Matthew 17:22-27 "Death and Taxes"

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Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 17 …today we are covering versus 22-27.

We are in a section of scripture where Jesus is preparing His disciples. Jerusalem and the cross are looming in the background, and Jesus is getting His disciples ready to carry the torch of the truth of the gospel. In that process, He is breaking them down and building them up.

Over the past couple weeks we saw Jesus take Peter, James, and John up to the Mount of Transfiguration where He, Moses, and Elijah appeared in glory speaking about Jesus’ departure and what He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. And, then Peter chimes “...this is good…let’s build three tents.”

Peter consistently spoke out of turn prior to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost…and on the mount…the Father divinely interrupted Him to center everyone on Jesus…not three tabernacles to honor Moses, Elijah, and Jesus…just Jesus… The Father said, “This is My beloved Son, Hear Him!”

After fully coming down off the mountain…Jesus and the disciples go from mountain high to valley low. The remaining nine disciples are found disputing with scribes, and they lack power to heal a demon possessed boy.

Jesus called them a “faithless and perverse generation” …unbelieving and twisted or distorted.

Whether they were putting too much stock in their own ability…or got their eyes off Jesus as the source of their power…or just doubting and fearful because of “this kind” …this especially troublesome demon…whatever the case…they were ineffective.

So, Jesus breaks them down and builds them up. Unbelief was their issue, and faith as a mustard seed…small but true faith was the solution.

Today, we pick up with Jesus departing…likely departing the region of Caesarea Philippi…and heading South to the Galilee region and then to their home-base in Capernaum...where Jesus will continue to teach and prepare His disciples about His death and resurrection and taxes.

Benjamin Franklin in 1789 is quoted saying, “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes...”

Profound and sobering on many levels given the context of the day. And, I’m sure the disciples…in hearing Jesus’ words on His death and taxes…felt Jesus’ words were also profound and sobering.

Today’s sermon is titled, “Death and Taxes.”

Let’s Pray!

Matt 17:22-23 “Now while they [Jesus and the Twelve] were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.”

It’s a little difficult to place the setting of the present scene…was Jesus with the crowds in Caesarea Philippi or alone with the disciples in Galilee when He predicted His suffering, death and resurrection?

Luke seems to place these sayings of Jesus’ passion prediction immediately following the healing of the demon possessed boy… Luke 9:43-44 states...“And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

Now, Matthew and Mark place this event in Galilee. Matthew states... “while they were staying [or gathering] in Galilee.”

Mark 9:30 states… “Then they departed from there [likely Caesarea Philippi] and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.”

Interesting detail of the covert nature of this journey…though it’s not surprising given Jesus’ experience with the people, politicians, and religious leaders.

It’s possible that Jesus made an abbreviated Passion prediction immediately following healing the demon possessed boy (as recorded in Luke) and then again when in Galilee…we do observe a slightly different passion statement in Luke (who only speaks about betrayal) -versus- Matthew and Mark (who record Jesus speaking about His betrayal, death, and resurrection).

Hard to say, but mostly minor details…

But, a major detail is this is Jesus’ second major passion prediction. The first was in Matt 16:21 as you may recall, Peter rebuked Jesus, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” To which Jesus responded, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Now in Matt 17:22, Peter does not rebuke Jesus…Peter seems to have learned that lesson…which is good. When God corrects you, take it to heart and learn.

The most significant correction I received from God is summed up in my life verse…truly my personal testimony...Pro 1:23 “Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.”

That’s exactly what happened to me. Aug 5, 2012. At the baptism for my two oldest kids, the Lord impressed upon me, “You need to put to death the old man and you need to get baptized again.” I came out of the water baptized with the Holy Spirit, delivered from alcoholism, and He opened my eyes to His word...calling me into ministry.

If we’re honest, most of us can relate to 1 Cor 1:26-29 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

When God takes a foolish person, calls them, and does mighty work through them…people know who to give glory to…God. And, looking around the room... I’d say God’s getting a lot of glory. Amen? (ok…well 2 of you are honest).

Those verses in 1 Cor 1 are the bases for the saying, “God doesn't call the Qualified...He qualifies the Called.”

For Peter, this was exactly the case. Peter was not a scholar…he was a fisherman. And, God qualified Peter by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.

And, we read in Acts 4:13 “Now when they [the Sanhedrin…the theologians who were not called] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Peter was transformed…it was not a theology degree that qualified him…it was being with Jesus… “that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Well, let’s take a look at the specific words in this 2nd Major Passion Prediction:

I like how Luke records the emphasis of Jesus in Lk 9:44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

“Let these words sink down into your ears...” I like that phrase. We might say, “Pay attention” or “Take this to heart.”

In Rev 10, an Angel tells John to ‘take [the the little book] and eat it...’ Take it in…digest it…internalize it.

And, what does Jesus want His disciples to grasp?

V22-23: “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.”

Easy for us to understand in retrospect, but not so easy for the disciples to grasp prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Note the response of the disciples to Jesus’ 2nd Passion Prediction:

Matthew captures their emotion…he states, “And they were exceedingly sorrowful.” They sorrow at the thought of Jesus being betrayed and killed.

They are unable to comprehend the resurrection at this time, so all they feel is sorrow. After the resurrection, their sorrow will turn to joy…their “mourning into dancing.”

Mark captures their thoughts and feelings… Mark 9:32 “But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.”

They do not understand and they are fearful. Fear combined with ignorance is overwhelming. It can be paralyzing or cause panic.

Luke provides further insight...Luke 9:45 “But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

I’m not so sure that God hid this truth from them…after all Jesus is speaking plainly, not cryptically, like in a parable.

The truth is likely being hid from the disciples by themselves. They blinded themselves from the truth.

While walking with Messiah, they built up an expectation for their future…we see this even in a few verses later…in Matt 18:1 the disciples dispute about who will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The thought of Messiah being betrayed and killed is crushing their dreams... even to the point they are afraid to ask Him for clarity.

In life, we also have hopes and dreams and if something were to come along that would take all of that away…we may at first dismiss the truth of what is happening…we call this “denial.”

I mean just imagine the whole world changing around you…right before your eyes…A world where people deny truth and call “good evil and evil good.” Where everything you believe is being challenged…hard to imagine seeing things like that unfold before your eyes. It’s easy to be in denial about the truth.

But, even in denial, Jesus still speaks truth to the disciples, and repeats Himself numerous times until they do understand.

Matthew next shifts as they go back to Capernaum. Finishing out Chapter 16, Matthew records an account about taxes that is only recorded in Matthew’s Gospel...

The other disciples don’t record this account…Thank you so much Matthew for recording this…when we get to heaven, we can all ask Matthew… “Why?”

Matt 17:24-27 “When they had come to Capernaum, those [plural…2 or more men] who received the temple tax came to [more like “ganged up on”] 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.”

It’s not so surprising that Matthew recorded this account on taxes…after all he formerly was a tax collector.

Even though I chide Matthew…there are actually some great applications in this account.

So, Matthew sets the stage with Jesus’ return to Capernaum- their home base for ministry…and the temple tax collectors note that Jesus had not paid this tax and they come to collect.

Interesting they don’t ask Peter about his taxes, though he obviously didn’t pay either.

…which leads me to believe that this is another attempt to test Jesus.

So, the tax collectors bring up the issue of the Temple Tax…so, what is this tax?

Exo 30, beginning in verse 11 speaks about a payment a “ransom” of 1/2 shekel for all males over the age of 20, which was the basis for the Temple Tax in Neh 10:32 though this tax is reduced to 1/3 shekel at that time.

In V24, “temple tax” in Gk. is “didrachma”, so this tax is sometimes referred to as the “double-drachma” tax and by today’s standard would be about $15 USD…not a lot of money, and even further support that the temple tax collectors had ulterior motives because why go out of the way…stalking a guy at His house for just $15? This is a set-up.

The temple tax was not a Roman Civil tax, but a tax that all Jewish males paid to support the temple…for temple upkeep.

You may hear a sermon, on these verses, where the application is... “pay your taxes” and you should, but that is a loose and poor application for these verses.

In V24, “those who received the temple tax” are not tax collectors like Matthew was a tax collector…collecting taxes for Rome.

A modern equivalent to Matthew is the IRS... as Rome would be to our country and government…the United States of America.

In these verses, the tax collectors are Jews collecting on behalf of the temple. A better modern equivalent may be giving to a church building fund.

Now, you won’t ever find me stalking you at your home to find out why you didn’t pay your Temple Tax, and there are a few reasons for that...

Number 1…well…it’s just creepy.

Number 2…I have no idea who gives and who doesn’t. Many Pastors who are mentors to me, in wisdom, are blind to who tithes for the purpose of objectivity. “God is not a respecter of persons.’ (Deut 10:17, Rom 2:11, etc.). James 2 teaches us to be like God... impartial…not to extend personal favoritism to the rich over the poor.

3rd and final…if you haven’t noticed…we don’t even “pass the plate”…not that there is anything wrong with that because the Bible does not specify the procedure on how tithe is supposed to be collected.

We lean toward the “tithe box” because in the OT, Jehoida the priest set up a box beside the altar... and in Jesus’ day there were boxes set up in the court of the temple.

2 Ki 12:9 “Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the LORD.” The original tithe box.

In the account of the widow and the 2 mites…in Mk 12:41 we read, “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.”

So, each church to it’s own on the procedure for collecting tithe. We prefer a tithe box or online giving as we see examples of the tithe box in the word…and both tithe boxes and online giving are more anonymous...

Matt 6:3 Jesus said, “...when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

I don’t want people to feel pressured into giving and don’t want giving to become a prideful show seen in the ‘rich people’ in the account of the widow and the 2 mites.

And, if you are wondering if giving is Biblical at all, for sure yes, and there are many verses, OT and NT, to support giving and tithe, but let me just give you one…which captures the heart of God towards giving, and instructs how much you should give...

And, if you’re visiting today, and you’re thinking, “See…I just knew that I was going to hear a sermon about giving money…typical church sermon.” NO…we just teach through the Bible, and this topic is relevant given the passage.

In 2 Cor 9, Paul exhorts that giving should be a “matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.” 2 Cor 9:6-7 states, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

So, giving is between you and God…not between you and your Pastor. So, when these Temple Tax Collectors came to Jesus…while I don’t love their procedure…the reality of giving was right by God.

I’m just not sure how you give cheerfully and not out of necessity when a Temple Tax Collector stalks you to your home to ask for your $15 contribution?

So, as these Jewish tax collectors corner Peter outside the home and ask, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”…Peter responds in the affirmative, “Yes” … ‘yes, Jesus will pay the temple tax.’ Peter speaks in defense and on behalf of Jesus...

Perhaps a bit misguided as Jesus does not need to be defended or protected by Peter. On trivial matters and especially when the accuser’s motives are in question…time and again Jesus has silenced His accusers.

But, when cornered...caught off guard…and put under pressure by a group of men... when you stand alone… you may speak out of turn as well.

I remember a time, when I sold insurance, during the biggest deal I was ever a part of…one of my two partners caught me off guard and presented a heart breaking story of why he needed more favorable terms and under pressure I prematurely agreed to his terms. He played on my good nature and soft heartedness.

I don’t think Peter had ill intentions here, but like me…he should have paused to process before responding in the affirmative…instead of caving to the pressures at hand.

The Bible has much to say about thinking before you speak...

Pro 16:23, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.”

Ps 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Pro 29:20 “Do you see a man hasty in his words?There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

And, while Peter’s words were not a complete disaster this time, Jesus still gently corrects and guides him.

After Peter responds in the affirmative…again we read…V25 “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?”

We cannot say for sure if Jesus just overheard the conversation between Peter and the tax collectors, or if Jesus’ divine knowledge is on display…

Often Jesus would know the thoughts or the intentions of men…especially the scribes and Pharisees.

Reality is... nothing is hidden from the Lord. He knows all things…God is omniscient.

Ps 90:8 “You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.”

There are no secret sins before God…He sees all.

Num 32:23 “…be sure your sin will find you out.”

Heb 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

And, Jesus knows about Peter’s conversation...in V25 Peter enters the house and “Jesus anticipated him...” Jesus anticipated the conversation about taxes…which makes me think we are observing another example of Jesus’ divine knowledge.

As Jesus takes the initiative to ask Peter this question in V25, I imagine that Peter’s faith in Jesus grew. God will often meet us in the minutia to build faith.

The first time I honestly prayed, I asked God to help me to remember a word I couldn’t remember for two weeks…the tip of the tongue phenomena…I prayed “God, if you are listening...help me to remember the word…” and the word just rolled off my tongue.

Minor detail…minutia…but, a major faith builder in my heart.

So, Peter walks into the house, and Jesus greets Peter with a question addressing what is on his mind....

“From whom do the kings of the earth take customs [by definition “tolls”…taxes on goods] or taxes [by definition “an enrollment or poll tax”…taxes just for living]..., from their sons or from strangers?”

This question is parabolic…Jesus is casting a natural truth alongside a spiritual truth to drive home a point.

The natural truth of that day was that secular kings would tax their subjects (strangers in this verse), but would make exempt their own family members (their sons).

Jesus is the Master Teacher and Peter understands the natural truth, thus his correct response in V26 “Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.”

The tax collectors asked if Jesus would pay the temple tax. Peter said, “Yes.” Jesus tells Peter that the sons of the king…the royal sons are free…tax exempt.

The Spiritual Truth derived from this natural truth is that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore exempt from this tax.

The Temple Tax was for Temple upkeep…it was an obligation to God. It was a tax imposed by God back in Exo 30…since this is God’s tax and since God is greater than all the kings of the earth…and since Jesus is God’s son and the sons are free…tax exempt…Jesus is not obligated to pay this tax.

The temple was considered “God’s house”… “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands” Acts 7:48... but still this is how Jews thought of the temple.

Jesus paying taxes to the temple would be equivalent to Him paying taxes to Himself.

It’s important to understand that Jesus is using this parable to speak about Himself. Some mistakenly apply the “kings of the earth” as a reference to Rome and Caesar and “the sons” as Christians in general, and wrongly teach that Christians are not obligated to pay taxes to their governments.

Listen, you can live in la la land for a season, but the IRS will remind you of reality. Pay your taxes. Jesus is not teaching not to pay taxes.

The tax in question in V24 was the “didrachma”…the temple tax…not a civil tax.

In V25, Jesus is just using the natural example in a parabolic form, to help Peter further understand who Jesus is…the Son of God.

Yet, despite Jesus’ divine privilege, observe His humility and expression of the “law of love” as superior to the “law of liberty” in V27 “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.”

The word offend here in Gk. is skandalizō, (root for our English word “scandalous”) by def. “to entrap, i.e. trip up, to stumble.”

‘Lest we offend the tax collectors…lest we stumble them…which we don’t want to do because we love God and we love our neighbors…and since I love them I am willing to humble myself and pay a tax I am not obligated to pay.’

We say, “Be the bigger person.” That’s what Jesus is doing here. His liberty…His freedom and divine birthright was not worth offending these tax collectors.

And, to drive home this point…turn to Romans 14…5 books to your right… Romans 14 addresses principles for Christians dealing with matters of secondary importance…matters that cause conflict, but should not. We should live in harmony with other Christians and sometimes this comes by laying down our liberties…by loving our neighbor as ourselves…exactly what Jesus is doing by paying the Temple Tax so as to not offend the Tax Collectors.

Romans 14 (the whole chapter…verses 1-13 focus on “Christian Liberties”) V1 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things [non-essentials]. 2 For one believes he may eat all things [liberty], but he who is weak eats only vegetables [Jews under the law]. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? [servant’s don’t judge servants] To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. [Why argue over Sabbath/Saturday/the Jewish Holy day -or- Sunday/First Day/Resurrection Day/the Christian day of worship?] 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

[Starting in V7…Paul addresses the issue of Lordship…we live to the Lord, not to ourselves] V7 “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. [This is the Bema Seat…the judgment for Christians where our works are tried and we are rewarded for pure works…this is not a salvation judgment].

V11 “For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. [Placing your liberties ahead of love for others may result in a loss of eternal rewards, so be careful with your liberties. Jesus modeled this by laying down His liberty and paying the Temple Tax].

Starting in V14, Paul now speaks about how the Law of Love is superior to the Law of Liberty… V14 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. [this is why Jesus paid the Temple Tax…love over liberty].

William MacDonald wrote, “Love foregoes its legitimate rights in order to promote the welfare of a brother. A dish of food isn’t as important as the spiritual well-being of one for whom Christ died. And yet if I selfishly parade my rights in these matters, I can do irreparable damage in the life of a weak brother. It isn’t worth it when you remember that his soul was redeemed at such a towering cost—the precious blood of the Lamb.”

continuing in Rom 14:16 “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. [Be led by the Spirit…not by your belly.] 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. [God is doing a spiritual work in everyone’s life…secondary matters…food, drink, and days should never be prioritized above God’s work].

V22 “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. [Flaunting liberties at someone else’s expense will result in judgment]. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” [And, for the weaker believer…violating one’s conscience is also wrong].

Romans 14 is a fantastic chapter to cross reference, and expand on why Jesus takes the high road of paying taxes and not offending the weaker person…the tax collector. It’s a matter of love, and we should live the same way.

Wrapping this up…Jesus sends Peter to do what he loves…fishing…

“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.”

This is a miracle…Jesus tells Peter of all the fish in the sea, he will catch the one that has “a piece of money” in it’s mouth. Once again, Jesus omniscience is displayed.

“A piece of money” in Gk. is statēr- the value of two Alexandrian drachmas, or one Jewish shekel…the exact amount needed to pay for both Jesus and Peter.

And, it is assumed that Peter went and caught the fish, and the taxes were paid.

And, that’s our God…humble through and through...

Let’s Pray!

We serve an amazing God. Jesus left eternity, heaven and glory to come into His creation to be betrayed, killed, and rise again in order that sin and death are conquered…and all who have faith in Jesus will be redeemed in relationship to God.

Humble through and through. I don’t think this matter of taxes was even a thing to Him…no big deal at all.

The lesson today is love over liberties…people over entitlements. God is doing a work in all of us…and we need to love one another…that’s the priority.

Let’s close with this verse from the ‘Apostle of Love’…John, 1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another”

Live that out this week!