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And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) °
For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

19:12 to return. The “parable of the pounds” obviously speaks of the return of Christ to heaven (“the far country”) until the time of His second coming.


19:13 pounds. A “pound” (the Roman mina) was about one-hundredth of a “talent” (see note on Matthew 25:15).


19:13 Occupy. The servants of Christ are instructed herein to continue working at their vocations, without hesitation when they see (or think they might see) the day approaching. The Greek for “occupy” is the word from which we derive our English word “pragmatic,” and occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in II Timothy 2:4 (i.e., “affairs”).


19:14 not have this man. This pronouncement succinctly represents the basic attitude of all those who reject Christ in this age between His first and second comings.


19:17 authority over ten cities. In the parable of the pounds, the Lord rewards His servants in accordance with the quantity of return produced from equal gifts. In the somewhat similar parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the reward is based on proportionate return from unequal gifts. The conclusion from the two parables is that our rewards when Christ returns are based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria. The Lord will take full and understanding account of both our opportunities and our works. He is well able to discern and to “give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). In the parable of the pounds, the nobleman went “into a far country” (Luke 19:12). In the parable of the talents, Jesus gives the additional information that the master only returned “after a long time” (Matthew 25:19).


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