Today
this was illustrated to me as I considered a particular parable in connection
to the prophetic message of the book of Revelation. Jesus began with the
description, “A nobleman
went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.”[1] With this simple language, Jesus illustrated something about
himself, about heaven, about what he would be doing sooner than anyone could
have imagined, and what we could expect of the more distant future.
The
imagery Jesus presented was familiar to his listeners. They understood what a
nobleman was, a wealthy man who owned and operated an estate. They understood
that such a man would make a journey to a far country in order to transact
further business for the good of his estate. They understood kingdoms, and that
the Roman Empire would put various kingdoms under the leadership of those of
their choosing. And they could easily picture such an estate owner returning
from his trip to get back to the affairs of the home business.
The
next part of the imagery is equally familiar to the listeners. Jesus added, “Calling ten of his servants,
he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’”[2] For the original listeners they would understand a nobleman having
servants, and that each servant was given the same responsibility. The nobleman
preparing his servants for his time away would also have been a natural,
familiar scenario.
While the parable goes on to show the difference between
those who were good servants, and those who were not, there is this little
description of the responsibility of these servants that gives insight into the
way we are to understand our focus in the book of Revelation.
There is no doubt that this parable pictures Jesus’
ascension into heaven, his glorification at the Father’s right hand, receiving
an everlasting kingdom, and one day returning for his church. That means that
these servants give us an indication of what the church should be doing while
we wait for his return.
Jesus instruction was, “Engage
in business until I come.” What business? The nobleman’s business; or, the
business of Jesus’ kingdom. Do we have any clues as to what this business looks
like today? Yes, we do.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, or, left on his trip, as
this parable illustrated, he told his church,
“All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you.”[3]
While we must be careful that we do not read too much into Jesus’
parables, there is something to the simplicity of this description that
separates his responsibility for what he is doing while he is gone on this
trip, including when the Father tells him it is time to return, from the responsibility
of the servants to engage in the business of his estate while he is gone.
In other words, there is nothing in Scripture that tells us
we will know in advance when he will come. There will be no secret surprises,
with Jesus coming at a time that only some of his brothers know about.[4] There will not be such clear clues that we can quit
our jobs, cash in our retirement savings, and sit on the Mount of Olives
waiting for him to arrive.[5]
Rather, his words ring out very simply, and timelessly
true, “Engage in business until I come!” Or,
as he clarified just before he left on his trip, keep on making disciples until
he comes; keep on baptizing all brand new disciples until he comes; keep on teaching
all his disciples to obey all that he has taught us about living as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the
excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”[6]
Jesus
has told us to engage ourselves in the business of his kingdom until he returns
from his journey. “Blessed is that
servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes,”[7]whenever
that will actually be.
From
my heart,
Monte
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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