The 2nd Sunday of End Times: Last Judgment

November 7th, 2010

“Invest the King’s Treasure!”

Luke 19:11-27

The decade of the 2000’s has been labeled “The Lost Decade of Investing.” From January 2000 to
September 2010, the stock market went through one of the roughest periods in its history. In the
process, a bunch of people lost a bunch of money with bad investments. Investing can be a bit of a tricky
undertaking. There are a lot of variables that can contribute to an investor’s overall return, and with the
lack of solid predictability in many of the markets, there is a certain element of risk that makes people a
bit uncomfortable and unwilling to invest.
But even in the Lost Decade of Investing, there were some investors and investment firms that
made some money in the stock market. Even in the Lost Decade – there were those who were able to put
their money to work because they had information that gave them the confidence to invest their money,
even when it appeared that investing was “against all odds.”
“Against all odds.” Isn’t that the way that we would be tempted to describe gospel ministry in
these last days and in this Lost World of sin? Look at the spiritual trends, the turret of the times – more
people care less about their relationship with God and about their future beyond this world and beyond
this life. Look at the signs – fewer churches that are concerned with the truth of Holy Scripture, fewer
congregations that are concerned with reaching out beyond their walls, fewer Christians that are willing
to stand up for the truth in the face of falsehood. Look at the evidence – more “religions” that are
classifying themselves as Christian that have nothing to do with true Christianity, and those who are
spiritually weak are being coaxed from the arms of the Savior who loved them and gave himself for them.
These are “risky” days for Christians – but we are called to be investors, investors who have been
entrusted with the King’s greatest, most powerful treasure, the gospel! And despite all the evidence that
might cause us to conclude, “Why bother,” the King still wants us to put his treasure to work while he is
away preparing our eternal home for us. For even though this world is “lost,” did our Savior not come to
“seek and save what was lost?” Fellow investors, today we are urged by the Spirit to invest the King’s
treasure, the gospel! Invest it urgently, because the King has promised to return and will call his accounts
when he does; and invest faithfully, because even in this lost spiritual climate, the King’s treasure can and
will bring wonderful returns.

I. Urgently!

Listen again to verses 13-15 of the parable of the ten minas: 12 He

said: “A man of noble birth went
to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants
and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated
him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 15 “He was made king,
however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to
find out what they had gained with it.”
Parables are down-to-earth stories that help us, Jesus’ disciples to understand a profound spiritual
truth. Even though we are not to spend time interpreting every single detail of every single parable, as if
every detail had a specific meaning, it is very clear who is being represented here and what is being
taught. The “man of noble birth” is none other than Jesus himself, Great David’s greater Son, the one
would earn the right to his kingdom of power by his perfect obedience in life and in death, who would go
away, ascending into heaven, to return one day to judge the living and the dead. And upon his return,
“Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” he
will be King...and his kingdom of glory will be established forever.
The hateful subjects, while clearly a reference to Jesus’ own blood relatives who rejected him as
Savior in his day, the Jews, can also represent anyone who rejects Jesus as Lord and King over all – the
ones who are slaughtered in front of him when he comes back. And, as for the ten servants...that’s an easy
one! That’s you! That’s me! We’re the servants. We’re the investors to whom the Lord Jesus has given
his gospel to put to work until he returns.
And he wants us to invest NOW! NOW is the time to put the gospel to work, because Jesus has told
us in Mark 13: “... you do not know when the owner of the house will come back. If he comes suddenly do
not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone, “Watch!”
The wisest investors on Wall Street know WHEN to invest their resources in order to get the most
profitable returns. They watch...they see the signals, they study the trends and define their investing
strategy accordingly. If we are truly paying attention both to Scripture and our surroundings, what more
evidence do we need that NOW is the right time to invest? Now is the time to spread the saving seed of
the gospel. We exist in a spiritually dull climate, one that threatens to make us dull in our faith, sleepy,
drowsy, droggy, and all around us we see people planning for November 8th, 2010, but failing to plan for
eternity.
Will we become like our surroundings? Will we assimilate to the dullness that characterizes much
of modern Christianity? I pray not! Have a sense of urgency, both for yourselves and for others. The
Master of the house is going to return, as he has promised. Our time is limited, but our task is clear! Be
wise investors of the gospel. Invest in it yourselves, because the One who promises to return has given to
you and to me, in the gospel, every spiritual advantage to keep us awake until the day of his glorious
return. Invest in it yourselves, and put it to work, because the same holy and precious blood that covers
our spiritual dullness, our drowsiness, our sins of lethargy and apathy, invigorating our souls for the task
of gospel ministry, that same life-imparting blood was given and shed to enrich every poor and lost soul
in this lost world for an eternity.

II. Faithfully!

One characteristic of the wise investor is that we recognize that NOW is the time to invest, both for
ourselves and others. A second characteristic is found in the following verses: 16 “The first one came and
said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because
you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 “The second came and said,
‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 20 “Then
another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was
afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did
not sow.’ 22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant!”
In the parable, the first two servants did exactly as the Master told them. They took his treasure
and put it to work and the investment produced a return. But the 3rd servant simply hid the treasure, and
the King’s money was unable to produce any kind of return, because it was just hidden away.
 The lesson for us is quite simple. Continue to put the gospel to work, no matter what the
circumstances or surroundings, because that is what the Master has called us to do with his treasure, and
because the asset, the gospel, has the power to bring amazing returns. Paul confessed to the Romans, “I
am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
Have we lost faith in the gospel’s power, though? Do we still believe that the message of Christ-
crucified has the intrinsic power to change someone’s heart? When it comes to Wall Street, it’s easy to
invest when there’s a “bull market,” when everybody who invests money is able to see and enjoy a
tangible return. But when the stock market is struggling, when people aren’t getting the kinds of returns
that they would like to have, or when the returns aren’t coming at all, people give up on investing as a
whole.
Part of being a Christian is not only having a sense of urgency when it comes to putting the gospel
to work, but believing that the gospel still has the power to do amazing things, even despite our
weaknesses. The need for Jesus to be shared is never going to go away, and the work of the Master’s
investors is not going to cease. Take a look around you today. The lovelessness of the world is not a
reason to tuck the gospel away. It is all the more a reason to unleash its power through proclamation.
The faithlessness of the world is not a reason to just give up, as if to say, “Why bother.” It is reason all the
more to put our noses to the grindstone, working out of concern for the eternal well-being of our
neighbors.
Being a faithful investor of the gospel means never giving up on its power to save! It saved you! It
rescued you! It made you a child of God when it was poured over you at your baptism. It kept you in the
faith when it was proclaimed to you. It strengthened your trust in Jesus when it was administered to you
in, with and under bread and wine. Why, then, would we give up on its power to save others, when it has
saved us? Did not the Lord Jesus, when he offered himself on the accursed tree, did he not have the
world’s sins on his shoulders? Did he not carry the burdens of those who believe in him and those who
do not? Did he not die for the salvation of all people? What a great need there is, in our spiritually lost
climate, for the Savior and for the gospel that proclaims him and delivers him to the hearts of man.
For that reason alone, despite any reservation we might have about investing the King’s treasure,
that reason alone will drive us to be wise investors of the gospel. We know that the time for investing is
short – so invest urgently! And we know that the asset that we have, the gospel, has the power to save –
so invest faithfully! And when our time on earth is ended, when the Master returns, he will greet us with
a resounding, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” Amen.