“I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall be given; but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him.”(229) The pounds in this parable, be it observed, are not bestowed on the servants as absolute gifts, they represent money held on trust, and this is the case not only with the original pound, but with the profit as well. The Lord (St Luke xix. 23) evidently regards all the produce as his own. The ten pounds have never been given over to the servant who gained them, so as to be absolutely his. Neither is the forfeited pound bestowed on him as a free gift, it is only an addition to the ten pounds of profit, which formed a fresh amount of capital in the hands of the most diligent of the servants to be used in his new employ. All this agrees with the view which I have taken, that the question in the parable is not one merely of reward and amercement but of putting the greatest opportunities into the best hands. In like manner our Lord looks to a practical end and adopts practical means. The paramount object that He has in view is the effective carrying forward of God’s work; and those who shall prove most efficient are to receive as their reward,—not anything they can sit down to and enjoy,—but a wider sphere of activity, an extended range of opportunities, and of duties answering thereunto. This remark of the bystanders, so casual in its form and so weighty in its substance, exemplifies our Lord’s way of dealing with erroneous ideas. A hint is dropped, attention is called to what many had taken for granted, and there the matter is left. It might be many days before the world would find the seed thus cast upon the waters, but found, some day or other, it would be. When there is question of practical evil our Lord is plain and positive enough. The Pharisees are upbraided sharply, for making the Law of no effect by their traditions, and the Sadducees are told that in denying the resurrection “they do greatly err.” But as regards the enigmas of life He only drops hints, which men may take or not. I now come to the discourse, which I had put aside for a moment that the parables might be discussed. As soon as our Lord had ended the parable of the Sower “The disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”(230) Observe the words _unto them_. It is not about themselves that they ask, but the crowd. They were desirous to see our Lord’s influence increase, and were perhaps anxious that new proselytes should swell their number, and so they were puzzled at this new form of teaching, which seemed calculated to repel converts. “In order to win men over,” they would say to themselves, “it would surely be best to speak in the plainest and most direct way.” The fullest version of the reply is that given by St Mark.