24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”
25 He said, “Yes.”
And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”
26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
I'm confused on what point Jesus is trying to make here.
Is He saying that since St. Peter and Him are not strangers to God, but in fact His Sons, they don't have to pay taxes or give money to the church? I'm sure that my interpretation is wrong, so can someone explain this to me.
Also, why would Jesus have to perform a miracle to get money?
Comments
To ascertain the full significance of this passage one must first recognize the intrinsic intentions of the temple tax collectors. Ultimately intent becomes prior to content….and the actual motivation undergirding the allocation of taxes from the Lord was an explicit insult to His very authenticity. The remark "teacher" signifies the renown prominence Christ had gained throughout all of Jerusalem. Men, women and children alike knew of the potency that laid claim to this Man's identity. Our Lord was not merely a preacher or prophet; He was uniquely displaced from prior men in the very works and teachings He had perpetuated before the people.
While I imagine that the Judiazers would have made "exceptions" for particular Jewish Pharisees or teachers to pay temple tax, they belligerently sought to dismantle Jesus by whatever "irreverence" they could accuse him of unsheathing. The response Christ gives, then is remarkable. In an insuperable acclamation of inherent authority Jesus asks, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” Immediately, Our Lord shifts the focal grounds into the juxtaposition between His own inherent (and consequently his immediate follower’s) position as logically warranted "Sons of God" and the imposturous display of sonship the religious authorities had given themselves.
By the same token, the very temple and its financial assets were mere visages to the actual sanctity that was laden in it; the very indwelt presence of God Almighty Himself. Inductively Jesus lays claim not only to an authority that exceeds those of the temple authorities but to the uniquely prescribed "Imargo Dei”—meaning by that that moral consciousness or intrinsic value—He held with the Father. When the reader begins to dwell upon the implications of Christ's position as the second person of the Trinity, it becomes logically preposterous to bequeath taxation from Him as significantly, an itinerant teacher without steady income as well as spiritually, the sole divine Deity to whom all income was initially due. The implicit kingship of Christ necessarily distinguishes Him from the religious priorities consigned to all men via His own authority.
All the more so, Our Lord beautifully surmounts their flawed reasoning and pretentious accusations through the simple gesture; "Nevertheless, lest we offend them." Christ had inherently every right to deny paying temple tax, but as prospective emulation for us to follow suit from, He exceeds their expectations (unquestionably the authorities must have expected Jesus not to pay since they were cognizant of his self-perpetuated impoverishment) and paints for us a portrait of humility and beneficence that only He could so majestically evoke—the tolerance of absolute irreverence towards His sovereign divinity and the surmounting of an unwarranted accused irreverence towards his meekly driven humanity.
Christ had inherently every right to deny paying temple tax
I don't understand why Jesus had every right to deny the temple tax. Aren't we all Sons of God? If we are all the Sons of God, then wouldn't that mean that we don't have to give money to the church? Because Jesus said that the kings only take money from strangers, and not their sons.
So, since we are Sons of God and not strangers, then why do we give money to the church? Is it only because we don't want to offend anyone, just like why Jesus decided to give them money?
And I still don't understand why Jesus decided to make a miracle in order to get money so He can give it to the temple. Doesn't He have money of His own, or did He really have no money with Him?
This passage really confuses me.
Jesus made a miracle to pay this tax money to show them He Himself is the provider of any and all money and riches, even from the most unusual places and by the most unusual ways one may think of, miraculously but according to His Wisdom.
I think the piece of money the fish held in its mouth while swimming in the deep (by the Lord's command and by His knowledge: He knew and told Peter it is the first fish that bites the hook) was taken from the sea bed so it really belonged to nobody except Him, legitimate of course. He is the real Owner of all things anyway.
He could have provided gold coins, precious stones or a big treasure etc if He commanded so. Now Jesus has provided "a piece of money" for them to cover this taxes and continued on with His humble righteousness.
They dared to ask Him for the tax. Even here He did not turn them down but provided their request, while being the Creator of the universe with all its riches. Let us try to learn the lesson here.
Paying them "take that and give it to them for Me and you": you means Peter has to pay, by commandment since the Old Testament; while He does not have to but because of His humbleness and kindness: "lest we offend them", for His righteous Manhood, and because this was before His Sacrifice time has come.
The situation in these verses proves that He provides and we have to pay for both Him and us (us is the Church, and the Church is His Body), and naturally to the 100x10^6 others in big need. He also showed that whether you can make riches or not, everybody have to follow this commandment. The rich will pay more and the poor less (calculated as the commanded 10%, which is the minimum to give).
i.e men yadak a3taynak meaning we gave You from what Your Hand provided
Besides, the verses go perfectly in // with the spirit of freely you took so freely you give.
Mark 12: 13-17
Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
13 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
And they marveled at Him.
and in Mark 12: 41-44
The Widow’s Two Mites
(although the widow was in need, she gave all the money she had)
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites which make a quadrans (very small copper coins worth a fraction of a penny). 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Malachi 3:8-10
Do Not Rob God
8 “ Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘ In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Acts of Love from God should be followed by our acts of Thanksgiving, these will be further rewarded by more Love form God, on and on in a Blessed Circle of mutual expressions of Love and gratitude. The money given to God will be used to edify the faith further and to maintain the poor and the needy, thus righteously widening the scope of the natural application of Love, eventually reinforcing the faith, establishing reciprocal Love and respect between humans, expecting beautiful results that will naturally occur, thus greatly improving life situations everywhere. Still, the majority of humans have hopeless attitudes.
‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’
So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’