Death and Taxes

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 148

Psalm 148 ESV

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord!

Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:8-10

Psalm 34:8–10 ESV

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Sermon:

GMC! I was Glad when they said to me let us worship in the house of the Lord!

In case you didn’t know, I have a bit of a reputation for exaggerating. My hope is that it is fairly obvious when I do it, really I like to think of it usually as more of hyperbole, which is intentional exaggeration for emphasis, but I digress. I bring this up, because if I have a reputation for exaggeration, there is a phrase that attests to this: “Telling fishing stories”. It is because over the years and telling of a story about the fish that someone has caught, the hands get a little bit farther apart when describing the size. Then the weight gets continually rounded, but only up, so 2 becomes 2 and a half which rounds up to five, etc etc till every fisherman ever has caught only the biggest fish ever recorded, convincingly with no proof.

In fact, just last year I don’t know if you all heard this, I thought it was a fascinating story there were two fishermen who were caught stuffing lead weights into the fish that they caught to increase the weight and win a competition. it turns out that cheating like this in a game and fish sponsored event is a felony and they are in HUGE trouble.

Well why do I bring this u? Because in our lesson for today we will have a fishing story related to us by Matthew. in fact, Only Matthew tells us this story. It is a rare narrative that only one gospel writer chooses to relate to us, but this is no “fish story” rather a beautiful passage that gives us many important lessons. If we remember this in the narrative section that supplements the third major teaching of Jesus called the “kingdom parables. In fact, this is the LAST narrative before the fourth discourse that starts next week or next chapter, depending on how you look at it. So it is going to answer some important questions regarding the kingdom of heaven, and in particular the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. In particular we will understand what do we do as “duel citizens” How do kingdom people live in the world, do we serve the government, do we rebel? Do we pay the temple tax, does Jesus even have an opinion of the temple and this tax? These are contextually pressing questions and sure to the audience of Matthew these were pressing real world questions.

So with that in mind, lets turn our attention to our passage for today, Matthew 17:24-27.

Matthew 17:24–27 ESV

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

These are the Words of the Lord for us this morning, Lets begin with a word of prayer.

PRAY

SO the very first this that we note about this miracle narrative comes actually at the end. This miracle is not really a miracle at all. As one commentator says: his pericope as a whole is not a miracle story, but a debate, with the miraculous solution of verse 27 unexpectedly tacked on at the end. But the miracle tacked on on the end, even that is not REALLY tacked on at the end. this is what I would call an UNSEEN MIRACLE

An Unseen MIRACLE

If we read the end carefully again we never see Peter catch this fish. Jesus tells him to do this, but did it happen? we can make assumptions, but are not told for sure. In fact, in some sense, this passage becomes a test for us in OUR ability to trust God and what he will do, just like this must have been for peter. For peter here is the command, God fishing, but not fishing like you are used to. Like if we think about this for a second, peter was a fisherman, he would be USED to fishing to pay his taxes. his bills, his EVERYTHING. But that was in a boat, that was with a net. Lets pay this two drachma tax, also called the half shekel tax, also called the temple tax. I can do that give me one good day I can sell these fish and we are good to go. In fact, If we look location wise, they are probably at peters house, so that makes this all even easier, he would know the good spots, he would have this down.

But here it is take a hook, go catch not a whole days worth of fish, but just one. Peter would be put to the test here, Just one fish, are you sure Jesus, that's a bit of a gamble don’t you think: Will peter trust God? But now the question here in this passage is placed before us, DOD Peter trust God, and how did It work out in the end. Some commentators see that only Matthew records this, they see the uniqueness that the miracle never HAPPENS in the passage and think this whole story is a made up “fish story”. It is a parable ABOUT jesus, not a parable of Jesus, they would say. I will say this. In my not so humble opinion on this particular passage, they are wrong.

So what is going on here? Will I think the reason is that it is unseen is because the fact that Peter caught the fish and paid the tax was at best like his this third priority in this story. We do not need to see another miracle to understand the power of Jesus. this man has healed the blind and the deaf, cast out demons, he has cured the leper and the paralytic and raised a girl form the dead. he has WALKED ON Water, you don't think he can provide a shekel in this way? Really, I think he would say that if you doubt that he CAN do it you just simply have not been paying attention. So what are his priorities, Well, simply put it is to teach us the teaching of Jesus. His interest was not so much in the act as in the fact that Jesus spoke in the way he records. But more than that, as with EVERY SINGLE MIRACLE, it is not really about the miracle itself, but the lesson that this particular miracle teaches. And I think the fact that this is unseen forces us to see that. We can’t dwell on the miracle. We don’t know what type of fish this was, we don’t even know the nature of the fishing expedition that Peter went on. It was the first fish, but did he cast out and, like we would read elsewhere in Matthew “immediately he caught the fish” or was there a time of testing. Did peter cast and reel and cast and reel, was there a time where he thought: “OK Jesus, you said the first fish, but I have caught all of zero (that's how most fishing expeditions I have been on go after all…)” We don’t see that “the men praised God for his miraculous provision” we don’t have ANY of the typical miracle stuff so we are FORCED to zoom in on the LESSON

Teaches us an important LESSON:

And actually I would argue that he is teaching us simultaneously TWO lessons that we need to grasp. the first is a sort of meta lesson. I think Matthew Henry points this one out best. he writes: In the way of obedience, in the course, perhaps, of our usual calling, as he helped Peter, so he will help us. And if any sudden call should occur, which we are not prepared to meet, let us not apply to others, till we first seek Christ.

Trust our savior. that is the sort of overwhelming all consuming Full lesson of this. Trust him to provide, trust him to work, trust him to save, trust him in all situations This is why I wanted us to read Psalm 34 together, because this is the message of David there as well. WE are blessed when we take refuge in God, not in our own strength and might. When we fear him and him alone, not the temple tax, not anything else, when we fear him we will, Psalm 34:9 “have no lack”. We will have want of NO good thing. Trust him to provide, even in crazy ways. But that is as I mentioned the sort of META lesson, the one here is i think more pertinent and beautiful when we wrap our hearts around the fullness of this story.

The first thing to understand is what this tax exactly was. This was not just another tax that would go into the coffers in Rome to support the roman machine, rather this was a tax that was taken form only Jewish Men in order the care for the temple. While over the years the pharisees, like they often would, corrupted and warped and abused this, at it’s root, this tax is good. It actually has its root in Scripture. Exodus 30:11-16

Exodus 30:11–16 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

And here is the heart of then Jesus teaching. this tax as ment to be an “ransom for your life.” Verse 11 it was to “make atonement” verse 16. So I want us to start here. Would followers of JESUS CHRIST, need to give a tax to the temple for this? shortly NO, and here is the lesson. WE ARE FREE

We are FREE

There are two ways that we can and should approach this. The first is this lets ask the text a question. What does Jesus teach? do his followers need to pay this particular tax. No! (for discussion on OTHER taxes that the christian may or may not need to pay come on Thursday!) Why not, I would argue because they are a part of a better kingdom. Instead of worshiping in a temple built by human hands they serve the one who offers the sacrifice in the temple of heaven. but even more than that, instead of strangers and aliens we have been given the right to be called CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are, John chapter 1. So Because they are children of God, Jesus says, this temple tax is not really for them. for, verse 26 “the sons are free.” WE have been given access to the free gifts of God through the person and work of Jesus.

this is really the main heart here. do we need the temple to offer to God a “ransom for our lives”? No we do not, because that ransom was already paid. For all those who trust in Jesus there is no longer a need for sacrifice or ransom to be paid, because as the great hymn states, JESUS PAID IT ALL! It is interesting, and we don’t have time to dive into all the ins and outs of how wrong or right or confused Peter was in answering so quickly “yes” when asked if Jesu pays the tax. but What they were asking Peter when they asked if his rabbi paid the two drachma tax was in some way, has Jesus paid the ransom for HIS life. The beauty is his life, offered on the cross was the ransom for the lives of all his people. Whereas the tax collectors could only see duty and obligation FROM jesus the hope for salvation of all mankind is the duty and obligation OF Jesus, perfectly fulfilled in perfect obedience to the father.

Similarly this tax was to “make atonement for our lives” but this tax was replaced perfectly by Jesus. Hebrews 2:17

Hebrews 2:17 ESV

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

He is the one who makes the atonement, he is the propitiation, he is the one who intercedes. So from this tax we are free, but truly, and here is the joy of the christian life. We are free. As children of the ruler we are free. Free from the bondage of sin and death, free from the curse of the law. Truly, Jesus himself says says “whom the son sets free is free indeed.” Whereas Peter and these tax collectors could only see hanging over them the burdens of duty and the weight of responsibility, we are set free that we may serve and love and live for God, all for his glory. So if the hidden question in this passage is, how ought the members of the kingdom of God live on this earth, the answer is PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY FREE.

-A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none; A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, and subject to all. - martin Luther in “The Freedom of a Christian”

-1 Corinthians 9:19.

-We must never decline our duty for fear of giving offence; but we must sometimes deny ourselves in our worldly interests, rather than give offence. - Matthew Henry