Luke 19:11-27 sounds just a little funny, doesn’t it? It sounds like something we’ve heard many times before but with a twist at verse 27, “But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” The similar yet different story is found in Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents, and is more widely taught and preached.
So what do we do with Luke’s version? Let me suggest this–instead of just ignoring the differences or the strange details that Luke includes notice the oddities and dig deeply because they often unlock a wealth of contextual information and help us to understand the text more fully. In doing so for this passage, you will discover the story of Herod and his son Archelaus which Darrell points out in our GPS today. I also discovered that this passage likely has multiple meanings and interpretations that Jesus may have been directing at different groups of people. Thanks to the thoughts of theologian N.T. Wright, in addition to understanding this passage to teach about stewarding and investing the gifts given to us, I discovered that the King going away and returning may be speaking of Jesus–and not in the way you might imagine. Instead of the king’s departure being symbolic for Jesus’ death and his return for Jesus’ second coming, Wright points out that what Jesus may be telling his Jewish audience is that he is the King returning–the presence of God returning to the holy city, to Zion. This happens immediately before Jesus descends the Mount of Olives and enters Jerusalem.
In light of this interpretation, the issues around the minas point towards the conflict that will continue to escalate amongst the people of Israel as they are confronted with the true identity of Jesus. The question is not only what do you do with the minas, but what do you do with the truth that God has entrusted to you? While that doesn’t make verse 27 more pleasant, it does make more sense as it points to the fact that Jesus as the true King, the Messiah, will cause the “rising and falling of many” (as Simeon suggests in Luke 2) and ultimately what we do with Jesus is a matter of life and death.