Luke 19 · a question people ask
Who are the nobleman, the servants and the citizens in the story Jesus tells (19:12-27)?
Luke doesn't say, and tells of no explanation. He gives the reason Jesus told it: "because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately" (19:11). The story tells of "A certain nobleman" who "went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return" (19:12), of "ten servants of his" (19:13), and of "his citizens" who "hated him" (19:14). These notes don't say whom the nobleman, the servants or the citizens stand for, and make the story a verdict on no people, then or now.
The verses
“As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately. He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’”