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“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
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So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
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“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?
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Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
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So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
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So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
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“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
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“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
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“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.
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“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
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At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
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He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
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And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
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A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
