Parable of the Lost Sheep

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 18:10-14

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Luke 15:1-7

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders  and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Looking at these two versions of the story, it is interesting that Matthew doesn’t mention the presence of the Pharisees in this gathering, while Luke does. Whether they were there or not really doesn’t affect the meaning or significance of the parable, yet Luke’s mention of them adds a bit more flavor to the scene.

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the Pharisees and teachers of the law are grumbling about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, when He has so recently eaten with Pharisees and teachers of the law; do you suppose they were the “sinners” in the equation?

Probably not, but they easily could have been.

Matthew begins as Jesus was using a little child as an illustration of the greatest citizen of the Kingdom of heaven; in this passage, the “little one” transitions into the metaphor of sheep which represents someone in the Kingdom. Matthew 18:10 is the transitional verse; we must not disdain or “despise” one of these “little ones”.

What this means is that we must never have an attitude that would devalue anyone, for they are precious, sacred really, in God’s sight. The reason given is that they have an angel in heaven with direct access to the Father. Unfortunately, this concept isn’t developed here into a “doctrine” and we are left to figure out exactly what Jesus was referring to, and the result is that there are many ideas on this subject. The old Jewish tradition has a complex doctrine on angels; angels are directly associated with the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, angels are associated with individual churches in Revelation 2-3 and are referred to as “ministering spirits” by the author of Hebrews. This verse (18:10) is the one cited by those who believe in the concept of “guardian angels”. How ever you might view this, one thing is certainly clear; if we devalue our brother or sister, our action will come to the attention of the Father in heaven.

Jesus goes on in the remaining verses to underscore this using the metaphor of a shepherd and a wandering sheep. In the parable, a sheep wanders off from the flock, and the shepherd leaves the flock to find the lost sheep. When he finds the sheep, he is filled with joy for the lost sheep, having more joy over finding the lost sheep than he does for the remainder that didn’t wander off.  The message is clear enough; God does not want a single one of His children to perish, and He is concerned with even the least of His children. If we are the cause of another to fall away or wander from the “flock” God will not be amused.

On a practical level, there is quite a lot for us to think about here, in fact, there is some sober reflection that we should engage in on this subject. Do we treat our brother or sister as sacred? Are we attentive when they are hurting? Do we demand that others agree with us on every issue? Do we pass judgment on the circumstances of others to avoid reaching out to them?

I suppose that we can add quite a few questions to this list of things we should ask ourselves, but the bottom line is: Do we treat others as God’s sacred “little ones”?

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True Perspectives of Life

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 13

This second batch of proverbs extends 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).  As we will see, most of these proverbs are Antithetical Parallelisms in which the second half of the statement is in deliberate contrast to the first half.  Looking at the first three verses, we can clearly see how this section is going to go:

A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
    but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.

From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things,
    but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence.

Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,
    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

Proverbs 13:1-3

Here is a more in-depth look at verse 10,,,

Where there is strife, there is pride,
    but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Provers 13:10

Have you ever known someone who is always involved in controversy, arguments and disputes? Have you ever wondered why they have so much trouble?

Your answer might just be found in this proverb: Pride.

My way or the highway, you can’t say that to me, I’m right and you’re wrong… Yes, these all come from pride, the continual belief that you are somehow more worthy of respect, more valuable or just “better” than the other person.  Does everybody really need your opinion on everything; must we all hear and agree with your thoughts?

If you want a life chock full of struggle and hassle, then say “yes” to those questions, but if you prefer a little peace and harmony, think again.

A person who is willing to take advice from another is a person who doesn’t just assume they are always right, for they are humble enough to recognize that others have valuable insights too. Such a person might even come to understand that they too can be wrong sometimes.

Next time we’ll take a look at the second half of this chapter, instruction from the wise. See you then!

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Jesus Wraps Up the Discourse

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Don Merritt

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:44-50

Jesus continued His discourse with two very short and very similar little parables, each dealing with someone who found something of exceedingly great value and who sold everything he had in this life to buy what he had found. The thing that was found, the treasure or the pearl was far more valuable than the entire net worth of the one who found it.

Yes, the Kingdom of heaven is just like that!

Do you remember when Jesus said that the person who loses his life will find it, and the one who finds his life will lose it? These two parables provide us with an explanation of that statement, for in both cases the one who found the treasure divested himself of his life’s savings, belongings, possessions; everything… to obtain the one real treasure that made the effort worth it. In the end, each one was enriched beyond measure.

Yes, the Kingdom of heaven is just like that.

I wonder how many other people might have come upon these same treasures, but were afraid to sell everything to acquire them? I wonder how many came along and said, yes, I would love to have this, but the price is much too high.

Yes, the Kingdom of heaven is just like that!

Jesus tells another parable, the last in this series of parables. This one has some similarity to the Parable of the Weeds, for its conclusion reveals something about the end of the age. Here we have fishermen as the example; they cast their nets and haul in a big catch. They drag their nets to the shore and sort their catch, for there are good fish, ready for market, and there are fish to throw back; Jesus likens this process to what will happen on the last day, when the angels of God will sort out the Kingdom. The “good fish” will enter, and the “bad fish” will be tossed out. To put it another way, the Kingdom of Heaven is open to everyone, but not all will choose to enter, and when the day comes, many will find that they waited too long, and that the doors are now closed.

The main point of the passage comes next:

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

Matthew 13:51-52

Jesus asked the disciples if they followed His lesson; they said that they did. After His explanation of the Parable of the Weeds (13:36-40) they would have needed to work hard not to understand. Jesus continued with His remark about a “teacher of the law” becoming a disciple; he would have both old and new treasures to share.

The old treasures are the treasures of the Scriptures that we would call the Old Testament, including the story of Israel, the Law and the Prophets, along with the wisdom literature; the entire Word of God that pointed the people to Jesus, the Messiah. The new treasures would be the story of Jesus, the Kingdom of heaven, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and the message of salvation and redemption for humanity that Jesus embodied.

In our time many of us attempt to teach the wonders and riches of God’s Word, and we have in our storerooms abundant treasure to share with our guests, but what do we share with them? Do we share His Kingdom, or do we discuss rules and regulations as though we were still awaiting His coming? Do we share the message of redemption and the glory of His Kingdom in our midst, or do we get so caught up in forms, rituals and even future events, that we cannot see the Kingdom right in front of us?

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Discipline, Knowledge and Stupidity

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Don Merritt

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 12:1

I wanted to focus on this verse today because it contains a pearl of wisdom which, in our highly sophisticated time, we tend to look right past the obvious. Check this out: A person who loves discipline loves knowledge. I never really thought of it that way. I would have pegged discipline with success, but not necessarily with knowledge, although they go together nicely. To put it another way, I always thought of discipline more in connection with football coaches.

Now that I think about it, there is quite a lot of discipline involved in acquiring knowledge. Yet, to the extent that I have ever learned anything, it came by doing things that I enjoyed doing and never thought of as work, unlike in football, where everything involved work, sweat and pain which are not on my list of favorite things.

Now we come to the stupid part. Notice that this verse compares and contrasts discipline leading to knowledge, with dislike of being corrected, resulting in stupidity; let’s think about that.

Off hand, I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever known who set about their day trying to be corrected; no one likes it, including me. Many will fight correction and argue and shout for hours rather than admit they could have been wrong about something. In my own experience, I have been corrected by people in error, and I have been corrected when I was in error. To figure out the difference, I eventually realized that it can be a good idea to listen with an open mind, and carefully consider what is being said before making a judgment about who is right. When I am the one who is mistaken, the other person has just done me a favor: I gained knowledge. If we always reject any correction out of hand, we will never gain knowledge; our choice perpetuates our ignorance, and that is a stupid choice.

Yet, no one really likes being corrected. Could it be that accepting correction is the greatest discipline of all?

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Photo of the Week: February 18, 2026

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Don Merritt
1225-063
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Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 13:36-43

Jesus told the Parable of the Weeds to the crowd in 13:24-30, and we covered it a couple posts back. At the end, I gave a simplified and “practical” or “every day” kind of explanation. For the most part, I just left it at that, knowing that A) you might not believe me if I went into it further, and B) that Jesus spoke about in this passage. Jesus isn’t as easy to argue with as I am.

Everything about the Kingdom is apocalyptic, both because it reveals things in the here and now, and because it has eternal significance, as you will shortly see.

The disciples ask about the parable and Jesus holds nothing back:

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (13:37-39)

Can you see the “here and now” in this? The here and now is everything except for the last sentence, which is the end, when Jesus returns. We are living in that messed up field, in which good seed has been planted by the Gospel, and in which the weeds planted by the nasty neighbor, the enemy of the farmer (Jesus) has sought to sabotage the crop (Satan). Like the wheat of the field, we struggle with the weeds that try to choke us off. But when the harvest comes…

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (13:40-43)

Sometimes apocalyptic passages reveal things about the present that have future implications. These verses, however, do the opposite; they speak of the future in a way that has implications about the present. Take special notice of the weeds in the Kingdom in 41b:

…and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

Are there “weeds” in the Kingdom today that cause “sin “? Are there “weeds” in the Kingdom today who do evil?

At this point, we might run into a problem if we don’t recognize the fact that there is another Biblical term for the Kingdom, and that term is the “Church”. Are there such “weeds” in the midst of the Church today?

I would have to say that there are weeds in the Church today, and that these ‘weeds’ cause tremendous harm to both the citizens of the Kingdom, and to the very Kingdom itself.

OK dear reader, are you getting the hang of this whole “apocalyptic” business now? Present things have future implications, and future things have present implications, for both reveal considerably more than it would seem at first. Apocalyptic = Revelation.

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All Flash and No Cash

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Don Merritt

Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
    than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

Proverbs 12:9

Many years ago, a man called me and wanted to meet for lunch; he had a business proposition to discuss.

He showed up in a white limousine all dressed up in the latest style… and had a busty blonde “escort” on his arm. He took me to a fancy restaurant, and I was “wined and dined” as he made his big pitch; there was big money to be made, and this guy was tossing millions into the deal. All I had to do to make my share of the millions was…

When the bill came, his credit card was declined, all of his cards were declined, and I had to pick up the check; how embarrassing. This guy was all flash and no cash! Another person who was acquainted with the guy told me that he lived off money invested for his big deals, and that he spent so much on appearances that there was never anything left for the business. I’ve met quite a few people like that.

My guess is that there were people just like that in Solomon’s day too, for as Solomon would have said, “there is nothing new under the sun.”

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Parables of the Mustard Seed and Yeast

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Don Merritt

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is one of the best known of Jesus’ teachings; we cite it often as a teaching on faith, but that is not what this parable is about. The faith connection comes from Matthew 17:20, which is not a parable. Rather, the Parable of the Mustard Seed is about the Kingdom. The same is also true of the Parable of Yeast, which Mark did not include in his account.

Matthew 13:33-35

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,
    I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

Mark 4:30-34

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

I doubt that Jesus was intending to give a lecture on botany here, but He clearly used frames of reference His listeners were familiar with: Mustard seeds are tiny, yet they grow into very large plants. That is the point of the metaphor, tiny seed becomes very big plant. How does this apply to the Kingdom?

If I was an atheist, I would be asking myself how it is possible that an obscure travelling teacher from first century Galilee is still a controversial figure all over the world twenty centuries after his death. Yes, that’s right, a carpenter’s son born in a stable who grew up in flyover country became the most influential figure in history, yet he never traveled more than a hundred miles or so from his birthplace.

After his death, a ragtag bunch of misfits from the provinces, just a handful of them mind you, unleashed a revolutionary idea in the minor provincial capital of Jerusalem. They were opposed by the greatest power the world had ever seen, and Mr. Atheist, you are still opposing this teaching today. How could this have happened? It’s simply incredible!

As Jesus told us, the Kingdom is like that. A tiny seed grows into the largest of garden plants, big enough to give shelter to the birds; it just wouldn’t seem likely at all… but there it is.  It isn’t reported in the text, but I have a hunch this is what Jesus explained to His disciples. Yes, they were obscure, true, they weren’t important big shots from famous and powerful families, and they were young, very young.  Yet, in spite of all outward appearances, they made a huge mark on history, and more importantly, they made a huge difference for God’s salvation plan, in spite of all apparent circumstances.

Jesus continues His teaching of parables with the Parable of Yeast. As before, He begins with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” denoting that 1) this is a parable (Is like) and 2) that the subject is indeed the kingdom of Heaven. The Parable of Yeast is similar to that of the mustard seed, for when we put a small amount of yeast into the flour to make the dough for bread, little would we suspect that such a small amount yeast would find its way into the entire dough mixture, becoming something so powerful that it entirely changes the nature of the dough. The Kingdom is like that because it comes into the world, and changes everything; no wonder it is opposed so fiercely!

The section ends with Matthew yet again showing us how this speech of Jesus’ ties into Israel’s history of prophecy.

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A Way with Words

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Don Merritt

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
    but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

Proverbs 10:20

This is another one of the proverbs that deals with what we talk about and the words we use. This time, we have a comparison and contrast between the intrinsic worth of righteous speech, and value of a wicked person’s heart. I must admit that I would not have thought of this comparison- is it too harsh?

Maybe. Yet Solomon penned these proverbs in a time when people tended to place a lot of value on the Truth, and we live in a time in which we place a higher value on our feelings. However you prefer to look at this, one thing is clear, and that is that Solomon is strongly suggesting that there is a close relationship between the condition of our hearts, and what comes out of our mouths.

Once again, this gives us a point to ponder and consider going forward: what is your conclusion?

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President’s Day

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Don Merritt

…or should that be Presidents’ Day?

Well, whichever one it is, today’s the day.  It is of course a holiday and many of us are off work; yippie!

When I was a kid in school, we didn’t have President’s Day.  Instead we had Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12 and Washington’s Birthday on February 22, and if both of them missed the weekend we had two days off from school; everyone who wasn’t a Mom loved that!  Now of course, in order to provide workers with a three-day weekend we have today… whatever it is supposed to be for.

I am usually a bit of a contrarian; I think that Washington and Lincoln deserve to be remembered, for both of them played vital roles in the establishment and building of our Nation.  In fact, I would dare to go so far out to the “extreme” (you know where that is, it’s “out of the mainstream”) as to say that we have lost something of our heritage in seeming to forget their contributions to our Nation!

So, here’s a thought:  Why not take a few minutes sometime in our day off today to look back and reflect upon our Nation’s presidents… all of them.  Many of them were very good people who wanted to improve the country and the lives of its citizens.  A few were just plain great; Washington and Lincoln are certainly at the forefront of these.  Some of them were more than a little rough around the edges, engaging in colorful speech and actions.  Some of them were entirely untrustworthy… and still others never wanted to be there at all. Together they paint of picture of us all.  They had the same faults and talents that we the people have.  They made many of the same mistakes that we all make, had triumphs and tragedies like we all do.  They had sleepless nights, lost loves and depression, yet they kept on going…

And of course a certain number of them came to the point when they realized in private that they couldn’t carry all of the load of their responsibilities alone and fell to their knees before God.  If you look very carefully, you will discover that the ones who did this ended up being the ones who went down in history as truly great, while the ones who never came to that point didn’t quite make the cut of greatness.

Huh, I wonder why that is?

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