Return of the King [6-7-26]

June 7, 2026

Luke 19:11-28

“Return of the King”

Today’s parable can be easily misunderstood. It’s got it all…money, greed, power, resentment, and violence. Sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster.

The parable begins with a statement of correction. It serves as a warning against approaching misunderstanding:

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

What does the prelude tell us? Remember, in chapter nine, Jesus sets his face for Jerusalem. Everything is about the trajectory of our salvation history. It is Jesus moving toward the cross, where he will die to save us from our sin. Jesus understands why he is going to Jerusalem. When Luke tells us in the first part of verse eleven – As they heard these things – he means the parables and encounters we’ve already seen. Lost sheep…lost coins…lost son…a rich man who thinks he can earn his way to heaven…in the chapters leading up to Luke 19, Jesus makes clear that he came to seek and save the lost.

As Jesus moves forward, he needs to correct what people think they understand. They supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. In other words, they were jumping over “seek and save the lost,” to get to ushering in the kingdom of God. The clue about the leap is in the word translated, “to appear.” It’s from a nautical term which means something showing up on the horizon. A sailor is out on the ocean…they would be looking at the arc in the horizon, looking for their destination, and the land would appear out on the horizon. People are mistakenly thinking that God’s heavenly reign on earth will soon take place. Any minute their hopes will be realized.

So here’s the correction, in the form of a parable:

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Here’s another way to think about Luke 19:11-28.

Do you know when the last time was that I honked the horn on our 2018 Chevy Impala? I’m asking, because up until May 20th at about 1:00 p.m., I don’t think I had used it. Been driving it since August of 2025. Never used it. I’m not a car horn honking guy.

How often do you honk your horn?

May 20th was a lovely day. It was the second to last week of school. It’s such a beautiful thing to see the kids walking to one of the ice cream places. That particular day a group of fourth or fifth graders were heading up to Frosty Boy on Evans Street. They were a block or two away. They had stopped for some stragglers to catch up. The whole gaggle of them, as I approached, did the thing to get me to honk my horn. When I did, they jumped up and down, cheering, and clapping. While I’m not one to brag, I felt quite the hero. It was a great small town moment.

Most times, a horn isn’t used to bring joy. Normally, a horn sounds a warning. Think of the crashes, injuries, and death that have been avoided because of the judicious use of the car horn. It sounds a warning.

Which is exactly what Jesus is doing in this parable. He is not describing what is or what will be. He is teaching us what to avoid. We should be able to tell it’s a cautionary tale by verse twenty-seven alone:

“But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign

over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”

That is harsh…intentionally harsh, because Jesus wants us to understand that’s the opposite of what he is bringing. Remember…seek and save the lost. Jesus is going to Jerusalem, where he will be slaughtered. He will be killed so we can be made right with God. Jesus is humble. Jesus gives his life for others. Jesus dies forgiving his enemies - “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Our king doesn’t come to slaughter his enemies. He comes to seek and save the lost.

Here’s something you might want to write down:

THE VENGEFUL KING CONTRASTS WITH THE RULE OF KING JESUS.

What Jesus means is, he has come, first, as Savior. As Matthew 1:21 tells us:

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus comes as Savior. He does not come as a King. That will happen when he returns. We call that his Second Coming. The first time, Jesus does not come to overthrow Rome and set up an earthly kingdom. He doesn’t come to right all social wrongs.

Jesus does not come to straighten out civil inequities. He doesn’t come as a social justice warrior. Jesus does not come to make any nation moral. Jesus does not come to establish social justice. Those are all temporal, worldly things.

Jesus comes to save. Turning his face toward Jerusalem marks the pivot point in his work of salvation. He comes to offer salvation to all who confess their sin, repent, and believe in him as the One and Only Savior of the world. Jesus will die on the cross to satisfy the justice of God. Sin must be punished. Jesus receives our punishment for sin upon his broken body and with his shed blood. As we sing in that beautiful song, “Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied – for every sin on Him was laid; here in the death of Christ I live.” That is how sinners are

forgiven. That is the only way sinners can be saved.

This parable is a perfect contrast between the ways of the world and God’s sacrificial love. Amen? Jesus wasn’t born to make the world a better place for us to live in. Jesus didn’t come the first time to right all earthly wrongs. He didn’t come the first time to fix things…to end injustice…to stop abuse… to bring an end to crime…to destroy all wicked institutions…to end poverty, corruption, and wickedness. Jesus wasn’t born to do away with any and all of that. Again, it’s worth repeating:

JESUS CAME TO SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST.

Contrary to what liberal churches and pastors would like us to believe, Jesus was not born to fix social institutions. And when you think about it, if Jesus did come to do that, then he failed miserably. When Jesus returns… when God the Father determines it’s time for Jesus to return…that’s when Jesus will establish his kingdom. That’s when he will rule over paradise.

Until then, assured of our salvation, we’ll go about the work of making our

little corner of God’s world a better place. While we live in a wicked and fallen world, we don’t have to be like the wicked, fallen world. This is why I love verse three of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God has willed

his truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo! his doom is sure;

one little word shall fell him.

Remember the truth we affirm:

Jesus Christ saves us for good works.

Which is why we wholeheartedly embrace love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we live out of those gifts, we are making our families, our church, and our communities better places. And we know that no matter what happens in the process…regardless of what happens to us along the way…all is well because Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and he has saved us from sin and death for life eternal.

“The Parable of the Ten Minas” is loud and clear. Do not align yourself with the ways of the world. I’m especially thinking here, as we are two weeks away from Father’s Day and the Care Pregnancy Center baby bottle fund drive, about the ways some pastors and churches compromise with the abortion death cult. We have been saved for good works. Let us strive to

make our little corner of God’s world a place of life in all its fullness.

Let’s pray:

HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ABUNDANT GRACE AND LOVING GENEROSITY TO US. WE JOYFULLY GIVE YOU ALL THE HONOR AND GLORY. WE RECEIVE THESE GIFTS KNOWING WE DON’T DESERVE THEM. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US HEARTS AND MINDS TO BELIEVE. HELP US TO TAKE WHAT JESUS REVEALED TO US TODAY AND SPREAD IT TO ALL WHO NEED TO HEAR. IN CHRIST’S NAME. AMEN.