John Calvin Commentary Luke 19:13

"And he called ten servants of his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye [herewith] till I come." — Luke 19:13 (ASV)

And having called his ten servants. We must not inquire anxiously into the number of the servants or into the sums of money. For Matthew, by expressing various sums, includes a more extensive doctrine: namely, that Christ does not lay on all an equal responsibility for trading, but commits to one a small, and to another a larger sum of money. Both agree in this, that until the last day of the resurrection Christ, in some respects, goes to a distance from his people, but that it would be highly improper for them to sit down in idleness and do no good. For each has a certain office assigned to him, in which he should be employed, and therefore, they should be diligent in trading, that they may be careful to increase their Lord’s property.

Luke says simply, that to each he gave a pound; because, whether more or less is committed to us by our Lord, each person must equally give an account for himself. Matthew, as I have said, is more complete and detailed, for he states various degrees.

Let us understand that the Lord does not indiscriminately bestow on all the same measure of gifts (Ephesians 4:7), but distributes them variously as he thinks proper (1 Corinthians 12:11), so that some excel others.

But whatever gifts the Lord has bestowed on us, let us understand that they are committed to us like so much money, so that they may yield some gain. For nothing could be more unreasonable than that we should allow God’s favors, the value of which consists in yielding fruit, to remain buried or be put to no use.