Matthew shared how Jesus began to preach saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, and He called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be His followers. Matthew continued to share how Jesus' fame spread throughout Galilee, and many others were gathered unto Him. Matthew continued by sharing how Jesus taught concerning the “beatitudes” of the “Kingdom of Heaven”, and He said His disciples were the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” and if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus continued with the example, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: ... whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has ought against you: Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus told His disciples, “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison”, and in chapter five and verse twenty-six of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples, “you shall not come out … till you have paid the uttermost farthing” where we read:
Verily
I say unto you, You shall by no means come out from there,
till you have paid the uttermost farthing.
The verse reads, “Verily I say unto you, You shall by no means come out from there, ...” Matthew began with the word, “verily” which means “firmly, faithfully, surely and truly” “I say” which means “Jesus utters, declares and proclaims” “unto you” or “to the disciples”, “you shall by no means” which means “the disciples were in not in the least” “come out from there” or “flow, emanate and issue from the prison”. Jesus 'firmly and faithfully” declared how the person who was thrown into “prison” would not escape from there.
The verse continues, “... till you have paid the uttermost farthing.” Matthew continued with the word, “till” which means “until” “you have paid” or “the person in prison has delivered, discharged, produced and rendered” “the uttermost” which means “the extreme last, farthest and final” “farthing” or “a quadrans and the coin equal to one half the Attic chalcus worth about three eighths of a cent”. Jesus told His disciples the one thrown in prison would not be released until they paid every fractional cent of what they owed.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus warns of the result of not “agreeing with an adversary” before going before a judge. Should the judge side with the opposite side, the person sued might spend time in “debtors prison” until they have paid their debt in full. God knows every person is “indebted” to Him, and those who are wise shall receive His Son Jesus as their “Savior and Lord” who paid their “sin debt” before they appear before Him alone. May all who read these words consider “agreeing” with God before they meet the final judge “face to face”.
Next time Jesus tells His disciples, “you have heard … you shall not commit adultery”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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