Church Fathers Commentary Luke 12:58-59

"For as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on the way give diligence to be quit of him; lest haply he drag thee unto the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer shall cast thee into prison. I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite." — Luke 12:58-59 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: After describing a rightful dispute, our Lord next teaches us about a rightful reconciliation, saying, When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, as you are in the way, make every effort that you may be delivered from him, and so on. It is as if He is saying, “When your adversary is bringing you to judgment, make every effort—that is, try every method—to be released from him.” Or, “make every effort” could mean that even if you have nothing, you should borrow in order to be released from him, lest he summon you before the judge. As it follows, Lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: There you will suffer hardship until you pay the last farthing. This is what He adds when He says, I say to you, you shall not depart from there.

St. John Chrysostom: It seems to me that He is speaking of present-day judges, the path to a present-day judgment, and the prisons of this world. For ignorant people are accustomed to learn from these things which are visible and present. He often gives a lesson not only from future good and evil but also from present good and evil, for the sake of His simpler hearers.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Alternatively, our adversary is the devil, who sets his traps for sin so that he may have as partners in punishment those who were his accomplices in crime. Our adversary is also every sinful practice. Lastly, our adversary is an evil conscience, which affects us in this world and will accuse and betray us in the next. Let us then take care, while we are in the course of this life, that we may be delivered from every evil deed as from a wicked enemy.

Indeed, while we are going with our adversary to the magistrate, as we are on the way, we should condemn our own sin. And who is the magistrate but the One in whose hands is all power?

But the Magistrate delivers the guilty to the Judge—that is, to Him to whom He gives power over the living and the dead, namely, Jesus Christ, through whom secrets are revealed and punishment for wicked deeds is assigned. The Judge delivers the guilty to the officer, and the officer casts them into prison, for He says, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness. And He shows that His officers are the angels, of whom He says, The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire.

But it is added, I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite. For just as those who pay money on interest do not get rid of the debt before the entire principal is paid, down to the very last sum, so also the punishment for sin is canceled by the compensation of love and other acts, or by each particular kind of satisfaction.

Origen of Alexandria: Or else, He here introduces four characters: the adversary, the magistrate, the officer, and the judge. In Matthew, however, the character of the magistrate is left out, and a servant is introduced instead of the officer. The accounts also differ in that one has written "a farthing" and the other "a mite," but each has called it the last.

We say that all people have two angels with them: a bad one who encourages them to wicked deeds, and a good one who persuades them toward all that is best. The former—our adversary—rejoices whenever we sin, knowing that he has an occasion for exultation and boasting before the prince of this world, who sent him. But in the Greek, "the adversary" is written with the article to signify that he is one out of many, seeing that each individual is under the ruler of his nation. Therefore, be diligent so that you may be delivered from your adversary, or from the ruler to whom the adversary drags you, by having wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

But if you have been diligent, let it be in Him who says, I am the life; otherwise, the adversary will drag you to the judge. He uses the word "drag" to point out that people are forced unwillingly to condemnation. But I know no other judge than our Lord Jesus Christ, who delivers the guilty to the officer.

Each of us has our own officers. The officers exercise rule over us if we owe anything. If I had paid everyone everything, I could come to the officers and answer with a fearless heart, “I owe them nothing.” But if I am a debtor, the officer will cast me into prison, and he will not allow me to go out from there until I have paid every debt. For the officer has no power to forgive me even a farthing.

He who forgave one debtor five hundred pence and another fifty was the Lord, but the collector is not the master, but one appointed by the master to demand the debts. He calls the last mite "slight" and "small," for our sins are either heavy or slight. Happy then is the one who does not sin, and next in happiness is the one who has sinned only slightly. Even among slight sins there is diversity; otherwise, He would not say, until he has paid the last mite. For if someone owes a little, he shall not come out until he pays the last mite. But he who has been guilty of a great debt will require endless ages for his payment.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, our adversary on the way is the word of God, which opposes our carnal desires in this life; and the one who is subject to its precepts is delivered from it. Otherwise, he will be delivered to the judge, for the sinner who shows contempt for God's word will be accounted guilty in the judgment.

The judge will deliver him to the officer, that is, to the evil spirit for punishment. He will then be cast into prison, that is, into hell. There, because he will always have to pay the penalty by suffering but can never obtain pardon by paying it, he will never come out from there. Instead, with that most terrible serpent, the devil, he will suffer everlasting punishment.