The Parable of the 10 Minas (Luke 19:11-27)

While still near Jericho, Jesus tells a parable to prepare His followers for His coming departure. The message of the story is to encourage faithfulness in the King’s absence. There is more than just a parallel to Jesus’s departure for a time after the resurrection. There is also the detail about the citizens who are against the King’s coronation. This is a clear reference to the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious rulers. However, those are not the only people who will be judged in the end. Rejecting Jesus outright is wrong, of course, but so is misjudging Him.

This is the mistake of the servant in the story who simply hid his mina. He thought the king was a harsh man who took what wasn’t his. This is clearly not the sort of ruler the King is, as seen by his response to the first two servants. However, because this third man misjudged the King, he would be treated as he thought he would be.

This is something we see more and more of today. Jesus or Christianity is set up as an evil, or at least cruel, master. Why would Jesus judge people when He created them as they are? This is an unfair strawman of a judgement, that has been disproven time and time again. However, this is a treacherous way to understand God and mankind’s rebellion. It would be a shame to find the loving and sacrificial Jesus a cruel judge simply because we imagined that is who He would be!