Truly I tell you, you will not come out of that place until you have paid the very last penny.
With these words Jesus concludes the previous warning, emphasizing that unreconciled conflict and the unresolved debt of sin lead to unavoidable judgment. “The last penny” symbolizes full repayment, down to the smallest detail, showing that God’s justice is perfect and nothing is left overlooked. This is a spiritual exhortation to be reconciled and to repent while there is still time, because afterward no one can escape just repayment. Jesus teaches that whoever rejects the way of love and does not settle the debt of his sin is, in the end, shut up in the prison of judgment until his soul is released from every debt.