Parable of the Talents Coloring Pages

The Parable of the Talents in brief

Jesus tells this parable in Matthew 25:14-30 (WEB). A man going on a journey calls his servants and entrusts his goods to them: five talents to one, two to another and one to another, “to each according to his own ability” (verse 15). A talent was a very large amount of silver. Then he sets off.

The servant with five talents goes straight to work, trades with them and makes another five. The servant with two gains another two (verses 16-17). The servant with one talent goes away, digs in the earth and hides his master’s money (verse 18).

“After a long time” the master comes home and settles accounts (verse 19). The servant who gained five and the servant who gained two each report what they have done, and the master welcomes both in the same words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (verse 21; verse 23 is almost identical).

The third servant comes with an explanation: “I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours” (verse 25). He also says he knew his master was “a hard man” (verse 24). The master calls him “wicked and slothful” (verse 26) and says he ought at least to have “deposited my money with the bankers” so that it came back “with interest” (verse 27).

Then the master has the talent taken from him and given to the servant who has ten (verse 28). The parable closes with a saying about those who have and those who do not (verse 29), and the master’s order to throw out the unprofitable servant into “the outer darkness” (verse 30). These are the hardest verses in the passage, so read them together and leave room for questions.

Matthew places the parable in Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives (chapters 24-25), between the ten virgins (25:1-13) and the sheep and the goats (25:31-46). Luke tells a related story, the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27), with different details: ten servants and ten mina coins.

Talk about it while you color

Pick one or two questions for the drawing in front of you. There are no single right answers.

1. Drawings 1 and 5: The servants were given five, two and one talents, yet the servants who gained five and two heard exactly the same welcome. What do you think the master was looking for?
2. Drawing 3: The third servant hid his talent to keep it safe. When is playing it safe a good idea, and when might it mean missing something important?
3. Drawing 6: The third servant says, “I was afraid.” What might he have been afraid of? What helps you try something when you feel afraid?
4. Drawing 7: The master says the money could at least have been deposited with the bankers. What is one small, ordinary step the servant could have taken?
5. Drawings 8 and 9: The last two scenes are the hardest part of the parable. How do you feel when you look at them? What would you like to ask about them?

Try this: how heavy is the silver?

You will need a few 1 kg bags of rice or flour, a kitchen scale if you like, and an adult to do any lifting.

1. Lay out a pile of 5 bags, a pile of 2 and a single bag, the same amounts the servants received in drawing 1.
2. Pick up one bag. The footnote in the World English Bible says a talent is “about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds” of silver, so each bag here stands in for something much heavier.
3. Ask: even the servant with one talent was given something heavy and valuable. How would you look after it for a long time?
4. Finish by drawing or writing something you have been trusted to look after, such as a pet, a plant, a younger child or a friend’s secret, and one thing you will do with it this week.

Print tips

• A4 is the standard paper size in most countries; US Letter is standard in the US and Canada. The ZIP has both, so you can send one download to a group.
• For a short lesson, print drawings 2, 3 and 6 to compare what the servants did and why, or print the complete PDF to color the whole parable in order.
• Thicker paper helps if you are using markers or paint.

More parables to color

• Good Samaritan coloring pages
• Prodigal Son coloring pages
• Parable of the Sower coloring pages
• Wise and Foolish Builders coloring pages
• Parable of the Wheat and Tares coloring pages
• Mustard Seed coloring pages
• Hidden Treasure coloring pages

More parables to read

• The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)
• The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
• The Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27)

Looking for another parable about working for a master? Try the Workers in the Vineyard coloring pages.