Religious scholar Reza Aslan destroys ‘charlatan’ Joel Osteen: Jesus hated wealth

[okasha]

46. In the Greek of the NT,

"parabole" means "comparison" or "analogy." In Matthew, the parable of the talents occurs within a series of parables about who will or will not be prepared for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and who will or will not enter "into the joy of your Lord." Those who enter the Kingdom will be those who are prepared for it and those who have actively worked to bring about a better world. In this case, they are the two servants who have multiplied the value of the "talents" entrusted to them. The third servant, on the other hand, has chosen caution--to do no more than cover his butt. (In Luke, he actually disobeys a direct order to carry on his employer's business in his absence.) His only concern has been for himself.


It's not clear why Luke would attach an allusion to Archelaus to this parable, given that contemporary Jews and the early Christians despised all the Herods, solo and chorus.