Matthew 25:14-30
Talents Entrusted to Servants
Read the passage
14For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.
15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.
16The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more.
17Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
22The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.’
23His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
24Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’
26‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
28Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.
29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
30And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus tells of a man going on a journey who entrusts his property to three servants. To one he gives five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. The first two servants trade with what they receive and double it.
The servant with one talent digs a hole and hides his master's money. After a long time, the master returns and settles accounts. He praises the first two servants as good and faithful, gives them greater responsibility, and invites them to share his joy.
The third servant says he knew the master to be a hard man and was afraid. He returns the talent unchanged. The master calls him wicked and lazy, takes the talent, and gives it to the servant who has ten.
The word “talent” here names a large unit of money, not simply a natural skill. The parable concerns faithful stewardship of what has been entrusted, not a competition to prove that every person is equally productive.
The master's response is sobering, but the passage should not be used to pressure exhausted people or to equate worth with financial success. Faithful work includes rest, limits, cooperation, and care for people whose capacity is reduced by illness, disability, or hardship.
How We Know
The parable of the talents is distinctive to Matthew. Luke 19:11-27 contains a related parable of minas, but its amounts, setting, servants, and purpose differ; it is not simply Matthew's parallel account.
Questions
1 How does the master respond to the servants' different amounts?
AnswerThe master praises the servants who doubled the five and two talents, calling them good and faithful and inviting them into his joy. He condemns the servant who hid the talent as wicked and lazy and takes it from him.
2 What does the third servant do with the talent he received?
AnswerThe servants receive different amounts, the first two put them to work, and the third hides his single talent because he is afraid of the master.
3 Why is fear not a faithful excuse for burying responsibility?
AnswerFear is not a faithful excuse because the third servant uses it to justify doing nothing with what his master entrusted to him. His own words show that he knew the master expected a return, yet he buried the talent instead of acting responsibly.
4 What has our household been entrusted to steward?
AnswerEach person can identify one responsibility or resource to steward more faithfully, with a plan that respects health, limits, and the needs of others.
What This Means for Us
The servants are not given identical assignments. Comparison is therefore a poor measure of faithfulness. One person may teach, another repair, another care for a child, and another endure a season in which simply staying alive and receiving help is the faithful work.
The third servant's fear becomes an excuse for doing nothing. Fear can do that in our lives, especially when we imagine God only as a harsh evaluator. The parable calls us to bring fear into the light and ask for wise support rather than burying what we have been given.
This is not a command to chase profit or to measure people by output. Stewardship includes generosity, integrity, rest, and accountability. It asks what love requires with the resources and opportunities actually before us.
Ask, “What has been entrusted to me in this season?” Choose one responsible next step without comparing your assignment with someone else's.
Prayer
Master and Lord, help us steward what you entrust with courage and humility. Free us from fear and comparison, teach us to honor our limits, and make our work fruitful for the good of others. Amen.