← Purgatory
Matthew 5:25-26
Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
Catholic Perspective
Jesus speaks parabolically but directly, here. The metaphor of the “prison” implies a temporary “holding place” for purgatorial suffering. The “penny,” or kodtrantes, represents the “lesser transgressions” being emphasized. These would be venial sins for which Christians can make atonement in cooperation with God’s grace.
Interestingly, the Greek word for prison, phulake, is the same word used by St. Peter to describe the spiritual “holding place” into which Jesus descended after his death to liberate the detained souls of Old Testament believers (1 Pet. 3:19).
Common Objections
| + | JESUS IS ONLY REFERRING TO HIMSELF IN THIS VERSE. |
Next Verse2 Maccabees 12:42-46And they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out . . .. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin. |  |
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