Luke 19:11-27

Parable of the pounds, or of the nobleman who goes to find a kingdom (cf. Matthew 25:14-30). Into the vexed question of the connection between this parable and that of the talents in Mt. I cannot here go. That there is a resemblance between them is obvious, and the hypothesis that the one has grown out of the other in the course of tradition cannot be treated as a mere impertinence. Yet that they are two distinct parables in their main features, both spoken by Jesus, is not improbable. They serve different purposes, and their respective details suit their respective purposes, and the kindred features may only show that Jesus did not solicitously avoid repeating Himself. The parable before us suits the situation as described by Luke, in so far as it corrects mistaken expectations with regard to the advent of the Kingdom. It is a prophetic sketch in parabolic form of the real future before them, the fortunes of the King and the various attitudes of men towards him. It is more allied to allegory than most of the parables, and on this ground, according to J. Weiss (in Meyer), it cannot have proceeded from Jesus. One fails to see why Jesus might not occasionally use allegory as a vehicle of truth as well as other teachers.