The Parable of the Talents
The Parable of the Talents is another parable which Jesus uses to illustrate a truth about the kingdom of heaven.
In the previous parable we encountered ten virgins, in this parable we learn about three servants.
Both groups, however, represent each of us.
In this parable a man is about to take a journey, but before leaving, he calls his servants and entrusts them with his wealth — eight talents of silver.
a. A talent in Jesus day was not a dollar amount, but an amount of weight.
b . One talent weighed about 58 pounds.
The master did not give to any of the servants more money than he could handle — the first servant was given five talents, the second was given two and the third was given one.
While it is not stated, each servant understood that the money was not his own, but was to be used to gain profit for his master.
Now that we have set the stage, let’s consider the rest of the story.