Identifying the Talents: Contextual Clues for the Interpretation of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)

The parable of the Talents contains some elements that were intended to be interpreted allegorically. The master represents the Son of Man; the servants represent the disciples. But what about the talents? Some say the talents represent gifts and abilities; others, that they do not represent anything specific but are necessary only to demonstrate faithful stewardship. However, this article proposes that Matthew did have a specific referent in mind. By means of an extended verbal repetition (Matt. 13:12 and 25:29) Matthew intended the talents to refer to ‘the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven’. In other words, the disciples have been given inside information about the kingdom – they were given the interpretation of Jesus’ parables unlike the crowds who only heard the parables – and therefore they must make use of this knowledge to bring about a profit for Jesus. Those who do will be rewarded; failure to do so will result in punishment. Furthermore, this applies just as much to the readers of Matthew’s gospel. Support for this view is found in 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.