Settling Disputes (Matthew 5:25, 26)

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2007-11-09 12:50.

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A failure to settle disputes quickly can have serious consequences. The wise course is to straighten out a matter before it leads to a judicial proceeding. Jesus warned that a failure to act swiftly (while there was still time before the accuser presented his case before the judge) could lead to a severe judgment — imprisonment with no hope of release until the last quadrans, a Roman bronze coin of low value, was paid. (Matthew 5:25, 26) Sixty-four quadrans equaled one denarius, which was the equivalent of a day’s wages.

Note:

At the time Jesus exposed the failure of those who refused to put faith in him, he repeated the teaching about settling a dispute. In this particular setting, he appears to have been illustrating the need for making peace with God before it would prove to be too late. (Luke 12:54-59) In view of the earlier reference to making peace with one’s brother so as to be at peace with God and in a proper condition for offering a sacrifice, this thought may also be inferred from the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.