Next Jesus says, “Agree with thine adversary quickly.” There are two ways to answer the question of who this adversary may be. First, when we are with a group of people preparing for any holy sacrificial activity, and we realize that some dispute exists that may lead to litigation, the “adversary” would be the person who is accusing us in court. We are to leave and settle the issue as best we can before we proceed, so that our spiritual activities are not impaired.
A second way to understand who the “adversary” is may come from the Hebrew term for an adversary, or a prosecutor, or a plaintiff. In Jewish law the term is a satan. The devil, or Lucifer, is called Satan because at the final judgment, he will be our accuser. He will be the plaintiff. He will be there making accusations and trying to win the day. Against him, we will have Jesus as our advocate, if we have retained Him through our repentance and acceptance. I do not know that there is an allusion here in this text to Satan, but it is interesting that the terminology is such that it may already have in mind the final judgment. Jesus may be saying here that we need to put Satan quickly aside and to get out of Satan’s way. We do not “settle” with Satan by agreeing with him, and we are not going to win any fights against him without the help of the Savior. But we take refuge in the temple, getting quickly into a safe place where we can make our offerings amidst a group of faithful people, we are stronger together against the forces of evil.