Scripture

Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ” Peter replied, “The people they have conquered.” “Well then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!”

Observation

Jesus again tells the disciples that He will be betrayed into the hands of His enemies to be killed, but He will rise on the third day.

In Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple Tax ask Peter if Jesus pays the tax. He tells then, “yes”. Jesus then ask Peter whether kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered.

Jesus concludes that the citizens of the kingdom are free. But He sends Peter to go down to the lake where he will catch a fish that will have a coin in its mouth.

Application

Every adult in Israel was required to pay half a shekel each year to pay for the maintenance of the temple. Jesus stated that, as citizens of God’s Kingdom, they were exempt, but He provided the money for the tax anyway.

Christians are required to pay taxes in our society. Our taxes do not go to support the old covenant worship, but to providing services for people. We might argue about Government priorities, but we cannot claim to be exempt from taxes.

Jesus’ death and resurrection brought the old covenant to an end. The new Temple is the people who make up the covenant community. It is no longer a physical building but a spiritual reality.

There is no need for us to pay the temple tax. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Lord, it is an awesome thing to realise that I carry the Holy Spirit in the same way that the temple was once considered your dwelling place. Amen.