Story About Three Servants (Lk. 19:11-27)

¹⁴"[The kingdom of heaven is] like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before the man left, he talked with his servants. The man told his servants to take care of the things he owned while he was gone. ¹⁵He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money.* He gave another servant two bags of money. And he gave a third servant one bag of money. Then that man left. ¹⁶The servant that got five bags of money went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. ¹⁷It was the same with the servant that had two bags of money. That servant invested the money and earned two more. ¹⁸But the servant that got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then the servant hid his master's money in that hole. ¹⁹"After a long time the master came home. The master asked the servants what they did with his money. ²⁰The servant that got five bags of money brought five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, 'Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used your five bags of money to earn five more.' ²¹"The master answered, 'You did right. You are a good servant that can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.' ²²"Then the servant that got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags of money to earn two more.' ²³"The master answered, 'You did right. You are a good servant that can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.' ²⁴"Then the servant that got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, 'Master, I knew that you were a very hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. ²⁵So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.' ²⁶"The master answered, 'You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant, and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. ²⁷So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.' ²⁸"[So the master told his other servants,] 'Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant that has ten bags of money. ²⁹Every person that uses what he has will get more. That person will have much more than he needs. But the person that does not use what he has will have everything taken away from him.' ³⁰Then the master said, 'Throw that useless servant outside, into the darkness! In that place people will cry and grind their teeth [with pain].'

The Son of Man Will Judge All People

³¹"The Son of Man* will come again. He will come with great glory. All his angels will come with him. He will be king and sit on his great throne. ³²All the people of the world will be gathered before the Son of Man. Then the Son of Man will separate all people into two groups. This is like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. ³⁴"Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. ³⁵You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' ³⁷"Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' ⁴⁰"Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here,* you also did for me.' ⁴¹"Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' ⁴⁴"Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' ⁴⁵"Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here,* you refused to do for me.' ⁴⁶"Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever."

bags of money Literally, "talents." A talent was about 60 to 80 pounds of gold, silver or copper coins. Son of Man A name Jesus used for himself. In Dan. 7:13-14, this is the name for the Messiah, the one God chose to save his people. any of my people here Literally, "one of the least of these brothers of mine."