This week in our New Testament Survey class we went over the Gospel of Matthew. There was one story that really stuck out to me, that I had not really noticed before, and that was Matthew 17:24-27, the story of the temple tax.
So the context is pretty simple, Jesus and his disciples are in Capernaum. Peter is hanging out somewhere, when the collectors of the temple tax come up to him. They ask, “Hey does Jesus not pay the temple tax?”
Peter’s response is rather brilliant: “Yes.” Now I’m not sure if he’s intending to be deceitful or not, but if you’re going to be inarticulate enough to ask a question involving a negative, then you deserve the ambiguity of a yes/no response. “Wait, do you mean ‘yes’ he doesn’t pay the tax, or ‘yes’ he does pay the tax…?” This probably buys Peter some time to race back to Jesus. “Uh… both….?”
This story is really amazing in that it’s only four verses but it tells us so much about Jesus, about our need for Jesus, his love for us, and our new identity that is now found in Jesus. Peter gets backs to the house and before he can even say anything, Jesus shows himself to be all-knowing, and preemptive: “And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?””
This initiative from Jesus shows two things: Jesus knows our hearts. I’m sure as Peter is leaving the tax collectors he’s starting to worry and be concerned about payment, about authority, about their collective interaction with the Jewish leaders, wondering how Jesus will respond, etc. And the beauty about Jesus is that he is always willing to deal with the weight upon our hearts. He doesn’t even ask Peter “what’s wrong?” He already knows, and he’s already dealing with it. The second thing that it shows me is that Jesus is able to make a teaching moment out of anything, and we should have our hearts and minds open in any and all circumstances.
The question begs an obvious and clear answer, and whenever we are confronted with such questions, many of us pause. Uh… trick question? Jesus is a masterful teacher and there is a reason for the obvious clarity and simplicity in the answer. “And when Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said, “Then the sons are free.”
This is one of those moments where I put down my Bible, take off my glasses, close my eyes, and just shake my head in awe.
Then the sons are free.
The weight of this statement is crazy. Because through analogy Jesus is saying: No longer do you have to pay taxes, not to the collectors and now not to God. You’re no longer in debt, because the king does not, ever, at all, tax his sons – as everyone knows. And by the way I am the king, so that means you’re my son. Because of who I am, changes who you are. And that means you’re free.
Jesus reinforces this analogous claim by telling Peter how to pay the tax, and prophetically telling him where he can find the money. In a fish’s mouth. Clearly a miracle; Jesus is the one who pays. So how do we pay off our debts, how does we satisfy the tax collectors? Through Jesus, and obeying what he tells us to do. Why do we obey him? Because we’re his sons and we know that he loves us.
That’s just amazing.
It’s also interesting that Jesus has Peter find the money through the means of Peter’s own occupation, fishing. Jesus teaches and reveals himself through the “mundane.” More often than not, he meets us where we are.
“When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give to them for me and for yourself.”
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