Verse 12
The nobleman represents Jesus. The distant country to which he went stands for heaven, and the place to which he would return is the earth. Jesus went to heaven to receive the kingdom from His Father. The correctness of these identifications becomes clearer as the parable unfolds.
A situation similar to the one Jesus described had happened not long before Jesus gave this parable, and He may have had it in mind. Herod Archelaus, one of Herod the Great’s sons, had visited Rome after his father’s death in 4 B.C. to receive Caesar’s confirmation to reign over a section of Palestine bestowed on him in his father’s will. Other Herods-Herod the Great, Antipas, Philip, and Agrippa I-also had to go through this procedure, but the case of Archelaus most closely parallels this parable.
Jesus was announcing a postponement of the kingdom (cf. Acts 1:6-7). Some time would elapse between His ascension and His return. This scenario suggests that the messianic kingdom will not begin until Jesus returns to the earth to rule. Some amillennial interpreters take this reference to the kingdom allegorically. [Note: E.g., Morris, p. 274.]
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