In the time after their sin and expulsion from the Garden Adam and Eve must have felt incredible despair. They had experienced life both before and after the curse, the only ones to do so, and had first hand knowledge of the difference. And what a difference it was. Even the part of it we can relate to had to have been devastating.

For example suppose that one day you were the resident manager of the world’s richest and most luxurious estate, with all of its comforts and privileges, and the next you were a poor hardscrabble farmer, at the opposite end of the economic and social structure. And that was just the beginning. How about no longer being immortal, no longer one with Him in spirit.

The Seed Of The Woman
To keep them from becoming exceedingly despondent, God had promised them a redeemer. In Genesis 3:15 we read,

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

He was speaking to the one indwelling the serpent and in Hebrew the promise contains a biological impossibility. Seed comes from the male. It’s the Bible’s first hint of a virgin birth. An offspring of the woman’s would destroy Satan and reverse the consequences of the act he had manipulated, redeeming mankind from its bondage to sin.

Two chapters later in Genesis 5 the Bible gives us another hint of this. The Hebrew root words of the names of the 10 patriarchs listed there form a sentence. In English it reads like this.

“Man is appointed mortal sorrow, but the blessed God will come down teaching that His death will bring the despairing rest.”  (For detail click here)

It’s a prophecy that God Himself would come to Earth as the Seed of the Woman, and man’s redeemer.

Centuries later, this was confirmed by the Prophet Isaiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

As New Testament believers we can see that the five names listed here describe all three members of the Trinity. Wonderful is the name by which The Angel of the Lord identified Himself while visiting Samson’s parents. (Judges 13:18) When the phrase “The Angel of the Lord” appears in the Old testament, it’s in conjunction with a pre-incarnate visit by the Lord Jesus. That He’s being referenced here is confirmed by the title, Prince of Peace. Jesus called the Holy spirit the Counselor in John 14:26, and Mighty God and everlasting Father can only refer to God.

A Descendant Of Abraham
In Genesis 12:1-3 the origin of this redeemer becomes clearer. There God promised Abraham that all the nations of Earth would be blessed through him, and in Genesis 22 had Abraham act this out with the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham’s “only son” on Mt. Moriah. 2000 years later another Father would offer His only Son as a sacrifice for sin in that same place. Abraham knew this and named the place Jehovah Jireh, saying, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Gen. 22:14).

The Lion Of Judah
Later, as Abraham’s grandson Jacob neared death, he narrowed it down still more by saying that all of Israel’s kings including the ultimate one, “the one to whom it belongs”, would come from among the descendants of one of his sons, Judah, (Gen. 49:10) giving birth to the title “Lion of Judah” as a Messianic reference.

The Son Of David
In 2 Samuel 7:12-15 we read that David longed to build a Temple for God, but God refused him, saying that it would take a man of peace to build a house for Him. He said that David’s son Solomon would be that man, and during Solomon’s reign Israel experienced peace as never before or since. But to ease David’s disappointment God promised to build him a “house” and the Davidic Dynasty was founded. Hence forth there would always be a direct descendant of David’s on the throne of Israel. It was an everlasting promise made in about 1000 BC, and Solomon would be the first fulfillment. But since neither Solomon nor any other Davidic King was flogged by men for “doing wrong” (2 Sam. 7:14) there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.  The wording casts shadows of the Messiah.

So through God’s progressive revelation we’ve narrowed things down from learning that the redeemer would be a son of Eve’s, which would exclude no one, to the family of Abraham, then Judah, then David. But we’re not finished yet. Over the next 400 years the Davidic Kings went from bad to worse with few exceptions. Finally, in the time of the Prophet Jeremiah God had had enough and pronounced a blood curse on the Davidic line, saying that no son of then King Jehoiachin would ever rule over Israel. (Jere. 22:30) The Davidic line, begun with Solomon, was seemingly ended and God’s promise to David broken.

The Branch
However, before the nation was taken to Babylon, while a Davidic King still sat on the throne, God had Ezekiel announce that the line was being suspended and wouldn’t be restored until “He comes to whom it rightfully belongs.” (Ezekiel 21:27) recalling Jacob’s prophecy to mind. In 519 BC, after the Jews had returned from the Babylonian captivity, God said that a man He called The Branch would be that one, and that He would hold the priesthood as well, combining the two. (Zechariah 6:12). There are four references to The Branch in the old testament and all point to the Messiah.

Born Of a Virgin, Born In Bethlehem
But how was God going to get around the blood curse? For the answer to that, we have to back up to about 750 BC. In that time two of the most specific Messianic prophecies ever given narrowed the field down to just one possibility. In Isaiah 7:14 the Lord proclaimed that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, and in Micah 5:2 that he would be born in Bethlehem, the City of David.

In order to legally qualify for a seat on David’s throne, the Messiah King would have to be of the house and lineage of David. To be from the house of David means being a biological descendant of David’s. Being of David’s lineage means belonging to the Royal Line. How can this be?

When we read the Lord’s genealogies in Matt. 1 and Luke 3, we can see differences beginning at the time of David. Matthew’s genealogy runs through Solomon, the cursed royal line. But Luke’s goes through Solomon’s brother Nathan. Nathan’s line wasn’t cursed, but neither were they kings. Further study reveals that Matthew is actually giving us Joseph’s genealogy while Luke shows us Mary’s. Both were descended from David, and in addition Joseph was one of many who were heir to David’s throne but unable to claim it because of the curse on his line.

So through His mother Mary, Jesus was a biological descendant of David’s. When Mary and Joseph became husband and wife, Jesus also became Joseph’s legal son and heir to David’s Throne.  But not being biologically related to Joseph, He didn’t have the blood curse. He was of both the house and lineage of David.   To this day He’s the only man born in Israel since 600BC with a legitimate claim to David’s throne. The angel Gabriel confirmed this to Mary when he told her that although a virgin, she would soon give birth to the Son of God, who would occupy it forever. (Luke 1:32-33) Isaiah 9:7 had revealed the same fact centuries earlier. God’s promise to David stands.

Daniel And The Magi
200 years after Micah identified Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace, The Lord told Daniel the time of His death. It would be 483 years after the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity, but before an enemy army came to destroy it again. (Daniel 9:24-27) This places the Messiah’s death somewhere between 32 and 70 AD according to our reckoning of time.

Daniel formed a group of Persian Priests to pass this information down from father to son, and according to tradition set aside the bulk of his personal wealth as a gift for them to present to the Messiah when the time came for His birth. He apparently also gave them a confirming sign to look for from Numbers 24:17, later known as the Star of Bethlehem. By recreating the ancient skies through computer modeling, scientists have recently announced the discovery of this star, actually a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, that next to the moon was the brightest light in the middle eastern sky at the time of the Lord’s birth.

The descendants of these priests, now a very influential political force in Parthia (as Persia came to be known), remained true to Daniel’s commission, and upon seeing the star set out for Jerusalem. Arriving there they sought an audience with King Herod, asking for the whereabouts of the one born to be King of Israel. Summoning the chief priests, Herod repeated the question and was referred to Micah 5:2 where Bethlehem is identified. The Parthian priests, or Magi as we call them, went there and found the baby Jesus.

The field of candidates for Redeemer of Mankind, the Seed of the Woman, the Descendant of Abraham, the Lion of Judah, the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel, had been narrowed down to one. His name is Jesus.

Faith In Action
By faith, with nothing more than Daniel’s word to their ancestors, the Magi mounted up and undertook a dangerous 800 mile trip into enemy territory to meet the Messiah. (The Parthians and Romans were technically at war.) With 4000 years of fulfilled prophetic scripture in their hands, the chief priests, who no longer took it literally, refused to join them for the last 5 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see if God’s Word really was true. In so doing, the leaders of the people He came to save missed out on the central event in human history, consigning themselves to eternal separation from the very God they had been seeking.

If history repeats itself like they say it does, then when He comes back many of today’s religious experts, who also don’t take the prophecies literally, will make the same mistake.

Jesus was traveling through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem.  It was early in the day on Palm Sunday.    A rumor had sprung up among the crowds following Him that when He got there He was going to establish His Kingdom and defeat all their enemies.  He told them this parable as a way of clarifying how things would happen.

By the way, you’ll notice some scholars saying that this is just another version of the Parable of the Talents.  But while the two stories are generally similar there are too many material differences to make them two versions of the same event. Let’s read it.

He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ (Luke 19:12-13)

As will become clear the man of noble birth represents Jesus who after His resurrection went to Heaven  to be made King of the whole Earth.  And the servants represent His followers.  In the monetary system of the day, a drachma was about one day’s wage.  It took 100 drachmas to equal one mina, and 60 minas to equal 1 talent. Note that each servant was given an equal amount (one mina), a much smaller sum than even the least of the three servants in the Parable of the Talents.  And remember, a parable is a heavenly truth put into an earthly context, so everything is symbolic of something else. Therefore, the mina represents something as valuable to the Lord as about 3 months wages would be to us.

When we reviewed the Parable of the Talents we saw that the money there represented His Word, the Lord’s most prized possession.  Psalm 138:2 says He values His word even above His name.  It’s reasonable to assume it’s the same here, especially since history tells us that the one thing the Lord left His followers with was the Gospel, His Word.

According to E.W. Bullinger’s “Number In Scripture” the number 10 denotes a completeness of order.  It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete. The 10 servants and 10 minas indicate that before the Lord left He gave everyone necessary everything they needed to spread His Word through out the world.

“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ (Luke 19:14)

Here’s another difference between the two parables.  No such impression is conveyed in the Parable of the Talents.  There the man was simply going on a journey.  Here he’s going off to be made King and some people don’t like it.  30 years previously a similar event had actually taken place.  When Herod Archelaus went to Rome to be made King as his father’s successor, a delegation of 50 Jews followed him from Israel where they petitioned Caesar to give them a Roman governor instead of Archelaus.  According to Josephus over 8,000 Jews who lived in Rome gathered in the palace to support them as they presented their case against Archelaus.

Needless to say Archelaus was not pleased, and after he was appointed in spite of their pleas he made his displeasure known to his subjects.  It may be that Jesus used  the incident to remind them (and us) of the dangers in rejecting a duly appointed King. If so, the warning fell mostly on deaf ears.  A short time later Israel rejected its King and since then untold millions of Gentiles have done the same thing.

“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. (Luke 19:15)

There was never any doubt that Jesus would be our King.  With His blood He redeemed the entire creation from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21) and since then all that remains is for Him to take possession of that which He has purchased. That day is coming soon, and when it does there will be loud voices in Heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15)

Two verses later, in Rev. 11:17, God is described as “the one who is and who was.”  No more “and who is to come.”  From Heaven’s perspective, His reign will have already begun even though on Earth the Great Tribulation is still to come.  Satan and his followers may see the Great Tribulation as a war to determine who will control Earth, but the Lord sees it as a judgment where Israel will be purified and the nations will be completely destroyed. (Jeremiah 30:8-11)   Satan is merely being used to help Him accomplish this. (Rev. 17:17) There’s never been any doubt as to the outcome.

When He returns, The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9)

Since the King will have already returned at this point in the parable, we’re talking about the time after the 2nd Coming.  Also we’ll soon see that the King’s servants and His subjects are two different groups.  The first order of business is to receive a report from the servants.  How have they invested His most precious commodity?

“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

” ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ (Luke 19:16-19)

Getting a 1000% or even a 500% return on a small investment is commendable.  But it’s unlikely to qualify someone to govern 5 or 10 cities. Remember, this is a parable.  Everything is symbolic of something else.  The lesson here is that faithfulness in small matters will always bring disproportionate rewards where the Lord’s work is concerned. And even though the timing is the second coming, the lesson is universal.  For example, our willingness to share the Gospel with even one person could result in a thousand souls saved over time.

“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ (Luke 19:20-23)

The King was not agreeing with the third servant’s assessment of his character. Rather, he was saying, “If you think that’s the kind of person I am, reaping what I didn’t sow, then you should have made sure  that my money would at least earn me some interest.” The contradiction between his words and his actions was obvious and became the basis for the king’s judgment against him.

“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

” ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” (Luke 19:20-26)

Just as each servant was given the same amount of money, we’ve all been given the same basic truth of the gospel and can say as Paul said,

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Jesus died for our sins, and the proof that His death was sufficient to save us is found in the Resurrection.  The Old Testament foretold this, and the New Testament confirms it.  It’s the Gospel in its simplest form.  The more we share it with others the more we’ll gain. In addition to saving another soul, teaching someone else the Gospel results in a deeper understanding for us.

By his own admission, the third servant proved he didn’t know his master.  His perception of the man was all wrong, and while he called himself a servant, he didn’t do even the minimum that was asked of Him. He represents the “in name only” Christian who really has nothing, and will be surprised to find even that being taken away.

After the Lord comes back He’ll conduct a series of judgments where those who have survived the Great Tribulation will have to give account for themselves. At issue will be whether they’ve shown that they want Him as their King or not. Those who have will be welcomed into the Kingdom. Those who haven’t will be banished to the place prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41)

By this parable the Lord was showing that He wouldn’t be setting up His Kingdom in the way the people expected, but would be leaving soon to be made King.  When He returns He’ll reward His followers, punish His enemies, and then He’ll establish His Kingdom.  Selah 08-08-09

Since the Lord told both stories only a few days apart there must have been a reason for them to be so obviously different in key areas.

The Parable of the Talents is in Matthew, a gospel written with a Jewish audience in mind.  The Parable of the Minas, being in Luke, is meant for Gentiles.   In both cases the evaluation takes place after the 2nd Coming.

The Church Age is a parenthetical pause in the Age of Law.  It interrupted the final 490 year period just 7 years short of its fulfillment.  Gabriel told Daniel the purpose of the 490 years was to give Israel and Jerusalem time to  accomplish six goals.

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy (place). (Daniel 9:24)

As you can see, Israel has a ways to go in achieving these goals, with seven years in which to do it. Once the rapture comes the Church Age will end and the final 7 years will begin.  It will be very difficult for Gentiles during that period since as it was in the Old Testament, the path to God will be through Judaism.

If the money in both parables represents God’s word, as I’ve shown, then Israel has a much greater repository than post-church gentiles and this could explain the different values used.  In the Talents distribution is of a substantially higher value (it takes 60 minas to equal one talent) and is handed out according to ability to 3 servants.  In the Minas a smaller value goes to 10 servants and everyone gets the same. I believe the use of the more valuable talents,  and the fact that they’re distributed to 3 servants according to ability, offer hints that the Parable of the Talents has Israel in mind.

In Judaism, the number three is very important.  It’s the symbol of holiness. In the Temple, the Holy of Holies occupied one-third, and the Holy Place two-thirds. The tapestries were ten times three ells in length (one ell = 3.75 feet), and there were three vessels each for the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, and the Ark. The menorah had three arms on a side, and each arm had three knobs. The blessing of the priest consisted of three sections (Num. 6:24, 25), and in the invocation of God the word “holy” was repeated three times.

There are the three forefathers, (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) the three mitzvos of the seder (lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs), the three means of gaining atonement (repentance, prayer and charity), the three items in the fore-room of the Temple (the table of showbread, the menorah, and the gold altar) the three pillars in the Talmud (Torah,  Service of God, and Acts of Kindness.)   The list goes on.

That means the Parable of the 10 minas describes the gentile world.  Everybody gets enough to save themselves, but there’s only one Temple and getting there will be impossible for many.

Here’s another instance where the Parable of the 10 Minas differs from the Parable of the Talents. It doesn’t appear that the wicked servant was dismissed, just relieved of the mina he’d been given.  But in the Parable of the Talents the unproductive servant not only had the talent taken from him but was thrown into the Outer Darkness as well.

In Matt. 12:37 the Lord said, “By your  words you will be acquitted and by your words you’ll be condemned.”  The one who says, “Lord save me” will be saved, like everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) The one who says, “I’ll save myself” in whatever form the words take, will be condemned.