This parable of the Pounds should be studied in connection with the parables of the Unprofitable Servant, ch. 17:7-10, the Laborers in the Vineyard, Matt. 20:1-16, and the Talents, Matt. 25:14-30. The first teaches that no reward can be claimed as a matter of merit; in view of all that the Master has given us, even pouring out his life for our redemption, we never by the most faithful service could begin to pay the debt we owe; even the most loyal devotion would be no ground for claiming a reward. The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard likewise warns us against a mercenary spirit in which we might serve the Master for the sake of a reward, bargaining for so much labor for so much pay, jealous of those who may receive as much as ourselves, though deserving, as we believe, less. However, while no reward may be deserved, and while the hope of reward should not be the motive for service, the Master has assured us that, in absolute grace and with perfect justice, rewards will be granted to those who are found faithful when he returns. The parable of the Talents teaches that while opportunities and abilities for the service of Christ may differ, those who are equally faithful will receive equal rewards. The parable of the Pounds tells us that when opportunities are the same, greater faithfulness will receive greater reward. This latter parable was delivered, as Luke tells us, because Jesus “was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear.” Jesus therefore compared himself with a nobleman who went into a far country, “to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Jesus was always indicating the fact that there would be a long delay after his ascension before he would return, and that meanwhile his followers should be faithful to the opportunities granted them for serving their Master. In this parable Jesus pictured these opportunities under the figure of pounds, that is, sums of money amounting to something like sixteen dollars each. In comparison with a “talent” this was an insignificant sum. Our Lord wished to suggest that to every one of his followers something is intrusted which may be used for the advancement of his cause.