TEXT [Commentary]

14. Jesus predicts his death and pays his tax (17:22-27; cf. Mark 9:30-32; Luke 9:43-45)

22 After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. 23 He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

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?”

25 “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?[*]”

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

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 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.”

NOTES

17:22-23 After they had gathered again in Galilee. Geographical movement south from Caesarea Philippi back into Galilee occurs here.

The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. . . . He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead. The second of three passion predictions occurs here (cf. the first in 16:21 and the third in 20:18-19). There were previous “hints” also (9:15; 10:38; 12:40; 16:4; 17:12). This second prediction adds the detail that Jesus will be delivered or betrayed, hinting at the sordid role of Judas (cf. 10:4; 20:18-19; 26:2, 15, 16, 21, 23-25, 45, 46, 48; 27:3-5). In this prediction Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of Man and of his enemies with the generic phrase “into the hands of men.”

the disciples were filled with grief. The disciples finally grasped the stark reality of the impending events in Jerusalem, and this anticipates their grief at the Last Supper and Jesus’ grief at Gethsemane (26:22, 37). They did not speak against this reality as Peter did in 16:22, but their severe grief implies that they had not yet begun to grasp the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

17:24-25 Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax? A reference to the annual Temple tax of two drachmas (Exod 30:11-16; 38:25-26; Neh 10:32-33; Josephus Antiquities 18.312; War 7.218; m. Sheqalim 1-2). See Davies and Allison (1991:738-741) for a discussion and dismissal of the view that a Roman civil tax is in view here. A drachma was roughly equivalent to a denarius, a day’s wage for a laborer (20:2, 9, 10, 13). Evidently, Peter was approached with the question because he was perceived as the leader of the disciples. The question is phrased in a manner which expects an affirmative answer, and Peter so replied before checking with Jesus about it.

Do kings tax their own people or people they have conquered? Jesus speaks first, asking Peter a metaphorical question. The upshot of the question is clear: Kings do not tax their sons but their subjects. By analogy, Jesus as the unique Son of God, is greater than the Temple and is exempt from paying this tax to his father’s house (cf. 12:6; 21:12-13). Unfortunately, the NLT’s translation tends to obscure the key analogy of sonship by rendering the Gr. word “sons” as “their own people” and “the citizens” in 17:25-26 (but see NLT mg). If anything, the plural “sons” includes the disciples with Jesus since they too are the sons of God, their heavenly Father (5:9, 45; 6:9, 26).

17:27 Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Despite the fact that Jesus was exempt from the Temple tax, he decided to pay it in order to avoid offense (cf. 12:19; 22:15-22). Jesus provided the money for the tax in an amazing, even bizarre fashion that prompts Blomberg’s (1992:271) comment, “this verse is perhaps the strangest in Matthew’s Gospel.” The “large silver coin” Peter would find in the fish’s mouth is lit. a “stater,” which was worth four drachmas (see NLT mg) and would pay the tax for both Peter and Jesus. It is noteworthy that Jesus commanded Peter to fish with a hook. Peter did not need a net this time since only one fish would be needed (4:18, 20, 21; 13:47).

COMMENTARY [Text]

This passage contains two elements, another prediction of Jesus’ suffering and death (17:22-23) and an incident concerning the payment of the Temple tax (17:24-27). The narrative of the Temple tax incident has Peter answering two questions, the first from the Temple tax collectors (17:24-25a) and the second from Jesus (17:25b-26a). The rest of the passage (17:26b-27) contains Jesus’ teaching on the matter, both in principle (17:26b) and in practice (17:27). For the record, Peter answered the tax collectors’ question wrongly and Jesus’ question rightly.

One cannot help but recall that Jesus did not mind offending the Pharisees on the matter of ritual hand washing (15:12), but in the spirit of 12:19 (cf. Isa 42:2) he would not protest the Temple tax (cf. 22:15-22; Rom 13:6-7; 1 Pet 2:13-14). Jesus had previously had cordial relations with the tax collectors at Capernaum, and this only exacerbated his tension with the Pharisees (cf. 9:9-11). Jesus’ disciples today often get this backwards, treating religious hypocrites with much deference while making loud protests against perceived injustices by sinners. The lesson of 12:19-20/Isaiah 42:2-3 still is needed. Jesus treated non-religious sinners gently and religious hypocrites harshly, and his disciples should do the same. Foregoing one’s liberties for the sake of avoiding offense and furthering the testimony of the Kingdom is also a Pauline teaching (Rom 14:13-23; 1 Cor 8:9–9:1; 9:19).

There is a striking blend of humility and power in this passage. Jesus worked a miracle in order to submit to the tax collectors and avoid causing them offense. Once again, Peter learned a lesson about the danger of speaking too quickly.

Summary of Matthew 17. It is important to note that since 16:5, Matthew has been stressing Jesus’ private interaction with the disciples. He has taught them to beware the Pharisees’ teaching (16:5-11) and revealed to them his identity (16:13-17), his program for the church (16:18-20), and his future, along with theirs (16:21-28). Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God was confirmed miraculously by the transfiguration. The last mention of John’s Elijah-like ministry turned into a passion prediction (17:12). The healing pericope recalls two familiar themes, the lack of faith of Jesus’ generation (17:17) and the little faith of Jesus’ disciples (17:20). The final mention of Capernaum in Matthew also implies the unbelief of Jesus’ adopted hometown (cf. 11:23-24). Capernaum, after all the miracles Jesus did there, should have recognized that Jesus’ unique sonship would preclude his paying the Temple tax. Nevertheless, he would pay it to avoid causing them to sin (17:27).

Matthew 17 is interwoven with a wide array of theological themes prevalent in Matthew. It also is full of themes that have been preeminent throughout the narrative block that begins in 13:53. Jesus had done many miracles, but his evil contemporaries—for the most part—still did not believe in him. The conflict with the Jewish religious leaders continued and intensified, but Jesus was faithfully teaching his disciples, and their little faith was growing. They had accepted with great sadness his clear prediction that he would suffer, die, and rise again in Jerusalem, but they were still preoccupied with carnal concerns, such as who would be the greatest (18:1; cf. 16:23). There was still much for them to learn about the Kingdom before they made the fateful trip to Jerusalem with Jesus.