Introduction:
A. You’ve probably heard the phrase “That Sounds Fishy,” haven’t you?
1. I got to wondering where that phrase came from and I wondered if it came from the outrageous fish stories that fisherman like to tell.
2. So, I did a little research and discovered that it actually originated from the expression, “smells fishy,” which refers to something questionable or suspicious.
3. Fresh fish has very little odor, but the older fish gets then the stronger the odor it has.
4. That’s why it is advisable to smell the fish before buying it.
5. If it “smells fishy,” then it is older than advertised.
6. Anything that “smells fishy” ought to be avoided.
7. Thus, the phrase, “sounds fishy,” though this doesn't really make sense given the origin, is another way of saying that something is questionable, or that you sense something is wrong with it.
B. And so what about fisherman and their fish stories.
1. We have all heard fisherman tell stories about how big the fish was that they caught or how big the fish was that got away, and we wonder how close to the truth it was.
2. Well, in our story today from the life of Peter, we will see that Peter had a fish story to tell that many people would find unbelievable.
3. If the story wasn’t found in the Bible, then we might say that sounds fishy!
a. But we know that the Bible is true and so this story must also be true since it is in the Bible.
4. Because the story is a short one, we will read the entire story, and then talk about what it means and how it applies to us.
I. The Story
A. Our story for today is found in Matthew 17:24-27.
1. The Bible says: 24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the 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 kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast 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 me and for yourself.”
2. Well, one thing we can say about this story is: “Life with Jesus was never boring!”
a. A lot of unusual things happened around Jesus, and this is certainly one of them!
3. One of the unique things about this story, is that Matthew’s Gospel is the only Gospel that includes this story.
a. I wonder if Matthew included it because he was a former tax collector, and he liked stories about tax collectors.
4. Another thing that is unique about the story is that it so personally involves Peter, which is why we are examining the story in our series on the life of Peter.
a. Last week’s story involved Peter, James and John, but this one seems so focused on Peter.
b. Certainly, this miracle was going to leave a lasting impression on Peter.
5. Let me mention one other thing that is unusual about this story, and that is that we are not told the outcome.
a. With most of the miracles of Jesus, we witness them happening, and if not, then we are told about the resolution.
b. For instance, in John 4, we are told about an official who came to Jesus because his son was sick to the point of death, and he asked Jesus to come and heal his son before he died.
1. Instead of going with the man, Jesus told the man to go home and he would find his son had been healed.
2. The story didn’t stop there, but we are told that the man returned to his home and found that his son was indeed healed, and when he inquired about when his son’s condition began to improve, it was the exact time when Jesus had declared, “Your son will live.”
c. But in our story for today, we hear the instructions that Jesus gave to Peter, but we are not told that Peter carried them out.
1. We are left to assume that Peter did what Jesus told him and caught the one fish that had a coin in its mouth and paid their taxes with it.
B. Let’s continue to dissect this story so we can understand what it means in general and what it means for us.
1. Let’s talk for a minute about the tax in question.
2. When Jesus and Peter, and we assume the rest of the apostles, returned to Capernaum, Peter was approached by the temple tax collectors.
3. Why was Peter the one who was approached?
a. Probably because they approached him at his home there in Capernaum.
b. Jesus didn’t have a home, so they couldn’t go to Jesus’ house to find him.
c. And they may not have wanted to question Jesus, because they had heard how those who questioned or tried to trap Jesus didn’t come out on top.
4. Were the temple tax collectors truly concerned about the temple tax or did they have other motives?
a. Since so many were trying to discredit Jesus, I’m guessing that their motives were not for the temple and its needs.
b. Later when Jesus was questioned about paying taxes to Caesar, Scripture reveals what their motives were, and they certainly were not pure.
5. The two-drachma tax was of very ancient origin, dating from the days of Moses, and was used to maintain the tabernacle and later the temple.
a. It was a voluntary levy on all Jews, and needs to be distinguished from the Roman taxes, which were obligatory on Jew and Gentile alike.
b. Religious teachers, such as rabbis, were exempted from the payment of the temple tax by general consent.
c. A drachma had small monetary value and would have a comparative present value of 65 cents.
6. We noticed in the text that Peter was approached by the temple tax collectors and was asked: “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”
a. Notice how the question was asked in the negative – rather than being a question, it was more like an accusation.
b. Peter, not really knowing the answer, but wanting to defend Jesus, said, “Yes” – insinuating, as a matter of fact my teacher does pay the tax.
c. Peter, assuming what he knew about Jesus, thought that Jesus would certainly want to support the temple, and pay His dues.
C. Peter’s answer to the tax collectors seemed to satisfy them, so they left and Peter went back into the house, perhaps to look for Jesus and bring up the matter with Him.
1. But before Peter could broach the subject with Jesus, Jesus who knows all things, and therefore certainly knew what just transpired between the tax collectors and Peter asked Peter this question: “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?”
2. It was a pretty easy question and Peter answered: “From others,” to which Jesus said, “Then the sons are free.”
3. Most Kings collect taxes from their subjects to support themselves and their families.
a. Kings don’t collect taxes from their own children.
4. Do you think Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles pay taxes to England?
a. By law, The Crown has a legal tax-exempt status, but actually, I discovered that the Queen voluntarily pays a sum equivalent to income tax on her private income.
5. But what point was Jesus trying to make with Peter?
a. Jesus was trying to drive home the idea that He is the Son of God, the Son of the King of Kings, and therefore, He is exempt from temple taxes.
b. The temple is God’s house, and is therefore, Jesus’ house.
1. Remember at age 12 when Jesus was found in the temple by his frantic parents who thought Jesus was lost in Jerusalem, and Jesus said, “Didn’t you know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
2. Remember the two times Jesus cleared the temple of the money changers saying, “Stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace?”
c. So if the temple is God the Father’s and therefore God the Son’s, then would or should Jesus pay taxes to Himself? Obviously not.
D. But the fact that Jesus was not obligated to do so, was not going to stop Him from paying the tax so that it would not a barrier.
1. So Jesus said, “However, not to give offense to them…I am going to send you fishing…”
2. What Jesus told Peter to do, suggests that neither Peter nor Jesus had any money between them.
a. Peter had left his business to follow Jesus, and Jesus didn’t have an income.
3. And so here we return to the miraculous aspect of this story.
a. Jesus sent the former fisherman to do a little fishing.
b. Peter knew all about fishing, but the kind of fishing he had done had been with nets in an attempt to catch as many fish as possible.
c. Jesus, however, was sending him to do a different kind of fishing in an attempt to catch one specific fish.
4. So Jesus gave him the following instructions: “Go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.” (shekel has the same value as two drachma)
a. Look carefully at those instructions…
b. The specific sea isn’t delineated, but Capernaum is right on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, so that’s the sea Jesus must have been sending him to.
c. Nevertheless, what part of the Sea of Galilee? Most likely right there at Capernaum, but that is still a big waterfront with hundreds of feet of shoreline.
d. Peter was told to cast a hook…is the hook to be baited or bare? I don’t think it matters.
e. As a fisherman, Peter would want to know what kind of fish he was trying to catch, but again, I don’t think it matters.
f. And what are the chances that any fish that Peter might catch with any method of fishing would have the right coin in its mouth to pay their taxes?
g. I have caught a lot of fish in my lifetime and none of them have had a coin in their mouths.
5. This miracle demonstrates God’s power over all things.
a. It is indeed a miracle.
b. It’s not a fairy tale.
c. It’s not some coincidence.
d. And it doesn’t have a scientific explanation…
6. And so we assume that Peter did as Jesus said, went fishing with a hook, the first fish he caught had the coin in its mouth, and Peter proceeded to pay for both his and Jesus’ temple tax.
II. The Application
A. So why did God preserve this story in the Bible?
1. What was Peter supposed to have learned from this experience?
2. What can we learn from this story and apply to our own lives?
3. Allow me to quickly suggest a number of lessons.
B. First of all, we learn that we shouldn’t offend unnecessarily.
1. By His own actions, Jesus shows us to pick the right battles.
2. Some rights are just not worth fighting for, others certainly are.
3. Jesus unapologetically stood for what was right and often found Himself in conflict with the spiritual leaders of Israel, but on this occasion, it was not necessary for Him to stand for His rights when he could easily pay the tax and avoid unnecessary offense.
4. Likewise, with God’s wisdom, we should do our best to live at peace with others, and gladly give up our rights on insignificant things for the good of others.
5. The apostle Paul explained this principle in 1 Cor. 9:19-23, where he talked about trying to become all things to all people in order to win them to Christ.
C. A second lesson we learn is that: God is sovereign over everything, even the fish of the sea and all the gold lost at sea.
1. God truly is omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing).
2. God can make a fish bite a specific hook, and make sure that fish has the right coin in it.
3. I don’t know how God does it, but I trust that God can do anything He wants or needs to do.
D. A third lesson we learn is that: There is reward in obedience.
1. God could have provided what was needed any way God chose.
2. In this case, God commanded Peter to do a specific thing in order to receive a specific reward.
3. What would have happened if Peter had not obeyed?
4. What if Peter had said, I think I’ll use my net rather than a hook?
a. Would any of the fish in that net have had a coin in its mouth? I don’t think so.
5. What if Peter had said, “I have a better idea, I think I’ll go looking on the road side for bottles and cans and turn them in for money to pay the taxes.”
a. Do you think God would have provided him with the bottles and cans necessary? I don’t think so.
b. Of course, there weren’t bottles and cans, nor a 5 cent deposit, but you get the point.
6. No, it was when Peter did what God had told him to do, even though it didn’t seem like it would work, that he received the reward.
7. It reminds me of the children of Israel and the walls of Jericho – I can hear them questioning God, saying: “They will fall down after we do what? March around it? Are you sure, God?”
8. Or it reminds me of the disciples finding of a place to hold the Passover meal.
a. Jesus gave them these instructions: “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.” (Luke 22)
b. “How are we supposed the find the man?” “Just look the guy carrying a jar of water.”
c. The disciples obeyed and made preparations for the greatest Passover meal ever.
9. God’s rewards are great when we obey God’s commands.
E. A fourth lesson we learn is: We should be thankful when God meets our needs.
1. Can you imagine Peter saying to Jesus, “Master, as long as you are sending me fishing to find money, can I catch more than one fish, because I could use a few more coins?”
2. Jesus could have commanded a bag of money to found in the fish’s mouth as easily as a coin, but he was not looking to make Peter rich, rather Jesus was just trying to meet a need.
3. When our needs are met, we should learn to be content with that.
4. Unfortunately, rather than being grateful when God meets our needs, often we are unsatisfied and just want more.
5. Let me illustrate with this story: In regions of Mexico, hot springs and cold springs can be found side by side.
a. And because of this natural phenomenon, the women bring their laundry to those areas.
b. They boil their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold springs.
c. One day, a tourist who was watching this washing procedure taking place commented to his Mexican guide, “They must think Mother nature is generous to freely supply such ample clean hot and cold water.”
d. The guide replied, “No, Senor, there is much grumbling because she supplies no soap!”
6. We need to learn to be grateful when God meets our needs – often God supplies what is needed at just the right time, and sometimes down to the penny and no more.
F. A fifth lesson we learn is that: God often works through small things, like a hook and a fish.
1. Let’s think of some other small things God used to accomplish His purposes:
a. The feeding of the 5000 began with a boys small lunch – “But how many people can it feed?”
b. God provided for the OT widow through a little oil in a jar – “But how far is that going to go?”
c. Look at what God did with Moses’ staff.
d. God’s power gave Samson the ability to win a battle against 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey.
e. Look at what God did when He whittled Gideon’s number of men from 30,000 down to three hundred men with torches and jars.
2. So when God wants to work through me and you and what little we have, we should never doubt what God can do even with small things.
G. A sixth lesson we learn is that: Jesus is the Son of God.
1. The continued confirmation of Jesus’ identity is revealed in His power to pull off a miracle like Peter catching a fish that has a coin in its mouth.
2. Who, but God Himself could pull off a crazy prediction like that?
3. Any of us could predict that if you go fishing with a bare hook you might catch something – it could happen.
4. But none of us could pull off making a prediction that the first fish Peter would catch with that hook would have a coin in its mouth that was the right amount to pay the temple tax for two men.
5. Jesus could do it because He was God in the flesh!
H. And a final lesson we learn is that: We, along with Jesus, are children of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords and as God’s children, we live in God’s blessings and provisions.
1. Since the kings of the earth only collect taxes from those they govern and not their own children, it stands to reason: Since Jesus is God’s Son, and the temple is God’s house, then He is exempt from paying temple tax.
2. Likewise, since the disciples are also part of the family of God then they too are exempt.
3. What Jesus was saying was that because His death on the cross will be the ultimate sacrifice for sin, there will no longer be a need for a temple where animal sacrifices were offered.
4. As a result, the sons and daughters of God would be set free from sin’s obligation by Jesus’ paying the price for all sins.
5. Allow me to end with some of Paul’s words from Ephesians 1 that address this final lesson we learn - that we are children of God and live in His blessings: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…In him we have obtained an inheritance… [and] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:3-14)
I. That, my brothers and sisters, doesn’t sound fishy! – It is the truth! Let’s believe it and be blessed by it.
Resources:
The Life of Peter, F.B. Meyer, Edited by Lance Wubbels, Emerald Books, 1996
The Apostle Peter, James Houck, Xulon Press, 2009
Peter’s Big Fish Story, Sermon by John Gaston, SermonCentral.com
