The Debtor
Luke 12.54-59: 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Jesus is speaking here to a nation (“the crowd”) that he knows is condemned to be destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., but a nation that he wants to save (Luke 13.34). The Jews of this generation should be able to recognize in the events they are witness to, including the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus, indications that God’s judgment against them is approaching inescapably. Matthew 3.7: 7 “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” The signs of the times are clear enough for the Jews to understand they must repent.
And yet, they do not understand. They have eyes to see, but no will to see. For, they are convinced that they are already right with God. Jesus calls them “hypocrites”.
This word, which appears only twice in the Septuagint (Job 34.30; 36.13) translates the Hebrew term hanef, the designation of a man who has turned from God. Luke uses the term two more times in his Gospel: in Luke 6.42, of the Pharisees who are always on the lookout for the speck in their brother’s eye but do not see the plank in their own eye; and in Luke 13.15, of the synagogue officials who think that observing the sabbath ritual is more important than showing mercy. Jesus does not accuse these people of what we call “hypocrisy” (consciously pretending to be what one is not or to believe what one does not). He accuses them of having deformed religious thinking: they cannot recognize the truth because they have perverted the ways of God. They cannot discern the storm clouds that are already gathering over the land and that will break forth into the cataclysm of 66-70.
The parable of the debtor illustrates the situation of the Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries. When two adversaries are in court, the guilty party (here a debtor) had best come to an settlement with the plaintiff before they appear before the judge. Because, once in the courtroom, he can no longer escape the merciless course of justice and will inevitably end up in prison. Coming to a settlement out of court would be by far the wisest thing to do.
The Jews, likewise, should spare no effort to get right with God before his judgment strikes their nation. Because, for them, the court is already in session, and their divine creditor is determined to have them brought to justice. They have already waited too long; the legal procedure is already under way. If they want to escape the sentence, the must hurry to make peace with God while there is still time. Soon it will be too late, and justice will run its course. Luc 3.9 : 9 “The ax is already at the root of the trees.”