The Parable of the King who Returned

Title: The Parable of the King who Returned
Date: 26th Feb 2017
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

Luke 19: 11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

A long time ago, there was a prince named Archelaus. Arch means top, and laus means people. So, the name literally means top of the people. It’s like a name called Lim Peh (dialect for “your father”). What’s your name? “Lim Peh”. It’s hard not to sound arrogant. And historical records showed that he lived with such arrogance. He sent his soldiers to attack his people, killing 3000 people, when he heard them grumbling against him.[1] So you can imagine how much people disliked him. His father was King Herod, and that makes me wonder how much influence that had on the kind of ruthless brat he became. This man was further described as: “You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.” This feels like the description of a gangster, someone who gets whatever he wanted forcefully. Except for one thing. When his father King Herod died, he had to go to Rome to confirm himself as the official heir to take over the kingdom. This was a tricky affair because Herod had other children and family who all laid claims on the throne. And he was so hated by the people that they even sent a delegation of representatives to Rome to oppose his rule. But luckily for him, and unfortunately for everyone else, he got a large share of the inheritance, and came back as king of most of Judea.

When Jesus was telling this parable, I think the audience must have guessed that he was referring to the story of King Archelaus. And what happened when King Archelaus returned as the king? One, all those who opposed his rule openly were killed. Two, he appointed those who could work for him to govern the land. How did he know who were the capable ones? Well, before he left, he gave them each a sum of money. When he got back, he assigned the responsibilities based on the amount of profit they made. Naturally, those who made zero profit got nothing.

Why did Jesus tell this story about King Archelaus? We often like to equate the main character of this parable with Jesus. Just like King Archelaus, Jesus is also a king who returned. But I’m not sure if Jesus would like to be equated with an infamous ruthless king. Fortunately, we do not have to guess the reasons for telling the story because Luke had provided the essential clues in verse 11: 11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. There are 3 clues in this verse, so allow me to unpack them one by one.

The first clue is: he was nearing Jerusalem. What that means is that we are coming to the climax of Jesus’ ministry, like a final showdown with the authorities. We typically divide Jesus’ ministry into 3 portions: the ministry in Galilee, then the journey or the road trip to Jerusalem, and finally the Holy week in Jerusalem. Today’s story comes right at the end of the road trip, right before entering Jerusalem. Therefore, if the entire ministry was about Jesus as the anointed king of the coming kingdom of God, it was understandable that there would be great expectations about the final showdown that will take place in Jerusalem. Jesus versus the Romans! Or, Jesus versus the High Priest of the Temple! The first clue tells us that Jesus wanted to say something about this final showdown.

The second clue is: the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. Unfortunately, this assumption is not true. The kingdom of God did not appear at once. In fact, it would be a long-drawn process even until today. Even at Jesus’ ascension, the disciples asked, 6 “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8) The kingdom of God would start in Jerusalem, but it will continue to grow until today. Jesus is seated at the high throne at the right side of God, but his final kingly judgment comes only at the second coming. So the second clue tells us that Jesus had to address this false assumption about the kingdom of God appearing at once. And this is where the story of Archelaus helps. Like Archelaus, the kingship and the kingdom were not immediate. There will be a future that the people will face one day. There will come a day where they will be confronted with his kingship, whether they like it or not. But it is important to know that although it is not immediate, it is however a future that is certain. Immediately in Jerusalem, they might see Jesus crucified on the cross by the Romans and the Jewish authorities, but in the future, Jesus will be the king certainly.

The third and final clue to the parable is the most important: Jesus told the parable “while they were listening to this.” ‘This’ refers to Jesus’ words to Zacchaeus the tax collector. Which means that the purpose of this parable has got to do with what happened with Zacchaeus. Let me read the story to you now, and I’ve highlighted what to me are the key words.
Luke 19: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

There are a few ways to interpret the story of Zacchaeus. You could preach a good sermon just focusing on the theme of seeing, looking and seeking. But for me, I believe the essence of the story lies in the immediate response of Zacchaeus, and that intensity was repeated five times in the story: immediately, at once, here and now, today. Zacchaeus responded immediately to Jesus, climbing down the tree at once to welcome Jesus home, declaring Jesus as his Lord on that very day, then giving to the poor and giving back any money he cheated. Then Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Is it really ‘today’? Shouldn’t that be the future? One can argue that salvation only comes after Jesus’ work is complete. But that is exactly the point of the parable: it is what you do now that matters for the future. Because of how Zacchaeus chose to respond to Jesus, both in faith and in deed immediately, the future salvation had come to his house that very day.

Let me bring the 3 clues together in interpreting the parable. We know that Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem for the final leg of his earthly mission. However, the actual fulfilment of his kingship and his kingdom would not be an immediate process, though we know from Acts that it is a certainty in the future. The key lies in understanding that ‘it is what you do now that matters for the future’. This is a logic we can all understand from the parable. When Archelaus was eventually appointed to be king, the opponents of Archelaus faced death, because of their previous actions to oppose him. The servants of Archelaus were either given heavy responsibilities or none at all, because of their earlier actions from what Archelaus entrusted them to do. There was a moment in time, when nobody knew if Archelaus would actually be king. Yet it was the response at that moment that mattered. Because when Archelaus returned as king, the outcomes had already been pre-determined by the earlier actions and decisions. It was the same for Zacchaeus. The moment he responded to Jesus in faith and deed, Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” He was previously a sinner. But on that day, he lived as a son of Abraham.

This week, we enter into a period of Lent. It is a period of reflection and anticipation before the arrival of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We might think that it is the final day; it is the future outcome that matters. After all, that’s the day that we celebrate that God’s work is complete. But I think otherwise. What truly matters is the immediate response while we are waiting. It’s what we do today that manifests the future. And I hope you have a response in both faith and deed, just like Zacchaeus. Jesus is the king. But thankfully his kingship is quite different from Archelaus’. We don’t have to live in fear of death from a revengeful king, or the mercenary judgement of a harsh master. But how do we know what is the right response now? I’ll give you a clue. Live as if the future is here today. This is my point about what we do today that manifests the future. And the future judgement comes from Jesus the king. So the question is: how should you respond in faith and deed if Jesus is king? We often plan ahead in our lives. What should we do if Trump becomes president? What should we do if the free trade agreement happens? How to make Singapore future-ready? Shouldn’t we make our spiritual lives future-ready? So the question is: how should you respond in faith and deed if Jesus is king?

I believe there are some actions that would be common, and some that would be unique to your situation. The first common action would be: if Jesus is king, then I’d better know his will. How do I know what to do if I do not know his thoughts? So, one common action for all of us would be diligent bible reading. If Jesus is king, I would want a close relationship. So, daily prayer would be another common action. If you want an immediate response, today, and every day, everybody should read the bible and pray, to know Jesus and get close to him.

Besides the common action, I believe there should also be a response of faith and deed that is unique to your situation. For Zacchaeus the rich tax collector, his response was to give to the poor, that’s the rich part; and then to compensate for any cheating, that’s the tax collector part. His response tells me that this was a guy who knew Jesus well. “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) He knew that when he came before Jesus who cares for the needy and social justice, these things would be the judgement and so he acted accordingly way before the judgement. If you believe Jesus is the king who will come in judgement, and if you know what he cares about, what would be your response in your situation? For some of us, it could be forgiveness. Do that and today, salvation has come to your house. Don’t wait till the second coming. For some of us, it could be doing your job in a manner that would be a blessing to others. Especially if you are a teacher, a doctor, or anyone in the service industry. There was a scene in the drama Goblin, where an angel said to a mean teacher, “can’t you be a nicer teacher”, and that application made sense to me, since we all have met good and bad teachers. And so I told myself, there are often times when I get frustrated or busy or cynical. But then again, every day is a new day, and I tell myself, “can’t I be a nicer pastor today?” The point of the parable is simple: you don’t have to wait for the king to return to determine your fate. If you believe Jesus is king, then do what he wants today.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Archelaus