Anger
Verses 25-26: The Savior then went on to say that even if “thine adversary” (an opponent at law), disagrees with you; it is to your advantage to be reconciled to him. Jesus’ exhortation here is to urge us to go out of our way to avoid legal conflicts before human judges (verse 40). The payment of debt and the “prison” referred to here, simply mean the normal legal process that one would encounter in a civil suit.
Matthew
5:25 “Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the
way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast
into prison.”
with
thine adversary...
Opponent at law. Under Roman law an adversary could force his
opponent to go before the judge (Mat. 18:28-30). If he would settle
on the way to the judge he would not be tried in court (Luke
12:58-59).
whiles thou art... Jesus calls for reconciliation to be sought eagerly, aggressively, quickly, even if it involves self-sacrifice. It is better to be wronged than to allow a dispute between brethren to be a cause for dishonoring Christ.
I really believe that Jesus told us that if there is any possible way to settle something out of court, do it. People have gotten into a rut, suing everyone for the slightest thing. Most things could be settled out of court, if people would just try. There is no reason for two Christians to fight something out in court. The two should get together, and pray, and each gives a little.
These terribly expensive court cases could be stopped. Give a little if necessary, it will be cheaper than hiring an attorney. Praying together can solve many problems. Learn to forgive and forget. Christians should not subject themselves to the judges of this earth. There is one Judge and His name is Jesus.
Such wrongful attitudes should be dealt with and made right. Reconciliation between brothers must be accomplished whether the “innocent” (Mat. 5:23-24) or the “offending” (Mat. 5:25-26) brother takes the first step.
0 comments:
Post a Comment