Reading: Matthew chapter 17 verses 24-27.
• If you had lived 2,000 years ago, and if you encountered Jesus:
• Either as a baby, boy or man,
• There would have been nothing to mark him out as being different,
• From the other Jewish babies, boys or men of his day.
Ill:
• Many of our Christmas cards or great works of art;
• May picture Jesus with a hallow around his head, or as someone quite distinct,
• But in truth he would have looked exactly the same,
• As any other Jewish baby, boy or man from that region of Galilee.
ill:
When Jesus reached manhood:
• Even his cousin John the Baptist (John chapter 1 verses 33-34)
• Failed to recognise him without God sending “the Spirit like a dove to land on him”.
There was nothing that would have marked Jesus out as being a King:
• But that is of course who he was and is,
• "King of Kings & Lord of Lords".
Throughout the various gospels, again and again, Jesus is referred to as a king:
(A).
• Before his birth Luke chapter 1 verse 32-33:
• The angel told Mary the mother of Jesus:
"He will be great and called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the THRONE of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
HIS KINGDOM will never end".
(B). Matthew chapter 2 verse 2:
• The Magi / wise men come looking for a baby,
• "Born to be KING of the Jews".
Ill:
3 wise women instead of men,
• They would have asked for directions,
• Arrived in time,
• Help to deliver the baby,
• Cleaned the stable,
• Made a casserole,
• And brought practical gifts!
(C). Matthew chapter 4 verse 23:
"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the KINGDOM, and healing every
disease and sickness among the people."
• Jesus speaks again and again about; "The Kingdom of heaven".
• If you have a kingdom; then you need a king!
(c). Matthew chapter 21 verse 5:
• The triumphant entry, he records the prophecy,
• "Your KING is coming to you riding on a donkey".
(d). Matthew chapter 27 verse 11:
"Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you say," replied Jesus".
(e). Matthew chapter 27 verse 37:
• On the cross a sign was nailed: "This is Jesus, the KING of the Jews".
• It was written in the three main languages of the day; Aramaic, Latin & Greek.
• King of the Jews,
• But also a king for all people everywhere!
Now in the verses before us this morning,
• We have a great paradox:
• A King so poverty-stricken,
• That he has no money to pay the annual temple tax of only a half-shekel!
(A). This miracle is unique for a number of reasons:
(1). It is recorded only by Matthew.
• Remember Matthew was a former tax collector,
• So he had a natural link with the events of this miracle.
• Matthew’s gospel is also called the Gospel of the King,
• And one of the dominant themes that runs through his gospel is the kingship of Jesus .
• And this miracle was recorded,
• I believe because it again affirms the kingship of Jesus Christ.
Ill:
• Matthew tells us that the wise men came looking for a king,
• For weeks and months and even years they had been looking forward to seeing him.
• When they entered the stable they found a refugee family,
• And a baby in a feeding trough.
• The stable had cobwebs for curtains,
• And the heating system came from the animals who also lived there.
I am convinced that what they saw was not what they expected in their thoughts:
• Here was the king, but not as they had expected,
• They were not disappointed because we are told; “They worshipped him”.
Matthew presents Jesus to us as the king:
• He is not what they expected,
• But he will not disappoint you!
Ill:
Birthday card.
• Outside: Darling, you are the answer to my prayers,
• Inside: You are not what I prayed for, but apparently you are the answer!
Jesus is the answer to the prayers of his people:
• He might not fit our ideals, the ideals of the Jews (political deliverer)
• But he perfectly fits God’s ideal! (Saviour – deliver his people from…..sins)
(a). Jesus asked Peter a question (In Verses 25b-26):
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?”
26“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
Ill:
• In the ancient world,
• Earthly kings did not tax their own sons.
• That was part of the privilege of being in the royal family.
• The taxes kept the royals in the lifestyle they were accustomed too.
In these verses:
• Jesus affirms the fact, that he was the Son of a King, i.e. The Son of God.
• And therefore he was free from paying this tribute.
notice:
• Humanly speaking;
• Jesus was too poor to pay even a half-shekel; he had no money!
• And having left their various business to follow Jesus,
• The twelve disciples were as poor as He was.
We know that Jesus lived a life of poverty:
(a). Started life in poverty.
• A refuge family,
• Forced to shelter in a stable (cobwebs for curtains & heating from animals shared).
(c). Ill: Luke chapter 9 verse 38:
58Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
• (d). Ill: Luke chapter 12 verse 16 (inscription on a coin).
• He had to borrow a coin for an illustration.
• (e). Ill: Again in this passage,
• Jesus did not have the financial wealth to pay the tax.
(B). A Solution (verses 27):
“But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Jesus would exercise His kingship over nature to provide what was needed:
• Peter was not able to command the fish and find the money.
• But Jesus was!
Ill:
• Jesus Christ exercised dominion over not only the fish,
• But also over the animals (ill: Donkey in Matthew chapter 21 verses 1-7)
• Over nature:
• The wind, rain and sea obeyed him (Matthew chapter 14 verses 22-36).
There was only one part of creation that failed to recognise and obey him:
• Mankind (John chapter 1 verse 10):
• “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him”.
(B). It is the only miracle He performed to meet His own needs.
Verse 24-25:
24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25“Yes, he does,” he replied.
Jesus used his miraculous power for the good of others:
• ill: To feed a hungry crowd (he provided food).
• ill: To heal the broken hearted sisters Mary & Martha (he raised Lazarus back to life).
• His miracles were always for the good of other people.
• He never used his power selfishly, or in the wrong way!
Ill:
• Matthew chapter 4 verse 34:
• During the three temptation episode in the desert
• Satan had tempted Christ to use His divine powers for Himself,
• But He had refused!
Note:
Although Jesus used the miracle for his own needs:
• He did not use His power selfishly,
• In this story others was also affected by this miracle.
• Verse 27: “But so that we may not offend them”
• Was the Lord’s explanation for the miracle.
• The word “Offended” means “a stumbling block”,
• Jesus did not want to cause other people to trip up and fall.
• Therefore Jesus paid the tax not out of obligation,
• But as a good example to other people.
• Other people needed to pay the tax;
• And Jesus paid to avoid the “if he’s not paying, neither am I” mentality.
Ill:
• Remember the tax in question was for the Temple,
• Which was the house of God.
• Jesus was the Son of God
• God had testified to that fact again and again.
e..g.:
(a).Even before his birth:
• Both Joseph & Mary were informed by an angelic being;
• They would have a son;
• Luke chapter 1 verse 35
• “The one to be born will be called the Son of God”.
(b). Luke chapter 2 verse 49: When his parents were looking for him:
• “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?”
• How could the Son be under obligation to pay the tax which was for his Father’s house?
• Technically, Jesus did not have to pay the tax;
• But for practical reasons, He paid it.
Noting:
• Jesus paid the Temple tax,
• He paid into the treasury of the very establishment that would betray him to death!
• Ironic that from this fund, Judas would receive thirty pieces of silver!
(C). It is the only miracle using money.
Quote: Benjamin Franklin:
“In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes”.
The tax referred to in this story:
• Had its origin in the days of Moses,
• (Exodus chapter 30 verse 11-16).
• Exodus chapter 38 verses 25-27 tell us that the original tax money was used;
• To make the silver sockets on which the tabernacle poles were erected.
• Subsequent taxes were used to support the ministry of the tabernacle,
• And then the temple.
Ill:
The Temple at Jerusalem was a costly place to run:
• There were the morning and evening sacrifices,
• Along with the lambs, wine, flour and oil were offered.
• The incense which was burned every day,
• Had to be bought and prepared.
• The costly hangings and the robes of the priests which constantly wore out;
• Servants and temple employees had to be paid.
• And like any building the temple needed regular maintenance doing to it,
• All this required money and a temple tax met the need.
On the basis of Exodus chapter 30 verse 13:
• Every male over twenty years of age must pay an annual temple tax.
• This tax was equivalent to two days wages.
• Rabbi’s were exempt from paying the tax,
• But Jesus was not an official Rabbi,
• That’s way they question Peter in verse 24.
• And want some money from Jesus.
The reason for the tax is worth noting:
• The money was to be a reminder to the Jews;
• That they had been redeemed from Egyptian slavery.
(d). It is the only miracle using one fish.
Ill:
• Luke chapter 5 verses 1-11:
• Jesus had multiplied the fish for Peter’s incredible catch,
• And He would repeat that type of miracle for peter and the other disciples;
• In John chapter 21 verses 11-13.
Notice:
• In this case, Jesus used only one fish.
• But this miracle is far more complex than the so called bigger catch miracles.
Consider the complexity of this miracle:
• First, someone had to lose a coin in the water.
• Then, a fish had to take that coin in its mouth and retain it.
• That same fish then had to bite on Peter’s hook;
• Remember it had an impediment in its mouth,
• And it had to be caught.
• You cannot explain all of this in a natural way.
• It is too complex for an accident,
• And too difficult for human management.
Notice:
• The miracle was witnessed by and performed for Peter:
• How the other disciples paid their taxes, we are not told.
Ill:
• This was one of many miracles that Jesus performed for Peter.
• He healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark chapter 1 verses 29-34),
• He helped Peter to catch fish (Luke chapter 5:1-11),
• He enabled him to walk on the water (Matthew chapter 14 verses 22-33),
• He healed Malchus’ ear (Mathew chapter 26 verses 47-56),
• And delivered Peter from prison (Acts chapter 12 verses 1-19).
Now notice verse 21:
“When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak”.
• Jesus knew Peter’s need before he even said a word,
• And he also knew how he would meet that need.
Peter no doubt thought he had the tax problem solved when he entered the house.
• But before he could tell Jesus what to do,
• Jesus told him what to do!
• God the Father had interrupted Peter on the mountain (chapter 17 verse 5),
• And now God the Son interrupted him in the house.
• Peter was learning that if we wait to get our directions from the Lord,
• We would see Him meet our needs for His glory.
(e). It is the only miracle which does not have the results recorded.
• Look at verse 28!
• Gotcha! There is no verse 28!
We would expect another verse that would read:
“And Peter went to the sea, cast in a hook, and drew up a fish; and when he had opened its mouth, he found there a coin, and used it to pay the temple tax for himself and for Jesus.”
But verse 28 is not there:
• Question: How do we know that the miracle took place?
• Answer: Because Jesus said it would!
Quote Warren Wiersbe:
“We must commend Peter for his faith.
The people at the seashore were accustomed to seeing Peter with a net in his hand,
not a hook and line.”
That day Jesus not only put a coin in the mouth of the fish:
• He also placed something in Peter’s heart.
• A coin, with the stamp of sovereignty on it.
• Jesus never sends us on errands that are unfruitful!
• Peter had faith in God’s Word, and God honoured that faith.
Note:
• Peter did a normal thing,
• That produced an abnormal result.
• That day by way of a coin and a fish,
• Jesus paid Peter’s earthly debt,
• Soon by hanging on a cross he would pay his spiritual debt!
• A debt paid not with silver or gold but with his precious blood!
Ill:
• 3 gifts were brought to Jesus at his birth,
• Each one symbolic.
• Ill: Xmas present my wife some artist paint brushes,
• Speak of the fact she likes to paint.
• Ill: She buys me something connected with football,
• It would speak of the fact I have a passion for the game.
These three gifts were highly symbolic:
• Gold: which is the treasure of kings, palaces are full of the stuff.
• And it speaks to us of the Kingship of Christ,
• Frankincense: was a spice used by the priesthood,
• And it speaks to us of the priesthood of Jesus (one who would unite us to God).
• Myrrh: A spice used to embalm dead bodies,
• And it speaks to us of one who was born to die!
Ill:
• When our second child is born in a few days,
• He or she will be born to live (their whole life is ahead of them).
• Jesus was the only baby born to die!
• Born with an appointment on a cross one Friday afternoon in 33 years time.
Ill:
• The Raphalite artist Holman Hunt.
• Famous painting called the shadow of the cross.
• Jesus in his step-fathers carpentry workshop,
• Stops working to yawn and his body makes the shadow of the cross.
God’s rescue plan was like the fish and the coin:
• To take normal events and things,
• That produced abnormal results.
