Matthew 17:24-27
Matthew 17:24-27
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that in all my years of reading the Bible, I can barely remember reading this passage. The first part sounds like the question about paying taxes to the emperor, but that scene actually comes later. And the last part – about the fish with the coin in its mouth – is vaguely familiar, but it almost feels more like something from a folk tale than anything else.
So here I am – a tad embarrassed that this isn’t more familiar, absolutely puzzled by what the passage means, and not sure where to go next. Except that whenever that’s the case, the strategy that usually serves me best is to a) pay attention to the context – that is, where are we in the larger story and what happens just before and after this scene – and 2) pay equally close attention to the particular details of this scene.
Where are we? A few scenes earlier Jesus confirmed Peter’s confession that he was the Messiah but explained to them that this meant he would suffer and die before being raised again. Shortly thereafter Jesus was transfigured before some of his disciples and again told them of his impending death and resurrection. Since then he rejoined his disciples, healed a demon-possessed child from the crowd, and again predicted his passion. After this scene, Jesus begins teaching his disciples and the attending crowd about all kinds of things: the nature of true greatness, the temptation to sin, how to treat others who have wronged you, the importance of forgiveness, and more. This teaching is sometimes straight up instruction and sometimes takes the form of parables. This scene, then, feels like something of an interruption, or at least transition, between Jesus’ earlier interactions with his disciples and the crowds and his next time of teaching and instruction with them.
As for the particular details of this scene, perhaps that’s part of what seems so odd. They have returned to Capernaum, their starting place and home. While there, Peter is approached by someone responsible for collecting the Temple tax and asked whether Jesus pays it. After Peter says that he does and returns to their home, Jesus brings up the subject of taxes, as if he already knew what had happened, and asks whether kings demand tribute (taxes, allegiance, support, etc.) from their own children or from others. Peter answers that of course they demand it from others, not their own children. This dialogue, I suspect, is a way of saying that Jesus, as son of the heavenly king, does not need to pay tax to the temple because, ultimately, that is his father’s temple. But as a concession to the local customs and officials, and obedient to the law, he pays the tax anyway. And to demonstrate that, he sends Peter out to fish – it’s what he does, after all – and tells him – and this is the truly strange part – that in the mouth of the first fish he catches he will find a coin and he is to pay the tax with that.
And here’s where even my best strategies come a bit undone. Because I just don’t know what this means. Perhaps it’s a symbol of him not having to pay the tax – in the sense that he found the money in the fish and didn’t take it from his own money. Perhaps there were some traditions about finding things in the mouth of a fish that Matthew’s readers would know about and would help explain this. Or perhaps it was simply a way of Matthew demonstrating that Jesus was master of creation and therefore he would know there was a fish with a coin and send Peter to fish for it.
All of these and more are possibilities, but in the end I just don’t know. Which is, perhaps, a helpful reminder when reading the Bible: it was written nearly two thousand years ago and addressed to people living in a different age and culture. We won’t understand it all, and even when we think we do, we won’t necessarily understand it the way Matthew’s original audience did. Moreover, every story has details and scenes that may make little sense, and yet we can still enjoy the larger story. And so perhaps reading the Bible isn’t so much about figuring out whatever every scene or symbol means – as if it’s a book of secrets to be decoded – but what matters is that we follow the story, try to see ourselves in it, and let it continue to inform, shape, and at times even haunt our imagination.
Prayer: Dear God, draw us into the story of your Son that, whatever details we may understand or not, yet we hear clearly the message about your love for us and all people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: Peter paying the temple tax with coin from the fish’s mouth by Augustin Tünger, 1486.
I suspect that many teenagers would identify with this story. It’s the time of life when most people most want to “fit in” and be “just like everybody else”….little clones of each other with their own special slang and manner of dress.
Peter wants to “fit in” with the religious group of his time and, heaven forbid, not be thought to be outside the normal or doing anything to jeopardize his faith and salvation.
Jesus clearly demonstrates that we are NOT required to “fit in” or be clones in order to be God’s children.
Teenagers are afraid to be different, but, hopefully, when they grow up they find out it’s perfectly ok to be a so-called outsider and still be an insider with God.