The parable of the talant is one of the parables of Jesus Christ contained in the Gospel of Matthew and telling about the second coming .
 | For [He will] as a man who, going to a foreign country, called his slaves and entrusted his estate to them: and he gave one to five talents , the other two, the other one, each according to his strength; and immediately set off. He who received the five talents went, used them in business, and acquired the other five talents; in the same way, he who received two talents acquired the other two; he who received one talent went and buried [him] in the ground and hid his master’s silver. ( Matt. 25: 14-23 ) |  |
Upon his return, the master called to his slaves and demanded from them a report on how they had disposed of the money entrusted to them.
He praised the slaves who had used the money in business, saying: “ well, good and faithful slave! in small things you were faithful; I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your master . ”
The last to come was a slave who buried money in the ground: “Sir! I knew you that you were a cruel man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t sprinkle, and, fearing, went and hid your talent in the earth; here is yours ” ( Matt. 25: 24-25 ). In response, the master addressed him and those present:
| crafty slave and lazy! You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and I collect where I did not scatter; therefore it was proper for you to give my silver to those who traded, and, having come, I would have received mine with profit ; so, take his talent from him and give him ten talents, for everyone who has will be given and multiplied, and those who have none will be taken away that which has; and cast the worthless slave into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( Matt. 25: 26-30 ) | |
A similar (but not identical) parable is given in the Gospel of Luke ( 19: 11-28 ), but instead of talents, mines appear in it (smaller units). Luke’s story is interesting in the message that when the lord left, “the citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying: we don’t want him to reign over us” ( Luke 19:14 ). This story allegedly contains a reference to the story of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus , who traveled to Rome to the emperor Augustus to confirm his rights to rule Samaria , Judea (including Jerusalem ) and Edom [1] .
Content
Theological interpretation
( Speculum humanae salvationis , 15th century )
Among the theologians, the lord who sets off on a long trip is Jesus Christ , who “ before receiving a glorious kingdom, will have to go to a“ faraway country ”- to heaven, to His Father, and then appear on earth in His glory .” [2] Under the slaves understand the disciples and followers of Christ, who receive from God a variety of gifts and external benefits. [3] However, Theophylact Bulgarian writes:
His servants are those who are entrusted with the ministry of the word, such as: bishops , priests , deacons and all who have received spiritual gifts, some are large, others are smaller, each according to his own strength, that is, according to faith and purity. [four]
The return of the master and the demand for reporting from the slaves is understood as the Last Judgment , in which, according to the teachings of the Church, everyone will have to answer for their deeds: those who multiply their talents will receive praise, and the “slave is crafty and lazy” will be punished by exclusion from the kingdom of the Messiah. [2] At the same time, theologians call the lazy slave of their master in cruelty the self-justification of the sinner, who " because of his sinfulness has lost his sense of sonship to God and represents God therefore cruel and unjust ." [3]
Considering the slaves as the disciples of Christ, Theophylact of Bulgaria calls them “ mourners ” (merchants) since they are called upon to transmit to others the teaching entrusted to them. He's writing:
The truth required of them is the fulfillment of the doctrine itself. For the student, taking the teaching from the teacher, uses it himself and passes it on to others and adds more to it, that is, good deeds. [four]
The reasons for hiding talent are sometimes seen:
- Envy of those who received more from God: two talents and five talents.
- In disbelief with God and the fact that no gift is lost without a trace, but bears great fruit.
Winged expression
Blessed is he who lives in a bloody struggle
In the worries of grave exhausted!
Like a slave lazy and crafty
He hasn’t buried his talent in the earth!
From this gospel parable comes the winged expression "Burrow talent into the ground." They mean the abandonment of any knowledge, experience or spiritual qualities, neglect of them [5] .
From the Church Slavonic text of the parable, another winged expression was used in Russia of the 19th century: "to the new talent, to the second." It was used both to denote social and property inequality of people, and to reflect the versatility of someone’s talents [6] .
See also
- Spiritual gifts
Links
- ↑ Joseph Flavius . Jewish Antiquities (Prince XVII) .
- ↑ 1 2 Gospel of Luke // Explanatory Bible or commentary on all books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments edited by A.P. Lopukhin
- ↑ 1 2 Averky (Taushev) . New Testament Scripture Study Guide
- ↑ 1 2 Interpretation of Theophylact of Bulgaria on the Gospel of Matthew (Unavailable link) . Date of treatment May 21, 2009. Archived April 27, 2009.
- ↑ Bury your talent in the land (unavailable link) (unavailable link from 06/14/2016 [1146 days]) // Yandex. Dictionaries
- ↑ Serov V. Bury talent in the ground . / Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions.
Literature
- E. G. Rabinovich . Measuring burden // Noosphere and artistic creation. M .: Nauka, 1991, p. 139-153