The Parable of the Ten Minas

As Jesus was getting near Jerusalem, the people listening thought God’s kingdom would appear straight away. So Jesus told a parable. He spoke about a nobleman who travelled to a distant country to receive a kingdom and then return.

Before leaving, the nobleman called ten of his servants and gave them ten mina coins. He told them to do business until he came back. But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him, saying they did not want him to rule over them.

When the nobleman returned after receiving the kingdom, he called the servants to learn what they had gained. The first said his mina had made ten more. The ruler praised him as a good servant and gave him authority over ten cities. The second had gained five minas, and he was placed over five cities.

Then another servant came. He had laid the mina away in a cloth instead of using it. He said he was afraid because he thought his master was an exacting man who took what he had not laid down and reaped what he had not sown. The ruler answered by judging him from his own words. If that was true, he should at least have put the money in the bank to earn interest.

The ruler ordered that servant’s mina to be taken and given to the servant who had ten. When bystanders objected that the man already had ten minas, the ruler replied that the one who has will be given more, but the one who does not have will lose even what he has. Then the parable ended with judgement on the ruler’s enemies who had rejected his reign. Why do you think Jesus told this story just then?