Title: Lessons from the Parables of the Talents
Ancient Israel was surrounded by many different small and big countries, especially; going through the time of Babylonian Captivity and the time thereafter, as they went through different hegemonies, it is quite understandable that there were many different money systems used in the time of New Testament.
- Moneys in the time of New Testament
- Lepton (A copper coin) (Luk 21:2)
Greek word for ‘a copper coin’ is ‘Lepton’ means ‘thin, small’ and it was derived from the word meaning ‘to peel off the skin.’. Lepton was worth the least.
- Quadrans (A cent) (Mrk 12:42)
Greek word for ‘a cent’ is ‘Kodrantes’ which means ‘a fourth part of’. It was worth one fourth of an Assarion, and according to Mrk 12:42, one quadrans was worth two lepton.
- Assarion (Luk 12:6)
Greek word for ‘cent’ is ‘Assarion’ which means ‘a little’. It was worth a tenth part of a Drachma.
- Drachma (Luk 15:8)
Greek word for ‘silver coin’ is ‘Drakme’ which is derived from the word meaning ‘to capture, to grasp.’
Drachma is a coin from Greek Empire whereas Denarius is a coin from Roman empire. The two coins may have represented different values in the ancient times but by the time of Jesus, Drachma and Denarii were 1 to 1 exchangeable.
- Denarius (Luk 20:24)
Greek word ‘denarius’ is ‘Denarion” which means ‘containing ten’.
- Shekel (Mat 17:24)
Greek word for ‘two drachma’ is ‘Didrakmon’ which means ‘two drachma, tribute, temple tax’.
In Korean Common Bible, it has an additional information which “Temple tax is two drachma in Roman coin or half a shekel in Judaic coin”.
Hebrew word for ‘shekel’ is ‘Shekel’ which means ‘to weigh’ because it was a chief unit of weight or measure in Judah.
- Mina (Luk 19:24)
Greek word for ‘mina’ is ‘Mna’ which means ‘weight, pound.’ In Jhn 12:3, it was translated as a pound.
Its value changes as time changes, but in the time of Jesus, one mina was worth 100 Drachma. If we consider one drachma as one day’s labourer’s pay, one mina is about 3 months’ salary which is quite a lot.
- Talent (Mat 25:28)
Greek word ‘talent’ is ‘Talanton’ which is derived from the word meaning ‘to bear the weight, to be carried around, to guard, to protect.’
- Lesson from the Parable of the talent
- The master gave out 8 talents in total (Mat 25:15).
To one servant 5 talents, to another 2, and to another one. In total, the master gave out 8 talents.
This analysis becomes particularly important if we meditate it relating to the kingdom of heaven. This parable is about the end time. The end time is the time of judgement, the time of harvest, the time of Master, and the time of Father (Mat 25:1).
In the Bible, number 8 signifies God’s new creation, new order, and new rest. In the story of creation, God had created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. Ever since, God emphasized how important it is to remember the significance of the 7th day, Sabbath; and God even killed the people who didn’t observe the 7th day in the time of Old Testament (Exo 31:15). However, when Jesus came, He worked on the Sabbath and told the people that because my Father is working until now, I am also working (Jhn 5:17).
Then, Jesus was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on the day after Sabbath, that is the first day of the week, which is the Lord’s Day (Jhn 20:1).
So, ever since the resurrection of Jesus, the Lord’s Day, 8th day is the day to worship God because God’s perfect creation that is broken will be restored through the 8th day: God’s broken rest will be restored on the 8th day. Our eternal rest will also be restored on the 8th day. 8 talents given by the Master, the Father God, show God’s redemptive plan.
(2) One talent didn’t bear fruit (Mat 25:16-17)
It tells us that 5 talents bore fruit and become 10: two-fold. Also, 2 talents bore fruit and became 4: two-fold. However, 1 talent didn’t bear fruit and remained as one: it signifies no work, no effort, no result, no fruit. Therefore, the master took it away and gave it to the one who had 10 talents (Mat 25:28). Therefore, there were 15 talents in total.
If the last one talent also brought about fruit, it would become 16 in total. What does number 16 mean in the Bible? When the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, the land was not empty. Therefore, the people of Israel had to fight and proceed with conquering battles for 16 years. Therefore, we can say that 16 is the number representing the conquering work and the final victory. 16 years are consisted of two parts: 6 years of battling together as one group and 10 years of personal battle.
However, in the parable, one talent didn’t bear fruit, thus it became 15 in total. What was God’s verdict and judgement (Mat 25:30)? God’s verdict was such a person cannot enter the kingdom of God. We shouldn’t become the one who do not bear fruit.
Conclusion:
God’s plan is the victory of the 8th talent
Master already gave out 8 talents. Therefore, God’s will is to bring fruit of such talent. Not bearing fruit isn’t part of God’s plan. We are living in the end time which means we are given the word of the end time; we are given the 8th talent. Then, we have to do the work of God and bear fruits. Amen!
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 