24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 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.” ~ Matthew 17:24-27
Isn’t it kind of peculiar that the collectors of the two-drachma tax did not address Jesus Himself at all, but rather, they went to Peter as if Peter might say, “No, He doesn’t,” and then they would have something to accuse Jesus of? Also, it seemed as if Peter was due for tax as well since Jesus said to take the shekel and pay His tax and Peter’s tax as well. But the collectors did not seem to be bothered at all about Peter not paying. Their only concern was Jesus not paying the tax.
That is how accusers work. They are only concerned with the one they have targeted. The one they have decided to persecute. They don’t care how wrong someone else is as long as they point out your faults and bring attention to what you are not doing. Have you ever noticed that when someone wants to do something and they are told that they cannot do that certain thing, they sing out, “Well, so and so did it?”
That is exactly what these collectors were doing. They were watching and waiting for Jesus to slip up or to do something wrong. But Jesus’ question to Peter was a subtle way of saying, “I am exempt from paying the Temple tax because I am the Son of the Living God.” But obviously, they would be offended by that and become furious. So, to avoid the drama, Jesus tells Peter to go fishing.
He said, “Go and cast a hook into the sea, and the first fish you catch, open up its mouth, and a shekel will be in it. Use it to pay the Temple tax for both of us.” And what does Peter do? He goes fishing. Where he got a hook and a line from, I have no idea, but he got one. There is no record of Peter resisting or questioning Jesus about the absurdity of the command. Go catch a fish and open its mouth, and you will find money. He doesn’t think about how far-fetched it is; he just obeys and goes.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in precarious situations, and the LORD tells us to do something that, to us, sounds insane. So, we think to ourselves, this cannot be God; this does not make sense. And we do not do it because we do not want to look stupid. But here is the thing. When the Spirit tells us to do something, no matter how silly or how ridiculous it may seem to us, God’s word will never fail. We must follow God with blind faith, without questioning, without thought of how ditzy it makes us look. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Heavenly Father, please help me to trust You and be obedient to Your every command, no matter how ludicrous it may sound to me. Increase my faith, O LORD, that I might trust you even more. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
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