Three Parables with One Meaning

  
Contributed by a fellow slave appointed by the master to feed the members of God's household. —Matt. 24:45,46
 

All of Jesus' enemies have not yet been placed as a stool for his feet. So, his "return" at Armageddon will be far greater than his initial activity, when given "authority" to cleanse the heavens to 'prepare a place' for us. (Rev. 12:7-10) The fulfillment of the following parables therefore, was not likely finished in the past, as has been claimed.

When scriptural understanding began opening up to me, I believed that all such spiritual food should be forwarded to the Governing Body. This was my belief due to the description of the slave, in Matthew 24:45-47. Here it seemed obvious, that of all the slaves in the household that were expected to be faithful and discreet, there was a particular slave among them who had the distinction of being the Steward over the others. This would be the one who would determine, out of all the foodstuffs brought in by the other slaves, which provisions would be served, and when.

This is a simple illustration, and it is simple to understand in it's purity. Jesus gave it to Peter, and an accurate understanding can be attained, if we consider how Peter himself would have understood it.

In the first century, there were household slaves. No matter what their position within the house, they were all required to be faithful and discreet. So in the application of this illustration, all in the household are to strive to be 'the faithful and discreet slave', from the lowest (domestics under the steward), to the highest (the Steward).

The distinction between the slaves comes to our attention when Jesus points out the Steward (one of the slaves) as being over the others; and he accurately points out that this is the position of oversight. According to the accuracy of this illustration and the way Peter would have naturally understood it, the Steward Slave of the household, is not the source of the food he manages and dispenses. He does not do the sowing of seed in the garden, nor the picking of vegetables, nor the preparing of meals, nor the setting of the table, nor the cleaning of the dishes afterward. He was usually an older slave who had been with the Master a longer time, and who already experienced working at many of the jobs now under him. Now that he is older, his Master wisely uses this one's experience, and mercifully relieves him of the labor intensive work. He is simply asked to manage the household...to determine how it is conducted and what the menu will be for the week, so to speak. Though he organizes the feeding schedule, he does not directly provide the food.


So, to get back to my situation, I believed that as I was gathering this spiritual food, it was proper to forward it to the Governing Body, for them to determine how and when to dispense it. I was unprepared for the announcement that went out through a Wt. study article, that the men on the Governing Body consider themselves the only source of any spiritual light, as well as it's dispensers.

When Jesus explained to us how this light would come, he said that Holy Spirit would teach the anointed all things, and lead them into all the truth. There are so many scriptures like Joel 2:28&29 and Acts 2:17&18, that show that this ability to prophesy in the time of the end, can come from even the lowest of the household slaves. Remember, all slaves are to be faithful and discreet in presenting whatever they are given. It is up to the Steward alone, to arrange and dispense it in an orderly fashion.

If a Steward refuses the contributions of the other slaves, will he really be able to properly care for the needs of the household? Jesus said that such a Steward would be acting unreasonably, as if drunk. What do the scriptures reveal as to the symbolic drink such a one would become drunk by? It is likely the same drink being imbibed by the "confirmed drunkards" he is now in the company of (Matt. 24:49). Those said to be in scripture, symbolic confirmed drunkards, are drunk with power, such as Babylon the Great. (Rev. 17:2,6) So, the position this Steward has been given, may have 'gone to his head'. The absence of the Master has no doubt contributed to this. We are told in Matt.24:48, that this steward begins these bad behaviors, traits, and associations, because, as he puts it, "My Master is delaying".

This does not necessarily mean that he wants his master to stay away, so that he can get away with this deterioration and neglect of the household. No, but he has become angry with the Master because the Master is taking too long to arrive! He is irritated that he must unexpectedly stay an extended time at his post. This delay brings about unwelcomed changes, that he did not expect to be faced with. Some of these developments reveal him to be unreliable.

He then expresses his resentment upon the slaves under him. When they bring in to him the provisions for the day, he beats them. Rather than appreciate the contributions of his fellow workers, his drunken state of mind causes him to believe that because of simply having this station of authority, all credit belongs to him for all the household's needs being fulfilled. Such a Steward could no longer be proficient in "giving the proper food at the proper time."

But this is not the only illustration Jesus gave to describe and explain this development. When we combine the three he gave, all three are clarified. In the next parable, the character that becomes this Steward is the wicked slave of Matthew 25:24. What this wicked slave states, gives us insight into the mind of the Steward. The Wicked slave says to his returned Master, "I knew you to be an exacting man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not winnow. So, I grew afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here, have what is yours." (Matt.25:24&25)

First, we are shown that this wicked slave does not really know his Master intimately. He attributes bad motive to his Master, saying he is "exacting". We recall the Jewish religious leaders that went beyond the things written because of thinking this very way about Jehovah. They were so interested in establishing their own righteousness, that they increased the load of worship and took pride in conforming to their own doctrines. They were so involved in these things, that they ignored the "weightier matters", such as humility, love, mercy, and justice. So in application, such men would rather establish and defend their own righteousness, than risk accepting other provisions through the contributions of others; contributions that may not conform to their own "exacting" doctrines. They come to believe their own doctrines are from an exacting Master, and they expect others to agree. We see the parallel with the Steward's rejection of contribution, when beating his fellow slaves.

But then the wicked slave says that the Master "reaps where he does not sow." Since we know we are talking about providing spiritual food (from the household illustration), here we see the slave believes that he is under duress to provide results without the Master giving supplies. In other words, he thinks the Master expects spiritual food to be served, without providing any source of food. So, in the midst of all the provisions the domestics offer, the wicked slave does not view the source as coming from the Master himself. Jesus is providing an abundant source of food for the Steward to dispense, but drunk with power, he does not humbly recognize the value of the provision, and blames the Master for the difficult task of providing food out of nothing. We see however that in the end, this wicked slave will have to say, "Here, have what is yours.", finally realizing the true source of what was given him.

We see in Matt. 25:25 that, eventually the brightness of spiritual light coming from the other domestics becomes intimidating, causing this wicked slave to "become afraid". This moves him to bury what he views as a threat. This is in strange harmony with what the Governing Body has done with the letters of understanding coming from other faithful slaves around the world, discarding (burying) and discouraging them, from contributing.


This brings us to the clarification that the last illustration provides...that of the wise and discreet virgins.

First, these figures are clearly identified as anointed ones near the very end of this system (Rev.14:4). For, the setting is just previous to the Marriage of the Lamb, which has not yet occurred. We see that the 10 virgins are divided into two groups of 5. We understand this to mean that there is a 50/50 chance of being either wise or foolish...a warning to anointed ones in the time of the end, indeed!

Now, in this illustration, the spiritual food and talents are translated into lamps of spiritual light filled with oil.

The foolish ones start out, by taking only their lamps into the night to meet the Bridegroom. However, we note that unlike the discreet virgins, they do not bring an extra receptacle (back-up oil) (Matt.25:3,4). Why? They evidently have their own idea of how long the Groom will take to arrive, and it is not very long.

Yet we see the discreet virgins take their receptacles filled up. They ascribe dignity to the Groom, leaving his arrival to his own discretion. They voice no insistent expectations as to time limits. They prove their subjection by taking receptacles, remaining open to whatever the spirit directs.

Well, as we know, the Bridegroom delays. This is a parallel to the Steward's angry statement, "The Master is delaying!'

We see why the Steward desires to beat his fellow slaves, the faithful and discreet ones. Because like Cain who jealously killed his brother, the foolish virgins discern that, *as the night prolongs*, the lamps of the wise virgin's are burning more brightly than theirs. (Matt.25:7&8)

The foolish virgins demand of the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are about to go out!" The oil providing light to their lamps is Holy Spirit. These foolish virgins believe that God's spirit is something the wise ones should give away in compromise, so that the foolish ones lamps won't appear so darkened. The wise virgins recognize the traits these foolish ones are manifesting, and reply, "Perhaps there may not be enough for you and us".

They answer correctly. To compromise would mean a loss of spirit for all. They are not willing to part with their precious possession. So they then tell the foolish virgins, "Be on your way, instead, to those who sell it and buy for yourselves."

Who is it that "sells" holy spirit (God's favor and blessing)? (Why, here is the parallel to the "Confirmed Drunkards" that the steward goes off to accompany.) These peddlers of the word have amassed shameless luxury from selling their "wares" (Rev.18:3). Such peddlers are the only source left to these foolish virgins to fill their darkened lamps. Like Babylon the Great, the foolish virgin's self-esteem is derived from their visible authority, power, and accomplishments. Like the Jews of Jesus' day, who pointed to the physical temple in Jerusalem as the sign of their authority, the only source of their light is no longer from Jehovah. No wonder the oil of God's spirit is in short supply within their lamps!
Rather than relying on the provisions of Jehovah, they have come to stand on their own. Therefore, their new source of oil can only come from those whom the foolish virgins are imitating. We see in the parable that the foolish virgins comply to this suggestion, and go off into the darkness to buy.

This is not to say that they have become part of this Harlot! Christ simply called them foolish, but they are still considered virgins, not harlots. They will however, if they do not repent, be shut out of their reward. These one's will lose entry into the Marriage of the Lamb, left unsealed when this system finally ends. (Rev.7:2-4)

All of Jesus' illustrations describing events leading up to the birth of the Kingdom, are single layers that, when stacked, line up to explain themselves. When examined in this way, they augment each other. When viewed all at once in this manner, fine detail is discerned, completing the picture. We have as our head a Great Teacher, indeed....one who loved his own and saw to it we would have a rich supply of knowledge to draw upon. Thanks and praise to Jehovah for His loving care.

So then, what are the discreet virgins, as well as all the other sheep, to do if they feel these prophecies are presently being fulfilled? Well, even if such ones are enduring beatings from the Steward, we MUST turn to Jehovah and His word for direction.

In all these three illustrations, never do the good slaves take matters into their own hands. We are told that the Master, when he returns, will settle accounts, punish that slave, and reward the discreet.

We have given to us the example of David and Saul. The parallels are exact. David was hunted by Saul. Even though David was in a position to humiliate Saul, what did he do, and how did it turn out for him? He respected that Saul was still the anointed of Jehovah. He did not take matters into his own hands. He waited on Jehovah. Jesus has told us the Master is going to return. That is enough for us. We know that David's humble submission turned out well for him.

All should take heart that present developments may point to the imminent arrival of Our Lord! Only the Steward will not expect the hour of the Master's arrival. We are not in darkness. Take courage. The things we are enduring are according to the footsteps of the Christ. Who of us would want to beg off from such an honor?

 
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