HEARTS AND MIRACLES (3)

“And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take it and give it to them for Me and you” – Matthew 17:27b                              

Another story of Peter illustrates how the LORD instructed his HEART to Fish for a MIRACLE: “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 it and give it to them for Me and you” (Mt.17:27). Yesterday’s devotional centred on Peter in the context of fishing; so does today’s! Jesus and the disciples were gathering in Galilee after spending some time in Caesarea Philippi. Tax collectors approached Peter when they came to Capernaum, a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee that served as Jesus’ headquarters city.

Coming from the Temple and knowing that Peter was affiliated to Jesus, the collectors asked whether or not Jesus paid the temple tax prescribed by the Mosaic Law (Exo.30:11-16). According to Moses, everyone, rich and poor, was to contribute the same amount, the purpose of which was to support the service of the tent of meeting or Tabernacle, which had now been replaced by the temple; hence, it had become a temple tax. Peter replied “Yes.” When he entered his house, Jesus discerned his worried heart, asked him if the king’s sons pay taxes to their Father. Peter replied “No.” Jesus then affirmed that neither does He owe anything to the collectors, but He would pay it anyway. He then commanded Peter to go catch a fish, take the coins out of its mouth, and use that to pay the tax debt for both of them.

Earlier in Matthew 16, Peter had confessed, by revelation, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Since the temple was the house of His Father, He asked Peter as to the propriety of God taxing His Son! Peter recognized that kings of the earth who levied taxes levied them against those who were not members of their family. Thus, Jesus would be exempt from the tax, being the Son of God. Having established His exemption however, Jesus addressed the issue from another perspective – the tax should be paid so that His exercising His right would not be a stumbling block to the revenue officers and others. Therefore, he sent Peter fishing in a manner that demonstrated that He was in fact the Lord over creation – He had the supernatural power to know about a fish with a shekel in its mouth!

The shekel – amounting to four days wages – was just enough to pay the tax for both of them. Note: rather than challenge Peter personally, the tax collectors made his “Teacher” the target; trying to find something to use against Jesus! That’s the devil’s main motive for attacking us or our finances: To embarrass our Lord! Prior to this incident, Peter had No Money Problem! But the moment he got inside, without relaying his encounter, surprisingly Jesus knew that a vicious DART had been directed at his HEART, and acted fast to deliver him, and teach few lessons. There will always be those who confront us with their questioning cynicism to test our faith. They may cast a baited hook of guilt by putting a tariff on our beliefs, testing and taxing the sacred parts of our soul with their questions and manipulations.

Our Lord always anticipates what’s in the adversary’s heart, and will equip us with the right perspective to all matters of the heart. Jesus showed Peter that “the sons are free” (v.26b). God is the King of the Temple. God as King doesn’t charge His Son Temple Tax! There was no obligation for Jesus to pay; but He chose to go an extra mile. Despite being the Son of the King, in grace, He offered to pay, for us; not by obligation, but from a place of freedom that God provides – a Lesson in Grace! God’s miracle-working Instructions attracted to Peter’s hook, the exact fish that carried the coins; and he was delivered from Debt and Disgrace. Divinely Instructed HEARTS attract MIRACLES!