Church Fathers Commentary Luke 19:11-27

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and [because] they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called ten servants of his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye [herewith] till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent an ambassage after him, saying, We will not that this man reign over us. And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, unto whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. And the first came before him, saying, Lord, thy pound hath made ten pounds more. And he said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Thy pound, Lord, hath made five pounds. And he said unto him also, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, [here is] thy pound, which I kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that which thou layedst not down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow. He saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am an austere man, taking up that which I laid not down, and reaping that which I did not sow; then wherefore gavest thou not my money into the bank, and I at my coming should have required it with interest? And he said unto them that stood by, Take away from him the pound, and give it unto him that hath the ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds. I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall be given; but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. But these mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." — Luke 19:11-27 (ASV)

Eusebius of Caesarea: Some people thought that our Savior’s kingdom would begin at His first coming, and they were expecting it to appear shortly when He was preparing to go up to Jerusalem, for they were astonished by the divine miracles He performed. He therefore informs them that He would not receive the kingdom from His Father until He had left humanity to go to His Father.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord points out the vanity of their imaginations, for the senses cannot grasp the kingdom of God. He also plainly shows them that, as God, He knew their thoughts, and so He presented them with the following parable: A certain nobleman...

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This parable is intended to set before us the mysteries of Christ from the beginning to the end. For God was made man—He who was the Word from the beginning. And though He became a servant, yet He was noble because of His unspeakable birth from the Father.

St. Basil the Great: He is noble, not only in respect to His Godhead but also His humanity, being descended from the seed of David according to the flesh. He went into a far country, separated not so much by distance of place as by actual condition. For God Himself is near to every one of us when our good works bind us to Him. And He is far away whenever, by clinging to destruction, we remove ourselves from Him. To this earthly country, then, He came at a distance from God, that He might receive the kingdom of the Gentiles, according to the Psalm, Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the far country is the Gentile Church, extending to the uttermost parts of the earth. For He went so that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in; He will return so that all Israel may be saved.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Or, by His setting out into a far country, He denotes His own ascension from earth to heaven. But when He adds, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return, He points to His second coming, when He will arrive as a King in great glory. He first calls Himself a man because of His birth in the flesh, then noble, but not yet a King, because at His first appearance He exercised no kingly power. It is also fittingly said that He would obtain a kingdom for Himself, according to Daniel: Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven... and a kingdom was given to him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For ascending to heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high. But having ascended, He has dispensed different divine graces to those who believe in Him, just as the servants were entrusted with their lord’s goods, so that by gaining something they might bring him proof of their service. As it follows, And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds.

St. John Chrysostom: Holy Scripture is accustomed to using the number ten as a sign of perfection, for if anyone wishes to count beyond it, he must begin again from one, having reached a goal, as it were, in ten. And so in the giving of the talents, the one who reaches the goal of divine obedience is said to have received ten pounds.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, by the ten pounds He signifies the law, because of the ten commandments, and by the ten servants, He signifies those to whom grace was preached while they were under the law. For we must interpret the ten pounds given to them for trading in this way: they understood that the law, once its veil was removed, belongs to the Gospel.

The Venerable Bede: A pound, which in Greek is equal in weight to one hundred drachmas, and every word of Scripture, by suggesting to us the perfection of the heavenly life, shines, as it were, with the greatness of the number one hundred.

Eusebius of Caesarea: By those who receive the pounds, He means His disciples, giving a pound to each, since He entrusts to all an equal stewardship. He commanded them to put it to use, as it follows, “Occupy till I come.” Now there was no other business but to preach the doctrine of His kingdom to those who would hear it. But there is one and the same doctrine for all, one faith, one baptism. And therefore one pound is given to each.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But these servants differ greatly from those who denied the kingdom of God, about whom it is added, But his citizens hated him. And this is the very reason Christ rebuked the Jews when He said, “But now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father.” But they rejected His kingdom, saying to Pilate, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Eusebius of Caesarea: By “citizens” He signifies the Jews, who were descended from the same lineage according to the flesh and with whom He shared in the customs of the law.

St. Augustine of Hippo: And they sent a message after Him, because after His resurrection they also persecuted His Apostles and refused the preaching of the Gospel.

Eusebius of Caesarea: After our Savior had instructed them in matters concerning His first coming, He proceeded to describe His second coming in majesty and great glory, saying, And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom.

St. John Chrysostom: Holy Scripture notes two kingdoms of God: one by creation, since by right of creation He is King over all people; the other by justification, since He reigns over the just, who are made subject to Him of their own will. And this is the kingdom which He is said here to have received.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He also returns after having received His kingdom, because He who appeared lowly to those to whom He said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” will come in all His glory.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But when Christ returns, having taken His kingdom for Himself, the ministers of the word will receive their deserved praise and delight in heavenly rewards, because they multiplied their talent by acquiring more. As it is added, Then the first came, saying, “Lord, your pound has gained ten pounds.”

The Venerable Bede: The first servant is the order of teachers sent to the circumcision, who received one pound to put to use, inasmuch as it was ordered to preach one faith. But this one pound gained ten pounds because by its teaching it united to itself the people who were subject to the law. It follows, And he said to him, “Well done, you good servant: because you have been faithful in a very little...” The servant who does not corrupt the word of God is faithful in a very little. For all the gifts we receive now are but small in comparison to what we will have.

Greek Expositors: Because he receives the reward of his own good works, he is said to be set over ten cities. And some, thinking unworthily of these promises, imagine that they will be promoted to magistracies and chief positions in the earthly Jerusalem—which is built with precious stones—because they have lived honestly in Christ. This shows how little they have purged their souls of all craving for power and authority among men.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But the ten cities are the souls over whom he is rightly placed—he who has deposited his lord’s money and the holy words, which are tested like silver in the fire, into the minds of men. For as Jerusalem is said to be built as a city, so are peace-making souls. And as angels have rule, so do they who have acquired the life of angels.

It follows, And the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has gained five pounds.”

The Venerable Bede: That servant represents the assembly of those sent to preach the Gospel to the uncircumcised. Their pound, which is the faith of the Gospel, gained five pounds because it converted the nations, who were previously enslaved to the five senses of the body, to the grace of the evangelical faith. And he said likewise to him, “Be you also over five cities”; that is, be exalted to shine through the faith and conduct of those souls whom you have enlightened.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or perhaps differently: he who gained five pounds has all the moral virtues, for there are five senses of the body. He who gained ten has that much more—that is, the mysteries of the law as well as the moral virtues. The ten pounds may also here be taken to mean the ten words, that is, the teaching of the law; the five pounds, the ordering of discipline. But the scribe must be perfect in all things. And rightly, since He is speaking of the Jews, there are only two who bring their pounds multiplied—not indeed by a gainful interest on money, but by a profitable stewardship of the Gospel. For there is one kind of interest in money lent, and another in heavenly teaching.

St. John Chrysostom: For in earthly wealth, one person cannot become rich without another becoming poor. But in spiritual riches, one cannot become rich without also making another rich. For in earthly matters, sharing diminishes wealth; in spiritual matters, it increases it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or else, that one of those who well employed their money gained ten pounds and another five signifies that they acquired them for the flock of God, by whom the law was now understood through grace. This is either because of the ten commandments of the law, or because he through whom the law was given wrote five books. To this belong the ten and five cities over which He appoints them to preside.

For the manifold meanings or interpretations which spring up concerning some individual precept or book, when reduced and brought together into one, make, as it were, a city of living, eternal reasons. Hence a city is not a multitude of living creatures, but of reasonable beings bound together by the fellowship of one law.

The servants who bring an account of what they had received, and are praised for having gained more, represent those who have well employed what they received to increase their Lord’s riches through those who believe in Him. In contrast, those who are unwilling to do this are signified by that servant who kept his pound laid up in a napkin, of whom it follows, And the third came, saying, “Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin...”

For there are some who flatter themselves with this delusion, saying, “It is enough for each individual to answer for himself; what need is there for others to preach and minister, so that everyone should be compelled also to give an account of himself?” They argue this, seeing that in the Lord’s sight even those to whom the law was not given are without excuse, who were not asleep at the time of the preaching of the Gospel, for they might have known the Creator through the creature. And then it follows, “For I feared you, because you are an austere man...”

This is, as it were, to reap where he did not sow—that is, to hold those guilty of ungodliness to whom the word of the law or the Gospel was not preached. And so, avoiding this supposed peril of judgment, they rest from the ministry of the word with slothful toil. And this is what it means to tie up in a napkin what they had received.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For the face of the dead is covered with a napkin. It is fitting, then, that this idle servant is said to have wrapped his pound in a napkin, because by leaving it dead and unprofitable, he neither used nor increased it.

The Venerable Bede: Or, to tie up money in a napkin is to hide the gifts we have received under the indolence of a sluggish body. But what he thought to use as an excuse is turned to his own blame, as it follows, He says to him, “Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant.”

He is called a wicked servant for being slothful in business and proud in questioning his Lord’s judgment. “You knew that I was an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not give my money into the bank?” It is as if he said, “If you knew me to be a hard man, and a seeker of what is not my own, why did the thought of this not strike you with terror? You should have been sure that I would demand back my own with strictness.”

But the money, or silver, is the preaching of the Gospel and the word of God, for the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in the fire. And this word of the Lord ought to be given to the bank—that is, put into hearts fit and ready to receive it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the bank into which the money was to be given, we take to be the very profession of religion which is publicly put forth as a means necessary to salvation.

St. John Chrysostom: In the payment of earthly riches, the debtors are obliged only to strictness. Whatever they receive, that much they must return; nothing more is required of them. But with regard to the words of God, we are not only bound to keep them diligently, but we are commanded to increase them. Hence it follows, that at my coming I might have required the same with interest.

The Venerable Bede: For those who receive the riches of the word from a teacher by faith must pay it back with their works—that is, with interest—by being earnestly desirous to know more than what they have so far learned from the mouths of their preachers.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: It is the work of teachers to graft wholesome and profitable words into their hearers’ minds, but it is the work of divine power to win the hearers to obedience and make their understanding fruitful. Now this servant, so far from being commended or thought worthy of honor, was condemned as slothful, as it follows, And he said to them that stood by, “Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has ten pounds.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: This signifies that he who has a gift but does not use it will lose the gift of God, while he who has a gift and rightly uses it will have it increased.

The Venerable Bede: I suppose the mystical meaning is this: that at the coming in of the Gentiles, all Israel will be saved, and then the abundant grace of the Spirit will be poured out upon the teachers.

St. John Chrysostom: He says then to them that stood by, “Take from him the pound,” because it is not the part of a wise man to punish; rather, he needs someone else as the minister of the judge in executing punishment. For even God does not inflict punishment Himself, but does so through the ministry of His angels.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nothing is said of the other servants, who like wasteful debtors lost all that they had received. The two servants who gained by trading signify that small number who were sent in two companies as dressers of the vineyard; the remainder signifies all the Jews. It follows, And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds.” And lest this should seem unjust, it is added, “For to every one that has, it shall be given.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: For seeing that he gained ten pounds by multiplying his one pound tenfold, it is plain that by having more to multiply, he would be an occasion of greater gain to his Lord. But from the slothful and idle one, who does not stir himself to increase what he has received, even what he possesses will be taken away, so that there may be no gap in the Lord’s account when it is given to others and multiplied.

But this is not to be applied only to the words of God and teaching, but also to the moral virtues. For in respect of these also, God sends us His gracious gifts, endowing one man with fasting, another with prayer, another with mildness or humility. As long as we watch over ourselves strictly, we will multiply these gifts; but if we grow cold, we will extinguish them.

He adds of His adversaries, “But those my enemies who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: By this He describes the ungodliness of the Jews who refused to be converted to Him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He will deliver them to death, casting them into the outer fire. But even in this world, they were most miserably slain by the Roman army.

St. John Chrysostom: These things are a powerful argument against the Marcionites. For Christ also says, “Bring hither my enemies, and slay them before me.” They say that Christ is good, but the God of the Old Testament is evil. Yet it is plain that both the Father and the Son do the same things. For the Father sends His army to the vineyard, and the Son causes His enemies to be slain before Him.

This parable as it is related in Luke is different from that given in Matthew concerning the talents. For in Luke's parable, different sums were produced from the same principal amount, since from the profits of one pound received, one servant brought five and another ten pounds. But with Matthew it is very different. For he who received two talents added two more. He who received five gained that much again. Therefore, the rewards given are also different.