The Disciples still had visions of Jesus entering Jerusalem and setting up His earthly rule, defeating the Romans, and creating a new Israel. We know that the Disciples also had aspirations to the positions they would hold in this Kingdom as they would rule alongside Jesus! But, that was never Jesus’ plan and as they draw near to Jerusalem, He tells this parable to explain how the future will unfold. He must go to a far away place to receive His kingship, and He will be gone for a long time. But, Jesus is leaving them with a task to work on while He is away - a task that will determine the positions they hold in the kingdom when He does return. Faithfulness in the relatively small responsibilities He gives them now, will result in much more significant responsibilities in the coming Kingdom. But, not all will be a part of His rule, or even His kingdom. There are those who reject His rule altogether - He will judge and destroy these on His return. There are also those, who claim to be servants, disciples, but their failure to do anything with the treasure entrusted to them, is proof that they do not have true faith. In the end, they too will be rejected by the King.
