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Luke 12:58 |
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When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, [as thou art] in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.
Note 7 at Lk. 12:58: Just as in the parallel passage found in Matthew 5:23-26, Jesus has just spoken about relationships before He gave this parable of delivering ourselves from the judge (see notes 15-16 at Mt. 5:25, p. 75). The warning is clear that we should do everything within our power to avoid strife (Rom. 12:18). However, the consequences of failing to settle the differences are more than just physical prison or punishment.
Strife can produce spiritual and emotional prisons. James 3:16 says, "where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Depressions, fears, loneliness, bitterness, sicknesses, financial problems, and many other things can become prisons from which we cannot be delivered until we reconcile.
