Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. - Colossians 2:14
In this morning’s sermon, we are going to discuss a miracle involving taxes and a fish. But before we get to that, I want to mention 2 other passages that describe miracles which took place around this time in the gospel narrative. Neither of these was performed directly by Jesus, but of course both were made possible by His supernatural power.
As He had done earlier in His ministry with the 12 apostles, Jesus commissioned 70 of His disciples to go out in pairs to various places preaching the kingdom of God. He empowered them for the duration of this brief mission to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform miracles (Luke 10:1-20). Knowing that His departure was soon, Jesus was training and preparing them to carry the gospel message to the entire world after His ascension.
Also, while they were in Capernaum, the apostles saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who was not a part of their group, and they tried to hinder him from doing so. Jesus told them to leave this man alone and permit him to continue his ministry. Jesus taught that, “He who is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:38-41).
As for the miracles Jesus personally performed, today we will examine the 35th miracle on our list. The passage we’re about to consider holds a special fondness for me, as it was the topic of 1 of the first sermons I ever preached. This story is only found in the gospel of Matthew. I’ve titled this message, “A Coin in a Fish’s Mouth”.
I. A DEBT IS OWED (Matthew 17:24-25a)
Jesus and the apostles returned to Capernaum. While they were there, some men, likely religious officials, approached Peter to collect the 2 drachma tax. They asked him if Jesus paid this tax and Peter replied that He did.
The 2 drachma tax mentioned in this passage refers to the temple tax that was levied annually upon all Jewish males aged 20 and up. This tax was used for the upkeep and maintenance of the tabernacle, and later the temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 30:13-16). According to the Law, the amount of this tax in Hebrew currency was a half-shekel, which equaled about 2 days’ wages. In Jesus’ day, 2 drachma (a type of Greek silver coin) was roughly this same amount.
Although these religious leaders approached and spoke to Peter, they were concerned about Jesus. It makes me wonder why they didn’t ask Him directly. Perhaps they couldn’t find Jesus or didn’t know where He was, but that seems unlikely. I tend to think that they were hoping to find some reason to accuse and slander Jesus’ name, but they were afraid to confront Him. If they were to find that He didn’t pay the tax, they could charge Him with breaking the law and showing disregard for the temple However, Peter answered that Jesus did, in fact, pay the tax.
The unpaid tax represents a debt that is owed. It depicts the debt of sin. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As unrighteous sinners, we are all debtors enslaved by our sin and subject to God’s judgment.
II. JESUS IS EXEMPT (Matthew 17:25b-26)
Peter returned to the house where Jesus was staying to tell HIm that the 2 drachma tax was due. Before he could speak, Jesus asked, “Peter, do kings collect taxes from sons or strangers?” Peter answered, “From strangers,” to which Jesus replied, “Then sons are exempt.”
This is yet another instance when the omniscience of Jesus was evident. He already knew what Peter was going to say before he said it. Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus began addressing the topic before he even brought it up.
Jesus explained that kings took taxes from their subjects (ie, strangers), not from members of their own royal family. Specifically, he highlighted that “sons are exempt.” The symbolism here is that Jesus, the Son of God, who the Father crowned as King of kings, did not owe the tax. As stated a moment ago, the tax represented man’s debt of sin. Scripture teaches that Jesus was perfect, blameless, and did not commit any sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22). He, therefore, was not a debtor to sin like we are. He was “exempt from the tax”.
III. HE PAID IT FOR US (Matthew 17:27)
Jesus instructed Peter to go and cast a hook into the sea. He told Peter that he would catch a fish and that it would have a coin in its mouth. Peter was to take the coin (a stater) and use it to pay the temple tax for both he and Jesus.
Rather than simply taking the funds from their money box to pay the tax, Jesus saw a teaching opportunity and so He sent Peter fishing. He caused Peter to catch a fish that had a coin in its mouth valued at 4 drachma, enough to pay the tax for both of them. Some skeptics have argued that catching a fish with a coin in its mouth is bizarre, but not miraculous. It has happened before and can be explained by natural causes. That said, the miracle is that Jesus made it happen on demand at a specific time. As in the case of Jonah, the fish in this miracle symbolized the grave and Jesus, the coin that paid our debt, came up out of it (Matthew 12:39).
Although Jesus was exempt from the tax, He voluntarily paid it anyway. Not only did He pay it for Himself, but for Peter also. The imagery here is clear. Peter represents sinful humanity. Jesus paid the debt for us - for lost sinners!. He died on the cross to redeem sinners once for all, and thereby cancel mankind’s debt to sin.
CONCLUSION
This was a natural miracle. We will categorize its method as “willed and obeyed”. Jesus told Peter what to do, and when he obeyed, the miracle occurred just as the Lord willed. The text doesn’t indicate that anyone else knew about this miracle, other than Peter and Jesus. Perhaps Peter shared it with others later on. It seems to me that Jesus performed it in order to teach Peter a lesson about salvation.
Every time I read this story, it reminds me of a song I used to sing several years ago when I was younger. The song is called, “He Paid a Debt”. I want to conclude this morning’s message by singing it together. Would you sing with me?
“He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song.
Amazing Grace (all day long).
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”
In this morning’s sermon, we are going to discuss a miracle involving taxes and a fish. But before we get to that, I want to mention 2 other passages that describe miracles which took place around this time in the gospel narrative. Neither of these was performed directly by Jesus, but of course both were made possible by His supernatural power.
As He had done earlier in His ministry with the 12 apostles, Jesus commissioned 70 of His disciples to go out in pairs to various places preaching the kingdom of God. He empowered them for the duration of this brief mission to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform miracles (Luke 10:1-20). Knowing that His departure was soon, Jesus was training and preparing them to carry the gospel message to the entire world after His ascension.
Also, while they were in Capernaum, the apostles saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who was not a part of their group, and they tried to hinder him from doing so. Jesus told them to leave this man alone and permit him to continue his ministry. Jesus taught that, “He who is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:38-41).
As for the miracles Jesus personally performed, today we will examine the 35th miracle on our list. The passage we’re about to consider holds a special fondness for me, as it was the topic of 1 of the first sermons I ever preached. This story is only found in the gospel of Matthew. I’ve titled this message, “A Coin in a Fish’s Mouth”.
I. A DEBT IS OWED (Matthew 17:24-25a)
Jesus and the apostles returned to Capernaum. While they were there, some men, likely religious officials, approached Peter to collect the 2 drachma tax. They asked him if Jesus paid this tax and Peter replied that He did.
The 2 drachma tax mentioned in this passage refers to the temple tax that was levied annually upon all Jewish males aged 20 and up. This tax was used for the upkeep and maintenance of the tabernacle, and later the temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 30:13-16). According to the Law, the amount of this tax in Hebrew currency was a half-shekel, which equaled about 2 days’ wages. In Jesus’ day, 2 drachma (a type of Greek silver coin) was roughly this same amount.
Although these religious leaders approached and spoke to Peter, they were concerned about Jesus. It makes me wonder why they didn’t ask Him directly. Perhaps they couldn’t find Jesus or didn’t know where He was, but that seems unlikely. I tend to think that they were hoping to find some reason to accuse and slander Jesus’ name, but they were afraid to confront Him. If they were to find that He didn’t pay the tax, they could charge Him with breaking the law and showing disregard for the temple However, Peter answered that Jesus did, in fact, pay the tax.
The unpaid tax represents a debt that is owed. It depicts the debt of sin. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As unrighteous sinners, we are all debtors enslaved by our sin and subject to God’s judgment.
II. JESUS IS EXEMPT (Matthew 17:25b-26)
Peter returned to the house where Jesus was staying to tell HIm that the 2 drachma tax was due. Before he could speak, Jesus asked, “Peter, do kings collect taxes from sons or strangers?” Peter answered, “From strangers,” to which Jesus replied, “Then sons are exempt.”
This is yet another instance when the omniscience of Jesus was evident. He already knew what Peter was going to say before he said it. Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus began addressing the topic before he even brought it up.
Jesus explained that kings took taxes from their subjects (ie, strangers), not from members of their own royal family. Specifically, he highlighted that “sons are exempt.” The symbolism here is that Jesus, the Son of God, who the Father crowned as King of kings, did not owe the tax. As stated a moment ago, the tax represented man’s debt of sin. Scripture teaches that Jesus was perfect, blameless, and did not commit any sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22). He, therefore, was not a debtor to sin like we are. He was “exempt from the tax”.
III. HE PAID IT FOR US (Matthew 17:27)
Jesus instructed Peter to go and cast a hook into the sea. He told Peter that he would catch a fish and that it would have a coin in its mouth. Peter was to take the coin (a stater) and use it to pay the temple tax for both he and Jesus.
Rather than simply taking the funds from their money box to pay the tax, Jesus saw a teaching opportunity and so He sent Peter fishing. He caused Peter to catch a fish that had a coin in its mouth valued at 4 drachma, enough to pay the tax for both of them. Some skeptics have argued that catching a fish with a coin in its mouth is bizarre, but not miraculous. It has happened before and can be explained by natural causes. That said, the miracle is that Jesus made it happen on demand at a specific time. As in the case of Jonah, the fish in this miracle symbolized the grave and Jesus, the coin that paid our debt, came up out of it (Matthew 12:39).
Although Jesus was exempt from the tax, He voluntarily paid it anyway. Not only did He pay it for Himself, but for Peter also. The imagery here is clear. Peter represents sinful humanity. Jesus paid the debt for us - for lost sinners!. He died on the cross to redeem sinners once for all, and thereby cancel mankind’s debt to sin.
CONCLUSION
This was a natural miracle. We will categorize its method as “willed and obeyed”. Jesus told Peter what to do, and when he obeyed, the miracle occurred just as the Lord willed. The text doesn’t indicate that anyone else knew about this miracle, other than Peter and Jesus. Perhaps Peter shared it with others later on. It seems to me that Jesus performed it in order to teach Peter a lesson about salvation.
Every time I read this story, it reminds me of a song I used to sing several years ago when I was younger. The song is called, “He Paid a Debt”. I want to conclude this morning’s message by singing it together. Would you sing with me?
“He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song.
Amazing Grace (all day long).
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”