Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'Rain is coming.' And so it happens. When you feel the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat.' And so it happens. Hypocrites! you can read the signs of the face of the earth and the sky. How can you not read the signs of this time? Why do you not for yourselves judge what is right? When you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, make an effort to come to an agreement with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not come out from there until you have paid the last farthing."

The Jew's of Palestine were weatherwise. When they saw the clouds forming in the west, over the Mediterranean Sea, they knew rain was on the way. When the south wind blew from the desert they knew the sirocco-like wind was coming. But those who were so wise to read the signs of the sky could not, or would not, read the signs of the times. If they had, they would have seen that the kingdom of God was on the way.

Jesus used a very vivid illustration. He said, "When you are threatened with a law-suit, come to an agreement with your adversary before the matter comes to court, for if you do not you will have imprisonment to endure and a fine to pay." The assumption is that the defendant has a bad case which will inevitably go against him. "Every man, Jesus implied, "has a bad case in the presence of God; and if he is wise, he will make his peace with God while yet there is time."

Jesus and all his great servants have always been obsessed with the urgency of time. Andrew Marvell spoke of ever hearing "time's winged chariot hurrying near." There are some things a man cannot afford to put off; above all, making his peace with God.

We read in the last verse of paying to the last farthing. We have already come across several references to money; and it will be useful if we collect the information about Jewish coinage in the time of Jesus. In order of value the principal coins were as follows:

The Lepton; lepton (G3016) means the thin one; it was the smallest coin, and was worth about one thirty-second of 1 pence. It was the widow's mite (Mark 12:42) and is the coin mentioned here.

The Quadrans (G2835) was worth two lepta and therefore worth about one-sixteenth of 1 pence. It is mentioned in Matthew 5:26.

The Assarion (G787) was worth a little less than 1/2 pence. It is mentioned in Matthew 10:29 and Luke 12:6.

The Denarius (G1220) was worth about 3 pence. It was a day's pay for a working man (Matthew 20:2); and was the coin that the Good Samaritan left with the innkeeper (Luke 10:25).

The Drachma (G1406) was a silver coin worth about 4 pence. It was the coin which the woman lost and searched for (Luke 15:8).

The Didrachma (G1323) or Half-shekel was worth about 7 pence. It was the amount of the Temple Tax which everyone had to pay. It was for thirty didrachmae--about 2 British pounds--that Judas betrayed Jesus.

The Shekel (G4715) was worth about 15 pence, and was the coin found in the fish's mouth (Matthew 17:27).

The Mina (G3414) is the coin mentioned in the parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27). It was equal to 100 drachmae; and was, therefore, worth about 4 British pounds.

The Talent (G5007) was not so much a coin but a weight of silver worth 240 British pounds. It is mentioned in Matthew 18:24 and in the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).