What did Jesus mean by "you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers?"

We all know the parable of the talents. To the third servant who buried his talent, Jesus responded:

"But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.' " Matthew 25:26-27

If we look at this in a spiritual sense, what does it mean to deposit His money with the bankers? Can you think of any real world examples of what this might look like?

The lazy and wicked servant tried to excuse his laziness and wickedness by accusing the lord of being a bankster (a usurer). The lord basically responded, "If you believed I was a bankster, why then did you not put my money in with the banksters, to get me some sort of return?" The wicked servant clearly didn't really believe this, else he would have done just that.

Maybe an example would look like one who doesn't believe God has given him any talents, but rather, gave all the talents to other people. If this is really what one believed, then perhaps that one should be helping those other people who he believes have God-given talents?

One obvious, at least to me, example would be directly related to the sharing of the gospel with others.

In a similar account in Luke's gospel, Jesus instructed his disciples to "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13).

In other words, as ambassador's for Christ, we ought to be continuing the Lord's ministry until he returns. A very real part of that ministry involves seeking to save those who are lost via the preaching of the gospel message.

I Corinthians chapter 9

[16] For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
[17] For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

I'm sorry, but I have to totally disagree with you on this point.

We read:

Matthew chapter 25

[14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
[15] And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
[16] Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
[17] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
[18] But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
[19] After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
[20] And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
[21] His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
[22] He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
[23] His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
[24] Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
[25] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
[26] His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
[27] Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
[28] Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
[29] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
[30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

First of all, Jesus presented himself in this parable as the one who distributed certain talents to his servants in accordance with their abilities. In other words, this wasn't something that the wicked and slothful servant accused him of, but who he actually portrayed himself to be.

Furthermore, Jesus told this wicked and slothful servant that HE KNEW, not falsely accused Jesus of or mistakenly thought, that Jesus was a hard man who reaped where he hadn't sowed and gathered where he hadn't strawed. In other words, this man KNEW that Jesus expected some "usury" or interest back on his initial investment into this man's life.

Sad to say, this "servant", who called Jesus "lord", ultimately had that which was initially given unto him taken away, and his final lot was weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness.

So much for the heresy of "once saved, always saved"...

The "talent" given to us by Christ is our salvation, therefore if our salvation is to accrue interest it must grow.

For it to grow we must tell others about what Jesus has done, and pray for others. That leads us to Bible verses such as Matthew 28:19-20

He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We don't all have the same talents, but spreading the Gospel is a command to us as the Body of Christ.

The talents of gold represent the gift of faith, in my understanding given me.

When we are given faith, and we share it with others , it will grow. If we bury it in the dirt it becomes worthless and unclean. This has always been my understanding.

In Isaiah we are told we are refined, but not as gold or silver, rasther in the furnace of affliction. God goes on saying He does this for His own sake, that we not be cut off.. From this I believe our faith is something even more desirable to Him than mere gold, however it is heavenly God for the street is paved with gold and the walls of Jerusalem, New Jerusalem, are formed of the gold of dthe saints.

Thank you for asking. I remember reading it ages ago and didnt understand that one.

Good question.

One interpretation:

investing in a bank represents investing in others' abilities to perform good works rather than our own. E.g. donating to a church instead of utilizing that money on your own to do good.

This is close to the way I was thinking about it.

In the first two examples, the servants increased their talents on their own. The third servant was fearful of losing what he had so he did nothing. Rather than doing nothing, he should have at least put his talent into the hands of others more capable than himself and gained something at least.

If we think of the talents as spiritual gifts, "depositing His money with the bankers" might take the form of being a reliable part of a local body; someone the leadership can count on. This person would probably have the gift of helps (1 Corinthians 12:28). They may never receive a lot of recognition for being someone "great," but it's still better than doing nothing; and the Lord will see.

My view
The Spiritual meaning of this parable I believe is not so much about money as it is telling us that while we are waiting for Jesus to come back we should be using what we have been given on His behalf until He returns --we should be as productive and enthusiastic as we can in working for His Kingdom which will come after Jesus destroys this earth and bring down the new earth which is to come ------

2 Servants worked diligently to increase what they were given -----they were true servants

ONE was slothful and was unwise as if he had of given his portion to the banker --the banker would have gotten a return on the investment -

The One Servant refused to listen to the master's instructions and therefore was only a pretender servant ------he was called a Servant but wasn't really a Servant -at all ----

The same happens when we call ourselves Christians and don't listen or do what God calls His Servants to do -----we are not True Servants of God we only call ourselves Servants --so we are really False Servants ----and will be cast out when our time comes -----

I agree overall. But Jesus said: "So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest." That's what He has called some of His servants to do. This seems to be the minimum the Lord expects from someone. So what does it mean to deposit His money with the bankers so it can draw interest, in the spiritual sense?

My view ---Jesus is the banker and the drawing of interest is the assurance of our eternal life ------

While this is off topic, how can the eternal security of the believer be a "heresy" when it is embedded in Scripture? The gift of eternal life is freely given by God (Rom 6:23 and other passages) therefore it cannot be taken back. The New Birth is irreversible, therefore you cannot be "unborn". So the heresy is in not believing God and Christ, since the Bible says that the just (or justified ones) shall live by faith.

Getting back to the question in the title, the application is that at the very least God expects spiritual fruit in the lives of His children. But the talents are spiritual gifts to be used to (a) propagate the Gospel and (b) edify the saints.

Eternal life is found by abiding in the True vine or in Christ.

If one departs from Christ, then...

This isn't rocket science, and Jesus regularly taught against "once saved, always saved", even as he did in this particular parable.

Anyhow, I'm not arguing this point with anybody.

Believe whatever you want.

Yes. But it is given FREELY AS A GIFT first. See Romans 6:23 and John 3:16. God does not contradict Himself. See also the entire 5th chapter of Romans, as well as the 8th chapter.

What did Jesus mean by "you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers?"


You should have let your light shine rather than burying it in the ground.

He gave us spiritual gifts with the intention that we use them.

Excellent question. It seems to be the bare minimum that is required of believers so it makes sense that it would be plain as day.

It isn't though and I've wondered about it during the times I have more doubts than usual. Seems like a pretty smart box to check off "at least" and then go from there.

It's the same thing with oil sellers though to me, or at least a similar category. Where do I find these oil sellers that I can top off my tank so to speak? Better safe than sorry? Is that the gospel? A bunch of guesswork? I find that absurd and yet...

Doubts have lately been engendering a fair bit of anger and frustration on these types of topics. I don't care what the verses "could" mean but what they do mean. Why would Jesus have offhandedly mentioned something that had no parallel?

Ach...I'm going to tap out because I have some heart issues about stuff like this but what someone said about "helps" seems to have the strongest echo of truth to it so I'll think on it a bit.

If I fail to get back I've settled lately on putting your money where your mouth is (as responsibly as you can accounting for mismanagement by others) into some ministry OR volunteering your time in an already established ministry. Or possibly even a door opening where you can serve full time/part time

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I'm pretty confident, at least in my own mind, that Jesus' parables were
intended as teaching aids for his Jewish countrymen rather than intended for
Gentiles. In other words: I really think it's a huge mistake for non Jews to go
about christianizing his parables when they are meant to instruct folks
believing and practicing Judaism.

There are lots of Gentiles out there very proficient at defending so-called
replacement theology, but I do not recommend listening to them any more
than I would recommend listening to Homer's sirens.
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