2023

Matthew 17: 24-27

(24) And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? (25) He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? (26) Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. (27) Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

  This is one of those passages that will make you think a little. The custom of those days you paid a tax to the Temple, this would be different than the tithe or offering. The temple was viewed as the focal point of the people’s faith. Now that Jesus is here, Jesus is trying to teach that He is now the focal point of everyone’s faith. Those who collect the tax asked Peter if his master does not pay His tax? Peter answered yes and went into Jesus. Here is the lesson. Jesus says to Peter, whom do the kings make pay taxes, Their own children, or strangers? Peter answers strangers. Jesus answers then are the children free?  Jesus is now making the point that we are all children of God; our focus is no longer on the temple but the source of our faith which is God Himself and no tax needs to be paid to be in right standing.  Jesus goes on and says let’s not offend them and gives peter the instructions to go fish and the first fish he catches there will be money in it's mouth he can use to pay the tax for both of them.

Exodus 30:15  "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.” 

We can definitely see where the tradition of this monetary tax stems from, very biblical. Take the time to read the whole chapter of Exodus 30. Now that Jesus is here, that changes everything. No more "law”, all about grace now.

Romans 13:6  "For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.”     Paul is instructing us to be sure we pay for whom should be paid. Ministers do need to be paid, and most churches now pay them through the tithes and offerings. Especially if we are using their resources. You should never "have’ to pay to be a part of a church. We are the children of God, we do not pay taxes to the church. Lets us make sure we do not get that confused with our tithes and offerings. Those are instructed of us so the church has the resources to carry out Gods ministries.

Malachi 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Let’s move on to catching a fish with money in it’s mouth. We can ask the question, what are the chances of catching a fish with money in its mouth? We would probably answer, not going to happen. When God instructs us to do something, We need to have the faith that He has already put everything into motion for us to be able to carry out what He has asked for us. Someone must have thrown money in the sea, or lost it when a boat capsized, or whatever, it was in God’s plan that they no longer needed that money. Then the fish that Peter was going to catch had to have somehow put the money in its mouth. Then the first fish Peter catches is the same fish that has the money in its mouth. Coincidence? Once again, what would be the chances? Has this ever happened before or since? Of course many fish sharks will eat anything, but remember, the money was in its mouth. Did the fish just happen upon the money when Peter started fishing. Think about all the processes that needed to happen. Remember when God told Abraham to sacrifice Issac? God provided a ram. Think about this. As Abraham and Issac were walking up the mountain, the ram also was doing its part as God would have instructed. Many times we have seen in the bible animals playing a part in God’ plan.

Think about the times when something great has happened to you. Ponder a moment to look at all the things that would have needed to happen to get to what you needed. God is constantly working on our behalf. Much of that are things we do not even know or consider because we always focus on the end game. Maybe you lost money one time. Maybe that money was found in the same manner as in this story, and your lost money was actually a part of God’s plan in someone else’s life. We need to look at all things are for God’s glory

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.