Parable of the Coin – Grace 8
• We move on from the Parables of the Kingdom to the Parables of Grace
• One point I should make before we go any further
• The parables of Jesus are not just cute stories that He told. As with all His teaching and actions they contain the words of life
• We need to be careful we don’t make the same mistake as the Pharisees did and think the scriptures of and by themselves are the source of eternal life
• John 5:39 (NKJV) 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
• The NLT is even more emphatic
• John 5:39 (NLT) “You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
• What scriptures did the Pharisees have? The OT
• So the most important point in reading the OT according to Jesus is to see their relevance in identifying Him firstly as the coming Messiah and secondarily as the true source of Eternal Life
• Notice the two points Peter makes when Jesus challenges the disciples if they too are going to leave Him
• John 6:67-69 (NKJV) 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
• So when we read scripture this is the paradigm or framework through which we should view all of scripture. Jesus should literally jump off the pages of the Bible
• So if we miss these points we miss the whole purpose of Scripture
• But now that the “Word” Himself has arrived what weight should be placed on His words?
• Jesus’ words carry the power from which they emanate – He is the Logos, the Word or spokesman of God Himself
• So Jesus’ words have behind them the power of what He is
• Therefore His parables are not just “cute stories” or “word pictures” of external subjects as much as they are representative of Himself
• They are just as representative of Himself as say His death and resurrection are
• In other words the Parables of Jesus carry the same weight as the Activities of Jesus and we need to give them that kind of respect
• After all He is the Word and the true source of eternal life
Let’s move on to the Parables of Grace
• The Parables of the Kingdom primarily focused on the characteristic of the Kingdom – how it operates in the world now, not just some future time; how it reaches out and embraces all mankind; how it is hidden and mysterious rather then visible and tangible
• Up till this point Jesus does not in a deliberate way talk about how this Kingdom is to be accomplished, that is through his own life, death and resurrection
• This is the subject He now turns to in the Parables of Grace
• And it is only natural as these events are quickly approaching that He begins to be preoccupied with these matters
• The say nothing focused the mind like impending death
The first parable is the Coin in the Fish’s mouth
• First thing we need to mention is that there are two types of Parables. One is a hypothetical story Jesus makes up to illustrate a point like the ones we have already looked at
• The second type are real live events which Jesus uses to illustrate a point
• These are called “acted” parables. This one is an acted parable
• Matthew 17:24-27 (NKJV)24 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?”
• The temple with its religious activities played a huge role in the economy of Jerusalem in much the same way that the Vatican plays a similar role in Rome today
• And as a way of supporting these activities, every Jew over twenty was expected to contribute half a shekel to the upkeep of the Temple
• Now there are a couple of things happening here in relation to the question Peter is asked by the tax collectors
• First thing is, “Did Jesus really need to pay this tax?” No, why not?
• Remember when Jesus’ disciples were accused of eating grain on the Sabbath in Matt 12, what did Jesus say? One greater than the temple is here!
• And when the disciples were marveling at the grandeur of the temple, what did He say, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
• What was He referring to? He was referring to Himself the New Spiritual temple of the soon coming New Spiritual Covenant
• Now He did go ahead and pay it for two reasons, First He was born under the law
• Galatians 4:4 (NCV)4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son who was born of a woman and lived under the law.
• Prior to the introduction of the New Covenant at His death, Jesus lived under the Mosaic Law
• That’s why He observed the commands and rituals of Mosiac Covenant up until His death
• But that ceased with His death when His blood was shed and the temple veil was rent
• This signified the end of the old religion of the temple and the beginning of the new with Christ’s death
• After that point, true worshippers would now worship Him in “Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:23-24)
• New Temple (John 2), New Birth (John 3), New Bread (John 6)
• The second reason He paid it was to avoid offense although that wasn’t always the case as at times He deliberately provokes the religious establishment; making mud from clay on the Sabbath
• So this tax was part and parcel of the old religious system that existed up till this point
• 24 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?”25 He said, “Yes.”
• Peter, impulsive as usual lied presumably to cover for Jesus and himself. How do we know that? If Jesus had already paid it, there would have been no need to do what followed
• Now we see an example of Jesus’ omniscience and therefore His divinity, as Jesus was not with Peter when this conversation happened. Yet he had the ability to know what had transpired
• 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?”
• You and I pay taxes today even though we are the citizens or “sons” of Australia
• But in the days of empires, the taxes were raised from the subjugated peoples while the citizens of the ruling country were exempted
• 26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
• Now we have labeled this parable a Parable of Grace. Why do you think it is labeled this way? The sons are free
• Need to remember Jesus is speaking from the perspective of being the “One greater than the Temple is here and as the New Living Temple of the NC
• Jesus as the literal Body and Blood of the NC is making the spiritual comparison between the Mosaic and His New Covenant
• Under the Old, the children of Israel were never truly free from sin and the obligations of the Mosaic Covenant
• They had to perform certain rituals on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis in order to maintain their relationship with God
• They were never truly free from these obligations and never truly free from sin
• Hebrews 10:1-4 (NLT)The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3 But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
• But now Jesus was about to do away with all the rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices that characterized the old religious system and replace them with His own Body and Blood
• Hebrews 10:9-12 (NLT)Then he added, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God’s right hand.
• As a consequence, the sons of the New covenant purchased with the living sacraments (no longer just shadows) of His own Body and Blood would be truly free from the power of sin and death
• And this is why the gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News. It is glad tidings of Great joy for all men
• Jesus came to do away with religion. Because religion traps us in a game we can never win
• Religion is the insistence that we can do something to make ourselves right with God
• We can’t. Our relationship with God simply cannot be repaired from our side, from our efforts, from our performance
• We become freeborn or “free sons” purely on the basis of the efforts from God’s side, Christ’s works, Christ’s efforts, Christ’s performance
• In other words Jesus’, life, death and resurrection
• That’s why the church needs to be in the Gospel proclaiming business rather than the religious business
• Religion proclaims God as some sort of record keeper who is keeping score. Yet what does Col 2:14 tell us about our score card
• Colossians 2:14 (NLT) He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.
• By contrast the gospel proclaims God as the God who tears up the score card and invites us to the heavenly party
• 27 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.”
• Think about this for a moment. Has to be the right fish in the right place with a coin in its mouth
• Jesus finishes the story with a remarkable physical miracle but nothing compared to the miracle of what He did for you and I and the rest of Humanity so we could enjoy eternity with Him
