Photo of the Week: February 25, 2026

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Don Merritt
1114 093
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Parable of the Talents

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 21:33-46

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Maek 12:1-11

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Luke 20:9-18

 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

“But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

If you have taken the trouble to read all three versions of this story, you will no doubt have noticed that they are very similar in substance. Even so, it’s always interesting to see which details made an impression of different witnesses to the same event. As usual, Matthew has the most detail, especially the detail of interest to a Jewish audience. Mark, as was his custom, had the most succinct version with least detailed description- just the facts. Luke came somewhere in the middle, and at the end, quoted “the people” instead of the Jewish leaders. Matthew has Jesus asking a question to which “they” give an answer. A crowd was present, but who was He speaking to? The Jewish leaders. Remember the context which begins in 21:23.

OK, now that we are all on the same page, let’s have a look at what has just happened in our narrative. The Jewish religious leaders may or may not have gotten every bit of the parable, but they knew Jesus had just made them look bad; that much is clear. Beginning in 21:42, Jesus makes use of a quotation from Psalm 118 that was originally a song of thanksgiving for a military victory; it was often sung in Jesus’ day by pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem. For them, the “stone that the builders rejected” referred to Israel, but Jesus applies it here in a different way, for here He applies it to Himself; He is the stone the builders rejected. Interestingly, this imagery became a very important component of the teaching of the early church, as seen in 1 Peter 2:4-8 and Acts 4:12. As such, the stone rejected is identified as the capstone, the stone that holds the entire building in place; this cones together quite nicely with Matthew 16:18-19 wherein the Apostles are seen as the “foundation” of the church with Jesus as the “capstone”. To be quite clear, if you remove the capstone (sometimes called “keystone” today) the building crumbles.

21:43 ff. demonstrates Jesus’ emphasis on the fact that the Jewish leaders have forfeited their rights to enjoy God’s favor, God’s presence, which is also to say His Kingdom, by their stubborn refusal to receive their Messiah (the stone that was rejected) and thus, Jesus will build a new temple of a new people comprised of all ethnic groups as a new holy nation: His Church. The Jewish religious leaders seem to have caught enough of His meaning to motivate them even more to silence Him for good. No, this simply would not do; they must kill Him as soon as possible! Yet, there was still the problem of the crowds who viewed Jesus as a prophet; what to do about the crowds? This was now clearly their problem, and to its solution they would turn their full attention in 22:15-40. Even so, Jesus wasn’t quite finished with them, for He has one more parable, and quite a parable it was. We’ll tackle it when we get back together next time…

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Quick Tempered and Long Winded

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Don Merritt

Whoever is patient has great understanding,
    but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

Proverbs 14:29

I’m not really sure what I can say to enhance or explain this proverb, for it seems pretty obvious to me what Solomon is getting at, other than to say that it reminds me of the time when one of my kids asked if she could go somewhere, and couldn’t shut up long enough for me to say it was OK. Apparently, she knew something that I didn’t, and was so anxious to cover it up that she launched into a tirade about how she never gets to do anything, that she hadn’t noticed I said yes. She went on and on, and my “yes” became “no”.

I figured it out later, when I discovered that she hadn’t done something she was supposed to have done, cleaning her room or doing her homework… I can’t recall exactly which it was at this point, but the folly of her impatience lost her the “yes” she would have gotten that day…

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The Parable of Two Sons

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 21:28-32

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

In the life of Jesus on this earth, a lot of time has passed since the previous parables He has taught more than a year, as it happens. We are now on the day after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the day after He cleared the Temple. He has arrived that next morning at the Temple where the Jewish leaders are waiting for Him and they demand to know by what authority He cleared out their money-making operation in the Temple. (Matt. 21:1-27 for the full context)

This parable is perhaps the easiest in Matthew to figure out; the sinners (tax collectors and prostitutes) are the son who said ‘no’ and then did as his father told him to do. The Jewish religious leaders are the son who said ‘yes’ and then disobeyed. The father, of course, is God.

Notice that Jesus told them this parable and then asked them which son did as the father wanted, and they were so blind that they answered without noticing that they were stepping into a trap; please think about that for a moment.

Who was on the offensive in this scene; remember that it began in verse 23 where they were demanding to know by what authority Jesus had done the things He did on the previous afternoon. They had come after Him to attempt to trap Him into saying something that would cause Him to become unpopular with the crowds, and so they could accuse and kill Him. In the previous text, they were plotting, scheming and calculating, and yet here, mere moments later, Jesus asks them an obvious question about a very straightforward parable, and they blindly step into His trap. Is it possible that they, brilliant as they were, really didn’t see the trap? You might remember that earlier in this scene when Jesus asked them what the source of John’s baptism was, that they saw the trap in that question (21:24-26).

So, do you recall when the disciples asked Him why He spoke to the people in parables? (13:10)

His answer was in 13:11-17, and essentially it was this: ”Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (13:13b).

This may be the most obvious example of what Jesus told the disciples back in chapter 13 in the entire New Testament; the Jewish leaders did not see the obvious, for they had not been given the ability to see, because they did not want to see at all.

So, Jesus springs His trap in 21:31-32, and I’m sure it warmed the hearts of those leaders to hear they are worse than tax collectors and prostitutes…

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Identifying the Way

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Don Merritt

The wise woman builds her house,
    but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly,
    but those who despise him are devious in their ways.

A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
    but the lips of the wise protect them.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.

An honest witness does not deceive,
    but a false witness pours out lies.

The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
    but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

Stay away from a fool,
    for you will not find knowledge on their lips.

Proverbs 14:1-7

These first seven verses in chapter 14 comprise the first section in the chapter. Each one on its own is interesting, but when you go through them together, you can make a list of seven habits that lead to happiness and success in life, and seven that lead to ruin. So, rather than me going on and on, take a few moments and read these carefully. As you do, you might want to make a couple of lists; if you’ve ever wanted a self-improvement project, taking those two lists to heart is a very good one.

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The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is one of the most familiar of all Jesus’ parables, at least for most of us. It’s the one where a servant who owed his master a great deal of money had his debt forgiven by the master when he was unable to pay. Later, while the master was away, he had another servant, who owed him a small debt thrown into prison and tortured until he paid. When the master returned and found out what that servant had done while he was away, the master had that servant killed because he had been forgiven much and was expected to do likewise.

The context for this section is set in 18:15-20 in which Jesus was instructing the disciples about how to handle brothers and sisters who sin. The climax comes in verse 21:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (18:21)

In His response, Jesus tells Peter the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. The crux of the matter is simple: God has forgiven us much, and when a brother or sister sins against us, we are expected to forgive them as God has forgiven us- this is a command, by the way.

Verse 35 is Jesus’ final word on the subject:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (18:35)

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The Advice of the Wise

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 13

We now continue with the second batch of proverbs extending from 13:4-15:19. Chapter 13 has as its theme the need for us to accept instruction and discipline. It breaks into two sections: Instruction from a father to his son (13:1-13) and then instruction from the wise (13:14-25). We covered the first part of the chapter last time, and we move on to the second part now.

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
    turning a person from the snares of death.

Good judgment wins favor,
    but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction.

All who are prudent act with knowledge,
    but fools expose their folly.

Proverbs 13:14-16

In these first three verses, you can see that we have shifted from a father advising a son, to a wise person advising everyone. You can also see that our parallelisms are continuing with their antithetical pattern, which is the dominant patter for a proverb in Proverbs. Let’s focus on this interesting example which is not one of the more often quoted in this section:

An unplowed field produces food for the poor,
    but injustice sweeps it away.

Proverbs 13:23

In the times in which this was written, poor people were able to grow food in small plots that were set aside for their use; it was part of the social safety net of those days. Even such a field that was left unplowed had the potential to feed a family. So far, so good, but here comes the contrast: An unjust person claims that field as his own, and that family starves.

Want a revolution? In the old days, that was one of the best ways to make one happen.

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The Singular Challenge of AI

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Don Merritt

I’m really not so sure about AI. I see it as having amazing potential, both for good and for ill. Here’s an example: Recently I saw a video on You Tube that took several old photos of New York City from the early 1900’s and brought them to life in high quality color, sound and animation. I enjoy these because they can bring the past alive like nothing ever has before; yet this one was different. It began with a very famous old photo showing a smartly dressed man in a tweed coat, tie and a newsboy hat. As the picture slowly comes alive, the man begins to speak. He is the narrator of the video and is in every scene walking around and talking to the camera… in scenes where he was not present in reality.

The effect was brilliant, but they made scenes come alive differently than they really were. Several months ago, I saw another video where they took a sound recording of Adolf Hitler’s conversational voice, used AI to clean up the recording, and then had audio of him speaking with the words he used in a speech screeching and shouting. After that, they went one more step and had him saying the same things in English. I can’t help but wonder how long it’s going to take someone to use that disgusting Hiter script in the voice of a modern politician and claim it’s a secret recording of a back room meeting somewhere and put it on the internet.

Or maybe that’s already happened… See what I mean? I’m just not so sure about AI.

However, I can report some encouraging news to you, dear readers.

This past Friday I asked Alexa what the weather would be (on Friday). The answer was “Right now it’s 30 degrees. The low will be 17 with a high of 30…” Then I said to myself, OK the high is now so today is staying cool.

Alexa said “No, the high will be later today, right now it is 30 degrees with a low of 17 and a high of 30.” So, I said Hey, if it’s 30 now, and the high today is 30, then isn’t the current temperature the high for today?

And then it happened…

AI, in this case Alexa, said, “Yes Don, you’re exactly right. I was so caught up in the weather details; I missed the obvious.”

I never knew that AI would admit being wrong and make a correction. HAL never did that when he was arguing with Dave back in 2001!

What? HAL isn’t real? Are you sure?

Maybe I should just ask AI to teach me to write better.

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Pathways- A Sunday Reflection

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Don Merritt

Have you ever walked down a sidewalk and looked down at it and wondered who has been there before you?  OK, probably not very often

This particular sidewalk is in Annapolis, Maryland right outside the State House.  The photograph was taken entirely by accident; it was an “inadvertent click” as it were, but it memorialized a pathway that has been trod by all sorts of people for going on 300 years now.  Maybe some of the greats of American history have walked here…

Here’s something that comes to mind: In early 1861 Union troops took control of the city, driving the secessionist forces out, so surely they marched in the vicinity of the State House.  See?  History was made on this sidewalk!

But mostly regular folks like you and I walk along these streets.  Where are they going?  (We were going to lunch)  What are they all about?  Are they ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’?  Are they walking down this sidewalk past the old State House following Jesus Christ, or are they following the dreams and pursuits of selfish people?

I guess what I’m really getting at here, is the need for us to share our faith.  OK, I’ll admit I’ve taken an unusual pathway to get here… Of all the people who have traveled this, or any other path, how many desperately need to hear about the Good News of the Gospel?  Probably quite a few.

So, are we going to keep the greatest news of all to ourselves?

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Harvest, Weeds and Apocalyptic Elements

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 13:36-43

I posted on this text the other day in our study of the Parables of Jesus; it’s Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Weeds. As I write most posts on this site, I do my best to keep it more or less non-academic in presentation. There are several very fine blogs and web sites that explain the Scriptures in an academic fashion for an academic audience. Here, however, I try to explain the Scriptures for people who just want to understand and walk with Jesus. There are certainly times when a little extra background is helpful to our understanding, and this is one of them.

Parables, by their very nature, often fall into a category that we can label as being “Apocalyptic”.  Such passages contain bits of information that we call “Apocalyptic elements”. Parables are not literal events, but they are stories that Jesus (of someone else) told to teach a lesson or to reveal a truth indirectly. They are stories that reveal something that they don’t literally say. The key here is that parables reveal something; they arethus apocalyptic in nature.

This word, apocalyptic, can be quite confusing for people in our time, because in common usage, it has come to mean something quite different than its meaning in a Biblical context. In common usage, it usually refers to the end of something, usually catastrophic, even the end of the world. In a Biblical context, it is an adaptation of a Greek word which is apokalypsis. Mounce defines it this way:

ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis)

Strong: G602

GK: G637

a disclosure, revelation, Rom. 2:5; manifestation, appearance, Rom. 8:19; 1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 4:13; met. spiritual enlightenment, Lk. 2:32 1

In the Parable of the Weeds Jesus used a few apocalyptic elements that He explained in the text above, and when we recognize the larger implications, we can learn some important things about the Kingdom, the larger community of believers, the Church.

With all of this said, I would offer an “editorial opinion”:

I hear and read a great deal of criticism of the church today, and I also offer some of my own periodically. These weeds have created chaos to a certain degree, filling the church with hierarchies, forms, rules, ceremonies, rituals, and many other abuses, arguments, discord and divisions that tear people away from Christ. Yet I grow weary of those who blame the Kingdom (Church) for the subversion of the weeds planted by Satan. Can’t they see that they are playing Satan’s game?

Look carefully: The harvest, the ones who “will shine in the Kingdom of their Father” are not the ones who allow themselves to be choked off and separated from the Kingdom, they are ones who persevere, who resist the devil to the end.

We might ask ourselves where the constant critics are in this picture…

You see, dear reader, these old parables, in spite of their ancient agricultural metaphors, hit just as close to home today as they did when Jesus taught them, especially if we recognize the significance of the apocalyptic elements they contain.

1 Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament edited by William D. Mounce. Copyright ©2011 by William D. Mounce. All rights reserved.

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