And when they came to Capernaum, those who received the didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay the didrachmas?
The scene shifts from the mountain of glory to a doorway in Capernaum. Collectors of the temple tax stop Peter with a question about his Master, and his quick answer draws out a reply from the Lord about His own dignity and Peter's place beside Him.
The place matters as much as the payment.
Capernaum (Matt. 17:24) is, I have no doubt, the city that is called the Lord's "own city" (Matt. 9:1). A man pays his taxes in his own city. The tribute spoken of here is not the tax the Romans imposed. It was temple tribute — a didrachma, a coin worth fifteen pence, which every Jew paid to support the temple.
So where did this custom start?
This yearly payment seems to have begun in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. It starts with these words: "We take on ourselves the obligation to give a third part of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God" (Neh. 10:32). As far as that goes, it was a voluntary arrangement.
Commentators differ on whether this money is the same as the half-shekel of Exodus 30. Some keep the two apart.
It was not tribute for the Roman conquerors, and not the atonement money of Ex. 30:13. It was a charge on every male Jew to support the temple in Jerusalem.
Others see the older ordinance behind the later custom.
Exodus 30 set up a payment of half a shekel when the Israelites were counted. Over time the Jewish rulers probably turned it into a head tax paid for the uses of the temple.
The question was not really about money. It was about where Jesus stood in a religious system already on its way out.
This tribute is not tax paid to the government. It is a tribute to Jehovah. The question the collectors put to Peter really meant this: was his master a good Jew under the earthly system that was now passing away?
Peter had just heard the Father's voice on the mountain. His answer at the door shows no trace of it.
Peter took the question as a challenge to the honour and religious faithfulness of his Master, so he quickly replied, "Yes." If the apostle had kept in mind the Father's words on the holy mountain, he might have said to the collectors: "My Master pay tribute? Do you know who He is — the Father's beloved Son, greater than Moses and Elijah, Lord of heaven and earth?" But Peter said nothing of the kind. At that moment only human thoughts filled his soul.
He forgot something else as well: what the temple itself really was.
Peter forgot that Jesus was the true temple of God and the true God of the temple. He did not yet know that the visible temple was doomed and ready to vanish. His mind was still set on the things of men.
No one had to tell the Lord what had happened at the door.
He knew Peter's heart. He knew the question the collectors had asked and the answer Peter had given… What strong proof this is once more of the Divinity of the humble Jesus. He knew the thoughts of His disciple… He is the Son. He is Jehovah, whose glory had appeared in the temple. How could He pay tribute for what is His own? As Son He was free. No such duty rested on Him.
He held the right and gave it up. And He did not go alone.
He had said, "so that we do not offend them"; and now, "Give it to them for Me and for you." What marvellous and divine condescension! He searches hearts. He commands the whole creation at will. He is the Son of the sovereign Lord of the temple. Yet He puts His poor disciples into this same relationship with His heavenly Father — with the God worshipped in that temple.
His example still speaks to believers who feel wronged.
Notice the tender thoughtfulness of our Lord: "Still, so that we do not make them stumble —" He would rather pay any sum, however unjust or objectionable, than harm the testimony of God by stirring up unkind talk from people who are not converted. How little Christians have followed His example when they feel they have been wronged!
- Question — the collectors were probing status, not cash: was this Teacher a loyal Jew like everyone else?
- Forgetfulness — Peter answered on the spot, and so put his Master on the level of every other taxpayer.
- Right — the temple was His own house, and as Son He owed it nothing.
- Waiver — He held that right and let it go, rather than make others stumble.
- Inclusion — the same grace that stooped lifted Peter: the Lord paid for him alongside Himself — "for Me and for you."
He says, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What dost thou think, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive custom or tribute? from their own sons or from strangers?
Collectors of the temple tax have just asked Peter whether his Master pays it, and Peter has answered yes for Him. Before Peter can even raise the matter, Jesus speaks first. His question about kings, sons and strangers settles who He is — and who Peter has become.
The demand was not from Rome. It was the half-shekel paid by every adult Jewish male toward the running of the temple, and the collectors were really testing where Jesus stood in relation to the old order.
The tribute spoken of here is not tribute to the civil power. It is the didrachma that every grown-up Jew paid for the temple service. The people had chosen to lay this payment on themselves in Ezra's time — a tribute to Jehovah. The question the collectors put to Peter was really whether his Master was a good Jew, according to the earthly system that was now passing away. Peter, with the zeal so often there, yet in ignorance, at once answers "Yes."
Peter's quick answer was loyal. But it put his Master on the level of any ordinary Israelite.
When they questioned him, Peter did not keep in mind what the Father had revealed to him about the Lord's personal dignity (chapter 16). Nor did he keep in mind the glory given to Him for the coming kingdom (chapter 17). Jesus was too good an Israelite to neglect the offering to Jehovah, the atonement for the soul! Peter forgot that Jesus was the true temple of God and the true God of the temple. He did not yet know that the visible temple was doomed and ready to vanish away.
Older translations say Jesus "prevented" him — a word that has since changed meaning. Writers note its original sense.
"To go before," anticipate (from the Latin praevenio), "to come before."
That Jesus knew a conversation He had not been present at is the first thing the incident proves, and His question then draws out the second.
He knew his heart. He knew the question the collectors had asked, and the answer Peter had given. Jesus spoke first, and calling him Simon, He asks, "The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive tribute? From their own sons or from strangers?" He knew the thoughts of His disciple. This Jesus is the omniscient God, God manifested in the flesh. Peter now gives the correct answer, "From strangers." Jesus replies, "Then are the sons free." This declaration reveals all His glory once more. He is the Son, He is Jehovah, whose glory had appeared in the temple; how could He then pay tribute to what is His own?
Notice the plural in the Lord's reply. That one word carries the whole weight of the grace here.
Peter found himself face to face with omniscience. To his Master's question he could only reply, "Of strangers." At once the Lord told him, "Then are the sons free." So the Lord reminded His faulty disciple of His personal dignity. He was the Son of the great King, and the Jerusalem temple was that King's earthly house. No one had the right to demand anything from Him. But, oh, the grace that shines in the plural word "sons." He put the humble fisherman alongside Himself, to share His own relationship with the Ruler of the universe. Sovereign grace brings every believer into this same place.
Having established the exemption, He waives it. The freedom is stated so that the payment that follows is seen as choice, not obligation.
The Lord speaks before Peter can, as he comes in, and shows him His divine knowledge of what took place far away from Him. At the same time He speaks of Peter and Himself as both children of the King of the temple. Both are therefore free from the tribute. (The Son of God was still keeping His lowly place as a Jew, in patient goodness.) But they should not give offence... He searches hearts. He controls the whole creation at will. He is the Son of the sovereign Lord of the temple. And He puts His poor disciples into this same relationship with His heavenly Father, the God worshipped in that temple. He submits to demands that could rightly be made on strangers. But He places His disciples in all His own privileges as Son.
- The claim. The collectors asked about the temple tax. Their real question was whether Jesus was a good Jew under a system that was already passing away.
- The blunder. Peter said yes without asking Him. He forgot that his Master is both the true temple of God and the true God of that temple.
- The proof. Jesus spoke first, showing He knew a conversation He had not attended — the omniscience of God in a lowly Man.
- The gift. His question forces one answer: kings tax strangers, not sons. He said "sons," plural, and put a fisherman in His own relationship with God.
- The grace. He was free, yet He would not give offence. He took the stranger's place and gave His disciple the Son's place.
Peter says to him, From strangers. Jesus said to him, Then are the sons free.
In Capernaum the temple-tax collectors ask Peter whether his Master pays, and Peter says yes before he thinks. A question about kings, sons and strangers then settles who Jesus is — and where Peter now stands.
Rome did not demand this money. It belonged to God's house, so the collector's question tested the Lord's standing as a Jew.
The tribute spoken of here is not tribute to the civil power. It is the didrachma, which every grown-up Jew paid for the temple service. In Ezra's day they had taken this tax on themselves by choice — a tribute to Jehovah. The collectors were really asking Peter whether his Master was a good Jew under the earthly system that was now passing away.
Peter's mistake looks small until you set it beside his own confession a short time earlier.
Peter erred badly in answering the question with a yes. Only a little while before, he had confessed Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," and the Saviour had blessed him for it (Matt. 16:16-17). Now he admits that his Master owes a petty tax, as though He were merely one more son of Jacob.
Notice the word the Lord chooses. He does not claim the freedom for Himself alone.
"Then are the children free." Not the Son. No, He does not say the Son. He says what is infinitely better... Peter in his zeal for his Master was actually robbing Him of His just title, forgetting His divine glory. How slowly we learn the lesson! "Then are the children free." This, dear friends, is what Christianity means, and the Lord would bring it out still more clearly before long. The grace that sent down the Son of God did not send Him only to be a propitiation, or even to be life. It sent Him so that we too might receive a new relationship matching His.
(Where the ESV reads "sons," older Bibles read "children"; the writers quote those older wordings.)
The Lord first reminds Peter of His own dignity. Then comes the plural word, and it reaches far beyond one fisherman.
The Lord was reminding His faulty disciple of His personal dignity. He was the Son of the great King whose earthly house was the Jerusalem temple, and no one could rightly demand anything from Him. But oh, the grace that shines in the plural word "sons"! He put the humble fisherman alongside Himself, sharing His relationship with the Ruler of the universe. Sovereign grace has brought every believer into this place. We are not servants but sons, and because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:5-7). All the sons are being brought to glory — that is their proper home (Heb. 2:10).
The freedom is real, and the Lord sets it aside at once.
Notice the tender thoughtfulness of our Lord: "Nevertheless, lest we should cause them to stumble —" He would rather pay any sum, however unjust or objectionable, than endanger the testimony of God. He would not stir up spiteful comments from people who are not converted. How little Christians have heeded His example when they are smarting under a sense of wrong!
Kelly sets this against everything that might have lifted Him out of it:
Think of the glory of the coming kingdom. Think of the power of Satan that vanishes before the word of Jesus. Think of the faith that can move mountains. Nothing can take the Son of God out of the place of grace.
The Lord meets Peter before he can speak. Then He turns to a fish for the money.
The Lord speaks first as Peter comes in. He shows him His divine knowledge of what took place far away from Him... Then He commands creation, for He can do all things, as He knows all things. He makes a fish bring the exact sum required, joining Peter's name to His own once more... Marvellous and divine condescension! He searches hearts. He disposes of the whole creation at will. He is the Son of the sovereign Lord of the temple. Yet He puts His poor disciples into this same relationship with His heavenly Father.
- Claim — The money was the temple tribute. The collectors were really asking if Jesus was a loyal Jew like everyone else.
- Free — Kings do not tax their own sons; as Son of the King whose house that temple was, He owed nothing.
- Plural — He said "sons," not "the Son," putting Peter into His own relationship — the place every believer now holds.
- Yielded — He proves the freedom, then gives it up rather than trip anyone up. No glory moves Him out of the place of grace.
- Proved — He reads Peter's mind and commands a fish. The One who pays like a stranger is the Son of the temple's Lord, with creation at His command.
But that we may not be an offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and thee.
This verse closes a scene that began with a question to Peter. Collectors had asked whether his Master paid the temple tax. In one sentence the Lord shows He is free, provides the coin by a miracle, and pays anyway. Why would someone who is free still hand over the money?
This was not a Roman tax. It was a temple payment that Jewish men had taken on themselves centuries earlier.
The tribute spoken of here is not tribute to the civil power. It is the didrachma that every grown-up Jew paid for the temple service. They had willingly taken it on themselves in Ezra's time — a tribute to Jehovah. The collectors' question to Peter was really this: was his Master a good Jew? They were judging him by the earthly system that was now passing away.
The coin from the fish's mouth covered two people:
Here the word is didrachmon (double drachma), and means the sum each Jew paid to the temple. The fish Peter caught had in its mouth a stater, which paid for the Lord and for Peter.
Peter had just confessed who Jesus is. He had just seen His glory on the mountain. His "yes" to the collectors matched neither.
Peter acts once more in his hasty manner. Without thinking, he answers with a ready "yes." But, Peter, have you forgotten your wonderful confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"? Is the vision from the holy mountain gone so soon? Can you put your Lord back down on the level of every other Jew who has to pay the temple tribute?
Before Peter could report the conversation, the Lord raised it Himself. His answer turns on one plural word.
Peter found himself face to face with One who knows everything. The Lord knew his innermost thoughts before he could put them into words... He was the Son of the great King whose earthly house was the Jerusalem temple, and no one had a right to demand anything from Him. But, oh, the grace that shines in the plural word "sons"! He put the humble fisherman beside Himself. The fisherman now shared His relationship with the Ruler of the universe.
Kelly draws out that the freedom of the many rests on the uniqueness of the One.
He was God, the Son, equally with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Yet He speaks and acts in perfect grace. If it were otherwise, where could Peter or we be? He says, Then the sons are free. On Him, who alone is the Son eternally in personal right and title, depends the blessedness of the sons.
He has just shown the sons are free. Now He gives that freedom up.
The Lord takes here the "stranger's" place for Himself and for His people. So He would submit to the collector's demand, and He would have Peter submit with Him. He would approve no resistance to earth's authorities, whether "passive" or active. "Lest we offend them," was the gracious word of Him who came here for men's good.
Wolston puts the choice plainly:
There is a great principle involved here. Do you say, I must stand up for my rights? Then you must stand alone; the Lord will not stand with you.
The way He pays says as much as the payment itself. He calls on the sea to supply the coin.
He veils His glory, yet declares it in the very way He veils it. He summons a fish of the sea to pay the tribute for Him. That guards His glory well, as the Lord of that higher temple which Israel's temple pictured... There is not even the appearance of compromise as to what He is, and His stooping like this only shows His grace.
The wording is deliberate. Even while sharing, He keeps a distinction.
The fish brings the tribute money for him too. The coin is worth two half-shekels. "For Me and you," the Lord says — not "for us." If He did not have His unique glory, we could not have our blessing. "For Me," and so, through My grace, "for you."
Gaebelein makes His action a pattern for daily life:
He surrenders His personal right for the sake of "not giving offence."... We are sons of God and sons of glory. Even so, we should now walk in humility. We should not insist on our rights, and we should be willing to suffer in everything that concerns ourselves.
- Free — no one had a right to demand the temple tax from the Son of the God whose house it was.
- Shared — He says "sons," not "Son." He puts a fisherman beside Himself in that freedom, and every believer stands there too.
- Unique — yet He says "for Me and for you," never "for us"; His singular glory is what makes the shared blessing possible.
- Surrendered — He lays that freedom down instead of using it, so that no one stumbles.
- Sovereign — the fish that carries the exact coin shows that the One stooping to pay owns the sea He pays from.