TAX EXEMPTIONS

About a year ago Gail and I learned that we were paying way too much tax. Now most of think that we are paying way too much tax, but the fact is that over a two year period we had paid thousand of dollars more in taxes then we should have. Therefore we filed amended tax returns for those two years. We received our first payment right around the time of Gail’s car accident in February. The timing was providential for it allowed us to purchase a used van to replace the one that had been totaled.

We have since changed the amount of money that we pay each quarter in our estimated self-employment taxes. And I’m quite certain that we will never again make the same mistake on our tax returns.

As we continue on in our series, titled PERCEPTIONS OF JESUS, we come to an interesting passage regarding things that Jesus was and was not exempt from. Please turn to . As this chapter comes to a close, so does this particular narrative section of the Gospel of Matthew. If you will recall, Matthew has a unique form to it. The narrative sections of this gospel account are divided by discourses. For instance, after the initial narrative regarding the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry in chapters 3 & 4, Matthew records for us the Sermon on the Mount. Then chapters 8 & 9 provide the next narrative section in which Jesus demonstrated His divine being by performing various miraculous works. This was followed by the second discourse in which Jesus prepared the twelve to go out and minister, giving them authority over demons and to heal various diseases. The next narrative section is found in chapters 11 & 12 in which the the Jewish religious leaders begin rejecting Him as their Messiah. Then in chapter 13 the next narrative section comes with the kingdom parables. And today we conclude the narrative section that stretched from until the end of chapter 17. Eventually we will learn that at the end of the discourse of chapter 18 Jesus will conclude His Galilean ministry, and begin His final journey to Jerusalem.

As we journey through this passage this morning we are going to see what we can learn from Christology — the doctrine of Christ. We will look at things in terms of His divinity, and His humility.

Let’s read our passage together.

CHRIST IN HIS HUMILITY PART 1

THE GATHERING IN GALILEE

THE GRIEVOUS ANNOUNCEMENT

I don’t know about you, but I am often a poor listener. What do I mean by that? Often my mind will start to focus on a statement that was made, some much so that I fail to hear what was said afterwards. The fact that the disciples were deeply grieved by the statement Jesus made regarding His pending death and resurrection indicates to me that they were very much like me. They seem to have been so focused on the announcement of His upcoming death that they failed to grasp the significance of His statement about His resurrection. Let’s look at Jesus’ grievous announcement for a moment.

Notice first the title that Jesus used of Himself.

THE TITLE

Jesus referred to Himself as The Son of Man. This was His most common way of referring to Himself because this title was filled with meaning. What might escape the casual reader of the Gospel accounts is that when Jesus referred to Himself as The Son of Man He was in essence stating that He was the divine Son of God. He was stating that Jesus of Nazareth is the person pictured in

Daniel 7:13–14 NASB95PARA

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

The phrase with the clouds of heaven signifies divinity. And yet the title signifies humanity. This One who was to receive a kingdom, would be both divine and human.

Revelation 1:7 NASB95PARA

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

Let’s look next at what is going to happen to The Son of Man — He will be betrayed.

THE BETRAYAL

Just a few days earlier Jesus had first told His disciples that He would suffer in Jerusalem and be killed. At that time Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him. On this occasion no one dared to rebuke Him, but we get a little more information that was not given in the previous announcement — Jesus was going to be betrayed.

As I was meditating on this passage (while overseeing the workmen putting in new floors at my dad’s house) I couldn’t help but to think of progressive revelation. Jesus’ announcements of His pending death and resurrection in the Gospel of Matthew, in my mind, give us an example of progressive revelation in that a little more detail emerges with each announcement. First Jesus was to die in Jerusalem. Second, He will be delivered into the hands of men. Third, the Gentiles will be the ones who carry out the execution (). Fourth, one of the apostles will be His betrayer ().

Let’s look now at the statement about His execution.

THE EXECUTION

Simply put, after being betrayed Jesus will be killed. This is where I believe the apostles stopped listening and started grieving. Though this statement does not clarify a state sanctioned execution as well as does the announcement in , believe that it is at least inferred.

I can imagine the disciples were wondering to themselves why it was that Jesus had to die. I don’t think they fully comprehended the importance of His being the sacrificial lamb who would propitiate God. And yet numerous Old Testament prophets made that fact very clear in their writings.

Do you remember when we were studying we noted that it appeared that the apostles were so focused on what Jesus said about His going away that it appears they missed what He said about loving one another? It seems to me that is what happened on this occasion as well. They seem to have latched onto what Jesus said about His death, and in so doing they missed His announcement about being raised on the third day.

THE RESURRECTION

Like Martha in the apostles understood that there will be a resurrection of the dead on the last day. Perhaps they thought that Jesus was referring to that resurrection when He stated that He will be raised on the third day.

Let’s turn our thoughts for a moment to the obedience of Christ.

THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST

It is important for us to remember that Jesus willingly obeyed His Father’s wish by become the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was not forced to comply to His Father’s wishes. But He voluntarily did so. Why?

He always did the things which please His Father

He sought to glorify the Father

He became man for the purpose of giving His life a ransom for many

He loves His sheep

He provides for His sheep — not merely nourishment, but He also provided the way to the Father through His death on the cross

He protects His sheep as the Passover Lamb

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to a church which was struggling with division within its membership — a division that was the result of a lack of humility:

Philippians 2:5–8 NASB95PARA

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In a Christmas Hymn based on this passage Charles Wesley wrote: “Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die.” Commenting on this R.C. Sproul wrote:

The eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, did not lay aside His deity, but He laid aside the glory that attended it and chose humiliation, ignominy, suffering, and death, making Himself of no reputation. He even submitted to the simple temple tax, which was an insult to His glory.

CHRIST IN HIS DIVINITY

In this passage I see various attributes of God in the God-man, Jesus.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD SEEN IN CHRIST:

FOREKNOWLEDGE

Jesus’ announcement of His death and resurrection are nothing short of divine foreknowledge. Only God has the ability to see the end from the beginning. And that is what we see here in Christ. Jesus, being the divine Son of God, understood that He was to be the Passover Lamb.

OMNISCIENCE

Not only do I see foreknowledge in this passage, but I also see omniscience. Omniscience is the big theological term for all knowledge. Jesus had knowledge of a private conversation that Peter had with the tax collectors.

Let’s talk about this scene for a moment. In verse 22 of our text Matthew had stated that the disciples were gathering together in Galilee. At that point he did not specify where in Galilee, merely that it was within that region. Remember they had journeyed up to Caesarea Philippi. From there Jesus and the three went to the Mount of Transfiguration, possibly in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi. And now they were gathering as a group somewhere in the region of Galilee. It is quite probable that the announcement in verses 22-23 came while they were traveling.

Now, however, they are in a distinct location: Capernaum. This had been the base of operations for Jesus’ Galilean Ministry. And that ministry was drawing to a close, since in chapter 19 they begin the final journey to Jerusalem.

It appears that for some unspecified reason Jesus did not pay the two-drachma tax which was a Temple tax. This particular tax was instituted by God during the time of the Exodus for the purpose of upkeep of the Tabernacle. At that point it was to be paid whenever a census was taken. By the time of Jesus it had become a yearly tax which Rome had allowed the religious leaders to impose on the people for the purpose of upkeep on Herod’s Temple. That is at least part of the reason money changers were located in the Temple complex.

The tax collectors ask Peter does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax? It was phrased in such a way that it expects an affirmative answer, which Peter provides.

Peter’s answer is actually a little ambiguous. Was he saying that “yes, you are correct, He does NOT pay the temple tax.”? Or was he saying the “he does pay the temple tax.”?

When Peter returns to the house Jesus asked him a probing question in regard to Peter’s conversation with the tax collectors. And this leads to our next divine attribute which I am referring to as Sonship.

SONSHIP

Obviously sonship in itself is not a divine attribute. Many of us are sons, and have sons as well. But divine Sonship is something different altogether. In the Jewish culture of that day it was seen as being a statement of deity. Once the Jews sought to stone Jesus for blasphemy because He claimed divine Sonship. Look at verses 25-26 for a moment.

Being that we do not live in a monarchy we may have never really thought about taxation from within a monarchy. The point is that Kings do not require that their sons pay the taxes that the citizens of the kingdom have to pay. The king’s sons are tax exempt!

Being that this particular tax was for the purpose of the upkeep of God’s house, God’s Son was not required to pay it.

We should note that there are those who will take this teaching and other similar passages, and twist them around to teach that Christians shouldn’t pay taxes. Some say that since our citizenship is in heaven, it is to heaven that we are to pay taxes. Others say that since all believers are sons of God, they are therefore exempt from paying taxes.

Of course there are others who rationalize that since our tax money goes to pay for things that we do not approve of as Christians, then we shouldn’t pay taxes. I believe that such rationalization is erroneous. But time will not allow for me to elaborate on that right now.

Look with me at verse 27.

MIRACULOUS PROVISION

This is the only time in the Gospel accounts that we read of Jesus performing a miracle for His own benefit. Or was it for His benefit? Perhaps it was for the benefit of Peter and all who read of this account.

The provision of this fish with a coin stuck in its mouth is nothing short of miraculous. And the miracle points to Jesus being God. This fish was appointed by God for this task just as a fish was appointed by God to house Jonah for three days.

Let’s return now to another look at Christ in His humility.

CHRIST IN HIS HUMILITY PART 2

As already stated, there was no demand from God that His Son would have to pay the temple tax that was instituted for the citizens of Israel. Yet Jesus chose to pay it in order to not offend the tax collectors, presumably. I see this as a humble expression from our Lord.

Though He recognized His right to privilege as the Son of God, yet He chose to humble Himself in obedience to the law.

VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION

It is important for us to remember that Jesus willingly obeyed His Father’s wish by becoming the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was not forced to comply to His Father’s wishes. But He voluntarily did so. Why?

He always did the things which please His Father

He sought to glorify the Father

He became man for the purpose of giving His life a ransom for many

He loves His sheep

He provides for His sheep — not merely nourishment, but He also provided the way to the Father through His death on the cross

He protects His sheep as the Passover Lamb

Returning to the title of this message, TAX EXEMPTIONS, I want to note that though Jesus was truly exempt from the temple tax. But He was not exempt from His obedience unto death on the cross.

The purpose for the incarnation was so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone ().

Hebrews 2:9 NASB95PARA

But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:14–15 NASB95PARA

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Hebrews 2:17–18 NASB95PARA

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

In His Humility Christ identified with man. He is not only able to save us from the penalty of sin, but He is able to help us deal with the temptation to sin. Because He was victorious over temptation, we too, who are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, have the ability to overcome temptation. The problem is not the ability, but the willingness.

May we seek to be more like Jesus in His humility. In doing so we will then be able to truly magnify His deity. Let’s pray.

CLOSING SONG: MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST