Tuesday 17th November
In the run up to his betrayal, trial and crucifixion, Jesus carries on preparing His disciples for His ultimate return and how to live in the expectation of this. This story is the second of three stories that He tells back-to-back. In this story a wealthy man trusts three of his servants with huge amounts of money (each bag of gold was worth around 15-20 years of a labourer’s wages – essentially they were given everything they would need for a lifetime or more!) The story tells what happens when, after a long time, the wealthy man returns to find out how they have got on. As ever Jesus says things that are unsettling and even a bit shocking. There are 4 characters in the passage – the wealthy man, the two faithful servants who can be considered together and the unfaithful servant.
Catch up with each other and how you’ve been since you last met. Then read the passage.
What stood out for you either from the passage or from Mim’s talk on Sunday?
In particular, what do you find encouraging or challenging/difficult – and why?
What does the passage tell us about…
… the wealthy man?
What does it mean that he ‘entrusted his wealth to his servants’?
What sort of relationship do you think he has/wants to have with the servants?
When he comes back to settle his accounts, on what basis does he make his judgements?
…the two faithful servants?
What does their response tell you about the attitude they have to their master and their motivation?
What was the impact of what they did and what is the basis of the master’s pleasure?
How does the wealthy man reward them?
…the unfaithful servant?
What do you learn about his attitude to his master (what he thought his character was like) and how this influenced his actions?
Why do people sometimes see God in this way? How does it affect their response Him?
What was the result in terms of what he did and what was the basis of the master’s disapproval?
In this story the wealthy man is Jesus and we are the servants.
What does the way the wealthy man treats his servants teach us about Jesus?
What can we learn from the differences in the servants’ attitudes and actions?
God loves to take pleasure in us. What can we learn about what it means to please Him? What do we need to be able to do this?
(clues: Ephesians 3:16-20; Philippians 2: 12-13)
(curly question: is this parable telling us God will reward us on the basis of how hard we work?)
How is this story relevant to you at the moment (perhaps in lockdown/at home/at work/at University/at school)?
Pray together.
