What does “reaping where you have not sown” mean (Matthew 25:24)?

Jesus presents the concept of “reaping where you have not sown” in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30). Through this story, Jesus prepares His disciples for future events after His death. He gives them practical guidance to help them live in continual readiness for the day of His return.

In the parable, the master (who represents Jesus) is arranging to leave on a trip for an extended but unknown length of time. The master entrusts his great wealth to three of his servants. These servants are responsible to use what the master gives them wisely. The master divides his talents (units of money) among the three according to their abilities. The servants were expected to be wise stewards, carefully handling the master’s resources.

The first two servants, who received larger portions of the master’s money, invested wisely and brought in a good return. They doubled the amount entrusted to them. These faithful servants obeyed and pleased their master and, in the end, were greatly rewarded (see Matthew 25: 20–23). However, the third servant, who received only a tiny portion of the master’s money, “dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money” (Matthew 25:18). Instead of investing his resources, he hid them.

When the master called the third servant to give an account of how he had managed his one talent, the servant said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24–25, NKJV).

Fear of failure and lack of faith kept the third servant from obeying his master with the gifts, talents, and responsibilities under his care. These verses reveal that the unfaithful, lazy servant did not truly know His master’s heart. He saw him as a hard and shrewd taskmaster. His description of his master as “reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed” paints a picture of one who expects a return where no investment has been made. In other words, the servant felt his master expected too much from him.

The lazy servant feared harsh punishment if he lost the master’s talent. So, rather than take even a tiny risk and invest the talent he had been given to advance his master’s estate, he buried his treasure in the ground. Because he played it safe, he became an unprofitable servant. Jesus’ point is that readiness for His return involves being active, responsible, and obedient. It means doing good works that produce fruit and please Him (see Matthew 5:14–16; James 2:14–26).

When the master in the parable returned, the two faithful servants were invited to celebrate and share in the master’s joy (Matthew 25:21, 23), but the unfaithful servant was not. The master said to him, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest” (Matthew 25:26–27, ESV).

Jesus wanted His disciples to understand this truth: One day, the unfaithful will stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives. The unbelieving will hear their Master say, “If you knew I expected you to use the talent I entrusted you to further My kingdom, why did you do nothing? Why did you hide it? At the very least, you could have chosen a minimally risky option (e.g., putting the money in a bank and earning interest). No, even in that, you failed.”

One valuable message in the Parable of the Talents is that living in readiness for Christ’s return involves wisely investing our lives—giving of our time, talents, and resources—in God’s kingdom. It is our privilege and honor to make the most of every opportunity to serve the Lord and work for the advancement of His kingdom. We cannot expect to be reaping a harvest where we have not sown seed. We should not look for returns where we have not invested. We must stay busy doing the Lord’s work until He returns (see John 9:4–5).