In Matthew 17:24-27, the tax collector came unto Peter, asking him if Jesus had paid His portion of the temple tax. The temple tax was a tax that had been created to help with the upkeep of the temples in Jerusalem. The tax collectors wanted to know if Jesus had personally paid the tax, testing to see if He endorsed it for Himself, seeing that it was the law that all Jews paid their portion. Peter assured the tax collector that Jesus had indeed paid, but he wasn't sure, so he went unto Jesus to ask Him. Meanwhile, the tax collectors waited outside. When Peter came unto Jesus, Jesus spoke saying, "What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?" (25). Jesus was saying that because He was the son of God, He was exempt from paying the tax, for He is above that of the king, who was the owner of the temple. Although, Jesus did not owe the tax, He didn't want to offend the collectors, so He sent Peter on a mission. Peter was to go to the sea to fish, and take the first fish that bit his hook, and he would find a piece of money inside of its mouth, which would go towards the debt of the tax. What happens afterward is not written in the Bible, but we can infer that Peter did what Jesus told him to, and paid the tax with the coin that was found in the fish' mouth.
Something that I find really interesting that I read on a synopsis of this story is the thought of how the fish got the coin. If God had created the coin that was in the fish' mouth, He would be a counterfeiter. God is not a cheat, so he would have used a coin that was already on the Earth. God knew where a coin had been lost in the sea, and He most likely had the fish to find it, and take it in its mouth. This is one example of the great power that God has. God didn't have to place a coin inside of its mouth, but instead, He used a being that had no power of obedience, and He led it to find a coin.
There are two lessons that we can get from this story:
1) God will provide. Jesus could have simply not paid the tax, and left Peter to look as if he had been lying about Jesus paying the tax, but instead, Jesus felt for him. Jesus told Peter to go to one of the most unlikely places to find a coin, and Jesus provided him with what he needed. Because it is inferred that Peter did what Jesus had told him too, the coin was provided to pay the taxes, and they were both debt-free.
2) On a very different note, it can be concluded that Jesus is testing Peter's priorities. Peter loved to fish, and he could have fished all afternoon, but Jesus told him to take the first fish that bit. Not the second, not the third, but the first. Jesus was seeing if Peter would follow his sayings by taking the first fish, or if Peter would've continued fishing. It can be inferred that Peter only took of the first fish, which showed Jesus that his priority was set upon Him.
How great it is to know that we have a God above that will always provide for us. If we show God that He is our number one priority, He will bless us with both spiritual happiness and the things needed to survive here on Earth. It is great to have hobbies, like fishing, but we have to set those things under God. God should always be our prime concern. Peter knew when to set the fishing pole down because he was following what Jesus had commanded of him. No matter how much we love something, we must know when to set it down. God will bless us and provide for us by putting aside our loved possessions/ hobbies for Him.
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