The King’s Assignment | Week 4 | Re-Engage Series

Version 1:

I. Misplaced Expectations (Luke 19:11 NASB ~ Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.)

• They thought the Kingdom would appear suddenly (anaphainesthai = written in a way that implies something they expected to happen TO THEM not something they participate in.).

• They wanted a King who would overthrow Rome, not enter homes like Zacchaeus’s.

• Key Point: Jesus didn’t meet expectations because He came to transform hearts, not just overthrow worldly systems.

II. A Kingdom From Above, Not Below (Luke 19:12 NASB ~ So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return.)

• Archelaus reference: A historical parallel his audience would recognize.

• The distant country points to delay and divine authority.

• The kingdom is real but not yet visible. Faith must flourish in the gap.

• Key Point: Our loyalty is revealed in what we do while the King is away.

III. Equal Gifts, Different Outcomes (Luke 19:13 NASB ~ And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money until I come back.’)

• Minas = the Gospel and the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, Acts 2:38)

• All servants receive the same gift. Success isn’t about talent, it’s about trust.

• The Greek word for “slave” means we are owned by the Master but entrusted with major responsibility.

• The Greek word for “business” = occupied with something ; rare word from Greek business documents

• Key Point: The King’s delay is not our excuse, it’s our opportunity.

IV. Rebellion of the Citizens (Luke 19:14 NASB ~ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’)

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

• Like the Jews who protested Archelaus, the people reject Jesus’ rule.

• John 1:11 and John 19:15 show this rejection.

• Rebellion is not just law-breaking. It’s Lord-resisting.

• Key Point: People still reject the Kingship of Christ, not because He’s cruel, but because He’s close. His rule invades our independence. We’d rather serve cold systems than bow to a living Lord. (Romans 1:21-23)

V. Accountability at the Return (Luke 19:15 NASB ~ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done.)

• Every Christian will stand before Christ to give account, not for sin (which was judged at the cross), but for faithfulness with the Gospel and The Spirit. (Matthew 10:7-8).

• Faithfulness is expected even in the King’s absence.

• Key Point: When the King returns, your faith won’t be measured by intentions but by what you’ve done with what He gave.

• Faith that’s real doesn’t meander. It moves, multiplies, and marches on while others sit still.

VI. Fruitfulness Revealed (Luke 19:16-19 NASB ~ The first slave appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ The second one came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’)

• The focus is on what the mina produces not what the servant produces.

• The reward isn’t more money it’s more work. Heaven’s value system is based on partnership in rule,not personal gain.

(2 Timothy 2:12).

• Key Point: Heaven rewards with more Kingdom work, not just rest.

VII. The Fearful Servant (Luke 19:20-21 NASB ~ And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ )

• Mishnah Bava Metzia 3:10 – cultural tension in hiding money.

• Jesus implies this servant didn’t hide it well, he buried opportunity, not just treasure.

• Key Point: Many reject responsibility not from inability, but from distorted views of God.

• Sometimes what’s safe in culture is a failure in the Kingdom. God didn’t ask us to preserve what He gave us,  He called us to multiply it.

VIII. Excuses Exposed (Luke 19:22-23 NASB ~ He *said to him, From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’)

• The servant is judged using his own logic.

• Three modern dodges:

1. “God expects too much from someone like me.”

2. “I’m a good person. I’m doing enough.”

3. “Now’s not a good time.” “Might get fired. Might lose a relationship.”

• The servant thought he could claim innocence because he didn’t “lose” the mina but in the Kingdom of God, inaction is just as damning as rebellion.

• Key Point: Many today blame their lack of spiritual fruit on fear, bad church experiences, or misunderstandings about God but the Lord will call out every excuse.

IX. A Kingdom of Compounded Reward (Luke 19:24-26 NASB ~ And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’  ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. )

• Kingdom Principle: faithfulness compounds, faithlessness collapses. (Luke 8:16-18 and Revelation 3:11 reinforce this.)

• God doesn’t operate by socialism or favoritism but by just reward.

• Key Point: God doesn’t reward entitlement. He rewards stewardship

X. Final Justice (Luke 19:27 NASB ~ But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’”)

• Allusion to Archelaus again: historical judgment for rebellion.

• God’s grace is matched by His justice.

• Many today say “I like Jesus, but I don’t want Him ruling over my life.” You don’t get “Savior Jesus” without submitting to “King Jesus.”

• Evangelism matters because eternal destinies hang in the balance.

• Key Point: You don’t get to rewrite the King’s terms. You either crown Him now or face Him later. But EVERY knee will bow.

Version 2:

I. A Story They All Knew (Luke 19:11-12 NASB  ~ Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.  So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return.)

• The audience hears “nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom,” and they immediately

think Archelaus.

o After Herod died, Archelaus went to Rome to be granted rule and the Jews protested his reign.

o He returned and slaughtered thousands in retaliation.

• Jesus’ first-century Jewish listeners may not associate the nobleman with Messiah but they’d most likely associate him with corruption and exploitation.

• Key Insight: Jesus is holding up a mirror, not a model. This is how the world’s kingdom operates.

II. The Corrupt Logic of the World (Luke 19:13-15 NASB ~ And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done.)

• The nobleman gives slaves money and says “do business” until I return.

• The word for “do business”… To first-century Jews, such gain signaled exploitation. The Mishnah limited markup to 16% above market price.

• The nobleman returns, not to reward righteousness, but profit and power.

• Key Insight: This system rewards manipulation, not morality.

III. The Voice of Protest (Luke 19:14 NASB ~ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’)

• The “citizens” rightly protest the nobleman’s rule.

• Just as 50 Jews protested Archelaus in Rome, this group resists an exploitative system.

• In this perspective Jesus is validating the protest, not condemning it.

• Key Insight: Resistance to worldly systems is righteous, especially when it opposes Godliness

IV. An Unjust System’s Judgment (Luke 19:15-23 NASB ~When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done. The first slave appeared, saying, Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ The second one came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ He *said to him, From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’)

• The servant who dared to resist the system by not participating in unjust gain is condemned.

o He hid the money in a handkerchief which is exactly what the Mishnah said was the wisest legal course of action.

o But in a system of world, not playing along is punished.

• The nobleman uses the servant’s words against him, but the condemnation is not divine, it’s systemic.

• Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:18-20; Luke 9:23-24

• Key Insight: Resisting the world’s system will make you a target.

V. Exposing World Systems (Luke 19:24-26 NASB ~ And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’  ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.)

• Redistribution of the mina reflects a system where “the rich get richer.”

• The crowd even protests: Why do sinners prosper?

• Jesus is pointing out how the world rewards those who play along.

• Key Insight: Are we willing to do what’s right even if it costs us everything?

VI. The World Hates The Righteous (Luke 19:27 NASB ~ But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’)

• The nobleman ends the parable with brutal execution of his opponents, just like Archelaus did.

• This is not an endorsement, it’s an indictment of how worldly rulers behave toward those that resist.

• Jesus is inviting the listener to contrast this ruler with the Messiah who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

• Key Insight: The Kingdom of God is here to seek and save the lost, not exploit them for power.

VII. The Faithfulness of Zacchaeus & Removal of Unrighteousness from the House of God

• Zacchaeus is a living example that faithfulness to Jesus means dying to the world’s system.

• Jesus goes straight to the temple and chases out the money changers.

Two Kingdoms, One Choice

• In the first, traditional interpretation of the parable, the faithful ones are servants who use the Gospel and Holy Spirit power to multiply the kingdom until Christ’s return.

• In the second, alternative interpretation of the parable, the faithful ones are servants who refuse to play along with unrighteousness even if it costs them everything.

• No matter how you interpret the parable, Jesus is calling you to die to fear and complacency in order to build His Kingdom.

Words Of Knowledge: 

We believe the Lord wants to heal someone struggling with lingering sores or ulcers in their mouth.

We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who is having sharp pain in their arms related to nerve damage.

We believe the Lord wants to release peace and resolve to someone who is dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety related to circumstances at work.