Neal Pollard
There’s a word found less than 20 times in the New Testament that means “to entrust something to someone with the intention of preservation. This word can indicate putting something in front of someone…it can also be used of entrusting something to someone” (Lexham Theological Wordbook, np). While several of the occurrences have to do with setting food before someone to eat (Mark 8:6-7; Luke 9:16; Luke 10:8; Acts 16:34; 1 Corinthians 10:27), it has at least three other uses. They have to do with what we have been given to manage and care for. Ultimately, it’s correctly handling what comes from God or belongs to God. And it concerns way more than money!
Entrust. Jesus entrusted His spirit to God as He was dying (Luke 23:46). When elders were appointed, they were “commended to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23). Paul entrusted commands to Timothy to help him fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 1:18). Paul also wanted Timothy to entrust what Paul had taught him to faithful men who could teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). Saints who suffered could entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, no matter what happened to them (1 Peter 4:19). This is the idea of putting something into the hands of others to care for or protect it. We can put our souls in God’s care, but God puts the Word in our hands in order to help other people know that care and protection. Just as I can trust God to take care of me and to save me, God’s trusting me to faithfully share His message to all those people out there that He loves and cares about.
Demonstrate. When revealing about Paul’s work among the Jews in the synagogues of Thessalonica, Luke tells us that “for three Sabbaths [Paul] reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead” (Acts 17:2-3). Used in this context, the original word (παρατιθέμενος) means “to provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one’s behavior, attitude, or external attributes” (Brannan, 2020, np). What does it take to be able to give evidence for our beliefs? Time, work, and persistence. Paul drew his evidence from the Scriptures, suggesting the vital importance of always growing our base of sacred knowledge. In other words, we must become better Bible students. The better we know the Book, the better we can prove it. But noticing the definition, our life must also become a Bible for others to read. We can’t afford to nullify the truth of Scripture by a poorly-lived life. A synonym for παρατιθέμενος (paritathemenos), συνίστημι (synestemi), means to commend our lives for others to inspect or imitate (Romans 16:1; 2 Corinthians 3:1; 4:2; 6:4; 10:12; 12:11). Are we faithfully preparing ourselves to prove Christ, then faithfully presenting ourselves as evidence of what Christ looks like in His followers’ lives?
Propose. Twice, Matthew uses this word in the sense of bringing something forward for consideration. Both times, Jesus is setting forth parables (Matthew 13:24, 31). He is using these stories to help people understand what the Kingdom of heaven is like (the parable of the tares and the wheat and the parable of the mustard seed). Of course, Jesus is the source of truth (John 14:6). He originated it. But He gave it to us to share with others. He expects us to make His word lives in people’s lives. We do this by sharing His word with them, being thoughtful and prepared enough to make this practical and useful.
Paul told Corinth, “it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (1 Corinthians 4:2b). Can we apply that principle to money? It’s certainly true that God gives us everything, and we should handle all resources responsibly. Yet, isn’t it interesting that none of the passages regarding stewardship in the New Testament is talking, contextually, about material things? Steward the gospel and steward your soul, then all of you will belong to God. Not only that, but you will give people much more than silver and gold! You will give them the opportunity to have everything God promises those who yield their lives to Him!
