Occupy Till I Come
May 9, 2013
“And
as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he
was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God
should immediately appear.” Luke 19:11.
As we read through this parable in Luke 19 we need to understand where
Jesus was heading. Soon the Feast of Passover would be celebrated and
all able bodied men were required to celebrate that Feast in Jerusalem.
He was on His way there for a much higher purpose. He would be hailed
as Messiah and then a few days later He would be crucified. He knew what
was going to happen and needed to teach one more time about His reason
for coming. People, including His disciples, thought He would come in as
the conquering King and save them from the oppression of the
Romans…that He would fulfill their idea of Messiah. Was He giving this
parable to the Jewish people who would be hailing Him as Messiah, or to
those who are the Ekklesia? Maybe both. The immediate reason was to show
these people that He first had to go away in order to receive the
Kingdom. But there are truths in here that cannot be ignored by the
Ekklesia.
“He
said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants,
and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” Luke 19:12-13.
Here, a certain nobleman had ten servants and that nobleman had
distributed ten pounds among those ten servants along with the
instruction to occupy (keep working) until he returned. Most
translations use the word “mina” instead of “pound” and it was a
substantial about of money in those days. One mina was equal to about
100 day’s worth of wages for a common laborer. While the master was away
receiving his kingdom, the servants were expected keep doing business
for him – to use the resources that the master gave them to the utmost.
What a blessing the master of these servants had bestowed upon them.
What trust he had in them to use the money wisely. They were to occupy –
stay faithful and invest the money – until the master returned.
We
know that the nobleman in the parable is Jesus and He is about to “go
away” in order to be made King. He would soon be crucified. He has
trusted servants with whom He has left something of value and He expects
it to be used wisely. He expects the servants to keep working and to
occupy till He comes back. Jesus will return as King at His second
coming, but before that happens the Ekklesia will be “caught up”.
“But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this [man] to reign over us”. Luke 19:14.
The “citizens” are a different group. They are not the servants. The
servants didn’t hate the master, but the citizens are another story.
They hated him and didn’t want him to rule over them. How sad. The
master had given so much to the servants, and presumably the citizens
could have also been blessed. Rather than accepting his gifts, these
citizens hated him.
As
this parable unfolds, the master returns. Just as Jesus will return as
Messiah after the Great Tribulation, this nobleman had received his
kingdom and was now ready to judge the servants and how they invested
what had been left in their possession. Each one was called before the
Master. The first servant had increased the pound from one pound to ten
pounds, and the master was pleased. He gave that servant authority over
ten cities. Notice the servant didn’t receive an all expense paid
vacation to the tropics for rest and relaxation! His reward was more
valuable than that…it was more trust from the Master. The next servant
increased the one pound to five and was rewarded with authority over
five cities. The third servant didn’t do so well. He let unfounded fear
stop him from increasing what was entrusted to him, so what he had been
given was taken away and given to the servant who had the 10 pound
increase. The one who brought no increase was not cast out, but he lost
what was entrusted to him and received no reward.
“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me.” Luke 19:27.
Now the focus turns to those citizens who hated the master. Their life
would be taken from them. So it will be at the very end when those who
chose to reject Jesus must face the Great White Throne judgment.
Jesus
gave this parable to drive home a point. He was going away to receive
His kingdom. He was leaving servants in charge, but was not leaving them
without resources. Each servant was given an equal share, but his
rewards were based upon what he did with the pound he was given. Now,
let’s take a look at how the Ekklesia can learn from this parable.
Although it is about Christ’s second coming there is much for the
Ekklesia to learn from it before the Harpazō – the catching away of the
saints.
Jesus Christ is the Master. Before He departed He left His servants (that’s us) with His Gospel and the Holy Spirit. “In
whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14. Each
of us is given the treasure of the Holy Spirit, which is sealed within
us when we first believe. We are also given our marching orders, which
many refer to as the Great Commission. Jesus was going away and yet He
was leaving His Ekklesia here on earth to go about continuing the work
He began. We are to make disciples of all nations. We are to invest our
pound and continue in His stead, fighting the good fight and proclaiming
the Gospel to all peoples and tongues – and that includes those in our
own neighborhood.
Certainly
there are times when we feel it is difficult to continue, but we are
never told to stop proclaiming the Gospel even though the “citizens hated him”
and no matter what the hardships may be. Paul is a great example to us.
How many jailers do you suppose he converted when in prison? How many
fellow prisoners did he share the Gospel with? Sometimes we may wish to
slack off but there will always be another lost soul who crosses our
path who is seeking truth and needs to hear the Good News.
Some
of these servants in the parable did well with the responsibilities
they were afforded and the nobleman/master rewarded them accordingly.
But then there was one who hid his pound. “For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.” Luke 19:21.
This is exactly where we see much of the Ekklesia today. Full of
excuses for not investing what has been given. Not understanding the
nature of Jesus and fearing an imagined version of Him. How can we serve
Him if we don’t know Him?
Invest the pound that the Master gave you in truly studying and spreading God’s Word. “But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give]
an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear:” 1 Peter 3:15.
“Others are better at witnessing than I am, let them do it.” This is
the wrong attitude to have and studying God’s Word will give you
confidence and help you overcome your fear. Do you really know why you
believe or even what you believe? Practice explaining the reason for
your hope. Practice explaining why Jesus came to save us and why we
cannot save ourselves. The reason begins in Genesis and is explained
throughout the entire Bible. Too often witnessing never gets done
because Christians lack Biblical knowledge and are intimidated when
confronted with what they think is a tough question. The pound Jesus
gave them is wasted.
“But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.” Luke 19:14.
This is the citizenry of earth as a whole who are not a part of the
Ekklesia. They hate Jesus Christ and will have nothing to do with Him
nor will they follow His precepts. The servants don’t hate the Master,
but the citizens do. Notice that everyone is subject to the Master
whether they love Him or not. What if the servant who had hidden his
pound had invested it in teaching the citizens about the Master? That
may have made a big difference in the life of at least one citizen.
“For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one
may receive the things [done] in [his]body, according to that he hath
done, whether [it be] good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.
If you are a Christian you don’t need to be afraid of the phrase
“judgment seat of Christ”. Yes, we all will have to stand before Him and
tell Him what we did with the pound He gave us. The Greek word “bema”
is translated “judgment seat”. This is not a punishment judgment, but a
rewards judgment. This is where everything we have done for Christ will
be rewarded and all else (wood, hay, and stubble) will be burned up.
Just as the servant who did not invest his pound was still a servant but
received no reward, so it will be with those who do not invest their
pound.
“And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28.
There
is another judgment, though. This is the one that the citizens who hate
the Master and don’t want Him to reign over them will face. “And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written the
books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:11-12.
This passage goes on and it is heartbreaking to read. This is where the
citizens who did not want the King to reign over them are cast into the
lake of fire. If we, the Ekklesia, would only share our gift from God –
the salvation Christ died on the cross to purchase for us – perhaps
there would be very few who face this judgment.
Giving
up on witnessing just because we perceive we are close to Christ’s soon
return for His Church will only result in a loss not a gain. Those who
give up at the end, especially when the going gets tough, will lose all
they’ve gained as far as rewards are concerned. “But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” Matthew 6:20.
What we do with our “pound” is how we lay up treasures in Heaven while
awaiting our departure from earth. These treasures are not corruptible
nor will they perish, but our rewards can be taken from us and given to
another because we refused to be faithful and occupy till He comes.
Because we don’t use the pound He gave us wisely.
All
of Jesus’ parables drive home very potent messages. If given enough
thought and study, this parable in particular will convince even the
most fearful follower to get back on track. There is still a huge amount
of work to do and precious little time. All those who reject the truth
of the Gospel are our missionary field. They are the citizens who hate
Jesus and don’t want Him to reign over them. They are living in danger
of facing the Great White Throne Judgment and eternal damnation.
Reaching the lost is not an impossible mission. “But Jesus beheld them, …with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26.
All things are possible with God and the sooner we realize that fact
and start investing our pound the sooner we will get back to performing
His Great Commission, not even being distracted by the promise of the
coming Harpazō.
“Occupy
Till I Come” means just that. We never stop, we never give up, and we
never given in. The enemy of God would have us stop witnessing and hide
our “pound” in a handkerchief. The decision we must make is whether we
are going to give in to fear and/or complacency or are we going to
preserver in the face of any and all the enemy’s roadblocks?
God’s
plan is being laid out before our eyes and He’s only asking that we
invest the pound He gave us rather than hide it in a handkerchief. We
must share with others and not be afraid of the citizens who hate our
Lord.
“Occupy Till I Come” is a command not a suggestion.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
No comments:
Post a Comment