I have checked several versions of the New Testament, and I have not found a reference to "The Parables of the Money Managers." Not many biblical scholars have seen that Jesus' stories in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-26 feature, more than anything else, the performance of professional money managers.

As readers of the "Wealth Transfer Occasional Papers" series will know, I have become more than a little interested in productive money management in recent times due to my involvement in what I like to call "sophisticated philanthropy for apostolic distribution." Money managers are a key theoretical link in the chain of wealth transfer, but they have yet to come into their own in the practical realm. I believe a better understanding of these two parables will help move the process along.

Rather than assume that readers will recall the details of these two parables or take the pains to open their Bibles and look them up, I am going to begin with the stories themselves, taken from the New King James Version.

Matthew 25:14-30

(14) For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. (15) And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

(16) Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. (17) And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. (18) But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. (19) After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

(20) So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying 'Lord, you have delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' (21) His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' (22) He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' (23) His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

(24) Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. (25) And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' (26) But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I Have not scattered seed. (27) So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. (28) Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. (29) For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. (30) And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Luke 19:11-26

(11) Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. (12) Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. (13) So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' (14) But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'

(15) And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. (16) Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' (17) And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' (18) And the second came, saying 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' (19) Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'

(20) Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. (21) For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' (22) And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. (23) Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' (24) And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' (25) (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.') (26) For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

The Traditional Titles

Once we read these parables and pay attention to the details, it becomes obvious that the traditional titles, "The Parable of the Talents" and "The Parable of the Minas" seriously detract from the point that Jesus is trying to make.

For example, the original Greek talenton is a measure of money. However, the English "talent," while derived from the same Greek word, currently is not associated with money. It means a special natural ability, an aptitude, or in Christian circles, a spiritual gift.

Let me reinforce my point by referencing one of today's most respected New Testament scholars, Donald Hagner (who, by the way, is a personal friend of mine). Don has written a 1,000-page exegetical commentary on Matthew, one of the best currently available. I say this because his opinion about talents represents the mainline traditional interpretation, accepted by most pastors whom I know.

Hagner says, "Of course the issue really at stake [in Matthew 25:14-30] is not money ... the 'talents' probably symbolize personal gifts and abilities ... It is fitting that the monetary unit referred to is the 'talent,' the Greek word that is the root of the common English word 'talent,' [meaning] 'special aptitude' or 'gift.' Something like 'spiritual gifts' is probably in view here rather than literal money."¹

Most sermons preached on this parable exhort believers to be good stewards of their talents such as hospitality or teaching or children's work or singing in the choir or evangelism or keeping books or whatever. These are the talents that God expects them to multiply and not to bury in the ground. That is the traditional pastoral view of the parable.

The Apostolic View

I believe, especially since we are now in the Second Apostolic Age, that we can begin to take a more literal view of these parables. I like to think of it as an apostolic over against a pastoral view. Let's admit that these parables are about managing money, and let's interpret them and apply them accordingly.

As a starter we need to use numbers. I researched the respective values of "minas" and "talents," and I immediately found that different scholars arrive at somewhat different conclusions about the amounts. After reading several sources, I decided that I need to come to my own conclusion, which I have. I am valuing the mina at $10,000 in today's economy and the talent at $1 million. The first thing that comes to mind is the huge difference between them. The passages in Matthew and Luke are not parallel passages; they are two different stories which have notable similarities, so the difference is believable. In fact even today some money managers are known to be comfortable with smaller amounts like minas and others are more comfortable with larger amounts like talents.

Whatever the respective values, the focus of both parables is obviously not on the money itself, but rather on what certain people do with it. Merging them both, there are four individuals involved:

1. The owner or CEO of the business, obviously a very rich person.
2. Employee A.
3. Employee B.
4. Employee C.

Let's look at them one at a time.

1. The Owner or CEO

There are six observations I want to make concerning the owner or CEO of the business:

1. He has a business, and it is a successful business.

2. He wants to make a profit. This is a normal desire for a businessperson.

3. His vehicle for making a profit is the financial market. How do we know? In both Matthew and Luke "trading" is mentioned.

Matthew 25:16-17 says, "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also." The word "traded" is from the Greek ergazomai meaning to work or to trade. It is a generic term, not nearly as specific as what we see in Luke.

Luke 19:15 says, "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading." This is a stronger Greek word, diapragmateuomai, a technical term from the financial world meaning to gain by trading.

Financial trading takes many forms. Which form, then, would have been in view here? Granted, the parable itself does not specify the form, but there is a strong probability that the trading was in what we call today "foreign exchange." Let me explain.

Historically, currency exchange is the original form of trading in the world financial markets. It dates back to the Egyptian and Babylonian empires. One trader I know facetiously remarked, "It's probably the world’s second oldest profession!"

In Jesus' day foreign exchange was actually being practiced. An example is the moneychangers in the temple. They were trading the Roman and Greek coins of the religious pilgrims for Tyrian coins, the only currency accepted in the temple in those days. Notice that Jesus did not condemn the practice of currency exchange itself any more than he condemned selling birds for sacrifice which was going on as well. His point was that it was the wrong place to do such business since the temple was supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations, not a marketplace.

4. The owner or CEO of the business knows his employees' potential. In Matthew he entrusts different amounts to his employees "to each according to his own ability" (Mt. 25:15). He gives one $5 million, one $2 million, and the other $1 million. In Luke, they all receive the same amount, but it is a lower figure, $10,000 each.

5. He commands them to trade. He tells them to "do business until I come" (Lk. 19:13). The word for "do business" is pragmateuomai meaning "to trade" as we saw above.

6. He takes hands off. Because he knows their abilities, after giving them the necessary resources, he leaves what they do from then on up to them.

So, what did they do?

2. Employee A

In Matthew, Employee A traded $5 million and made another $5 million, returning $10 million to the owner. His gain was 100 percent.

In Luke, Employee A traded $10,000 and made $100,000, returning $110,000 to the owner. His gain was 1000 percent.

3. Employee B

In Matthew, Employee B traded $2 million and made another $2 million, returning $4 million to the owner. His gain was 100 percent.

In Luke, Employee B traded $10,000 and made $50,000, returning $60,000 to the owner. His gain was 500 percent.

The return from trading by Employees A and B in the two parables was a low of 100 percent and a high of 1,000 percent. Is this a per annum return? The parables don't say. The only hint of time is that the boss in each case went on a trip. Most trips don't last as much as a year and nothing in the parables compels us to conclude that these trips were that long. The normal assumption, therefore, would be that the time period for their trading was less than a year.

4. Employee C

In Matthew, Employee C buried $1 million. In Luke, Employee C wrapped $10,000 in a handkerchief and hid it.

Both made a big mistake! When the boss came back he labeled them wicked and lazy employees.

What was Employee C's problem? It was fear! Fear of what?
• Fear of the boss.
• Fear of taking a risk.

As successful traders well know, there are two psychological red flags in trading, namely fear and greed. Succumbing to either one of them can quickly take a trader down. In this case, Employee C succumbed to fear.

Employee C's fear of the boss was irrational. Why do I say this? It is because Employees A and B knew the boss just as well as Employee C, and they were not afraid of him. He was a normal businessman. Nothing bad is said about him in the parables.

However, Employee C was convinced that he was bad. He accused him of "reaping where he didn't sow" (Matt. 25:24) and "collecting what he didn't deposit" (Luke 19:21). One of these accusations was based on a farming example and the other was based on banking.

Why didn't this bother Employees A and B? Because they were expert traders. They understood how you make a profit by trading. Trading and farming are different. Trading and banking are different. When you make a good trade, you get someone's money who made a bad trade. You collect what someone else deposited. Those are the rules of the game. The owner was playing by trading rules, not by farming or banking rules. By trading you can make 100 percent. You can make 1,000 percent. But in order to do it you must take a risk.

Employee C's fear prevented him from taking a risk. He didn't even try a more modest Plan B. The owner said, "You ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest" (Matt. 25:27). In other words, even though banking might have produced maybe 5-10 percent instead of 100 percent, it is virtually risk-free. We don't know what would have happened if Employee C had opened a bank account, but my guess is that he probably would have been demoted instead of fired.

One other thought. Suppose Employee C had gone ahead, taken a risk, traded the money, but lost it? This is beyond anything we see in the parable itself, but it could well be within reason to imagine that the owner would not have been nearly as harsh. Inherent in the very concept of risk is the possibility of failure.

In any case, the sad fate of Employee C is vividly stated in The Message where each talent was said to be $1,000. The owner says, "Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness" (Matt. 25:28).

The Good News

So much for the bad news about Employee C. Now for the good news about Employees A and B. Their trading brought four good results:

1. They took a risk and they got a return. From 100 percent to 1,000 percent.

2. The boss was very happy, because he is the one who encouraged them to take a risk in the first place.

3. They received a good commission. Not many pastors who preach on these parables stress this point because of what I perceive to be a pervasive spirit of poverty in our churches. While there are exceptions, clergy in general regard a profit motive as somewhat ungodly.

In Luke, Employees A and B got good-paying jobs as compensation for their successful trading. "He said, 'Good servant! Great work! Because you've been trustworthy in this small job, I'm making you governor of ten towns" (Luke 19:17, The Message).

In Matthew the New King James says "enter into the joy of your lord." What does this mean? It means they would be just as prosperous as the owner, namely a partnership. This is what The Message says, "His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner'" (Matt. 25:21). A nice commission!

4. They ended up with prosperity. "For to everyone who has [meaning who trades well], more will be given and he will have abundance" (Matt. 25:29). "Abundance" is a very strong word in the Greek, perisseuo. It really means super abundance or enough and plenty to spare or over and above.

Conclusion

What does this mean for us today? We live in a season of great transfer of wealth from the realm of darkness to the kingdom of God. Our responsibility in handling and distributing this wealth is awesome. A part of sophisticated philanthropy will be seeing that undistributed resources are skillfully managed for the glory of God. These parables of Jesus help us keep a biblical perspective on our assignment. Here are some of the practical applications:

1. Jesus has a positive attitude toward trading in the financial markets.

2. The kingdom of God is like the owner or CEO who wants his money managed well during his absence.

3. When wealth is transferred for discipling nations (i.e., social transformation), it must not be handled carelessly—buried in the ground or deposited in banks—it should be multiplied by skillful traders.

4. When it comes to our responsibility for handling the wealth of the kingdom, at the end of the day we want God to say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"