Matthew 17:24-27

Peter Opens the Fish's Mouth and Finds a Coin

25 He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?"

26 When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt.

27 "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me."

The Story of Peter, The Coin, and The Fish

First, let's not forget that Matthew was a tax collector when he first met Jesus so it makes perfect sense that he mentions this incident in his gospel writings.

 

The money owed, and spoken of here, was a temple tax which had to be paid by all Jewish males of the day. Since Jesus came as a man, He too was subject to paying the same tariffs and tributes.

Did Christ really owe any tax? No, but He paid them to satisfy those who did not understand who He was. Peter also had to pay tribute and Jesus supplied the money but Peter did have to participate to get it by catching the fish.

You see, God freely gives us salvation through our belief in Jesus Christ but He wants us to take an active part in our salvation too. I remember an old joke about faith. It goes something like this ...

A man was caught on his roof after a heavy rain and following flood. He was desperate to be saved from slipping off the roof and drowning.

Along came a rescue boat. The men in the boat tried to coax the man off the roof but he said to them; "No, God will save me."

Later, another boat came along. "I'll wait. God is going to save me."

Then, along comes a helicopter. The loud speaker burst out. "We've come to rescue you. We'll lower a cable to pull you up to safety." "I'm okay." said the man on the roof. "I'm praying that God will get me down from here."

The helicopter left and the man was alone. After several hours with the water rising higher and higher, the man cried out; "God, I've prayed and prayed. Why haven't you saved me?"

He heard a voice from heaven say; "I offered .. I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

Everything we have, or ever will have, comes to us from God. But, He wants us to do some of the work to make things happen. I wonder while writing this, what have I done for God today? What have you done?

Oh, the tax? Well, we have to pay taxes to our government but our first loyalty should always be to Christ. The government can give us services but Jesus offers eternal life. Nuff said!

 

Love in Christ

- Bob

Matthew 17:22-23 - Jesus Tells about His Death the Second Time - In this Baptist study Christ reveals the future to His disciples but they failed to grasp the concept of resurrection and what it truly meant. Do you?