A FISH FOR A NIGHT

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART; DO NOT DEPEND ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. Proverbs 3:5

"Well then," Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." His reply completely amazed them. Mark 12:17

Preach the word of God. Be prepared whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

For my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Philippians 4:19

Rejoice with me for I found the coin that I lost. Luke 15:9

PAYING THE TEMPLE TAX

Upon entering Capernaum, Peter was approached by tax collectors with yet another plot to stir up more controversy about the law. Little did they know they were setting up the perfect opportunity for Jesus to drive home deeper truth about who and who is not required to pay the Temple tax. Let's pick up the story in Matthew 17:24

On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

"Yes, he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” Matthew 17:24-27

                            

The annual Temple tax requirement was two drachmae (Greek currency) equivalent to about a half shekel (Jewish currency). The typical coin used for paying taxes was a didrachma, which was the same as two dracmae. The coin in the fish's mouth was probably a Tyrian silver shekel. Because Roman coinage was only 80% silver, the purer (94% or more) Tyrian shekel was required for the Temple tax in Jerusalem and was probably the coin that paid both Peter and Jesus' taxes.

One shekel (Jewish currency) is the equivalent to four drachmae (Greek currency)

The idea of giving a small piece of silver was mentioned in the time of Moses when the Lord explained the reasons and criteria for this particular offering:

Then the Lord said to Moses,“Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them. Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the Lord. (This payment is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel). All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.” Exodus 30:11-16

What can we learn from these verses in Exodus Chapter 30? Why was an Israelite required to give a small piece of silver?

• To be counted, one must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord
• To make oneself right with God 
• To be used for the care of the Tabernacle
• To bring the Israelites to the Lord's attention 
• To purify one's life
• To immunize against plagues 

We learn that the small piece of silver was never intended for the Temple tax but a sacred offering; it wasn't meant to be a hardship but a provision; it wasn't taken; it was given; it wasn't tribute money; it was ransom money.

Yet Jesus said, "Because we don't want to offend them, pay the tax." 

If Jesus reasoned with Peter that he was exempt from paying the Temple tax, why pay? Jesus was teaching Peter that he was free from the law. By paying the Temple tax he didn't break the law but fulfilled it. Temple tax wasn't mandatory for the citizens because the citizens were free. Jesus was demonstrating that Peter was free to 'give' rather than 'forced' to give just as Jesus was freely giving what was asked of Him.

• Jesus did not have to pay a ransom for himself; He gave His life a ransom to save the world.
• He did not have to make Himself right with God; He was God.
• The Israelites didn't need the Lord's attention; they had the Lord's attention
• His own blood purified lives    
• By His wounds we were healed 

He hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered (or counted) with the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 

A FISH FOR A NIGHT

After not knowing how I was going to pay my bills, including this year's income taxes (an ongoing trial of faith for me), I remembered this story about the coin in the fish's mouth. By now the disciples had left all to follow Jesus. No longer could they rely on their paychecks for the necessities of daily living, which included the annual Temple tax. When the tax collectors approached Peter, he immediately went into the house to talk to Jesus about the inquiry. Jesus, already knowing what Peter was going ask Him, told him how this year's tax was going to be paid. 

Even though it is 2017 I, like Peter, have left all to follow Jesus. I, like Peter, haven't a regular paycheck, and I, like Peter, rely on the Lord to supply my every need each and every day. 

Soon after David became King of Israel, the Philistines were on the attack. 

So David asked the LORD, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD replied to David, "Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you." 2 Samuel 5:19

David was the king. He made executive decisions every day. Yet, he prayed to God for direction. 

So I reminded God of the coin and the fish, and I reminded Him of the woman who found the coin that was lost (Luke 15:8-10). I even searched for a photo of a fish with a coin in its mouth so I could look at it as a reminder of God's faithfulness. I needed a fish like that. I needed a way to cover my expenses. Like Peter, I wanted to just walk into the house and find Jesus already on it.  

That weekend I was called away to help with a documentary project that had nothing to do with spiritual matters. I prayed about it first and God said, "Go." I had a good friend in LA who had a good 60's story so I invited him up to be interviewed in the film. While waiting for the filmmaker to arrive we lightheartedly chitchatted about old times and caught up on our personal lives. And then something amazing happened. "You need money, right? Watch this!" Just like that, he handed over just what I needed to meet my expenses. After I understood it was a gift -- and not a donation for the film -- he quickly changed the subject. 

"Did I ever tell the story of how I became a fish for a night?" 

Did he just say, "FISH FOR A NIGHT?" He began telling me about a night long ago when he helped the 60's band, Country Joe and the Fish, carry their instruments onto the stage where they would be performing later that night. He overheard them saying that their bass player was sick. "I can play the bass," he said. Without enough time to find another bass player, they took a chance on him and that's how he became 'A fish for a night.'

He may have become a fish for a night as a bass player for the band, but on that day he became the first fish I caught with a coin in its mouth. Usually I would have declined such a generous offer but after praying for a fish, I believe the Lord led me to a fish. 

Interesting to note that Jesus told Peter, "Open the mouth of the first fish you catch." I wonder what he discovered in the second, third and fourth fish he caught up with that day.  

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13

For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  Hebrews 6:13-15

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5