Jesus had testified to being the Jews’ Messiah, the Son of God, and he had performed many miracles to prove his claims. Yet the people refused to believe him. He admonished them for their inability to rightly discern their circumstances. “And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud out of the west, straightway ye say, there cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, there will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:54-57). The people knew his claims and they saw his miracles, but they refused to believe.
In light of their obstinacy, Christ gave this admonition. “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. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite” (Luke 12:58-59). The meaning is plain enough. When your adversary has a claim against you, settle it with him before he takes you before the judge where the matter will no longer be in your hand.
Jesus taught his audience that there is coming a day of reckoning when every man will appear before the Judge. Then it will be too late to be reconciled. Scripture is filled with this warning. The author of Hebrews testifies “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
We shall all one day stand before God, our Maker and Judge, one day and answer for our sins. His absolute holiness demands that “the very last mite” must be paid. This is a debt that we cannot pay. No amount of good works can eradicate the guilt and stain of our sins. “But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being justified [declared righteous] by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9).
It is by the blood of Christ that we are washed of our sins, forgiven, and declared righteous in the court room of heaven. Christ bore the wrath due each of us for our sins on the cross of Calvary. He died for me, and he died for you. We dare not be like those in our Savior’s day that could “discern the face of the sky and of the earth” but not discern this time of his claim to be their Messiah. Rather, we should heed the Lord’s admonition to settle the matter before we are delivered to the Judge where exaction of the debt shall be made.
Now is the time to come to Christ if you have not already. For God “commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). The resurrected Lord is both Savior and Judge. He is Savior to those who trust in him and will judge those who have not believed. Which one will he be to you?
From the Chaplain 