Tyler1

25. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

What am I missing to find meaning in this? Are we to ask for forgivness, from our adversary, before matters are brought to the law. Or is there a deeper message? Any help is appreciated

Sylvanus

Here, Jesus was refering to both matters of law, and of deeper meaning.

Contextually, He said in the preceeding verses:
Matthew 5:23-24
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

To be at peace with God, we must also be at peace with our fellow brethen.
Even if we are not in the wrong, for in those verses, you are the enemy.

andiclare

The context is important here. The preceding verses are about anger towards our brothers. Thou shall not kill...anger is the underlying motive behind murder, so Jesus says that the sin of anger in itself is the sin of murder. It's poisonous to our spirit. And unrepentent sinners will not be shown mercy in the final judgement.

Opus Dei

There is always a deeper message. You can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture.

1. The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.

2. The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.

2a. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.

2b. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction."

2c. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.

So, what would the anagogical sense of this passage be? Prison was often referred to as the realm of the dead in the OT. Is it possible that there is a waiting place in the realm of the dead?

Boanerges

Perhaps you are referring to Abraham's Bosom which was the waiting place for Old Covenant saints waiting for Christ's redeeming sacrifice?

__________________
“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Opus Dei

Ah, but this is a New Testament passage we are looking at.

Boanerges

Ah but it was before the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross which initiated the New Covenant.

__________________
“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Tyler1

I don't know if you can say anger is the same as murder (the bible doesen't, but feel free to prove me wrong), if you get angry you aren't thinking about killing somebody, versus adultery in your mind is the same sin as the physical sin, you are commiting the sin in your mind.

Anger is very poisonous to our spirit, no doubt about that.

Boanerges

1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

I have often pondered why God had these statements in His book but then lust and adultery have the same root. Murder and hatred often have the same root. It seems to stem from what is already in our hearts(the tendency to sin or iniquity) and what we allow ourselves to succumb to.

__________________
“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Tyler1

Thanks for the info. WOW, I can't believe I've missed this verse over the years.