Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 18

 The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:18 “But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.”

But he that... Talent, or the least degree of gifts, for the ministry of the word.

went and digged... He buried it; that is, he neglected the gift that was in him, he made no use of it, either to his own advantage, or to the good of others, and the interest of his Lord.

He either never went into the ministry, or if he did, he left it as Demas did, having too great affection for the world, and the things of it. He minded earth and earthly things, and employed himself in them, and not in his master’s work and service.

The phrase seems to point out the earthly mindedness of the man, his worldly disposition, and his eager pursuit after the things of life, which were the reason why he disregarded his talent and made no use of his ministerial gifts. He could not deny worldly self, nor leave all to follow Christ; but rather than drop the world, he chose to bury his talent in it.

hid his lord's... It was his Lord’s money and not his own, and he was accountable to him for it, and should have used it in another manner.

The professed disciples of Christ; only instead of searching the reality of their inner life, it tests the faithfulness of their service. As in the former parable so in this, stress is laid on the time that must elapse before the Lord’s return.

The servants of the Gospel are traders; not in their own name, nor of their own stock, and for themselves, but for Christ, and for the good of immortal souls that they closely attend unto and worked at. By constant reading and diligent searching into the word of God.

The one who received the five talents had enough faith, that he went and made another five talents to go with the five that he had been entrusted with. The same happened to the one who had received two. He doubled his, also. Any master in the world would be pleased with these two servants.

They were not fearful. Fear is not of God. They had faith, and did what they had, probably, already been doing when their master was handling the money; and so, they increased what the master had entrusted them with. The servant, who received just one talent, had probably already shown his master that he was fearful and had no faith.

This money hidden in the ground was of no use to anyone, just as it is today. For God to be pleased about our finances, we must be using them to gain for Him. We must not hoard them up just for ourselves. Riches are to be used not abused. If you are blessed of God and have a little more than your neighbor, you must be quick to distribute as we read in Timothy.

1Tim. 6:17-19 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;” “That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;” “Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life”.

You see, it is not the riches that are evil. It is our attitude toward the riches and what we do with them.

The third servant, having received the one talent, reasoned that his master might not be coming back at all.