The International Sunday School Lessons By J. H. S. LESSON IV.:—July 26. —T he P ounds and the T alents .— Luke 19: 10-27. G olden T ext : Well done, thou hast been faithful over a few things, l will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.— Matt 25 :21. I. A P air of P arables .
receive Him or not. (b) “his ten (all-in clusive number) servants”—their faithful ness. (2) A period of stewardship and service— “trade till I come.” We find its endowment, its duties and its limit in Acts 1;8-ll, where “so come” marks the latter, (c) A period of confirmation of king- or Messiahship (Ps. 1:8; 110:1; Matt.'28:18; Acts 2 :32-35; 3 :20, 21) intimated in verse 12 in “to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” 4. To confirm the Expectation of the Kingdom. The parable teaches the post ponement, but guarantees the establishment of the kingdom. It would not “ immediate ly appear ” but it would ultimately appear. Nothing was more important, Belief in Jesús as the Messiah, or Christ of the prophets, demanded this explanation as to the failure to realize the kingdom predicted, which at the first He declared to be “at hand” (Matt. 10:7). Had they received Him then they would have received it. As they would “‘not have this man to reign ”, over them; and He, like His prototype David, would not take His promised throne by force (1 Sam. 24:1-15; 26:7-10, 25), but wait the Father’s time (Acts 1 :7), He left them this long day of grace for re pentance, and also the sweet word of grace for the gentiles, but He "will return ” and set up the throne of David that is “fallen down” (Acts 15:16), and “quickly” ■ III. E xplana tion s . Verse 12.—Under ancient imperial rule kings were made and unmade by imperial kings,’ conquerors, or emperors. Herod went to Rome and there was crowned king of the Jews, the leading citizens of Jeru salem protesting and resisting in vain. His son and heir, Archelaus, did the same and
1. The Pounds and the Talents. These are not two versions of the same parable. 2. The Distinctions. One was spoken near Jericho, the other on Mount Olivet. Days intervened between them. One has “pounds” the other “talents” sixty times as much, here were ten pounds distributed severally among ten servants. There were eight talents among three servants receiv ing severally five, two, one. The pound was wrapped in a “napkin;” the talent, more valuable, was hidden in the ground. II. T h e P urpose of t h e P arable of t h e P ounds . 1. To Correct a Mistake. All felt a crises near.'- “They supposed that the king dom of God was immediately to appear." The Jews Were -resolved on the death of Jesus (John 11:47-53): Jesus’ manner and teachings now intimated a crisis . (Mark 10:32-34). The crowds gathering at the Passover were eagerly discussing the mat ter (John 11:55-57). 2. To Predict an Interval. This was involved in “went into a far country” (in “after a long time,” Matt. 25:19). It was foreshown in prophecy (it lies between “cut off” and “the end,” Dan. 9:26). Christ so explained it (Luke 24:25-27; where it lies between the two classes of v. 26). It is the period, age, dispensation in which wfe are now living. The “long time ” of the parable might have been measured in months’. The long time of the prediction has extended to centuries, hut the “patience of hope” (Rom. 8:25) is sustained by the hint of an undefined delay (Heb. 10:37). 3. To Characterize the Interval. (1) A period of testing and- sifting of (a) “his « citizens” —whether they would submit and
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