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, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come’.”
Unflappability is a trait we love in people because they comfort us by remaining calm in tense situations and do not fear the future. Jesus was nearing Jerusalem. He was not paying a social call or entering as a tourist, he was fulfilling prophecy, riding on a foal of a donkey. He was proclaiming himself a conquering King, conquering death. He was saving the world. There would be, literally excruciating (ex crutiatus, out of the cross) pain, as well as humiliation. But first, he told a parable for the benefit of the disciples.
He promised he would return. What a comfort it would have been for the disciples to remember this when he suffered and died for us! How gracious it is that Jesus paused in his mission to die on a cross to comfort those he would commission to be the church. This Holy Week, may we praise him and worship him because he gives us this promise before we enter our troubled future of health problems, financial hardship, and relationship problems. May we be unflappable as we ride into the danger that is life on this earth. Praise him for his promise!
Dear Lord, thank you that our journey is not into fear but into your kingdom by faith. We pray for those without you whose journey is indeed a terrifying ordeal. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church