Guest Pastor: Bill Jackson
Doing The King’s Business
Until He Comes
Luke 19:11–27
Already a miracle has happened this morning. I thought I was coming to Sunday School at ten o’clock, and I came to find out that ten o’clock was worship. I got here on time without even knowing I was on time, and I’ll just call that a blessing from the Lord.
My wife Irma is back there. We’ve been married sixty-two years, and it’s been a wonderful sixty-two years. God has been good to us.
I want to ask, are there any long‑time residents of Annapolis here this morning? Sixty years or so? A few of you. That tells me I’m in good company.
Annapolis has always had a soft spot in my heart. Both of my parents were from here. My grandmother Copeland lived in a little two‑story house down near what used to be Vincent Sutton’s Texaco station, now the post office. Some of you remember it.
I spent weeks here as a boy, and I’ll be honest, I got bored sometimes. There wasn’t much to do except throw a ball up in the air and try to catch it, and I didn’t always succeed. But every day we’d walk up the hill to Carl’s store, and my grandmother would buy me a box of Cracker Jacks. The Cracker Jacks were good, but the prize at the bottom was what mattered.
Sometimes she’d give me a nickel to walk over to the Texaco station and buy one of those little glass Coca‑Colas, the kind that would make you burp and feel it in your nose. Those were strong back then.
My grandfather passed away before I was born, but he and my grandmother ran the coal and ice business here in town. After he died, she still had the ice house in the corner of her yard. Folks would ring a little cowbell, and she’d come out and chip off ice for them. I still have that cowbell on the mantel at my house.
This town is part of my story. So being here this morning, sharing God’s Word with you, really is like a dream come true.
Do you remember the days before television, when all we had was the radio? Programs like Fibber McGee and Molly. You couldn’t see anything, but you could picture everything in your mind. When someone opened that closet door and everything came crashing out, you could see it without ever seeing it.
We didn’t need pictures then. And sometimes I think we still don’t.
My wife Irma is back there. We’ve been married sixty-two years, and it’s been a wonderful sixty-two years. God has been good to us.
I want to ask, are there any long‑time residents of Annapolis here this morning? Sixty years or so? A few of you. That tells me I’m in good company.
Annapolis has always had a soft spot in my heart. Both of my parents were from here. My grandmother Copeland lived in a little two‑story house down near what used to be Vincent Sutton’s Texaco station, now the post office. Some of you remember it.
I spent weeks here as a boy, and I’ll be honest, I got bored sometimes. There wasn’t much to do except throw a ball up in the air and try to catch it, and I didn’t always succeed. But every day we’d walk up the hill to Carl’s store, and my grandmother would buy me a box of Cracker Jacks. The Cracker Jacks were good, but the prize at the bottom was what mattered.
Sometimes she’d give me a nickel to walk over to the Texaco station and buy one of those little glass Coca‑Colas, the kind that would make you burp and feel it in your nose. Those were strong back then.
My grandfather passed away before I was born, but he and my grandmother ran the coal and ice business here in town. After he died, she still had the ice house in the corner of her yard. Folks would ring a little cowbell, and she’d come out and chip off ice for them. I still have that cowbell on the mantel at my house.
This town is part of my story. So being here this morning, sharing God’s Word with you, really is like a dream come true.
Do you remember the days before television, when all we had was the radio? Programs like Fibber McGee and Molly. You couldn’t see anything, but you could picture everything in your mind. When someone opened that closet door and everything came crashing out, you could see it without ever seeing it.
We didn’t need pictures then. And sometimes I think we still don’t.
This morning, I want you to go with me to Jericho. There’s a large crowd there, and to understand why, we need to go back to Luke 9:51. That’s where Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem. He was determined.
The disciples had been with Him nearly three years. They had heard His teaching, seen His miracles, watched Him heal the sick, cast out demons, make the blind see and the lame walk. When they saw His determination, they believed this was the moment, this was when He would set up His earthly kingdom and free them from Roman rule.
As Jesus traveled, healing people like blind Bartimaeus outside Jericho, the crowd grew larger and more excited. Hope was building.
But Zacchaeus knew Jericho. He knew there was an old sycamore tree with a limb stretching over the road. So he climbed up and waited.
When Jesus came by, He stopped, looked up, and called Zacchaeus by name. He told him to come down, because He was going to his house.
And something happened in that house that day.
Zacchaeus stood and made a declaration. He said he would give half of what he owned to the poor, and if he had cheated anyone, he would repay them fourfold. That was a man whose life had been changed.
Jesus explained it simply, salvation had come to that house.
When salvation comes, there is change.
If there is no change, we need to take an honest look at our lives.
The crowd thought Jesus was heading for a coronation.
Jesus knew He was heading for a cross.
Because of that misunderstanding, Jesus told a parable, one meant for the time between His departure and His return. That’s where we are living right now.
The disciples had been with Him nearly three years. They had heard His teaching, seen His miracles, watched Him heal the sick, cast out demons, make the blind see and the lame walk. When they saw His determination, they believed this was the moment, this was when He would set up His earthly kingdom and free them from Roman rule.
As Jesus traveled, healing people like blind Bartimaeus outside Jericho, the crowd grew larger and more excited. Hope was building.
But Zacchaeus knew Jericho. He knew there was an old sycamore tree with a limb stretching over the road. So he climbed up and waited.
When Jesus came by, He stopped, looked up, and called Zacchaeus by name. He told him to come down, because He was going to his house.
And something happened in that house that day.
Zacchaeus stood and made a declaration. He said he would give half of what he owned to the poor, and if he had cheated anyone, he would repay them fourfold. That was a man whose life had been changed.
Jesus explained it simply, salvation had come to that house.
When salvation comes, there is change.
If there is no change, we need to take an honest look at our lives.
The crowd thought Jesus was heading for a coronation.
Jesus knew He was heading for a cross.
Because of that misunderstanding, Jesus told a parable, one meant for the time between His departure and His return. That’s where we are living right now.
Luke 19:11–27
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,[a] he gave them ten minas,[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant![c] Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,[a] he gave them ten minas,[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant![c] Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
The Parable of the Ten Minas
Jesus told of a nobleman who went away to receive a kingdom and promised to return. Before leaving, he gave each servant the same amount and told them to do business until he came back.
Some hated the nobleman and didn’t want him to rule.
That opposition made the servants’ work harder.
When the nobleman returned as king, he called the servants to account.
One had multiplied what he was given tenfold.
Another had gained fivefold.
They were rewarded with responsibility.
But one servant returned exactly what he had been given, wrapped up and unused.
And what he had was taken from him.
Some hated the nobleman and didn’t want him to rule.
That opposition made the servants’ work harder.
When the nobleman returned as king, he called the servants to account.
One had multiplied what he was given tenfold.
Another had gained fivefold.
They were rewarded with responsibility.
But one servant returned exactly what he had been given, wrapped up and unused.
And what he had was taken from him.
Understanding the Parable
This parable is about us. The nobleman is Jesus.
The time between His leaving and His return is the time we are living in now.
The business of the King is clear.
Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost.
And He sent us to do the same.
We are to take the gospel into our homes, our neighborhoods, and our communities.
The mina represents what every believer has been given, salvation and the Holy Spirit living within us. We are to share what God has done in our lives.
Some invest it faithfully.
Some increase it.
And some wrap it up and keep it to themselves.
The time between His leaving and His return is the time we are living in now.
The business of the King is clear.
Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost.
And He sent us to do the same.
We are to take the gospel into our homes, our neighborhoods, and our communities.
The mina represents what every believer has been given, salvation and the Holy Spirit living within us. We are to share what God has done in our lives.
Some invest it faithfully.
Some increase it.
And some wrap it up and keep it to themselves.
Building on the Right Foundation
Jesus is the foundation of our salvation.
But the question is how we build on that foundation.
Scripture tells us some will build with gold and silver, things that endure.
Others will build with wood and straw, things that burn away.
Salvation remains, but reward is lost.
There are many good people who never share their faith.
Their neighbors know they’re kind and dependable, but they never hear about Jesus.
We don’t lose salvation, but we lose opportunity.
This church has lost a beloved pastor and his wife, but the work is not finished.
There are still lost people in this community who need to hear that Jesus died for them.
God placed our sins on His Son at the cross. That is how much He loves us.
But the question is how we build on that foundation.
Scripture tells us some will build with gold and silver, things that endure.
Others will build with wood and straw, things that burn away.
Salvation remains, but reward is lost.
There are many good people who never share their faith.
Their neighbors know they’re kind and dependable, but they never hear about Jesus.
We don’t lose salvation, but we lose opportunity.
This church has lost a beloved pastor and his wife, but the work is not finished.
There are still lost people in this community who need to hear that Jesus died for them.
God placed our sins on His Son at the cross. That is how much He loves us.
Today is the day!
Maybe you’ve heard all of this before.
Maybe you’ve put it off.
But today is the day.
Don’t wrap up what God has given you and hold onto it.
Come. Pray. Respond.
Do the King’s business, until He comes.
Maybe you’ve put it off.
But today is the day.
Don’t wrap up what God has given you and hold onto it.
Come. Pray. Respond.
Do the King’s business, until He comes.
Type your new text here.
Humbling yourselves
and exalt Jesus with all exaltation.
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This article is based on a sermon delivered by Pastor Bill Jackson and has been adapted for written format.
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