Our first miracle is found only in Matthew.
One pericope or heading is: Miracle Temple Tax in a fishes mouth.
There was an occasion years ago, while fishing with my grandfather, Daddy Mac, on Lake Livingston, that he and my stepfather, wagered a small beat on who could catch the total weight of black bass one morning.
This was when the black bass were schooling on Lake Livingston, so the only stipulation was that the fish couldn’t be shorter than 12”.
My grandfather and I were in one boat, and my stepfather and his son were in another.
It was a particularly light day of catching fish that day, so my grandfather got creative. Before we headed back to the marina, my grandfather decided to load the two largest fish with fishing weights in order to make them weigh more.
We weighed all the fish, and our catch weighed more than their catch.
My stepfather just couldn’t accept that those largest two bass weighed as much as they did, but he reluctantly paid my grandfather the wager.
My grandfather went as far as taking the money from him, before he admitted what we had done!
We all got a big laugh, and as usual, we ate good that night!
Matthew 17:24–27 “When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go 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.””
I’d like to break this down just a bit this morning.
This is an unusual miracle, in a couple of ways, but the most glaring is: we don’t actually see the miracle take place.
I know that it did, because Jesus said it would!
But, I still have questions, such as:
If the coin was in the fish’s mouth, how did it not drop the coin, when it took the hook?
Of all the hundreds of fish I have caught over the years, why have none had coins so I could pay my taxes?
Have you ever had a specific financial need and that need was supplied, pretty much to the exact amount?
Apparently, that is what happened here. The coin in the fish’s mouth, was exactly what was needed to satisfy the temple tax.
Depending on the translation, the coin was described as:
shekel
a piece of money
a coin
a 4 drachma coin
a bit of money
By what I can tell, it equalled a little over .50c.
Let me read the NASB version v24.
“Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax, came to Peter and said “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax””?
I had to read read several translations to get it in my thick skull that, the reason the amount in the fish’s mouth was a 4 drachma coin, was that since the tax was two-drachma, the fish had enough for Peter to pay both his tax, and Jesus’ tax.
I’d like to read v25-26 from the NLT, because I didn’t understand the NKJV.
I’ll begin with the NKJV, so we can compare.
Matthew 17:25–26 “He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.”
Here’s the NLT:
“yes, He does, Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him “What do you think Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered.”
I don’t know about you, but that makes more sense to me!
The Jews were a conquered people at that time weren’t they? Who were the Romans collecting taxes from? The conquered Jews.
This was known as a Temple Tax.
Think about it. This was essentially a “ministry tax”.
It supplied the needs for the priests.
It supplied the needs for the upkeep/maintenance of the Temple.
It paid for the animals used for the general sacrifices.
Also, from some accounts it paid to help the widows.
If you study the outlay of the temple, apparently there were rooms for widows to stay.
The Temple tax was used to pay for a few other things as well.
Also, from all accounts I read, this was a voluntary tax. Which to me, likens it to an “offering”.
Apparently, there may have been some grey areas there, because Rabbi’s were exempt. But Jesus, wasn’t going to give the enemy a foothold.
Just a few more remarks about this passage.
Did you notice that Peter didn’t consult with Jesus before he replied yes?
In a certain community I am involved with I’d like to change the table name to “Impetuous Peter”.
In scripture, there are times Peter says things before giving thought!
This may have been one of those times.
Listen to Jesus’ response when Peter comes in the house.
NLT- “but before he (Peter) had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him...?
He didn’t give Peter a chance to entangle himself any further.
In our Wednesday night bible study, Crystal read this passage from the daily devotional titled “Jesus Calling”. I found it wildly appropriate to what we see here in Peter’s response regarding the paying of the tax.
“Pause before responding to people or situations, giving My Spirit space to act through you”.
Church, let us not be “Impetuous Peter” when responding to people or situations, but rather give the Holy Spirit space to act through us!
Let’s move on to the next miracle to examine today.
This one is found in Matthew 12:22-23/ Luke 11:14,
Matthew 12:22–23 “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?””
Luke 11:14 “And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.”
Luke’s account was so matter of fact, nonchalant.
You know, just another day of casting out demons!
I’d like to quickly look at 4 responses:
The afflicted’s response-We’re not told. All we know is the demon was cast out. End of story.
The Crowds response- “They marveled” , “They were amazed” They even asked “could this be the Son of David”?
The Pharisees response is seen both in Matthew and Luke, and are essentially the same response.
Since Jesus casts out demons, He is obviously the ruler of the demons.
Now, let’s look at Jesus’ response to the Pharisees:
Matthew 12:25 “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
He goes on in v 27. Matthew 12:27 “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.”
NLT: “and if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons too, so they will condemn you for what you have said”.
He puts it right back on them! BAM!!!
Then, the last thing about this miracle, being one of a few, that is immediately followed by a parable.
This next miracle is found only in Luke.
Luke 13:10–13 “Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.”
Spirit of infirmity- I read a commentary about this. Here is what it said “This spirit of Infirmity, was apparently a rigidly fused spine, to a demon”.
Here are a few thoughts on these verses:
We are told that she had this infirmity for 18 years, but we are told if she had been coming into the synagogue for 18, or if this was her first visit.
We DO know that she did not leave the same way she came in!
Church, if someone is coming to CPC, bent-over physically or spiritually, we are to do everything in the power Jesus has given us, to do what we came to help them not leave the same way they came in!
Whether we like it or not, sometimes that requires tough love! They kind of tough love they may only get from a loving church.
This woman was not the only person who was bound in that synagogue that day:
Luke 13:14–17 “But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”
This ruler of the synagogue was bound by man’s laws, wasn’t he?
Luke 13:15 “The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?”
Jesus is chiding them “If you are going to take care of animals on the Sabbath, shouldn’t you also be taking care of people as well? After all, they are more valuable to God, than are animals”.
Here again, we see the response of:
The afflicted- Glorified God v.13
The crowd: v17-rejoiced
The synagogue ruler: bound by man’s laws
Jesus- explaining the foolishness of their thinking!
Last miracle for today:
If you have been following the timeline, you probably realize, we are closing in on Passion Week.
Found only in Luke, and is also followed immediately by a parable.
Luke 14:1–3 “Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”” Luke 14:4–6 “But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”
Y’all this was a set-up!
These rulers and lawyers weren’t earnest in their motives.
They wanted to do everything in their power, to destroy Jesus by whatever means necessary.
Have you ever been invited to dinner, when the hosts had ulterior motives?
I have- but I didn’t handle quite like Jesus.
I was about 20, wet behind the ears, and it was a total set-up! If those people are still alive, they are probably laughing to this day!
Couple of quick thoughts:
Do you see that Jesus asked two questions, that neither got a response?
Luke 14:3–4 “And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.”
So, He asked the question, got no response, healed the man, and let him go.
look at verse 5. The NKJV
Luke 14:5 “Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?””
Then He answered. This is called answering a question with a question in the sales world.
Sometimes, the intent of answering a question with a question is to allow someone to “paint themselves into a corner”.
Picture this: you are painting a floor. You begin at one corner, paint the entire floor as you back yourself into a corner while painting. The obvious logical option is to allow the paint to dry before you can paint that last corner.
You’ve “painted yourself into a corner”
Before Jesus answers He probably thinks to Himself “paint yourself into a corner much?”
My belief is they could not answer because there was no “winning” answer. Checkmate!
Again, He illustrates that people are more important to God, than animals.
And their man-made interpretation of the Mosiac law was ridiculous!
3 of these 4 miracles were about healing. The healing power of Jesus.
We still need that today, probably more than ever, don’t we?
Jesus never performed miracles simply to excite or thrill people. He truly has compassion for us.
His miracles were to glorify God, meet our needs, and allow us just a touch of heaven in our lives.
