The parable of the Talent
The parable of the Talent Excerpt Jesus illustrates the nature of the kingdom of heaven once again with a story about a master with good and bad servants ( v. 14 ). Again, the master goes away for a while and then returns ( vv. 15 , 19 ). In this parable the servants are given money to invest wisely. On “talents” see comments under 18:24 . The NIV margin suggests somewhat too small a sum. If one talent equaled sixty denarii, a conservative estimate since the denarius was an average minimum daily wage, then at the current (1991) American average five-dollar minimum wage for an eight-hour workday, the talent would be at least equivalent to $2400 (and it might have been much more— see comments under 18:23–35 ). Not all servants are given the same amount, since each has different capabilities and gifts. F. D. Bruner comments, “In the kingdom of Christ not all are created equal.” Nor is everyone expected to perform at the same level of competence, but all are expected to do thei...