And as they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
All Commentaries on Luke 19:11 Go To Luke 19
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Or the far country is the Gentile Church, extending to the uttermost parts of the earth. For He went that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in; He will return that all Israel may be saved.
Or by the ten pounds he signifies the law, because of the ten commandments, and by the ten servants, those to whom while under the law grace was preached. For so we must interpret the ten pounds given them for trading, seeing that they understood the law, when its veil was removed, to belong to the Gospel.
And they sent a message after Him, because after His resurrection also, they persecuted His Apostles, and refused the S preaching of the Gospel.
He also returns after having received His kingdom, because in all glory will He come who appeared lowly to them to whom He said, My kingdom is not of this world.
Or else; That one of those who well employed their money gained ten pounds, another five, signifies that they acquired them for the flock of God, by whom the law was now understood through grace, either because of the ten commandments of the law, or because he, through whom the law was given, wrote five books; and to this belong the ten and five cities over which He appoints them to preside. For the manifold meanings or interpretations which spring up concerning some individual precept or book, when reduced and brought together inone, make as it were a city of living eternal reasons. Hence a city is not a multitude of living creatures, but of reasonable beings bound together by the fellowship of one law. The servants then who bring an account of that which they had received, and are praised for having gained more, represent those giving in their account who have well employed what they had received, to increase their Lord's riches by those who believe on Him, while they who are unwilling to do this are signified by that servant who kept his pound laid up in a napkin; of whom it follows, And the third came, saying, Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin For there are some who flatter themselves with this delusion, saying, It is enough for each individual to answer concerning himself, what need then of others to preach and minister, in order that every one should be compelled also to give an account of himself, seeing that in the Lord's sight even they are without excuse to whom tile law was not given, and who were not asleep at the time of the preaching of the Gospel, forthey might have known the Creator through the creature; and then it follows, For I feared you, because you are an austere man For this is, as it were, to reap when he did not sow, that is, to hold those guilty of ungodliness to whom this word of the law or the Gospel was not preached, and avoiding as it were this peril of Judgment, with slothful toil they rest from the ministration of the word. And this it is to tie up in a napkin what they had received.
Or the bank into which the money was to be given, we take to be the very profession of religion which is publicly put forth as a means necessary to salvation.
Signifying thereby that both he will lose the gift of God, who having, has not, that is, uses it not, and that he will have it increased, who having, has, that is, rightly uses it.
Whereby He describes the ungodliness of the Jews who refused to be converted to Him.
