David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 17:24-27

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?” ²⁵He 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?” ²⁶And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷However, 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.”

Adult Jewish males throughout the Empire paid an annual two-drachma tax, based on Exodus 30:13-16, for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple. I wish it was that easy today: two drachmas would equal, maybe $150 to $200 in our culture today. Even at the high end that’s a manageable number. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could fund the maintenance and upkeep of our churches by means of a flat tax of sorts — a certain number of dollars per year from each family. Simple. Clean. But totally not the point.

Jesus tells Peter that he should catch a fish, find a shekel in its mouth (a shekel is worth four drachmas) and pay the temple tax for them both. So many questions come to mind: Why have Peter pay the tax just for Peter and himself? Why get the shekel from the mouth of a fish? How did Jesus know this? How certain was Peter that he would catch a fish? Why? How? When? Where?

Sometimes Jesus seems to paint a target on himself. He takes on the Pharisees. He challenges the scribes and Jewish leaders. He calls them whitewashed tombs. He refuses to answer their questions, and openly violates their traditions around observing the Sabbath. There is little Jesus won’t do to challenge the religious establishment of his day.

But on this day Jesus pays the tax. He won’t give offense over this matter. Perhaps – and this is conjecture – he realized that until he had completed his earthly mission the place of the temple was vital to the faith. Only after he is on the cross and he dies does (final ?) the destruction of the temple begin to take place as the veil of the temple is torn in two.

God’s visible presence among his people – his local presence – is no longer in the temple. It is in the hearts and lives of those in whose hearts Jesus lives. The temple tax is no more. And while we may well need to support and maintain God’s house today, the greater need is to have Jesus’ kingdom established clearly in our lives.