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Luke 19:27
“As for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”
Hosea 6 stresses the importance of knowing God and His character. Verses 1–3 focus on the knowledge of the Lord’s mercy that comes by repentance, calling us to press on to know God’s grace by turning from sin. Verse 6 emphasizes the knowledge of God and true obedience. God wants not empty ritualism but the knowledge of His character that bears fruit in steadfast love for others.
Knowing God truly, then, is inextricably bound up with our salvation and with faithful service. If we do not know who our Creator is, we will be slow to repent of sin and hesitant to render full obedience from the heart. Consequently, the greatest thinkers in church history have agreed that knowing God must be our priority.
The parable of the ten minas in Luke 19:11–27 illustrates the consequences of not truly knowing our Creator. Remember that one of the servants had entrusted with a mina did not invest it or otherwise put it to work. He hid it in a handkerchief and gave it back to the nobleman who entrusted it to him. The nobleman condemned the servant and took the mina away from him permanently (vv. 20–24). The servant said that he had not invested the mina because the nobleman was a cruel master who took what he did not deposit and reaped what he did not sow. Because of his view of the nobleman’s character, the servant did not serve well.
The parable shows that the servant misjudged the nobleman’s character. The nobleman, representing the God-man Jesus Christ, is the very opposite of harsh. He does not take what he does not earn, but rather he gives more to those servants who properly use their gifts (vv. 15–17). He is kind and generous, which should have encouraged all the servants to take wise risks for the kingdom in putting their resources to work, knowing that the Lord loves to reward His servants. But the servant who did not invest the mina did not believe this about God, and so he did nothing. The master showed what true severity looks like in judging the fruitless servant (vv. 22–26).
The fruitless servant erred because he did not know God truly, and we see something similar with the kingdom citizens who oppose the nobleman in the parable. These citizens, representing the Jewish leadership who opposed Jesus, did not know His character truly, so they did not recognize His power and authority to destroy them. This lack of understanding led them to persecute Him, which would result in their own slaughter (vv. 14, 27).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Matthew Henry comments on today’s passage: “Whoever will not be ruled by the grace of Christ will inevitably be ruined by the wrath of Christ.” Knowing God’s character encourages us to trust freely in His mercy, for when we understand His justice and His grace rightly, we flee to Christ for refuge from the just punishment we deserve. If we do not know God’s character, we will not submit ourselves to the gracious way of salvation in Jesus Christ.
for further study
- Proverbs 2
- 2 Peter 1:2
the bible in a year
- Song 4–5
- 2 Corinthians 13
- Song 6–Isaiah 3
- Galatians 1–2