The Talents Bring Provision – A Prosperous Kingdom Anointing
by: Wayne C. Anderson
Let us take a deeper look at Yehoshua’s parable concerning the “talents.”
Before examining the parable itself, we must first establish what a “talent” actually was and how the term applies to YeHoShua’s teaching.
What Is a Talent?
“Talent”
In Greek: τάλαντον — talanton; neuter of a presumed derivative of the original form of τλάω — tlaō; a balance, as supporting weights; by implication, a certain weight — and from there, a coin or sum of money: talent.
Historically, a talent was connected to the marketplace. The term originally described a balance or scale used for weighing merchandise. Such scales differed in kind, shape, and size.
Through the development of the word, a “talent” eventually came to represent a specific weight-measured amount of silver or gold in Palestine during the era of the ministry of Yehoshua:
- A talent of silver in Israel weighed approximately 100 pounds, or 45 kilograms.
- A talent of gold in Israel weighed approximately 200 pounds, or 91 kilograms.
The English word “talent” comes from this ancient Greek and Latin term. Over time, however, the word acquired an entirely different meaning. Today, a “talent” commonly refers to someone’s natural abilities, skills, gifts, or creativity.
That modern definition can cause confusion when we read YeHoShua’s Kingdom teaching. In the New Testament setting, a talent was not an artistic ability or personal skill. It was a marketplace measurement that represented a substantial amount of silver or gold.
In Matthew 25, YeHoShua uses the term “talent” to describe a measurable amount of wealth entrusted to servants for use in the marketplace.
As we study this important parable, let us therefore picture a single talent as approximately 100 pounds of silver — perhaps contained in a chest and entrusted to a servant for the purpose of conducting business.
The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14–30 (LITV)
For it is as if a man going abroad called his own servants
and delivered his goods to them.
And to one indeed he gave five talents,
and to another, two, and to another, one,
to each according to his ability. And he went abroad at once.
And going, the one who received the five talents
[A talent of silver in Israel weighed about 100 pounds (45 kg)]
worked with them and made another five talents.
In the same way, the one with the two also did; he also gained another two.
But going away, the one who received the one
dug in the earth and hid his master’s silver.
[From this we know we are dealing in silver coinage.]
And after much time, the master of those servants
came and took account with them.
And coming up, the one who received five
talents brought another five talents near, saying,
“Master, you delivered five talents to me.
Behold, I gained another five talents above them.”
And his master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things;
I will set you over many. Enter into the joy of your master.”
And the one who received two talents also coming up, he said,
“Master, you delivered two talents to me.
Behold, I have gained two other talents above them.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant.
You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many.
Enter into the joy of your master.”
And the one who received the one talent also coming up, he said,
“Master, I knew you, that you are a hard man,
reaping where you did not sow,
and gathering where you did not scatter;
and being afraid, going away, I hid your talent in the earth.
Behold, you have yours.”
And answering, his master said to him, “Evil and slothful servant!
You knew that I reap where I did not sow,
and I gather where I did not scatter.
Then you ought to have put my silver to the bankers,
and coming I would have received my own with interest.
“Therefore, take the talent from him and
give it to him who has the ten talents.
For to each who has, more will be given, and he will abound.
But from him who does not have,
even that which he has will be taken from him.
“And throw the worthless [useless businessman — see below]
servant out into the outer darkness.
There will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth.”
Working With What the Master Entrusted
Five talents represented approximately 500 pounds of silver entrusted to the servant for the purpose of conducting business in the marketplace.
“And going, the one who received the five talents
worked with them and made another five talents…”
The key words in this statement are “worked with them and made.” They reveal the Kingdom anointing operating by faith through the servant of the master.
The servant did not merely preserve what had been placed in his hands. He worked with it. He conducted business with it. He activated what had been entrusted to him and produced increase.
Consider the magnitude of what occurred. If five talents represented approximately 500 pounds of silver, the servant received 500 pounds and later brought 1,000 pounds of silver before his master.
The servant accounted for the original 500 pounds that had been delivered to him. Then, by working with what he had received, he gained another 500 pounds. The result was a total business portfolio of approximately 1,000 pounds of silver.
“And coming up, the one who received five talents
brought another five talents near, saying, ‘Master,
you delivered five talents to me.
Behold, I gained another five talents above them.’”
The original investment belonged to the master, but the servant was responsible for activating it. The master supplied the wealth; the servant supplied faithful, anointed stewardship.
The increase came through the joining together of provision, ability, faith, work, and Kingdom anointing.
Five Streams of Income
The intention of this rabbinical teaching through the parable is to show us that we possess a Kingdom anointing to produce through multiple streams of income.
The servant who received five talents was empowered to work with five substantial measures of marketplace provision. He did not bury them or leave them dormant. He activated all that had been placed under his stewardship, and each measure produced increase.
Poverty can flood into the life of someone who becomes dependent upon a single income stream — a hireling whose entire provision is controlled by one employer, one paycheck, or one source. When that single stream is interrupted, there may be nothing else producing increase.
In the parable, however, the prosperous Kingdom anointing was revealed through multiplication:
- Five talents represent five streams of income.
- Two talents represent two streams of income.
- The one hidden talent represents provision that was never activated.
The servant who buried the single talent did not operate in faith. He did not activate the Kingdom anointing upon what had been entrusted to him. Consequently, he failed to produce income through even one stream.
YeHoShua called him “worthless” or “unprofitable.”
”Worthless” — ἀχρεῖος, achreios: an alpha privative added to χρεία, chreia; employment, an affair; by implication, occasion, demand, requirement, or destitution — business; useless or unprofitable.
In the context of this parable, we could understand him as a “useless businessman.” He possessed the master’s wealth, but he refused to put it to work.
Fear Produces a Distorted View of the Master
The servant’s failure began with his perception of the master:
“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’” – Matthew 25:24–25
The Weymouth New Testament states it this way:
“But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, ‘Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed. So being afraid I went and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you.’”
Matthew 25:24–25 (Weymouth NT)
Hiding in unbelief creates a belief system that views the master as harsh, severe, and cruel.
The servant acted out of fear because he did not truly understand the nature or intentions of his master. His distorted belief produced fear; fear produced inactivity; and inactivity left the master’s wealth buried and unproductive.
Unfortunately, this is where many believers live. They have received something valuable from the Kingdom, but fear keeps them from working with it. They are afraid of failing, losing, investing, beginning, or being held accountable. Therefore, they bury what has been entrusted to them and call their inactivity “carefulness.”
But fear is not faithfulness.
How the Third Steward Cultivated Poverty
There is another aspect of this third steward’s actions that deserves our attention: “But going away, the one who received the one dug in the earth and hid his master’s silver.”
The servant demonstrated a deep fear of loss and lack. Although wealth had been entrusted to him, he did nothing productive with it. He kept it hidden, untouched, and unavailable.
His poverty was not caused by the absence of provision. He had been given wealth. His poverty grew from what he believed and from what he refused to do with what he had received.
Some wealthy people display a similar fear. They may possess considerable resources, yet remain afraid that their wealth will disappear. They carefully guard their money, may arrogantly flaunt it, and give little attention to the poor or to financing the purposes of the Kingdom. They possess wealth, but fear still possesses them.
The issue is not simply how much a person has. The issue is whether what has been entrusted to that person is being activated by faith for the purposes of the King.
There is also a practical, everyday expression of this same behavior. When believers receive bills they fear they cannot pay, they may hide those bills from view so they do not have to face the pain of what they owe.
They may then purchase a fancy coffee drink or dessert to create a temporary feeling of prosperity and comfort. For a moment, they feel rich, and the pressure of their unpaid obligations is pushed out of mind.
But hiding the bills does not remove the debt.
Burying the bills may temporarily bury the fear, but neither the bills nor the fear disappears. Eventually, both can overwhelm the believer who continually refuses to confront them.
This is the same destructive pattern demonstrated by the servant who buried his master’s silver. He attempted to escape responsibility by hiding the evidence of what had been entrusted to him.
The Prosperous Kingdom Anointing
The lesson of the talents is not merely that we should protect what the Master has given us. We are called to work with it and produce increase.
Kingdom prosperity is not passive. It requires faith, wisdom, action, accountability, and courageous stewardship.
The faithful servants understood that the master’s provision carried an assignment. What had been delivered into their hands was intended to work in the marketplace, create increase, and expand the master’s holdings.
The unprofitable servant received provision but never activated its purpose. He allowed fear to bury what faith should have multiplied.
The Kingdom principle is clear:
What the Master places in our hands carries the anointing and potential to produce.
We must not bury His provision in fear. We must receive it with gratitude, work with it in faith, and allow the prosperous Kingdom anointing to bring multiplication through every stream He places under our stewardship.