Disciples to the End: Willingness
God Uses Our Willingness
Matthew 25:14-30
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. Nov. 15th, 2026
Jesus again tells a parable about how we are to employ ourselves in this in-between time. We live in the time between Jesus’ victory over death and his coming again to vanquish all the powers of evil. As we wait on his return, what are we supposed to be doing? Jesus tells us to make use of that which we have been given for the sake of the Kingdom. At first this may seem like a daunting task. Jesus is placing a lot on our shoulders. Is it really up to us to make sure the naked are clothed and the hungry fed? Is it really up to us to ensure that people find faith in Christ and give themselves to Jesus? If it were all up to us that might make us desperate. How can we be so sure we have done enough?
But there is a hitch to this story that shows us it is God who brings success. What God asks of us is our faithfulness and our willingness to serve him.
Jesus tells us there is a man going on a journey. Before he leaves he summons three of his slaves and entrusts his property to them. Each according to their ability. One of the slaves gets five talents. Another slave gets two talents. And the last slave gets one talent. A talent was a unit of measurement in Roman times that is roughly 80 pounds. So one talent would have been 80 pounds of silver, two talents would have been 160 pounds of silver and 5 talents would have been 400 pounds of silver. Needless to say these are substantial sums that the master is entrusting to his slaves. Even the single talent is a substantial sum of money, more than your average Roman would see in their entire lives.
The first slave takes his five talents and begins trading with it. Before long he has doubled his investments and made five more talents. The second slave takes his two talents and doubles his investment as well, making two more talents. But the third slave takes his talent, his 80 pounds of silver, and buries it.
When the master returns from his journey he demands an accounting from his slaves. The first slave proudly produces the five talents he acquired. And the master says, “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.” One wonders what the master possesses if 400 pounds of silver is “a few things” to him.
The second slave also produces the two talents he had earned. And the master responds the same way. “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.”
But the third slave only has the single talent to return. He says, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” In other words he was afraid that he might lose the money if he started trading with it. So he buried it in the ground so it would remain safe. But this is not what the master wanted. He wanted his slave to multiply his possessions.
So the master replies, “Ah, so you knew I was the sort of person who reaps where he does not sow and who gathers where I did not scatter seed? In that case you should have given the money over to the bankers so that I might get some measly interest!” He calls the slave wicked and lazy because he did not do the work that was entrusted to him. And he has the talent given to the man with the ten talents. Because, “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
On the one hand the moral of this parable seems clear. You don’t really need a pastor to tell you what it means. God gives us gifts. Whether those gifts be financial, whether they be relational, whether they be skills that we’ve come to call “talents” in english because of this parable. And God expects us to use these gifts of his for the purpose of the gospel. If we hide what we have for whatever reason and do not employ our talents for God’s purposes then we will be called to account.
But I detect more in this parable. We would be mistaken if we read this parable as a sort of works-righteousness. What I mean is we’d be wrong to read this parable and make it out like the success of the Kingdom depends on us in any way. That God is reliant on us to do the work he has called us to do. We must use our talents for his purposes because there is no plan B. If we don’t do it it won’t happen.
What’s odd to me about this parable is that we are told the slaves have talents given to them according to their ability, but as long as they do their job they receive the same returns and the same reward. The slave who receives the five talents makes a 100% return. The slave with the two talents makes a 100% return. Both slaves “enter into the joy of their master.” The lazy slave would have made a talent if he remained faithful. But instead he puts his talent in the ground out of fear.
Jesus reminds us, then, that success in the Kingdom is a consequence of our faithfulness and our willingness. The wicked slave is faithless, and so he shows no returns. The other slaves are trustworthy and faithful, and so they see the same returns and receive the same rewards.
Do not be afraid! God looks for faithfulness first. God looks for willingness first. It is on these matters that we will be called to account. And it is through our faithfulness and willingness that God brings about his yields. We do not know how God uses our talents to multiply. We do not know how our faithfulness pays dividends. If you are discouraged, take heart from this parable. It is God who brings the growth. It is God who grows the kingdom.