Connect360: Use It or Lose It

• Lesson 13 in the Connect360 unit “Jesus Storyteller: Timeless Truths From His Parables” focuses on Luke 19:11-27.

Jesus told the next part of this parable to coincide with the actual historical event when the Jews opposed Archelaus’ desire to rule over them from Judea. He revealed how much his subjects hated their master in this story (verse 14). This set the stage for the next part of the parable when the subjects had to eat their words because the dreaded master did return—and he wanted an accounting of what had transpired since he left. He required a personal accounting from each of his servants.

That’s the parable. Now, go beyond the story to discover the spiritual significance of this part of the story. First, you must understand that the servants represent those of us who are followers of Jesus. Second, what happens in the story is exactly what will happen to us. We will all give an account to King Jesus regarding how well we managed the resources our Lord left us—time, truth and opportunities.

In the parable, two of the 10 servants give a positive report to the master, because they put their resources to work and earned more while he was away (19:16-19). The master was impressed and assigned them even more resources to manage as a reward for their efforts.

Discover the spiritual significance

Once again, think beyond the story to discover the spiritual significance of this part of the parable. I will give you a hint. The Bible describes a spiritual accounting in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that every Christian will experience. Scripture says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” That phrase “judgment seat” is the word bema—a raised platform from which prizes were awarded to athletes who competed in competition, like the Olympics.

Our judgment at the bema will be a time when the King passes out rewards to believers in honor of how well we invested all that we have for his kingdom—our time, our understanding of his truth, and our opportunities to make a difference.

Based on a lesson by David O. Dykes, pastor emeritus of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler. To learn more about GC2 Press and the Connect360 Bible study series, or to order materials, click here.