Matthew 17:24-27; For Me and For Yourself

This 1427 painting by Tommaso Cassai Masaccio called "Tribute Money" moves from right to left.    On the right we see Peter confronted by the tax collector, then Jesus speaking with Peter and the disciples.  Finally on the extreme left we see Peter fishing.  

“However, so that we do not offend them … take the first fish that comes up…” Jesus to Peter in Matthew 17:27 

“Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” (John Newton, 1725-1807, former slave trader who came to Christ and wrote the hymn, “Amazing Grace.”) 

Jesus is leading his disciples to Jerusalem (see 16:21).  And when they came to Capernaum (v. 24), they likely stop at Peter’s house (see Mark 1:21, 29).  The collectors of the half-shekel tax  (v. 24) confront Peter outside his home. (Is it mere coincidence that Matthew the tax-collector is the only one of the four gospel writers to include this story?)  

These tax-collectors are not the dreaded ones who work on behalf of the occupying Romans.  Rather, these Jewish tax-collectors are gathering the annual two-drachma tax, the equivalency of two days’ wages, as specified in Exodus 30:11-16.  This is a “happy tax,” a tax that the Jews are glad to pay since it helps to maintain the temple.

These tax-collectors were neither friends of Rome nor friends of Jesus.  They try to trap Peter.   They went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” (v. 24).  If the answer is no, then the unbelieving Jews can accuse Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses.  If the answer is yes, then that would discredit Jesus’ claim of divinity: Why would God pay a tax?   Peter’s answer was succinct; he said, “Yes.” (v. 25).  Then Jesus took over from that point.

And when he (Peter) came into the house, Jesus, omnisciently aware of what just happened, spoke to him first (v. 25). Perhaps Peter was shaken up by the confrontation outside his home.   Jesus says, “What do you think, Simon?  From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?  From their sons or from others?”  And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.”  (vv. 25-26).  Jesus has affirmed Peter’s status as a son of the King.  This status is true not just for Peter but for all believers at all times.   Because of this truth we can call God “Father.” (See Galatians 4:6-7, Romans 8:15-16).   What a glorious blessing of the reconciliation our Lord brings to us!

But Jesus is not finished. “However, not to give offense to them…”  (v. 27) Our freedom is not a cloak by which we cover ourselves from the responsibilities of the world around us.  Jesus will pay the tax even though he was free not to; in this situation not to give offense was more important to Jesus than exerting his rights.  At other times, Jesus did offend the Jews (see 15:12, Luke 11:45-46). But he loved the temple (John 2:17) and he did not come to abolish the Law (5:12).  Therefore, not to give offense was more important to Jesus than proving wrong these tax collectors.

And in providing for the tax, Jesus didn’t just pull a shekel from His pocket and flip it to Peter.  Rather, Jesus makes Peter go the long way and fish for the shekel!  Why?   Scripture does not give us direct insight into Jesus’ reasoning at this moment but there is a principle of faith found in the New Testament that is consistent with this story.   Peter’s faith was likely weak at this time after a series of rebukes (Matthew 16:23, 17:5, 17:17; 17:24).  

Therefore, Jesus wanted to nurture Peter and to strengthen his faith. So Jesus instructs Peter to “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,” (v. 27). Weak faith becomes stronger as it is exercised.  Peter heard the loving, affirming and provisional words of Jesus, particularly the phrase, “for me and for yourself.”  To obey Jesus, Peter had to exercise his faith and take Jesus at his word; consequently, he will once again find Jesus faithful.

In this passage we see the tough yet tender love of Jesus for Peter.  John Piper in his biography on John Newton refers to the “tough roots of his habitual tenderness.”  This attribute in Newton was carved into his life the same way it was carved into Peter:  In spite of the rebukes, Jesus continually nurtured and loved Peter.   Our Lord will not hesitate to discipline us as a loving father disciplines his son (see Hebrews 12:7).  Yet he will always affirm and love us.

We are all lumpy cracked chunks of rock upon which the Master Carver is at work.   May we not groan and complain at the hammering and digging of the mallet and chisel.  Instead may we rejoice that the Master is shaping us into his image.  And he will not stop till he has lovingly brought “it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Matthew 17:22-23: Delivered but not Distressed

“The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” Jesus in Matthew 17:22

“Jesus is… no pale-faced altar boy with his hair parted in the middle, speaking softly, avoiding confrontation, who at last gets himself killed because he has no way out….He is the Lord of hosts, the captain of angel armies.  And when Christ returns, he is at the head of a dreadful company, mounted on a white horse, with a double-edged sword, his robe dipped in blood.”  (John Eldridge, Wild at Heart, p. 29) 

Down from the mountain where Jesus was transfigured, which was witnessed by Peter, James and John (v. 1),  Jesus and his disciples are coming back together and gathering in Galilee (v. 22).   The incident with the demon-possessed boy and Jesus’ words about faith are both fresh in the disciples’ minds.   With that as the context, Jesus reminds the disciples again of what he told them in 16:21.  Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men…” (v. 22).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the long-awaited Son of Man as prophesied in Daniel 7:13 and fully realized in Revelation chapters 14 and 19.  (See devotion on 24:30 “Son of Man Cometh”).  We have the benefit of looking back and seeing this fulfillment clearly. But the disciples, in the midst of it all, were still trying to sort it out. They were still expecting Jesus to be a political messiah. Even at his ascension the disciples asked if it was then that the kingdom of Israel was to be restored (see Acts 1:6).  Here in 17:22-23 they did not understand Christ was to be first the suffering Messiah, delivered into the hands of men (v 22).   

That Almighty God would allow this seems unfathomable!   But by the Holy Spirit, we learn it is the Master’s plan that he be delivered into the hands of men and that they will kill him (v. 23).  His death, burial and resurrection bring about maximum glory for the Father, reconciling man and restoring creation.   John MacArthur says in his commentary, “Jesus was neither helpless nor passive about going to the cross.” In fact, he was “walking ahead” of his disciples on the road to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32).

Jesus also said he will be raised on the third day (v. 23).  But as MacArthur points out in his commentary, the disciples had no category for this.  Like Martha at Lazarus’ tomb, the disciples may have thought Jesus was speaking figuratively of the “resurrection on the last day,” (John 11:24).

Luke adds that “they did not understanding this saying and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it.  And they were afraid to ask him about this saying,” (Luke 9:45).  Only after the resurrection had “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” that said how “Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,” (Luke 24:45-46).  It should be no wonder that the disciples could not fully grasp what Jesus is talking about and that they were greatly distressed (v. 23). 

There is a wildness to our Lord that cannot be contained, fully understood tamed or packaged.    Man cannot grasp the full plan of infinite God.   In our world today, airplanes full of people crash into buildings or just disappear.   Innocents suffer and die as one nation invades another nation while good nations do nothing.   I have friends who have had parents, spouses, even children, die recently.

But the final chapter has not been written. “We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  Death will be swallowed up and “he will wipe away every tear from (our) eyes,” (Revelation 21:4). For now, may we trust and obey, knowing that the path to the empty tomb must first go through Jerusalem, into the hands of evil men, onto the cross and sealed into the grave.   

Still, he walks ahead; he is our forerunner to Jerusalem where he will “destroy the one who has the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14).   Just as he is about to be delivered into the hands of men, he will “deliver all those who through the fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery,” (Hebrews 2:15). 

Matthew 17:19-20: Moving Mountains

“Because of your little faith,” Jesus’ to the disciples (Matthew 17:20).

“We place our faith, even a faith that is very weak, in a trustworthy God and His Word.  The better we know God, the more we can trust Him. And the more we trust Him, the more we can experience the reality of His love, grace and power.    Faith is like a muscle -- it grows with exercise.”   (Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, “How to Experience God’s Love and Forgiveness”)

Likely humbled by their failure with the epileptic boy, the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” (v. 19, emphasis added). This passage continues the theme of faithlessness that began with Jesus’ teaching that Elijah was not recognized (see v. 12) and concludes with the disciples not rejoicing over his predicted resurrection (see v. 23).  These things happened “because of your little faith,” (v. 20), as Jesus said to his disciples. 

The disciples had been given authority to cast out demons (see 10:1) but their faith was not maturing as it should have.  Had the disciples become boastful and trusted more in their own accomplishments?   Maybe they had taken their eyes off of Jesus and were sinking due to the circumstances of life.  

The size of one’s faith is not as important as is the object of one’s faith.   Faith in the right object, even if that faith is small, can move mountains.  Jesus illustrated this by saying, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move,” (v. 20).   A mustard seed is tiny; one can fit easily on the tip of your finger. 

Contrastingly, great faith in the wrong object can be impotent, even deadly.    For example, one can have great faith that a parachute is unnecessary for skydiving; one may believe with all his heart that all one needs to do to fly is to flap one’s arms rapidly.   However, all the faith in the world will not counter the force of gravity in spite of how earnestly one flaps his arms.  

A mustard seed of faith, in the right object, can move mountains.   Did Jesus mean this literally or metaphorically?   Several years ago our family did a missions trip to Egypt.  While we were there we visited the Cave Church near Cairo.  There we learned of a medieval show-down between a Christian priest and a Muslim caliph over the validity of Christianity, using this very verse. 

A depiction at the Cave Church near Cairo, Egypt of the confrontation between a Muslim caliph and a Christian priest showing how faith in Christ literally moved a mountain.  Note the sun shining through from below the lifted mountain.  

The caliph mocked the priest for believing the Bible and he insisted the priest move a nearby mountain called Mokattam.   According to the legend, both parties went out to the desert for the confrontation.   The Christian priest prayed and the mountain lifted up off the ground so that the sun could be seen shining below the mountain.   Was Jesus speaking literally when he spoke of moving mountains?

Frequently our Lord spoke metaphorically.   For example, plucking out an eye, chopping off a hand (5:29-30), or going through the eye of a needle (19:24) are examples of metaphors Jesus used in his teaching.    Even though he taught sometimes using figures of speech, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is historical and literal.   His resurrection is the solid rock and the object of our faith.   Regardless of how weak our faith may be, if it is grounded in the person of Christ, his Word and his resurrection, then we can move mountains, for Gods glory, for God’s purposes!   “And nothing will be impossible for you,” (v. 20).    

Faith is absolutely essential in our relationship with God.   “For without faith it is impossible to please him,” (Hebrews 11:6).  Since faith is the medium by which we commune with God, then it makes sense that our faith is “more precious than gold,” (1 Peter 1:7).  A vibrant faith will flower and lead us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (see Mark 12:30).  “For if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing,” (1 Corinthians 13:2).