Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 25

 The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:25 “And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, [there] thou hast [that is] thine.”

I was afraid... I feared lest, by some accident, thy talent would be lost if I put it out to trade, and that I should be severely punished by a hard master. I therefore kept it laid up safely and hid it where it could not be lost. Another characteristic of a slothful man. He is always afraid to venture out in business and take risks.

that is thine... There is what properly belongs to thee. There is the original talent that thou gave me, and that is all that can be reasonably required. Observe here:

1. This expresses exactly the feelings of all sinners. God, in their view, is hard, cruel, and unjust.

2. All the excuses of sinners are excuses for indolence and sin, and the effect is to cheat themselves out of heaven. The effect of this excuse was that the reward was lost, and such will always be the result of the excuses of sinners for not doing their duty.

3. Sinner's grudge everything to God. They are never willing to be liberal toward him but are stinted and close; and if they give, they do it with hard feelings, and say that that is all that he can claim.

That is thine (τὸ σόν)

The Greek is more concise, and is better given by Rev., Lo, thou hast thine own.

The servant had such a modest estimate of his own abilities that he was even afraid he might do mischief in trying to use the talent he had, so he laid it away and let it alone. The excuse he makes (Mat. 25:24-25) is very true to nature. It is not modesty after all that is at the root of the idleness of those who hide their talent in the earth; it is unbelief. They do not believe in God as revealed in the Son of His love; they think of Him as a hard Master; they shrink from having anything to do with religion, rather wonder at those who have the assurance to think of their serving God, or doing anything for the advancement of His kingdom. They know not the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore it is that they hold aloof from Him, refusing to confess Him, declining to employ in His service the talents entrusted to their care.

Again, the third servant, having received the one talent, reasoned that his master might not be coming back at all. If he did return someday, the servant could simply return the talent to his master without loss from any poor investment (Mat. 25:25).