10. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
11. The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
12. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.
13. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’
14. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
15. “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were.
16. The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’