4
tion. We are the accused man on the steps of
the court, whose case is hopeless. Now is the
very last moment for him to settle up with his
brother. We’re like the unjust steward, with a
knife at our throat because all our deceptions
have been revealed. Everything is at risk for
the guy. Life in prison, goodbye to wife and
kids, poverty… stretch out before him.
He must get right with his brethren by
forgiving them their debts.
The kind King who immediately, frankly
forgave his indebted servant was alluding to
the seventh year release for slaves (Mt.
18:26). But this King, despite the insincerity
of this servant, simply proclaims the forgive-
ness and release there and then. This is how
King Jesus operates- He makes the seventh
year of release the ongoing status in which He
lives with men and women. And this is to be
our pattern, not waiting until the seventh
year, not demanding a passage of time or
partial restoration before we forgive, but
doing so immediately without attention to
issues of sincerity of repentance. The King’s
example in immediately offering the spirit of
the seventh year release is surely saying that
we should forgive and accept without
demanding any passage of time. Observation
of ecclesial life suggests that in the end,
members are often forgiven about anything,
but it just takes time. But if forgiveness is
going to be granted, why not grant it immedi-
ately…
Readiness to leave
Israel ate the Passover in haste (Ex. 12:11,33);
their attitude of being ready to leave straight
away is representative of the attitude of the
faithful as they await the midnight call to
leave ‘Egypt’ at the second coming. Lot and
his family dithered in leaving Sodom [cited as
a type of our response to the Lord’s return]
because of the pull of materialism. The
parable of the man who built bigger barns
taught that in some senses we should be in the
Lord’s service like there’s no tomorrow. He
expected His followers to respond immedi-
ately, to pay the price today rather than
tomorrow, with no delay or procrastination.
Editorial | “Yes, straight away” ... continued ~
There is an emphasis in His teaching on imme-
diacy of response, single-mindedness and
unrestrained giving. This is radical stuff for
21st century people in the grip of manic mate-
rialism and the planning for the future which
characterizes capitalism.
The immediacy of response required is clear
in Mt. 24:18. Even grabbing an outer garment,
equivalent of a jacket, would lead to unwor-
thiness and destruction. The call to leave must
be responded to immediately, with the faith
that what clothing we have on is utterly irrel-
evant. If we are living in a spirit of immediate
response to the Lord, then this will seamlessly
continue when we realize “He’s back!”. There
will be no delay, but an immediate response
to His call. This accords with the description
of the righteous as opening the door immedi-
ately in response to the ‘knock’ of the second
coming (Lk 12:36).
Response to the Word
The Lord is the greatest example of immediate
response. He was of “Quick understanding in
the fear of the Lord” (Is. 11:3 AV; “finds
pleasure in obeying Him”, GNB). The word
‘immediate’ is often used of the Lord in this
way: “And immediately Jesus, perceiving in
his spirit…” (Mk. 2:8). A word or hint from the
Father, an implication from His word, was
enough- and the Lord responded immediately.
The same word comes to us as we read it daily.
We are to ‘run’ in response, especially in these
last days (Dan. 12:4); “that he may run who
hears it” (Hab. 2:2), just as Samuel ran
straight away to Eli when he heard the Lord’s
voice (1 Sam. 3:5). David felt likewise: “I will
run [‘make haste’] in the way of your
commandments” (Ps. 119:32). But he also
observed that God’s word “runs very swiftly”
(Ps. 147:15). He ran in response to the running
of God’s word. Hence Jer. 23:21 uses the same
idiom to describe how those who spoke forth
God’s word ‘run’ with it. The word is to
become flesh in us, as it did in the Lord. And
so we ask: When was the last time we read or
heard something from the word, and actually
did something concrete in response? We read
of baptism, and went out and got immersed in