Why was one more fruitful than the other? I think diligence is a big part of it, because I don't think he could've done it any other way. Diligence is not just working hard - diligence is in his alignment with Jesus!
John 15:5 – “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him brings forth much fruit”.
I think it all comes back to our heart connection, and our passion for the kingdom. So very much, the teaching in this is: greater diligence and fruitfulness, means greater reward.
What about the other servant, the one who had the one mina, who did nothing, who hid it? He faces not commendation, reward; but rebuke and loss - like the previous parable. He said: “I feared you because you're an austere man”. Again, he has a distorted view of the Master, seeing Him as lacking compassion, being hard - and that is many people's view of God. They've never developed intimacy, never come to know Him, never let God deal with their heart, and so they're projecting onto God what's not there. He won't take any risks serving. He just wants to keep everything hidden.
“I have kept the mina hidden away” - so he preserved it but wasn't productive. He was a consumer, not a producer. Sadly today, many Christians are like that - they bury or hide their gifts, or they put them in some other arena that will serve them, but do not use them to advance the kingdom of God.
They like to enjoy the benefits of Jesus: I would like Him to forgive me, and bless me, and heal me, and provide for me, bring breakthroughs for me - but I don't want to give up my life to serve Him, and please Him. They enjoy the Jesus that benefits them, so they have half of Jesus – but they don't have the other half, where He's the King, who's receiving a kingdom, and will come back. They're not allowing Him to rule by surrendering their life – “Lord, not my will but Your will”.
The Master's rebuke: “you wicked servant” - you have a hurtful influence on others, and that's true of all Christians who are self-centred, and consumers. They drain and demotivate others.
“Why didn't you put My money in the bank” - if you have a gift or opportunity, why didn't you connect with someone who could show you how to make something of it? Not everyone is called to do a ministry, or start a ministry, but we can connect with others, and make what we do have available with them; and then together, we can make a great result.
The consequence of that was his loss. He had a loss of opportunity, and he lost his authority and position ruling in the coming kingdom. Jesus then adds a little to this, and we'll finish with this today…
“Everyone who has, more will be given; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away”.
Jesus repeats that about five different times! Everyone who ‘has’ means, He's talking about having an ear to hear. Everyone who was responsive - has understanding, and responds, and does what God wants - more will be given to them. He will have an abundance. When you obey God and do what He's calling you to do - when you start to faithfully serve Him and put into practice what you're learning… then more is given. It's in the doing, that you qualify for the more.
He says: “he who doesn't have” - who actually hears the word of God, but makes no response to it; unresponsive to God, doesn't really understand the significance of it; then they may seem to be spiritual, but what they have… eventually will be taken away.
I've observed that if we don't respond to revelation by acting upon it, then we seem to lose that revelation, and drop back to a lower level. We've seen then, in the two parables: equal faithfulness means equal reward; and greater diligence means greater reward.
There's other parables and stories - two others, that I encourage you to read and look at:
1) Matthew 20:1-6, which is all about the opportunity given; and…
2) Matthew 24:45-51, about the importance of being a wise - having a wise and understanding heart and knowing what to do at the right time.
Bless you.