The Parable of the Ten MinasSample

An unfaithful servant

“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.’” (Luke 19:20-21)

Yesterday we read about servants who had faithfully fulfilled their assignment and were rewarded very generously for it. Now, however, we read about another servant who had done nothing with the money he received. He had put it away and later returned it to the king. Without any profit, of course.

Most painful of all is the reason he gave for this. He knew the king as an unreasonable, greedy man and was therefore afraid of making a loss. He did not trust his employer. What an insult to the king, who had just shown how generous he was! This third servant showed in his reply that he did not actually know the king well at all. He painted a caricature of him and, thus, justified his own laziness. This servant, therefore, received no reward, but even lost his one mina. From now on, nothing at all was entrusted to him anymore.

For the spiritual meaning of this story element, we wonder: Is this unfaithful servant a believer who falls short of “good works,” or is he not a true believer at all? I think the latter. The Gospel had no effect on his life. From this servant's words and actions, it was clear that he did not know or love his king at all. Titus 1:16 says of such people, “They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works.”

What impact does it have on you to read about such an unfaithful servant and about the king’s harsh judgment on this man?