Lessons From a Fish Story
What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take and give unto them for me and thee. Matt. 17:25-27.
Another example of the unpreparedness of the disciples is the Temple tax episode. That event takes the form of an attempt by the Jewish leaders to trap Jesus by creating a situation in which either answer to their question is problematic.
The question "Does not your teacher pay the tax?" catches Peter off guard. A negative answer will provide a pretext for charging Jesus with rejecting the Temple service. Peter, wanting to avoid that horn of the dilemma, quickly answered that Jesus will pay the tax.
But that hasty reply merely lands Peter (and Jesus) on the other horn. After all, priests and others devoted solely to God's service could claim exemption. As a result, Peter in effect denies Jesus' role as a prophet and teacher in Israel. Thus the same apostle who a short time before had set forth Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah now stumbles over himself and sanctions the very conception of Jesus put forth by the Jewish leaders.
Jesus does the best thing to disarm the situation, telling Peter that He is exempt, but to pay anyway by catching a fish that would have the right amount of money in its mouth.
At first glance that miracle seems out of harmony with what we read in the biblical Gospels and more in line with the exotic miracles of the apocryphal gospels. But a moment's reflection shows that the miracle of the fish with the coin fits the very need of Jesus at the time. For one thing, it definitely proves to Peter the true status of Jesus. Second, it is almost impossible to believe that the disciple could keep his mouth shut about how they obtained the money. Third, even though Jesus outwardly complied, technically it was not His money that paid the tax. Thus the miracle made both horns of the dilemma disappear.
An overlooked point in this event is that Jesus acted as He did so as not to give offense. The lesson we need to catch is that He avoided useless confrontation whenever possible. What a better place the church of today would be in if all disciples followed Him in avoiding needless conflict.
What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take and give unto them for me and thee. Matt. 17:25-27.
Another example of the unpreparedness of the disciples is the Temple tax episode. That event takes the form of an attempt by the Jewish leaders to trap Jesus by creating a situation in which either answer to their question is problematic.
The question "Does not your teacher pay the tax?" catches Peter off guard. A negative answer will provide a pretext for charging Jesus with rejecting the Temple service. Peter, wanting to avoid that horn of the dilemma, quickly answered that Jesus will pay the tax.
But that hasty reply merely lands Peter (and Jesus) on the other horn. After all, priests and others devoted solely to God's service could claim exemption. As a result, Peter in effect denies Jesus' role as a prophet and teacher in Israel. Thus the same apostle who a short time before had set forth Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah now stumbles over himself and sanctions the very conception of Jesus put forth by the Jewish leaders.
Jesus does the best thing to disarm the situation, telling Peter that He is exempt, but to pay anyway by catching a fish that would have the right amount of money in its mouth.
At first glance that miracle seems out of harmony with what we read in the biblical Gospels and more in line with the exotic miracles of the apocryphal gospels. But a moment's reflection shows that the miracle of the fish with the coin fits the very need of Jesus at the time. For one thing, it definitely proves to Peter the true status of Jesus. Second, it is almost impossible to believe that the disciple could keep his mouth shut about how they obtained the money. Third, even though Jesus outwardly complied, technically it was not His money that paid the tax. Thus the miracle made both horns of the dilemma disappear.
An overlooked point in this event is that Jesus acted as He did so as not to give offense. The lesson we need to catch is that He avoided useless confrontation whenever possible. What a better place the church of today would be in if all disciples followed Him in avoiding needless conflict.
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