) AMP
(19) “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:28-30) NKJV
We now have Jesus Christ’s judgment for the Saint who had received the free gift of salvation resulting in his justification and subsequent equipping for his sanctification process but remained an unfruitful, immature babe in Christ – a Make Believer not maturing in their sanctification process by bearing eternal fruit – winning lost souls/sinners to Jesus Christ as their Savior i.e. instead he received eternal condemnation/eternal separation from God in Hell. HE RECEIVED THE SAME JUDGMENT AS AN UNBELIEVER! “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” {i.e. eternal condemnation} (Matthew 25:26-30) NKJV
It should be noted that in the physical, babies do NOT reproduce! The SAME principle holds true in the spiritual realm. We MUST mature in our faith during the sanctification process of our life to reproduce fruit that lasts – winning sinners/lost souls to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and discipling them to do the same! (20)
(20) Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your [spiritual] hearing and sluggish [even slothful in achieving spiritual insight]. For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.
For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant {babe/baby} [not able to talk yet]! But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law. (Hebrews 5:11-14) AMP
