How I Learned Obedience from a Fish

I’ve been camped out in the book of Matthew for months, taking every verse slowly and studiously. It’s been a pretty refreshing look at Christ’s life and the Gospel. Throughout 2020, I aim to give the other 3 Gospels an equal treatment.

In chapter 17, Jesus tells Peter to pull a fish out of the water and take a coin out of its mouth. Here are some things we can learn from that:

The Story

Jesus has just been through the transfiguration with a few of His disciples and performed some miracles. He has just arrived in Capernaum with the disciples and a few collectors come by and ask if Jesus has paid the tax. It’s important to note here that the tax in question is a temple tax, which means it goes toward the maintenance for the temple.

The tax is first described (at least in principle) all the way back in Exodus 30. It would appear from the narrative that the tax may have been voluntary, though culturally obligatory. The context of this tax is important—tax collectors are asking Jesus if He’s planning on paying the upkeep for His Father’s house.

Jesus asks whether rulers tax their children or whether they’re exempt and Peter answers that of course, their sons are exempt. His next statement in verse 27 is powerful:

“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.”

Four Things We Can Learn

This is quite an example for us, for a few reasons. For one, Jesus could have waived the tax and kept on about His business. Otherwise, it would be no small feat for Jesus to pull a drachma out of thin air to pay. But He asks Peter to go fishing and pull a drachma out of the fish’s mouth. Seems out of the way for all parties, no?

Obedience.

Peter calls Jesus “Teacher” often, which is one of the highest honorifics a man could have in first century Israel. It’s a position that demands respect and carries authority. Sure, Jesus could have made a drachma appear, but He asked Peter to do something instead—to be teachable and to be coachable.

In what ways do we often shrug off what God asks us to do? It’s easy to think, “God doesn’t need me, so I probably shouldn't bother. He can totally do that on His own, He’s God.”

The fact is, sometimes He wants us to have a stake in it. Sometimes He needs to teach us something or coach us in some way. We’d do well to obey.

Trust

Jesus is a provider. He has proved over and again that He will provide all that is necessary. Even when the disciples don’t see how or why, God provides. It takes no small measure of faith to trust the unseen and trust in miracles. Peter was asked to pull a fish from the sea and take the coin from the fish’s mouth. Put yourself in his sandals for a moment. That’s a wild ask.

In what ways does Jesus ask us to simply trust? Moreover, how can we be prepared to take that leap of faith?

Responsibility

If Jesus’ followers weren’t exempt from the temple tax, Jesus certainly could’ve made a case for Himself. In fact, He does exactly that. He illustrates that He really shouldn’t be responsible for paying the tax, in the same way that the children of kings never pay taxes.

But in order to maintain the fellowship and preserve the opportunity for advancing the Gospel, Jesus provides the tax. The ultimate irony is that it’s all His anyway—it doesn’t cost Him anything one way or another. He is simply changing stewards. But in the name of being above reproach, He pays all the same.

Values

What are material things to us, and when are they worth fighting for? 1 John 2:17 reminds us that, “the world is passing away along with its desires. But whoever does the will of God abides forever.” What does that tell us about what is truly valuable?

Relationships, fellowship, and opportunities to advance the Gospel are far more valuable than any thing we can possess in this life. This sometimes extends beyond the material as well. It’s the idea that we should be willing to make sacrifices in order to maintain the high ground—sometimes even sacrifices of perceived injustice. There are some areas we need to consider forfeiting if we want to maintain open and honest dialogue that can lead to the Gospel.

Jesus didn’t want His disciples or Himself to be known as rabble that doesn’t even bother to pay the tax—that isn’t helpful for Jesus’ heavenly aims. Our material and cultural value is inconsequential to the value of the Gospel. Some stances are worth sacrificing to keep the conversation alive. What does that look like for you?