4 Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the [l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 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 [p]stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”
Today is the last Sunday of 2020, and we begin a new year next week. Like many, we pray and are very worried about our government’s actions, and how people are being affected, with protests increasing against government policies. Even as I speak, the farmers’ protest in Delhi has been going on for 33 days, as we all know.
Government actions like last year’s demonetization and the GST tax badly affected thousands of businesses. The unemployment rate is the worst in 45 years. Petrol is 91 per liter, onion prices are 120 rupees, and all prices are going up. On top of that, COVID made things worse.
On top of this, next year in April, for salaried employees earning above some level, our take-home salary will be reduced due to a policy where more money will go to PF and gratuity, so the government can use that. Personally, I don’t like that. More and more, there is a tendency in our hearts against paying tax. I pay a lot of tax, and to see that money used not for the poor and public, but for big statues and buildings, and for publicity, makes my blood boil. The question comes: why should I pay the tax properly now? It angers me. How do we react?
What should be our reaction to all this in the coming years if things get worse? Many churches and Christians are angry because the government canceled foreign funds and is putting strict rules for Christian ministry taxes, donations, and offertory. Some Christians say this is the time we should get angry and stand against government policies, be involved in politics, and join the protests. Others say we should maintain our gospel priorities and not be mixed up with the political issues. Where does the Christian truly find his balance? What is a believer’s relationship to the world and its authority, its government, when everything is wrong and corrupt—when power is misused, political games are played, and MLAs are bought? This passage wonderfully answers the question: how should a disciple of Christ react to this situation, reacting to the government in terms of submitting to them and paying taxes, in spite of all the wrong things they are doing?
Remember, Jesus will leave them in six months. The disciples are in an advanced, intensive training course to be future apostles of His church. As they preach and spread His kingdom, they should learn how to react to the government. How should the church react to the governments? We will learn important principles here.
Intro: This is an amazing story. It all began when someone—somewhere—lost a coin. We don’t know how it happened, but somewhere around the Sea of Galilee, someone lost hold of a Greek stater—a coin that was worth roughly the equivalent of two average days’ wages for a common working man—and watched it fall into the water. Perhaps while playing in the water by the shore, the coin fell from their pocket, or it slipped out of their hands and into the water on a fishing boat when getting paid. The coin—two full days’ earnings—fell into the water, and they watched sadly and helplessly as it sank out of sight, and went home sad, kicking themselves.
Now, imagine that coin as it sank in the sea—twirling and whirling in its descent, glistening and flashing in reflection of the sunlight above. A fish that came swimming by at just that moment was attracted to the sparkling coin, thinking it was good food. It immediately caught it and put it in its mouth, but it was hard and big. It couldn’t bite or swallow it fully; it got stuck in the throat/gullet. Since it could neither swallow nor spit out the coin, it swam away to other regions beneath the Sea of Galilee.
All of these seemingly insignificant events—the wage-earner who accidentally lost his wages; the sinking of the coin down to a particular spot in the sea; the fish that came by to swallow it and swim away—were all under the control of a sovereign God. Know that all of these things were part of His purposeful plan. Only a sovereign, omniscient God can know all these details and control these things. That God was walking on earth at that time, and this passage reveals His glory.
This passage, with other lessons, marvelously reveals the glory of the Son of God in a situation. It has a great lesson for the disciples. Let us understand this passage.
We hear about IT tax raids on Him and here… Here we firstly see a: Tax Raid on Jesus Himself through Peter. Generally, when a tax raid comes, it reveals men’s dishonesty and cheating, but in this passage, this tax raid reveals Jesus’ glory in four ways—four attributes of our Lord:
- Jesus’ omniscience.
- His supremacy as the Son of God.
- Jesus’ great humility and meekness.
- Jesus’ authority and control of every small thing in this universe.
Tax Raid on Jesus and Peter.
Out of all the Gospel writers, Matthew is the only one that tells us this tax story. Can you guess why? It might have caught Matthew’s attention because he himself was a tax-man by trade. Why should only Peter have an occupational-skill-related miracle of fishing? Matthew also has an occupational-skill-related miracle of tax. Though no one spoke of it, my Lord did a miracle even in my trade. This is a tax miracle, a favorite for Matthew; only he reports it. More so, this is a temple-related tax. Unlike other gospels, Matthew is writing to Jewish kinsmen about Jesus Himself and needs to show how Jesus honored Jewish temple tax laws.
Verse 24, “And when they were come to Capernaum.” Capernaum is His main ministry headquarters, the city where Jesus preached, taught, and healed thousands. But they had left and gone through Tyre, Sidon (a Gentile area), went to Decapolis, and then Caesarea Philippi. Now He set His face to go to Jerusalem, and He comes to Capernaum. They stopped in Capernaum; Peter’s house is there, and they stayed there. They had not been in their own town for many days. As soon as they arrive, a tax officer conducts a raid on Jesus. They don’t come directly to Jesus. Peter must have gone out, maybe to buy something. There, tax collectors come and ask him.
24 Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the [l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the [m]two-drachma tax?”
The tribute, two drachma/didrachma. This is not a Roman tax. Romans collected their tax through tax collectors (Matthew was doing that), and Jews hated to pay that. You see, the tax that was being collected in this story was a tax that had its roots in the Old Testament Jewish law.
At the time when the law was being given by God through Moses, God commanded that a particular tax be collected any time that a census of the people was taken. Exodus 30:11-16 contains this command from God: “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ‘When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves’ (Exodus 30:11-16).”
So this is a tax collected by the Jewish people, from the Jewish people, for the benefit of the Jewish people’s temple. This is tax collected for temple service. Every male should pay this as a redemptive ransom for his soul. Repeatedly, this command signifies the collection of the half-shekel for each man. It was given as a “ransom.” It was an offering to the Lord “to make atonement” for themselves. God counted that half-shekel as a “ransom” for the life of the man who gave it—the life that was being ‘numbered’ in the census. So Jews strictly collect it from every Jew as a ransom price, as per the Old Testament.
The Old Testament said half a shekel—that’s a Jewish concept. In Greek currency, it equals a didrachma, which was equal to two Greek drachmae. The tax then became known as the double drachmae, or the didrachma. Though the Old Testament mentions this, what Jews were doing was not strictly a law command. Exodus required that this tax be collected whenever a census was being taken. But here, we see no census being taken at all. However, in Jesus’ time, all the Jews felt this was their duty to maintain the temple; they had to give this. Over the years, it became a voluntary custom rather than a legal requirement. It was not compulsory, even though there was strong social pressure to do so. Remember, for a Jew, there was nothing more important than the temple, and this is the temple tax, which they very zealously gave. That is why they ask the question: “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” (v. 24).
Such a question wouldn’t have needed to be asked if the tax were obligatory. The tax collector was asking in doubt as to whether or not Jesus would do what other Jewish men felt obligated to do. After all, Jesus was gaining a reputation as a breaker of the Sabbath. He was often found to be at odds with the religious leaders of the day. Will he also not pay this?
Peter’s response is in verse 25, “Peter said, ‘Yes.’” He, thinking like a regular man, assumes that like everyone, Jesus will pay. So, we see this incident with the tax raid.
This raid reveals three attributes of our Lord.
1. His Omniscience of Our Lord
Verse 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?”
After this question, Peter goes into the house, maybe his house, where Jesus was. Clearly, Peter intended to mention the tax collectors to Jesus; he was continuously thinking about it. But it’s then that we see this clear indication of Jesus’ omniscience. We’re told that Jesus “anticipated” him; or as the King James Version has it, He “prevented” him. Literally, Jesus “anticipated” him “beforehand,” and He spoke before Peter spoke. He knew the thoughts of His disciple Peter before he even had a chance to utter a word, and asked about the very subject that Peter had in mind.
Just an ordinary statement, but it reveals His omniscience. In John 2:24-25, we’re told that Jesus “knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” The Bible even tells us that Jesus knew the thoughts of those who were His enemies (Matthew 12:25).
And He does this to Peter in order to teach him a great lesson. He asks a question about what was on Peter’s mind in order to set Peter thinking about it even more. He asked Peter, “What do you think, Simon?” not because He wanted Peter’s opinion, but because He wanted to steer Peter’s thinking in the right direction about Himself.
And this leads us to the second thing that this story reveals to us about Jesus—the thing that Jesus wanted Peter to understand about Himself.
2. His Deity: Jesus Holds Supremacy as the Son of God (vv. 25b-26)
I think it’s interesting that Jesus used Peter’s old name. He called him “Simon.” Just in the previous chapter (Matthew 16), Jesus called him Peter in order to emphasize that he was a “rock” of a man who stood strong upon the solid confession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Why did He call him Simon? It is a known thing that whenever Peter was wrongly thinking and behaving like his old self, the Lord called him Simon. Here, this gives a clue that Peter’s thinking must have been behaving like his old self, and not like a “rock” of a man.
He was not evaluating Jesus rightly or recognizing His supremacy as the eternal Son of God. When they asked whether his Master pays tax, he answered with a human way of thinking. He was mindful of the things of men and not the things of God (Matthew 16:23). You see, Peter had assumed that it was Jesus’ duty to pay tax like every other Jew. Remember, as a Jew, there is nothing more important than the temple; being born as a Jew means the temple is of utmost importance. When they asked him the question—whether his Master would pay the temple tax—was he above the temple? He said, “No, he will pay.” He said this with the assumption that Jesus was just like everyone else, holding no higher thoughts about Jesus as the Son of God. But that’s when Jesus surprised him with a tax-question that reveals Jesus’ supremacy over such obligations.
25. “What do you think, Simon?” Jesus asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”
Customs and toll tax—all kinds of taxes were collected in those days. Taxation in those days was not like it is today. Countries were run by one individual: an emperor, a king. There was no democracy as we know it, where even the Chief Minister and Prime Minister must pay tax. In those days, the one at the top of the pyramid decided everything. And he basically taxed the whole society under his control for two reasons: to support his kingdom and to support his family. He collected it all and used it for the support of his family and the support of his kingdom.
Now, He asks a very simple question: “Now, when a king sets out to take his taxes, who does he take it from? Does he take it from his sons or strangers?” He doesn’t take it from his own family; he’s taking it for his family. What point would there be in taxing his own family? He’s collecting it for them.
Peter knew the answer. Do you think there were times when Peter was a little afraid to answer questions from Jesus? He certainly knew the correct answer, but may not have been sure where this was all going. I wonder if Peter didn’t answer the question with a little uncertainty in his voice: 26 “From strangers—?”
Apparently, he gave the right answer. And Jesus draws a conclusion and said to him, “Then the sons are free.”
The implication of Jesus’ answer was that He was the Son of God, and that as the Son of God, He was under no obligation at all to pay a tax collected among men for the upkeep of the temple of His Father. The basic idea of tax is that if we are paying tax to something/someone, it means we are under it and submit to it. Jesus says, “I am not under the temple.” This was nothing less than a bold assertion of Jesus’ supremacy as the Son of God over the temple tax and even over the temple itself.
Do you remember debating with the Pharisees on the Sabbath in Matthew 12:6, where Jesus shocked them all by saying, “Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple?” Nothing could be more shocking to the Jews, who thought nothing was more important than the temple.
Similarly, in our passage this morning, Jesus is saying that—as the Son of Him who is Lord of the temple—He is under no obligation to pay the temple tax. Such a tax is only rightly collected from those who are “strangers,” and not from those who are sons. For a Jew, this is an amazing statement. The astute Jewish listener might have recalled the prophetic words of Malachi 3:1, where it says that “the LORD whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple,” and would then understand that Jesus is claiming to be that very Lord of the temple! He is claiming to be exempt from the tax that should only be levied on “strangers,” and not on the sons of the King. He is the Son of God, equal to God, which always shocked them.
And what’s more, Jesus seems to be including Peter and the rest of His disciples in that status. He speaks of “sons” in the plural. This reminds us that, as it says in John 1:12, to as many as received Jesus, God has given the right to become “children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” In Jesus Christ, we are not outsiders to God’s household, but are members of the family. In Christ, the veil in the temple doesn’t block our way any longer, but has been torn down from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51) so that we may freely approach the Father’s throne for grace in our time of need (Hebrews 10:19-22). We are His children, joint heirs with Christ, brothers of Christ, Sons of God, children of the King.
The temple was the place in which the sinner met a holy God to receive forgiveness and favor. And everything that the temple was intended to achieve for the sinner before Jesus came has now been accomplished by Jesus on the cross. It is all now ours by faith.
As the Son of God, He is supreme in the Father’s favor, and in Him, we now are as free before the Father as He is! That is right. He is above the temple. That is legally and theologically right for Him not to pay taxes. As the Son of God, if there was any tax that Jesus Christ shouldn’t have paid, it was the temple tax. God is the head of the temple, and “I’m His Son, and He doesn’t tax Me.” Moreover, we know the temple corruption—in the name of God, the high priest and leaders were running a business and made it a den of thieves. Why should He pay? He could have cited their corruption.
3. His Great Humility and Meekness: Jesus Condescends to the Sensitivities of Men (v. 27a)
Now, keeping the supremacy of Jesus as the Son of God in mind—keeping His absolute exemption from the obligations of men before us—let’s marvel at the next thing that this passage teaches us: Even though He is supreme, even though He is exempt from the temple tax as “the Son of the King,” even though He has no obligation to pay tax, even though the men managing the temple are depraved men doing all manner of corruption, and even though He declares that Peter/we also are exempt with Him—Jesus says “Nevertheless, lest we offend them…” and sets Peter off to pay the tax.
In spite of all these strong reasons, “lest we should”—what?—“offend them,” He acts to prevent causing offense. The word that is here translated “offend” means “to cause someone to stumble.” Though Jesus is the Lord of the temple and is under no obligation to pay the temple tax, He nevertheless sees to it that it is done so that an unnecessary stumbling block would not be placed before the Jewish people to accept the gospel.
It was a great act of condescending love on the part of the Son of God to do it. He possessed all rights as the Son of God, but He didn’t insist on His rights. Instead, He complied with the sensitivities of men so as not to “offend” them or put up any unnecessary roadblocks to their faith in Him.
And just think of how far He went in reaching out to serve us! So, the Son of God—who knew the thoughts of His disciple Peter—established that He is supreme over the temple tax. And yet, He meekly sent His disciple to pay it, so as not to offend those He was seeking to reach.
And look at how Peter was to pay this! He said, “…[G]o to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (v. 27).
That man who lost the money, that coin that fell into the water, that fish that swallowed the coin and swam away—all of it was a part of the perfect and purposeful plan of our Savior. This highlights yet another of His wonderful qualities.
4. His Authority and Control Over Smallest Things in the Universe: Jesus Is Sovereign Over the Details of Life (v. 27b)
Just think. What a marvelous verse revealing Jesus’ complete authority over the whole creation! Jesus didn’t tell Peter to throw a net into the water and pull up a bunch of fish. Instead, He sent Peter off to cast a single hook into the water. He didn’t even tell him where to cast the hook—just to go and cast a hook in anywhere. And He didn’t tell Peter to keep on casting the hook and keep on pulling out fish until he found one with money in its mouth. He said to pull up the very first fish, and that he would find the money in the mouth of the very first one he caught! Now, that’s incredible.
Peter goes, gets a hook, throws it in the water, gets the first fish, opens the mouth, and there is a coin. It is exactly a Stater coin, meaning four drachma. Why four? Two drachma for Peter and two for the Lord. The exact amount. How amazed Peter must have been! I have to believe that he threw the fish back. You can’t waste a fish like that. Marvelous fish. In the Old Testament, God used a big one; in the New Testament, He used a little one. But that is incredible. What control over the smallest things in the universe! What revelation of His sovereign providence! Though He had no obligation, the Lord was going to pay His taxes and even set all of divine power in motion to make sure it got done.
What a sovereign, controlling God! Even the fish’s movement and Peter’s action were all in His control. And just think of the other demonstrations of Jesus’ sovereign rule during His earthly ministry. Just think of the ways that He demonstrated that He had all things in perfect order and arranged all the details of circumstances in such a way as to accomplish His good purpose. Another incident is in Matthew 21, where He sends two disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them” (Matthew 21:1-3). They found everything just as He said.
Or think of how on the day of His last meal with them, as the disciples asked Him where He wanted them to prepare the Passover meal, He said, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us” (Mark 14:13-15). What authoritative control over all incidents of this life! All circumstances are in His control.
We also see the Lord’s compassion here. He does this miracle to again reveal to Jesus and the disciples who He is, and also His compassion. He didn’t give only two drachmas and tell Peter, “You go and fish for a day and pay.” No, since Peter was serving Him, He miraculously provided for Peter as well.
Applications
We saw that the tax raid on Jesus reveals His glory: Jesus’ omniscience, His supremacy as the Son of God, and Jesus’ authority and control of every small thing in this universe. In spite of all His authority, we also see His great humility and meekness.
I’m glad that, in the plan of God, someone lost that coin, aren’t you? If it hadn’t been lost, we wouldn’t have had this story about the marvelous attributes of our Savior. It was money well spent!
How do we apply this revelation of the attributes of Jesus in our life?
Jesus’ Omniscience
How do we apply His omniscience? See, it was a public marketplace discussion between Peter and the tax collector. The Lord, though He was not physically there, not only knew what happened there as if He stood next to them, but even knew what was going on in Peter’s mind—thinking it was Christ’s duty to pay the tax.
We say Jesus knows all things, but do we really believe it? There is something unspeakably solemn in the thought that the Lord Jesus knows all things. It is a warning. There is an eye that sees all our daily conduct. There is an ear that hears all our daily words. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Concealment is impossible. Hypocrisy is useless. We may deceive the church or the pastor. We may fool our family and neighbors. But the Lord sees us through and through. We cannot deceive Christ.
It is also a reason for us to take comfort. Jesus knows what’s in our hearts even better than we do. He is able to answer our deepest questions before we even know to ask them. We can be an utterly open book to Jesus, and say to Him—as King David wrote in Psalm 139: “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are familiar with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.” Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
All our questions, all our doubts, all our fears, all our temptations, even the most intimate thoughts of our minds—even the things we’re so ashamed of that we dare not express—all are known to Jesus. What a joy to live in the conscious presence of such a one! One of the greatest pains of our lives is loneliness—the feeling that “no one is there for me,” “no one understands me,” “no one knows me.” Yet, there is One who knows me fully.
We ought to endeavor to make practical use of this truth. We should strive to live as in the Lord’s sight, in faith, like we studied last week, abiding in Him, looking to Him, and, like Abraham, to “walk before him” (Genesis 17:1). What is holiness? To live like this. Let it be our daily aim to say nothing we would not like Christ to hear, and to do nothing we would not like Christ to see. Let us measure every difficult question as to right and wrong by one simple test: “How would I behave if Jesus was standing by my side?” Such a standard is not high, extravagant, or absurd. It is a standard that interferes with no duty or relation of life. It interferes with nothing but sin. Happy is he that tries to realize his Lord’s presence and to do all and say all as unto Christ.
Jesus’ Authority and Control
Next, what an amazing revelation of Jesus’ authority and control over everything, even the smallest things in this universe.
Let us observe, in the next place, our Lord’s almighty power over all creation. He makes a fish His paymaster. He makes a voiceless creature bring the tribute-money to meet the collector’s demand. Well says Jerome, “I know not which to admire most here, our Lord’s foreknowledge, or His greatness.”
We see here a literal fulfillment of the Psalmist’s words, “You have put all things under his feet—You make him ruler over the works of your hands; all sheep and oxen, yes, and the animals of the field, the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas” (Psalms 8:6-8).
Here is one among many proofs of the majesty and greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ. He only who first created could at His will command the obedience of all His creatures. “By him were all things created. By Him all things are held together” (Colossians 1:16-18).
Learn that He is authoritative—and reigns sovereignly over the details of our lives, the kind of control He has on the circumstances of life, even small things.
He orders everything; without Him, even atoms will not move. Do we believe that? All circumstances of our life are ordered by Him. Today morning, whatever circumstances arose are all ordered by Him, for your sanctification and eternal good.
If we have that view of the supremacy of Christ, the circumstances of life should never frustrate us when we walk with Jesus! There is nothing that is not under the rule of our sovereign Lord and Master! Even the small fish under the ocean swims in the direction He wants and gets caught according to His will. If a single fish can only move based on His permission, and He knows all its movement, how can any government do anything without His permission and plan?
How willingly and boldly we should serve this sovereign Lord in all circumstances. This faith is what gave missionaries the courage to go to the ends of the earth to preach His gospel. Missionaries say that when they trusted Him and went to preach His gospel somewhere they had never gone, they arrived to find that He had already been there—having arranged everything in advance!
The believer who goes forth to do Christ’s work among the nations may safely commit himself to his Master’s keeping. He serves one who has all power, even over the beasts of the earth.
Supremacy of Christ
To speak of “supremacy” is to speak of that which is “above” or “over” others. He is above everything. He is superlative, matchless, far above everything. For the Jew, He is above the temple. He is the greatest in power, authority, or rank. It is also used to describe that which (or who) is greatest in importance, significance, character, or achievement—the “ultimate.”
In all these areas of consideration, Jesus ranks as the ultimate or supreme—supreme in power, rank, glory, authority, importance, etc. You cannot put Him in any category. He is above all prophets, the final prophet; above all priests, the perfect high priest; the highest king, King of Kings; above angels, above every creature. He is the prototokos (preeminent one).
Oh, how much we should meditate on this and give the supreme place for Christ in our hearts!
Jesus’ Great Humility and Meekness
This is another revelation of the Lord’s own humility before and on behalf of others.
In spite of Him being such a glorious, sovereign Lord and supreme over all, we are amazed at this great humility. He might justly have claimed exemption from the payment of this tax-money. He, who was the Son of God, might fairly have been excused from paying for the maintenance of His Father’s house. He had just come from the Transfiguration mountain, speaking to the man who taught the world to build the temple (Moses) and Elijah, and the God of that temple declared Him His Son. Yet, in this scene, He was being treated like any other Jewish man and asked to pay His taxes.
Taxes are a form of subjugation. They are an illustration of our place in the world. If you don’t think so, remind yourself how you feel when you have to begin the long process of filling out your tax return, the offense you find in it, and the GST filing. But you are just a mere citizen like everyone else. You may not like it, but there is no question that you are obliged to pay your taxes.
But the Son of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, was not obliged to pay. In their asking Him, of all people, to pay this tax, Jesus was pointing out to Peter that it was an indignity for Him to be so naturally numbered with everyone else. He was supreme above all. He was the fulfillment of all that was in the temple: the mercy seat, the Ark of the Covenant, the Most Holy Place, the incense, the showbread table, all vessels of washing. Everything done in the temple pointed to Him, all the ritual regulations—circumcision, sacrifice, and, yes, even taxes—even though He was the substance/fulfillment to which all these shadows pointed.
The tax of the temple, which is a redemption ransom for every man in Israel, pointed to Him, as He would pay the redemption price for every redeemed person. He Himself is the Atonement for sin and the Ransom for the soul that the Jewish law was meant to point to. Yet, He is asked to pay the tax. He, who was “greater than the temple,” might have shown good cause for declining to contribute to the support of the temple. But our Lord does not do so.
His life was one grand indignity. All men should have worshipped Him with complete prostration and glad hearts, yet He was thought of and treated as just another man. Though comparatively to the cross, this is a small indignity, it is one of the humiliations. It shows the perfection of His patience, and of His humility, and of His love for His people. Though felt insulted, He took it as other insults.
We don’t realize this because we don’t realize the supremacy of Christ. It was far worse than a tax collector coming up to the crown emperor and demanding taxes from him as if he were just any other subject of the king.
So much was He just another man to the multitude. No matter His miracles, no matter His teaching that left them all dumbfounded, they expected Him to pay His taxes like anyone else.
Though it was an insult, look at this great meekness and humility: “so that we may not offend them.” “A miracle is worked,” says Bishop Hall, “rather than offend even a tax-collector.”
He did this remarkable miracle. He wanted His disciples to know, and later to remember, that for Him to pay this tax was a humiliation for Him, it was a complete incongruity for Him, it was evidence of an appalling failure on the part of everyone to understand that the Son of God had come among them, asking Him the very tax which should have pointed to Him.
It was His ministry to refuse to claim His rights, indeed to abandon them all, for the sake of His people and their salvation. And He did that in things both small and great, in paying taxes and going to the cross. It is all of a piece: His humiliation as the Son of God so that we might also become the sons of God.
The Lord said to Peter, in effect, “I am willing to go unrecognized. I am willing to be treated as a common man. I am willing, even after the breathtaking honors that were heaped on Me on the mountain the other night, to make no demands that others recognize Me and worship Me for the Son of God that I am. I could say that the temple is My Father’s house and that I am free from any obligation to pay for its upkeep; I could stand on My dignity as the Son of God, but I did not come into the world to stand on My rights, but to give them up, to suffer the loss of them as part of the price I must pay to deliver you from your sins. I am rich, but I have become poor so that you might become rich.”
And to reinforce that lesson, as the Lord of nature, He sent Peter to find the money to pay the tax in the mouth of one of countless fish in the Sea of Galilee. This was to make them think back and realize, “Whom are you asking to pay the taxes? One who created, rules, provides, and feeds the entire universe! In your blindness, you are asking Him to pay tax, and see how He pays. How much He humbled Himself to save you!”
Not to Offend Them
Our Lord’s willingness to make concessions, rather than give offense. Though He is the supreme Son of God and has no obligation to pay tax, and though the tax is given to corrupt people, He doesn’t want to offend them.
Our Lord’s example in this case deserves the attention of all who profess and call themselves Christians. There is deep wisdom in those words, “so that we may not offend them.” So many lack this wisdom.
What a lesson for us! In doing this, Jesus established the principle/pattern of gracious sensitivity to the weaknesses of others. The Lord teaches us a principle that we should be willing to follow Him in giving up our rights for the sake of others.
We are to be as selfless as He, and for the same reason. The reason the Lord gave for paying the tax was that He avoided offending others or causing them to sin. He avoided giving the wrong impression to others—that Jesus was unfaithful to the temple, that He was a rebel, that He was unsubmissive to the proper authorities, and the like. He wanted to put no stumbling block in the way of their recognizing Him as the Messiah and putting their faith in Him. There were already many stumbling blocks; He didn’t want to add another one.
Think of what He could so honestly have said: “I, least of all, should pay to support a priesthood so thoroughly corrupt. I, least of all, should pay for the upkeep of a temple soon to be destroyed. I, least of all, should support a religious establishment that has doomed the people to unbelief and damnation by its opposition to Me. They failed in their basic duty in pointing to Me as Messiah; to them I should pay tax? Never!” But He said no such thing. Rather, He said, “I don’t want my behavior to put them an inch further from salvation than they already are.”
In this, of course, He was setting an example that His disciples should follow in His steps. That is why He made a point of drawing this lesson out for Peter.
They teach us plainly that there are matters in which Christ’s people ought to forego their own opinions, rights, likes, and dislikes, and submit to requirements/laws and duties which they may not thoroughly approve, even though we hate the way things are done, rather than give offense and “hinder the Gospel of Christ.”
We see how wonderfully Paul followed this principle for the Gospel in his life. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said:
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).
It was a great act of condescending love on the part of Paul to do this. But it was an even greater act of condescending love on the part of the Son of God to do it. He possessed all rights as the Son of God, but He didn’t insist on His rights. Instead, He complied with the sensitivities of men so as not to “offend” them or put up any unnecessary roadblocks to their faith in Him.
One of the reasons for Paul’s success in the Gospel is this principle. This is precisely the same spirit and the same example we find in Paul everywhere. In another place, though he had the right to eat any food he pleased, he declared he would never eat meat again—and he loved to eat meat—if eating meat would put a stumbling block in a brother’s way, if it would scandalize him, or if it would cause him to think wrong thoughts and do wrong things. The Apostle Paul was not anyone’s doormat when it came to their foolish opinions and incorrect notions. He was always paying their “dumb ideas” respect that they did not deserve because he wanted to help them to something better rather than antagonize them and offend them.
And Paul explicitly, as Jesus implicitly here, teaches every Christian to do the same thing: “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself…”
What we have here in Matthew 17, then, is a summons to humility on behalf of others, to the laying down of our own rights and interests on behalf of the good of others.
This passage challenges us to follow our Lord: to give up our rights for the Gospel and the good of others, to live a life in a way in which others and the good and salvation of others always came first. Isn’t this denying self and following Christ?
You will find out how hard it is to be good, to love others, and to be selfless. When you are trying to live for others, it will be much more obvious to you how the love of self rages within you. That is an important lesson in itself and will make you all the more grateful for the forgiveness of sins and for the Savior’s perfect self-sacrifice for you.
But you will also learn how powerful selflessness is as an influence upon others. People see it so rarely—genuine selflessness, genuine sympathy for others making a person forget himself or herself—that they cannot help but be struck by it, moved by it, and changed by it. Not just speaking, but learning to live: interrupting your routine for others, losing your time to care for others, listening to others as if their words were more important than your own, caring for their feelings, seeking to love them in those ways that will seem most genuine and most important to them and not to yourself. It is this example that ought so to astonish us about the life and ministry of our Savior. It is in this example that we ought to see how much He gave up for us and our salvation, how much He forgot Himself because He was always remembering us. And it is this example, of which we have a beautiful instance in our text this morning, that we ought to find our calling, our summons, our way of life.
Our Lord was a King who lived like a beggar for the sake of our salvation and the salvation of others. We are someday to be kings; we are already the children of God. Will we not want, at least for a few years, to have lived as He lived, done what He did, in the same spirit and for the same reason? A disciple should strive to be like his Master.
Application for Citizens, Church, and Society
Let us remember this passage as CITIZENS. We may not like all the political measures or policies of our rulers. We may disapprove of some of the taxes they impose. But the grand question after all is: Will it do any good to the cause of religion/Gospel to resist the powers that be? Are their measures really injuring our souls? If not, let us hold our peace, “so that we may not offend them.” “A Christian,” says Bullinger, “never ought to disturb the public peace for things of mere temporary importance.”
Think about it: Jesus didn’t want to offend tax collectors or government leaders. We don’t want to offend them? That’s right, we don’t want to offend them. No, no, we don’t want to offend them. Oh, I think there are some evangelical Christians who want to offend them a lot—they cheat the government, they cheat with donations, they don’t file returns, they loot foreign funds, they don’t pay taxes, they rob money. Isn’t this why our government thinks Christianity is only a money-making business today? They are sick of it. The thought is, “I don’t know what kind of religion Christianity is, the kind they’ve got, but I sure wouldn’t want anything to do with it.”
Isn’t the failure to follow this principle the reason Christianity has become a mocking religion to many in our world? We offend them in so many unnecessary things. Yes, the government may do so many wrong things, wrong policies can be brought in, they may misuse the power, and do many wrong things. But we should try not to offend them. The reason Christianity should not be offensive is because it is the only way that any government, party, or government officer can get the knowledge of truth and salvation. If we offend them, we close that door.
The government is formed by the Lord. It is a divine institution. The only way those people in power can understand their dignity is through the knowledge of truth. If we become offensive, how will they know? We are the ones who are to show them the dignity of their work. Though sin has destroyed every one of God’s institutions like family, and even the government is affected, we still respect it as a divine institution and pay to Caesar what is due to him, even though it is Nero. So we don’t create any offense in the way of their coming to the knowledge of truth.
You see, when Christians attack and attack against the government—I’m not talking about moral issues, I’m talking about just general policy. I think we need to speak against sin and evil, and we need to even say, “Thou art the man,” when there’s a sinner and an evildoer. But when we just continually attack, I think we offend. We do offend.
Yes, the government… He said, “We don’t want to offend them. We don’t have to pay that, we don’t have to; we’re free. But we don’t want to offend them, see?” If we are not paying taxes as proper citizens, why will they hear our message? So we don’t want to offend them. Why? “Well, because we don’t want them to throw out our message.” Isn’t that right? Because they won’t accept us. So, the Lord paid His taxes.
There are Christians who don’t like to pay taxes, don’t like what’s done with their money (statue building, advertisement), or give the excuse of corruption, so they also join the corruption by avoiding tax. They hate to pay and avoid paying. Not being able to pay due to loss is a different issue; we can file bankruptcy, and the government will not demand, but avoiding paying tax is wrong. For the government to track all of them, it will take years, and many times they escape.
But Jesus, does He pay taxes? Yes. Not a tax evader.
Let us remember this passage as members of a CHURCH. We may not like every jot and tittle of the forms and ceremonies used in our communion, or some activities of the church, or some behavior of new or weak brothers. We may not think that those who rule us in spiritual matters are always wise. But after all—Are the points on which we are dissatisfied really of vital importance? Is any great truth of the Gospel at stake? If not, let us be quiet, “so that we may not offend them.”
Let us remember this passage as members of SOCIETY/neighbors. There may be usages and customs in the circle where our lot is cast which, to us as Christians, are tiresome, useless, and unprofitable. But are they matters of principle? Do they injure our souls? Will it do any good to the cause of religion if we refuse to comply with them? If not, let us patiently submit, “lest we cause them to stumble.”
Well would it be for the church and the world if these words of our Lord had been more studied, pondered, and used! Who can tell the damage that has been done to the cause of the Gospel by morbid scrupulosity and conscientiousness—falsely so called! May we all remember the example of the great apostle of the Gentiles—“we suffer all things, lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12).
Do you complain about paying taxes? Look at Jesus’ example. However unpleasant, difficult, or corrupt the government may be, we are to fulfill our duties as citizens so we don’t cause any offense to the Gospel. If Jesus hadn’t paid His tax, do you know what He would have said to those people? “I don’t care about your temple; I don’t care about your nation; I don’t care about you people at all.” Do you think they would have listened to His message? When you’re a good citizen, you say, “I care about this nation. I care about this people. I care about its leadership. I care about this country, and I want to do what’s right.” And people are drawn to such a person.
Peter learned this lesson and teaches us in 1 Peter 2:13–17:
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people. Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”
Then he teaches how we, as employees, should act at the workplace, submitting even to the worst boss. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person endures grief when suffering unjustly.
You want to win your boss at work? Take it. Endure what he gives with a Christlike spirit, and you’ll lay a platform to make your message believable. Chafe, rebel, argue, fight, hassle, and squabble, and you’ll destroy any testimony you ever had.
In chapter 3, he picks the same principle up again. “In the same manner,” he says, using the same principle, “you wives be in subjection to your own husbands; that if any obey not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by the behavior of the wives.”
He says, “Evangelism begins by your life of submission to those in authority over you.” And just like a wife will begin to win an unsaved husband by submitting to him as the one in authority, in a loving and gentle way, so a Christian becomes capable of reaching the society he’s in for Christ when he learns to submit to that society with a gentle and meek spirit. That’s the principle.
Jesus sets the ultimate pattern. He submitted to authorities He had no reason to submit to in a divine sense. He had submitted to authorities that had no right to do to Him what they did, but He did it for our sake. Can we do the same for the sake of our society? It’s a very important message, and I trust the Spirit of God to confirm it to our hearts. Willingly did Jesus choose to suffer unjustly for the sake of the salvation of others. That’s our pattern.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 