The Courage to Refuse
Monday, July 14 – Matthew 25:14–30
TL;DR: In a world rigged for the wealthy few, Jesus calls us to the sacred resistance of refusing to participate in systems that harm others, even when that refusal costs us everything.
The Courage of Conscience
There's a particular kind of courage that comes not from doing what's expected, but from refusing to do what's demanded. I think of the factory worker who won't cut corners that endanger lives, the banker who walks away from predatory loans, the citizen who speaks truth when power demands silence. This isn't the courage of success, it's the courage of conscience, and it often looks like failure to those keeping score.
This is where Jesus meets us today: in the sacred space of holy refusal.
Context: Setting the Scene
Historical Context: Jesus tells this story during Holy Week—the final, tension-filled days before his execution by Rome. The economy of first-century Palestine was brutally rigged: roughly 1-2% of the population (wealthy elites) owned half the land through predatory lending practices. The biblical Year of Jubilee, designed to prevent such concentration of wealth, had been abandoned. Artisans like Jesus and his father Joseph were likely displaced from family land by these very economic forces.
Literary Context: This parable comes immediately after Jesus's apocalyptic warning about Jerusalem's destruction and is told to prepare his disciples for the cataclysmic events of the coming week. They expected victory; instead, they would witness their teacher's execution by the very powers this story exposes. In Luke's version, Jesus explicitly tells this story because people "thought God's kingdom would appear right away", he's preparing them for a different kind of kingdom reveal.
Theological Context: This isn't a story about using our gifts for God. it's a whistleblower's warning about empire's exploitation. The master isn't God; he's Caesar, Herod, or any wealthy power broker who "harvests where he didn't sow." The third servant isn't lazy; he's Jesus, refusing to participate in an economy that harms his neighbors, even unto death.
Matthew 25:14–30 (NLT)
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Key Insights
The master is not God. When the third servant describes his master as "hard" and one who "harvests where he didn't sow," the master doesn't refute this, he doubles down. This isn't the God Jesus revealed as compassionate even to enemies (Luke 6:35-36). This master represents the exploitative empire that Jesus spent his life resisting.
The third servant is the Jesus figure. He refuses to invest in a system he knows causes harm. By burying the coin, he won't participate in the predatory economy that displaced families from their land. He's acting like a whistleblower, calling out injustice even though he knows the cost.
Faithfulness sometimes looks like failure. In empire's economy, the "successful" servants doubled their master's wealth through exploitation. The "failed" servant preserved his integrity by refusing to harm others. His fate, being "thrown into outer darkness", mirrors Jesus's own execution outside Jerusalem's walls.
Empire always punishes resistance. The master's final verdict reveals the system's true nature: "Those who have will get more; those who don't have will lose even what little they have." This isn't God's economy, it's a perfect description of how wealth concentrates among elites while the poor are further dispossessed.
The call is costly conscience. Jesus tells this story knowing his own fate. Refusing to participate in systems of harm isn't a path to worldly success, it's the way of the cross. Yet this is precisely what kingdom faithfulness looks like in an unjust world.
Jesus-Centered Questions
Where in your life are you being pressured to "invest" in systems that harm others? What would faithful refusal look like, even if it appears "unsuccessful"?
How do you discern the difference between faithful stewardship and participation in exploitative systems? What does it mean to "bury your talent" as an act of resistance?
When have you seen people punished for refusing to participate in harmful practices? How can we stand closer to those bearing the rocks thrown at whistleblowers and resisters?
Reflections & Resources
Tomorrow
Tomorrow we'll explore how Paul's treasure in clay jars speaks to this same invitation to vulnerable resistance in the face of empire's demands.
As an evangelical, I was always taught that the master was God. Pastors used the story to describe lazy people and we were not to be the third servant. Thank you, because now the parable makes sense!
I think you’re reading your own ideology into this parable. Jesus talked about a coming day of judgement in many of his parables. If not for the eternal consequences of our sin (which sometimes can be just doing nothing, not feeding the hungry, not clothing the naked, not visiting the sick and the imprisoned), Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come, to suffer, to die. To what purpose did He let go of His status as God to take on flesh, to humble Himself, taking the form of a servant, to become obedient even to the point of death, even death on a cross? If it was not only to give us an example, but to give the gift of life, full, abundant, starting now and extending into eternity, if not to also demonstrate His power over death through His resurrection, we are living life as a charade, a pitiful, hollow performance.
I believe that He died for me, for my sin, while I was weak, while I was a sinner, while I was His enemy. I believe He rose again and offers life, abundant life to those who accept it, a life in service to Him, a life in service to others. I believe that in the day of judgment that those who have not accepted His gracious offer will be “cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth “