working together for the future of faith
 

 

The Entrusted Money

Data

(1a) 2Q: Luke 19:(11)12-24,27 = Matt 25:14-28
(1b) GNaz 18

 

Texts

(1a) 2Q: Luke 19:(11)12-24,27 = Matt 25:14-28

/19:11/ (As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.) /12/ So he said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. /13/ He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, 'Do business with these until I come back.' /14/ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to rule over us.' /15/ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. /16/ The first came forward and said, 'Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.' /17/ He said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.' /18/ Then the second came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' /19/ He said to him, 'And you, rule over five cities.' /20/ Then the other came, saying, 'Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, /21/ for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' /22/ He said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? /23/ Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.' /24/ He said to the bystanders, 'Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.' /27/ But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.'"

= Matt 25:14-28
/25:14/ "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; /15/ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. /16/ The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. /17/ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. /18/ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. /19/ After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. /20/ Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' /21/ His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' /22/ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' /23/ His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' /24/ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; /25/ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' /26/ But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? /27/ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. /28/ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.


(1b) GNaz 18

Ch. 8 paraphrased by Eusebius (4th century), Theophany 4 (discussing Matt 25:19--30):

The gospel written in the Hebrew alphabet that we have obtained has the threat being made not against the man who had hidden the money, but against the one who had behaved dissolutely. He (the master) had three slaves. One squandered his master's resources with prostitutes and dance hall girls, one multiplied his earnings, and one hid the money. One was later commended, one was merely criticized, and one was thrown into prison. This makes me wonder whether in Matthew the threat that is made after the statement against the man who did nothing might refer not to him, but rather, by the literary device of echoing, to the first man who had been eating and drinking with the drunks.
[Complete Gospels]

 

Notes

Lectionary

RCL: Year A, Proper 28
ECUSA: & RC: Year A, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

advanceWord: Proper 28A

Sermon: The Third Slave

See also:

46. The Tenants, and especially the version in HermSim 5.2:4-7

 

John Dominic Crossan

Item: 178
Stratum: I (30-60 CE)
Attestation:
Single
Historicity: +

 

IQP

The International Q Project reconstructs the original Q parable as follows:

... a certain person, on taking a trip, called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas [and said to them: Do business until I come]. ... [After a long time] the master of those slaves comes and settles accounts with them. And the first [came] saying: Master, your mina has produced ten more minas. And he said to him: Well done, good slave, you have been faithful over a pittance, I will set you over much. And the [second] came saying: Master, your mina has earned five minas. He said to [him: Well done, good slave, you have been faithful over a pittance,] I will set you over much. And the other came saying: Master, [I knew] you, that you are a hard person, reaping where you did not sow and gathering up from where you did not winnow; and, scared, I [went and] hid [your mina] in [the ground]. Here, you have what belongs to you. he said to him: Wicked slave! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather up from where I have not winnowed? [Then you had go invest] my money [with the] money [changers]! And at my coming I would have received what belongs to me plus interest. So take from him the mina and give it to the one who has the ten minas.

 

Jesus Seminar

Text

Item

 Source

JS Mtg

%Red

%Pink

%Gray

%Black

W Avg

Color
Luke 19:12b-27
56
 Q
 86Red
7
29
21
43
0.33
Gray
Luke 19:12b,14,25
56
Q
87StP
0
0
0
100
0.00
Black
Luke 19:13,15-24
56
Q
87StP
5
73
18
5
0.59
Pink
Matt 25:14-30
56
Q
86Red
14
36
18
32
0.44
Gray
Matt 25:14-28
56
Q
87StP
5
73
18
5
0.59
Pink
GNaz 18
56
Q
86Red
0
3
17
79
0.08
Black

The commentary in The Five Gospels (p. 374) notes that "a strong majority of the Fellows" concluded that Jesus could have told the core parable that has been variously adapted by Luke and Matthew. The original parable comprised the following elements:

    1. Someone leaving on a trip leaves money in trust with his slaves.
    2. The slaves deal with the entrusted money in different ways.
    3. The master of the slaves returns and proceeds to settle the accounts.
    4. The trustworthy slaves are rewarded.
    5. The untrustworthy slave is deprived of the funds which are given to the most productive slave.

 

Samuel T. Lachs

Lachs [Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, 341] notes that the Lukan version may be based on the visit to Rome by Archelaus to seek confirmation that he was to inherit a portion of Herod the Great's kingdom following his father's death. However, the phenomenon of a wealthy slave owner leaving property in trust while away on business hardly seems to require any particular historical event to prompt this version. The specific features found in Luke's version may simply reflect the different social and historical setting of Luke-Acts, which some date to early 2C.

Lachs also cites a rabbinic parable that provides a limited parallel to this saying:

A king has two servants, one who fears and loves the king, and one who only fears him. The king goes away and apparently leaves his palace and estate to these two servants to deal with. The one who only fears the king does nothing, and the gardens and grounds become waste and desolate; the one who loves the king plants trees and flowers and fruit. Then the king returns, he is pleased with the one servant and angry with the other. [Yal. Deut. 837]

Lachs notes that burying money or valuables, or any entrusted property, in the ground was considered the safest way to keep a bailment and freeing oneself of any responsibility for their loss. This is also reflected in various parables of Jesus, as well as being a blessing for archaeology.

Gerd Luedemann

Luedemann [Jesus, 235] recognizes a "genetic connection" between the versions in Matthew and Luke, and see them both as deriving from Q. However he does not consider that it is possible to reconstruct the original parable "in view of the numerous elaborations by the [post Easter] community"

 

John P. Meier

Despite a passing reference to this parable [Marginal Jew II,336], Meier does not consider this parable directly in the first 3 volumes of his study.

 

Ched Myers & Eric DeBode

Myers and DeBode note the problematic nature of this familiar parable:

This has been for many an unsettling story. It seems to promote ruthless business practices (v. 20), usury (v. 27), and the cynical view that the rich will only get richer while the poor become destitute (v.29). Moreover, if we assume, as does the traditional reading, that the master is a figure for God, it is a severe portrait indeed: an absentee lord (v. 15) who cares only about profit maximization (v. 21), this character is hardhearted (v. 24) and ruthless (v. 30).

Full article >>

 

Abbreviations | Bibliography | Copyright | FFF Home | Get Involved | JDB Home | Search | Email FFF