In the parable of the Ten Minas, the third servant called the master austere, and in replying the master seemed to affirm this.  What is the meaning of this?

The parable of the Ten Minas is found in Luke 19:11-27.  In the parable, the master gave ten of his servants one mina each to do business with before departing to a far country.  On his return, he called for the servants.  The first had managed to earn ten minas from his one mina, and received praise from the master.  The second had earned five minas from his one mina, and also received praise from the master.  Then a third servant came.

Luk 19:20  “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
Luk 19:21  For I feared you, because you are an austere [austeros] man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
Luk 19:22  And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere [austeros] man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
Luk 19:23  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

The Greek word translated austere is austeros which means rough, severe, and austere.

In the parable, the master is clearly Jesus Christ.  The third servant asserted that the master was austere and that he collected what he did not deposit and reaped what he did not sow.  These assertions do not agree with the true nature of Jesus Christ. 

Firstly, Jesus Christ is not austere; He is just, but this is always accompanied with compassion and a willingness to forgive. 

Secondly, Jesus Christ reaps what he has sown.  It is always God who works in us to produce good fruit.

Php 2:13  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

The only way for us to produce fruit is by being part of the vine. 

Joh 15:5  “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

So, there isn’t any fruit that God reaps that He hasn’t sown.

Thus what the third servant said was completely false.

The master replied to this false accusation as follows.

Luk 19:22  And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
Luk 19:23  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

It might seem that the master affirmed the servant’s view, but he didn’t.  The phrase “Out of your own mouth I will judge you” shows that the master used the servant’s words against him.  If the servant believed his master to be austere, he should have taken the trouble to deposit the money in the bank where it would have earned interest.  Did the servant really believe his own words or was it just an excuse?  Either way, the servant was lazy and just kept the mina is his handkerchief.

The master called the third servant wicked.  He was wicked on two accounts; one for being lazy and two for making false accusations of his master.  It is well documented that the wicked accuse God of being things He is not.  Here is an example.

God is fair.

Rom 2:11  For there is no partiality with God.

Psa 103:6  The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

Yet, the wicked say God is not fair.

Eze 18:25  “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?

Conclusion

The master in the parable of the Ten Minas was not austere.  Rather, the wicked servant accused the master of being austere.  The master used the wicked servant’s words against him showing that his actions were inconsistent with his accusation.  The main lesson from the parable is that we should not be lazy but rather diligently use what God has given us.