God Our Provider
In 2024, teenager Keegan happily reeled in a two-foot barramundi. But his happiness became elation when his little sister pointed out a tag on the fish. His catch was worth one million dollars as part of an Australian fishing competition. The annual event had been held since 2015; Keegan was the first to win the coveted top cash prize.
However slim the odds of catching that fish, the odds were far lower that a fish caught at random would have a coin in its mouth. But in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus instructed His disciple Peter to “go to the lake and . . . take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin” (17:27).
The context of this unlikely catch was a question of whether Jesus paid the temple tax (v. 24). The irony of insisting that Jesus—God’s Son—pay a tax to support God’s temple, wasn’t lost on Him. He pointed out that the king’s children don’t pay taxes to the king (vv. 25-26).
But there was no need to “cause offense” and distract others from His teaching by being perceived as a tax evader (v. 27). So Jesus instructed Peter to catch that fish, which had the exact amount to pay both His and Peter’s tax! Perhaps in part it was a reminder to Peter—and to us—that God is a provider who is always with His children as they follow Him.
By Monica La Rose - Our Daily Bread Ministries
Matthew 17:24-27
The Temple Tax
24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
