Oct 1986 - Q & A

What was Jesus' meaning in Mat. 5:26? It seems to imply a type of purgatory.

It's interesting that the Lord introduced a very similar warning on a different occasion, as we read in Luke 12:58,59. I don't understand either of these passages as having reference to future divine judgement. Rather they appear to be the Lord's counsel against an obdurate attitude which insists on pursuing a quarrel instead of accepting amicable settlement. In Mat. 5 this attitude is shown to be out of character with the privilege of offering to God at the altar. In Luke 12 it is seen as inappropriate to the critical time of the presence of the King, with the tremendous issues then at stake for the nation. To pursue a petty private feud against that background betrayed lack of spiritual perspective: failure to understand the time.

In both situations this foolish attitude would lead to severe penalty, likened to paying the last mite in a debtor's prison. In this way the Lord illustrated the severely penalizing results of a quarrelsome spirit.

unknown | Oct 1986
Question And Answer