Photo of the Week: March 3, 2026

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Don Merritt
IL2_15 005

A chilly morning…

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The Parable of the Minas

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 19:11-27

This parable is similar to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, however while it may be similar, it is unique to Luke. Jesus is still at the home of Zacchaeus when He told this story and will soon be departing for the last leg of His journey to Jerusalem; there is a grave misconception about His purpose there, and He seeks to set the record straight.

In the first verse, Luke makes this point clear; the people thought the Kingdom would appear at once, and Jesus wants them to understand that He will be “away” for a time.

In the story, there is a “man of noble birth” who represents Jesus. He is going to a distant city to be appointed king, and when this is finished, he will return to rule. Jesus as he tells the story, is about to complete His trip to nearby Jerusalem, but He is not going there to, as many believe, be made their king, He is going to die for their sins, after which He will be “away” for some time.

Talent or Mina?

In Matthew’s version that we looked at last time, Jesus gave each servant talents. Here in Luke’s account He give the servants a mina. Needless to say, this has led to a fair amount of confusion over the years; let’s take a look…

In Matthew 25, the author used the word talanton, translating, talent in English. The definition, according to Mounce is:

the scale of a balance; a talent, which as a weight was among the Jews equivalent to 3000 shekels, i.e., as usually estimated, 114 lbs. 15 dwts. Troy; while the Attic talent, on the usual estimate, was only equal to 56 lbs. 11 oz. Troy, Mt. 18:24; 25:15, 16, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28

Luke, on the other hand, used the word ,mina, translated mina. A mina is one sixtieth of a talent.

The nobleman in the story gives 10 minas to 10 servants and tells them to put the money to work for him while he is gone. After this, the nobleman heads off. His servants don’t like him very much, and they send a delegation ahead to speak against him, but in due course he is made king and eventually returns home. Upon his arrival he calls his servants together to settle their accounts. One servant has invested the mina he was given and earned 10 more: an excellent job. This man is rewarded with a big post; he will rule over 10 cities in the nobleman’s kingdom. The next man realized a profit of 5 minas and is put in charge of five cities. Then came the third servant…

This man completely disobeyed his master and didn’t put his mina to work for the master. Instead, he has carefully placed it into safekeeping for his master’s return.

The master was not at all pleased with this disobedience, for he had been quite clear in giving his instructions, and the first two servants’ actions proved it. This man had everything taken from him as a result of his failure to serve the master’s interests. His mina was given to the servant who had the ten. Jesus did not mention the efforts of the other seven servants. Some onlookers pointed out that this might not be all that fair, for the first servant already had quite a lot, and the third one had nothing. Yet the new king did not change his mind. In his view, the man got what was coming to him because of the choices he had made.

Then the new king had those servants who had been in the delegation that had tried to prevent his being made king brought in and killed. They also got what they had coming, for everyone knows it isn’t a good idea to oppose the king.

I’ve already mentioned that the nobleman represents Jesus. He went to a distant place and was made king. Jesus was going to a “distant” place also, for He would soon ascend to heaven in glory, but the day will come when He returns to settle accounts. The servants represent the followers of Jesus. We have been given much to use (put to work) for our Master while He is away, and upon His return, He wants to see a return on investment.

This may seem strange to some people because most of the time Jesus used agricultural metaphors, but here He used metaphors from the world of finance…

Those who have produced good returns will be rewarded accordingly. Those who put their gifts and talents away for safekeeping will also be rewarded accordingly.

The delegation who attempted to prevent him from being made king represents the Jewish leadership who arranged His death… for them His return means the Final Judgment: they are done for.

After this, Jesus heads off to fulfill His destiny.

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Earthly Kings

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Don Merritt

The lips of a king speak as an oracle,
    and his mouth does not betray justice.

Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
    all the weights in the bag are of his making.

Kings detest wrongdoing,
    for a throne is established through righteousness.

Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
    they value the one who speaks what is right.

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
    but the wise will appease it.

When a king’s face brightens, it means life;
    his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

Proverbs 16:10-15

This brief section shows the reader two very important things: First, an earthly king is ordained by God and as such, He exercises authority delegated to him by God. Second, that earthly king must live up to the same standards that God requires of every man and woman. Tor us in the 21st century, the whole notion of a king ruling his Nation seems rather quaint as the few kings that are still out there largely reign as ceremonial heads of state rather than ruling a Nation. For us, the king represents a government in that it is ordained by God, and subject to His righteous standards in daily practice, something that both the kings of old and the governments of today have been known to overlook.

The king can pronounce authoritatively, but he must not do so unjustly, for God requires that the king (government) follow His ways and will hold them accountable.

Verse 11 speaks of scales and balances. God sets the scales and the king’s duty is to ensure that they are always honest. They do not put up with wrongdoing, and neither do they do wrong. Kings place a high priority on honesty, both for others and themselves. One does not want to raise the wrath of the king, but the wise appease it, for they follow the laws. Living a life that follows the ways of the Lord will lead to a long and happy life and will be rewarded by the king and by God.

As we continue our adventure through the Proverbs, we notice that there are more fools in the world than there are wise people, and now, we might even come to expect that as far as kings and governments go, one that is truly righteous and just and true is rare indeed.

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Parable of the Talents

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Don Merritt

Commentators are split on whether or not this Parable in Matthew is the same as the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19 and they are often taught together. However, they are similar, but not the same story and are not set at the same time. Luke’s account actually takes place before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, and Matthew’s came after Jesus left Jerusalem for the Mount of Olives. I will give the easy explanation of Matthew’s account now, and then Luke’s account next time.

Matthew 25:14-30

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The master is leaving on a long trip and before his departure he gave a certain number of bags of gold to three servants, each according to the servant’s ability. By doing this, the master entrusted gold to each servant with the expectation that they will use it wisely to generate an increase in his money. Upon his return, each of the first two servants had doubled the master’s money, but the third one had simply buried the gold, and when he returned it to his master without an increase the master gave that gold to the first two as a reward, and the lazy servant was tossed out on his ear.

The master’s return was a great day for the first two, but not a happy day for the third servant.

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Mankind Lives Under God

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Don Merritt

A new section begins in the Book of Proverbs, signaled by the last verse in Chapter 15:

Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord,
    and humility comes before honor. (15:33)

The first 9 verses of Chapter 16 set out the principle that God reigns over human activity. The section has this theme emphasized in verses 1 and 9 and developed in 2-8. If we look at these verses, they can seem at first to be rather disjointed, each standing entirely on its own. Yet, if we think of them as bullet points for an outline, they come together in a structure that is almost the structure of an essay: Thesis, supporting points, conclusion. First, the 9 verses:

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
    but motives are weighed by the Lord.

3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.

4 The Lord works out everything to its proper end—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.

5 The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.

7 When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
    he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

8 Better a little with righteousness
    than much gain with injustice.

9 In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.

Proverbs 16:1-9

Let’s take the first three verses as an example, Proverbs 16:1-3:

  • To humans belong the plans of the heart,
        but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.
  • All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
        but motives are weighed by the Lord.
  • Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
        and he will establish your plans.

Now, let’s make this into the beginning of a narrative (paraphrased):

Humans hold within their hearts the ability to conceive ideas and to plan great things in this life, but only God can give humans the ability to explain their hearts’ plans to the world (cf. Matt. 10:19).  Each person with grand designs believes that he or she is acting in everyone’s best interests, yet the final judge of our motives will be made by God alone. To stay on the right track, we must commit our plans to God, so that He may guide us to bring our plans to fruition.

I will freely admit that my paraphrase isn’t perfect and can probably be written better, but that really isn’t the point of the exercise here. The point is that in certain cases, such as this one, there is more in the Proverbs than we might notice if we just look at the proverbs on the page as standing all alone.

With that said, why not take a few minutes and look at these verses carefully and continue the paraphrase into narrative form, being careful to choose words that retain the message of the original and see how everything comes together. You’re welcome to share… see you next time!

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The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Don Merritt

Matthew 25:1-13

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Matthew 25 contains three parables, and they all have the same meaning: The Lord may return at any moment: make sure you are ready if He comes today!

My plan for these three parables is to take them one at a time, along with the parallel passages from Luke for the second two and then give a more detailed explanation at the end, rather than repeating it three times.

Here we go with the simple part:

There were ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to arrive; five had oil for their lamps and five did not, which is to say that half were ready for his coming and half were not prepared for it. When the bridegroom came the five who were ready were able to find their way to the banquet while the other five had to rush off in search of lamp oil. When they finally arrived at the banquet the doors were closed and they were left out: A wonderful day for the first five, but a sad coming for those who were unprepared, for they were left on the outside looking in.

The bridegroom is Jesus, the virgins were His bride, the Church. Five followed Jesus and let the Holy Spirit grow withing them and shine through them into a dark world. The other five neglected their faith and their relationship with God, and when the Great Day arrived, they were not ready to go into the wedding banquet, which is the Culmination of the Church at His Coming.

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Advice From Gid

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Don Merritt

I have mentioned “Yahweh” verses a couple of times already in our study of Proverbs- there are 9 of them in Chapter 15. A Yahweh verse is simply a verse that is provided as a direct insight into God’s thinking on a subject. It is not a direct quote from God Himself, but rather an instance where the Holy Spirit, in guiding the author, has revealed God’s view directly, as opposed to advice from a father to a son, or genetically from “the wise”.  These 9 verses in chapter 15 are verses 3, 8, 9, 11, 16, 25, 26, 29, and 33. Let’s have a look at vv. 25-26:

The Lord tears down the house of the proud,
    but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.

The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked,
    but gracious words are pure in his sight.

We can see in these two examples that they are not direct statements from God; it doesn’t say “I will…” but rather it says “the Lord will…” Next thing to note is that these statements are not necessarily intended to be taken literally. There are plenty of houses of the proud that stand for centuries without being literally torn down, but in the end, the proud will find themselves in a place where they must either repent or be destroyed, either in this life or at the Judgement of all. The same would be true for the widow’s house; the foundation God provides may very well be something far more precious than mere brick and mortar.

As far as the second verse, I have a story for you: Last summer, I came across a video called Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). This film, from 1934, was an award-winning film all across Europe, and its production and cinematography were ground-breaking. This was the complete film, in the original German.

From time-to-time I watch videos in German to try and remember that language that I learned 50+ years ago and almost never have an opportunity to use. It took me 20 or 30 minutes to get my brain tuned in, but when it all started coming back to me and I was getting about 80-90% of what was being said, I had to turn it off because the message is sick and twisted in the extreme.

Triumph des Willens is a Nazi propaganda film, made at the Nuremburg Party rally in 1934 and the main speaker is Hitler himself: Sick. This was only my reaction; I can only imagine what God thinks of such pure evil. Even so, for me it was a good language exercise trying to follow Hitler’s low-class theatrical Germon accent but… as Paul Harvey used to say, “Wesh your ears out with this:” gracious words are pure in his sight.

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An Empowering Relationship

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Don Merritt

Our relationship with Jesus is an empowering relationship.  This relationship provides us with all that we need to walk with Him through this life, and no matter what may happen to us along the way, no matter how many trials we might endure, to go through this life victoriously.

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful 
    for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 

Psalm 25:8-10

Our Lord empowers us by giving us comfort in rough times. Our Lord leads us in His ways, He is merciful and quick to forgive when we ask, and all of this is incredibly empowering.  It empowers us to live as God would have us to live.  It empowers us to live free from sin and shame, and it sets us free from the traditions and ways of this world.  Finally, it changes our entire outlook on life and our priority systems.

There is no greater blessing in all the universe than to live in relationship with Jesus Christ and living according to His leading will surely improve all of our human relationships.

Why would we ever wish to neglect this relationship?

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Truth

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Don Merritt

Does the truth really count for anything anymore? Does anybody really care, or is the truth just whatever it seems like to me?

Does government tell us the truth about anything?  Do politicians tell the truth about anything? How about the news media, are they telling the truth about the stories they report?

Well, I can’t say, for there is clearly enough falsehood flying around out there that when people do tell the truth you really have to wonder…

So, what is truth?

We aren’t the first people to ask this question; in fact, it’s as old as the Scriptures.  It’s a question that Pilate asked Jesus two thousand years ago. (John 18:38) Jesus told Pilate that He “came into the world to testify to the truth.” He also taught us that He is “The way, the truth and the life”  (John 14:6).

As Christians there is one thing that we can be certain of: Jesus is Truth; His words are true.  We need to keep this in mind as we see and hear the world around us proclaim “alternate” truths.  If these “truths” conflict with the teachings and person of Christ, they are falsehoods. As we listen to newscasts talk about things that conflict with what Jesus taught… we know what to conclude.

The truth is that very little in this world is what it appears to be! This is the lesson of Scripture, and it is the lesson of history, and it is the first rule of understanding our world.

We can place our faith and our trust in Jesus− all else is questionable.

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The Wedding Feast- 2

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Don Merritt

This is a continuation of our discussion of the Parable of the Wedding Feast that was started last time. I would recommend that if you haven’t done so, you should read that post before reading this one for best results.

Luke’s account of this parable takes place shortly after his account of the reaction of one of the guests at the Pharisee’s house. Jesus had been speaking to them about the Sabbath and the Kingdom after He had healed a man right in front of them on that Sabbath day. As you will recall, none of these great men had much to say that day until after Jesus gave them some social advice in 14:7-14:

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (14:15)

As you can see, verse 15 is the transition between the last part and the Great Banquet parable. In this parable, a man puts on a large banquet for many guests. When the banquet is about ready, he sends his servant to let the invited participants know the time has come, but in the three examples we have in the parable, each guest has a lame excuse. The first must rush out to see some property he has just purchased; it would seem he bought real estate sight unseen. The second invitee needed to try out a new team of oxen he has recently purchased, and the third says he must stay home because he’s a newlywed.

Seriously?

The host is not at all pleased, and sends his servant out to invite the poor in the town; they come gladly, but there is still room, so he sends the servant back out to the highways and byways to invite all comers, for he is determined that none who have rejected his generosity will taste of his banquet.

Consider the scene in which this parable was given: Jesus is dining in the home of a Pharisee on the Sabbath. The other guests are Pharisees and teachers of the law, and they have set Him up by having a man present who was in need of healing; they wanted an excuse to accuse Jesus of a violation and Jesus obliged them. Then He gave His explanation asking if they would not save their ox or child if either had fallen into a well on the Sabbath and they had nothing to say to that. Then He told two brief parables about banquets, one dealing with the place of honor, humility and the first being last and the last being first, and then about the blessings of inviting people to their tables who could not repay them with a return invitation, and now this one.

When we look at it in context, we can easily see that the ones Jesus was speaking to were the ones who gave lame excuses at the last minute to the Great Banquet, and that the Great Banquet is the Kingdom of God, and that God is the host. Jesus was in their midst proclaiming that the Kingdom was at hand; they were the ones with the lame excuses like “let’s see if He will heal someone on the Sabbath so we can accuse Him!”

Such great men of high position would never taste God’s banquet, but those who were poor and outcast, even Gentiles, would receive God’s invitation with gladness.

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