Occupy Till I Come

Ron Graham was called home on March 14, 2013. He began writing this commentary before his death and had asked me, Nathele Graham, to continue his service to our Lord by finishing what he began.

“And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear” (Luke 19:11).

As we read through this parable in Luke 19 we need to understand just where Jesus was heading. Soon the Feast of Passover would be celebrated and all able bodied men were required to celebrate that feast in Jerusalem. He was on His way there for a much higher purpose.  He would be hailed as Messiah and then a few days later He would be crucified. He knew what was going to happen and needed to teach one more time about His reason for coming.

People, including His disciples, thought He would come in as the conquering King and save them from the oppression of the Romans…that He would fulfill their idea of Messiah. Was He giving this parable to the Jewish people who would be hailing Him as Messiah or to those who are the Ekklesia? Maybe both. The immediate reason was to show these people that He first had to go away in order to receive the Kingdom. But there are truths in here that cannot be ignored by the Ekklesia.

“He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:12-13).

Here, a certain nobleman had ten servants and that nobleman had distributed ten pounds among those ten servants along with the instruction to occupy (keep working) until he returned. Most translations use the word “mina” instead of “pound” and it was a substantial about of money in those days. One mina was equal to about on hundred day’s worth of wages for a common laborer.

While the master was away receiving his kingdom, the servants were expected to keep doing business for him─to use the resources that the master gave them to the utmost.

What a blessing the master of these servants had bestowed upon them. What trust he had in them to use the money: wisely. They were to occupy─stay faithful and invest the money─until the master returned.

We know that the nobleman in the parable is Jesus and He is about to “go away” in order to be made King. He would soon be crucified. He has trusted servants with whom He has left something of value and He expects it to be used wisely. He expects the servants to keep working and to occupy till He comes back. Jesus will return as King at His Second Coming, but before that happens the Ekklesia will be “caught up”.

“But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, we will not have this [man] to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

The “citizens” are a different group. They are not the servants. The servants didn’t hate the master, but the citizens are another story. They hated him and didn’t want him to rule over them. How sad. The master had given so much to the servants, and presumably the citizens could have also been blessed. Rather than accepting his gifts, these citizens hated him.

As this parable unfolds, the master returns. Just as Jesus will return as Messiah after the Great Tribulation, this nobleman had received his kingdom and was now ready to judge the servants and how they invested that which had been left in their possession. Each one was called before the Master. The first servant had increased the pound from one pound to ten pounds, and the master was pleased. He gave that servant authority over ten cities. Notice the servant didn’t receive an all-expense paid vacation to the tropics for rest and relaxation!

His reward was more valuable than that…it was more trust from the Master. The next servant increased the one-pound to five and was rewarded with authority over five cities. The third servant didn’t do so well. He let unfounded fear stop him from increasing what was entrusted to him, so what he had been given was taken away and given to the servant who had the ten-pound increase. The one who brought no increase was not cast out, but he lost what was entrusted to him and received no reward.

“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me” (Luke 19:27).

Now the focus turns to those citizens who hated the master. Their life would be taken from them. So it will be at the very end when those who chose to reject Jesus must face the Great White Throne judgment.

Jesus gave this parable to drive home a point. He was going away to receive His kingdom. He was leaving servants in charge, but was not leaving them without resources. Each servant was given an equal share, but his rewards were based upon what he did with the pound given to each. Now, let’s take a look at how the Ekklesia can learn from this parable. Although it is about Christ’s Second Coming there is much for the Ekklesia to learn from it before the Harpazō─the catching away of the saints.

continue article at RaptureReady.com:

http://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/g280.html