When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel [the temple tax] went up to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the half shekel? He answered, Yes. And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him [about it] first, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or tribute—from their own sons or from others not of their own family? And when Peter said, From other people not of their own family, Jesus said to him, Then the sons are exempt.However, in order not to give offense and cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.(Matthew:17:24-27)
There are a couple of things that we can learn from this incident. Let's look at the first one. Peter had been asked about taxes and he would have been thinking how to take that matter to Jesus. With that in his mind, he enters into the house and before Peter could say a word, Jesus brings up the matter. What a big relief it would have been for Peter! Many times we are reluctant to talk to the Lord about certain things and while we are contemplating on how to go about it, the Lord Himself addresses the situation. That's the heart of the Father that is being revealed through Jesus. Before we could say a word, the Lord knows what we need.
The second thing we learn from this incident is from the miraculous provision of a shekel from the mouth of a fish. A fish that acted as an ATM! If we read this passage carefully, the tax needed for Jesus was just half shekel, but one shekel was found in the mouth of the fish just as Jesus said. Why? So that half shekel can be paid for Jesus and the other half for Peter. When we do things for GOD, He will take care of our needs. This need not apply only to the things that we qualify as "spiritual". Every thing that we do, when we do it for GOD, our needs will be met by Him.
Blessings!
There are a couple of things that we can learn from this incident. Let's look at the first one. Peter had been asked about taxes and he would have been thinking how to take that matter to Jesus. With that in his mind, he enters into the house and before Peter could say a word, Jesus brings up the matter. What a big relief it would have been for Peter! Many times we are reluctant to talk to the Lord about certain things and while we are contemplating on how to go about it, the Lord Himself addresses the situation. That's the heart of the Father that is being revealed through Jesus. Before we could say a word, the Lord knows what we need.
The second thing we learn from this incident is from the miraculous provision of a shekel from the mouth of a fish. A fish that acted as an ATM! If we read this passage carefully, the tax needed for Jesus was just half shekel, but one shekel was found in the mouth of the fish just as Jesus said. Why? So that half shekel can be paid for Jesus and the other half for Peter. When we do things for GOD, He will take care of our needs. This need not apply only to the things that we qualify as "spiritual". Every thing that we do, when we do it for GOD, our needs will be met by Him.
Blessings!
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