Parable Of The Talents And The Kingdom Of God
Parable of the Talents is a key teaching in the word of God. "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)
I’m sure you have heard the word occupy many times since you became a Christian and would like to know more about it. The English word “occupy” is the Greek word pragmateuomai. In this verse, Occupy has specifically to do with personal productivity and faithfulness.
Different Bible versions translate pragmateuomai differently such as:
Occupy (King James Version)
Buy and sell (Amplified Version)
Trade (American Standard Version)
Operate (Message Bible).
We could also describe the word to mean occupying yourself with Kingdom of God business.
“So what is the Kingdom of God,” you ask? The Kingdom of God is the rule of God. The Kingdom of God is the realm you are connected with spiritually after salvation (John 3:5). Jesus said the Kingdom of God was within you (Luke 17:21). He also said the Kingdom of God could be manifested (as He demonstrated many times) in the natural realm (Luke 10:9). From this high place (the commanding heights) Christ rules through His disciples (Ephesians 2:6.)
Similar to other kingdoms, the Kingdom of God has a king, citizens, a domain, government, laws, sanctions, language, economic system, arts, literature, values, and culture. Christ taught to “put first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
To understand how to occupy, we need to know its definition. Here is a list of eight different connotations.
- Keep busy. (She occupies herself with Kingdom of God business.)
- Live in a particular place. (He occupies two rooms in the house.)
- Take up all available space. (The Kingdom of God occupies through influence the entire region.)
- Be on your mind. (My mind is full of Kingdom of God thoughts.)
- Require time or space. (The Kingdom of God is eternal.)
- Consume all of one’s attention or time. (Her interest in the Kingdom of God occupies her entirely.)
- Assume, as of position or role. (He occupies the position of Kingdom of God ambassador; the disciple of Christ embraces his role in the royal priesthood of kings.)
- March aggressively into another’s territory by military force for the purpose of conquest and occupation. (The Protestant Reformers challenged scriptural error, dead religious traditions of men, and form of godliness. They established Kingdom of God truths such as Through Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Glory to God Alone.)
In the Parable of the Talents, God gave to one five talents, another two talents, and another one talent (Matthew 25:14-30). These were God-gifted abilities to do something powerful with their lives. These talents were “their means of production.” (The Genesis Mandate instructs us to take dominion through productivity.) Two of these people put their talents to good work and one buried his talent in the ground. In other words, he made no attempt to occupy. Christ described this person as wicked and lazy. To those faithful disciples that occupied he made rulers over much.
When Jesus was a twelve years old, he was separated from his parents after attending a feast in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph were on their way back home in a caravan when they noticed he wasn’t with the group and returned to Jerusalem looking for him. When they found Jesus, he was teaching in the temple courts. “And He said to them, How is it that you had to look for me? Did you not see and know that it was necessary [as a duty] for me to be in my Father's house and [occupied] about My Father's business” (Luke 2:49 AMP)?
Occupy till He comes!
Your partner,
© Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com