Wednesday, 23 November 2022

Matthew 5:25 Who Is Your Judge?

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Matthew 5:25-26 Make friends quickly with your opponent while you are with him on the way. Otherwise, your opponent may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the assistant, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back the last penny!

Part 1 was last time's piece, "Who is your opponent?" Today we will deal with "Who is your judge?" But before we do, let's set this up a little more. As I read this verse and its context, I'm persuaded that Yeshua is making a general demand for integrity in His body.

Rabbi's Note: When I say, "His body," I'm referring to the entire body of believers. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13,27 For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body - though many - are one body, so also is Messiah. For in one Ruach we were all immersed into one body - whether Jewish or Greek, slave or free - and all were made to drink of one Ruach ... Now you are the body of Messiah, and members individually. End RN.

Integrity can be summed up in the Hebrew word Kavenah, which is commonly translated as "intentionality." A derivative is, Ani Mit'kaven, which means "I really mean it." As the old saying goes, "Say what you mean and mean what you say." But nothing is finished until it's done, so don't pass over the doing.

Rabbi Trail: This leads me to address another old adage called, "finagle the bagel." To finagle the bagel is to find a way to "wiggle off the hook." It means to make enough excuses so that you ultimately don't do what you said you would do. This piece of Yeshua's sermon is warning us against such behavior in His kingdom.

You might be tempted to say, I'll wait until I'm in His kingdom. Don't wait, the time is now. This was Yeshua's message early in His ministry. Mark 1:15 "Now is the fullness of time," He said, "and the kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins, and believe in the Good News!" "The kingdom of God is near" means the kingdom of God is available to you right now.

God does not want His people to be a people who "finagle the bagel," or wiggle out of their commitments. 1 Corinthians 4:2 In this case, moreover, what is required of stewards is to be found trustworthy. Be trustworthy. End RT.

So, after all that, who is your judge? Let's be clear ... you be glad that I'm not your judge, and I'll be glad you're not mine. Satan would condemn us both, so we should also be glad that he is not our judge. That leaves God as our judge.

Isaiah 33:22 For Adonai is our Judge, Adonai is our Lawgiver, Adonai is our King - He will save us!

I have good news. He is merciful. His mercy is called grace and is new every morning. God's character is grace oriented. When the Lord passed by Moses, what did Moses hear? Exodus 34:6-7 Then Adonai passed before him, and proclaimed, "Adonai, Adonai, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, to the third and fourth generation."

One last note about our subject verse. "Agree with your adversary" does not mean to make an agreement with Satan. It means to fulfill your commitments in a way that is agreeable to both parties, and do that quickly, before you have to be taken to court. Too often, followers of Yeshua are giving Yeshua a bad name, saying, "There's grace for that," as an excuse for not fulfilling commitments. Let's be the people of God and reflect His character of honesty and integrity. God keeps His commitments. Let's follow His example.

Hebrews 6:8 So by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.