With the previous studies in mind, the nobleman of Luke 19:12 (Jesus) entrusted each of his servants (disciples) with a mina (G3414). A mina was a Greek coin equal to 100 drachmas, or 300 shekels under the Old Testament coinage. Its value was about three months wages. Besides collecting taxes and custom duties, a tax-collector often served as a bank, whereby he lent out money in short-term loans at a fixed rate of interest. Additionally, the publican acted as a money-changer who could exchange foreign coin for local coinage, so business could be conducted in Judea, and the reverse would be true for folks traveling away from Judea to Mesopotamia.
In the context of the parable and Jesus’ statement “occupy till I come”, the nobleman’s servants needed to put the money to use for the nobleman’s benefit. The gain the money earned is equivalent to sharing or preaching the Gospel, which influences and gains people for the sake of the Kingdom of God. With this in mind, the mina (G3414) can be understood as the gift of faith each disciple receives upon embracing Jesus as his Lord. Believing or trusting Jesus compels us to tell others about him, to teach and convince them that Jesus is a good Lord, showing them via the Gospel narratives what he did, while he was on earth.
After the nobleman gained his kingdom and returned, he called for his servants and rewarded them according to their fruitfulness. He had given his servants money to carry out his business by trading (Luke 19:13, 15). However, the money in the parable actually represents something valuable that can be used for Kingdom business. The currency of the Kingdom of God is faith (cf. Luke 18:2-8). What Jesus (the nobleman in the parable) gives to his servants is faith (the mina in the parable), and trusting God is what makes Jesus’ disciples fruitful for the Kingdom.
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). This is the business of the Kingdom of God. Seeking and saving the lost is done through spreading the Gospel, which each disciple of Jesus is called to do in the manner in which fits his ability. If the pound (mina – G3414) gained additional pounds through trading (Luke 19:15-16), then, according to the analogy of the parable, faith (the currency of the Kingdom of God) would gain additional faith, in the sense that the number of disciples would increase. The disciple’s faith in the Jesus’ breeds a like faith in others. This is the gain Jesus looks for, and this is the business of the Kingdom of God, according to Luke 19:10.
If the Gospel is spreading and more and more people are placing their trust in Jesus, then it would be logical to conclude that there would be less and less people who hate Jesus and don’t want to live under his authority (cf. Luke 19:14). It is in this manner that the nobleman’s servants serve him, while he is away in order to receive a kingdom. The nobleman’s servants seek to change the nobleman’s enemies into his friends.
Notice that the nobleman’s servants are rewarded according to their fruitfulness (Luke 19:16-19). However, it needs to be kept in mind that the context of their fruitfulness does not lie in their ability but in their trust in God. When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5), Jesus responded that the amount of their faith didn’t matter. Rather, it is God’s power that is released in the smallest of faith, and he performs the work (Luke 17:6).
The disciples’ responsibility to Jesus is a 24/7 matter. In the context of the first century AD, the servant owed his master his whole being, 24 hours a day. The servant wasn’t profitable in the sense that he went above and beyond his duty, because whatever he did for his master was his duty (cf. Luke 17:7-10).
In the context of the Parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:12-27), the nobleman didn’t reward his servants because they did their duty and served him, because they owed him their service. Rather he rewarded their faith, the mina he gave them. The one who risked the most gained the most. The one who used his master’s mina (G3414) would gain other minas, and the one who used the master’s mina most often is the one who gained the most minas. Similarly, the one who most often trusts that the power of God will work for him in the business of the Kingdom of God, will be the most successful in seeking and saving the lost.
Smoodock's Blog 