TEMPLE TAX COLLECTORS AND JESUS QUESTION PETER IN CAPERNAUM

MATTHEW 17:24–27

Jesus and his disciples had just been in the region of Caesarea Philippi where Jesus proclaimed “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law” (Matt. 16:21). Shortly after this proclamation they returned to Capernaum where Temple tax collectors from Jerusalem asked Peter, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (Matt. 17:24).

This annual Temple tax was collected in the spring of the year from Jewish males who had reached or exceeded the age of twenty, and Moses informed the people this money was to be used for the service of the Tent of Meeting (Exod. 30:14–16). By the eighth century BC the money was considered a tax levied for the Temple built by Solomon (2 Chron. 24:4–10). This practice continued through the Temple’s history in order to support its daily operations, upkeep, and improvement.30 So Jewish men, no matter where they might be living in the world, fulfilled their duty to the Jerusalem Temple by paying this annual tax.31

The question the Temple tax collectors asked Peter concerning whether Jesus paid the Temple tax appears to be motivated by Jesus’s proclaimed authority over the Temple (Matt. 12:6). What better way for the Temple vanguard to test this Galilean rabbi’s teachings about the Jerusalem Temple than to confront one of Jesus’s most qualified disciples on his own turf, Capernaum (Matt. 16:17–19). The fact that the disciples were well aware that Jesus was considered a great threat to the Jerusalem Temple leadership (Matt. 16:21) meant that Peter understood the gravity of the question levied by these Temple tax collectors.

Ancient fish hooks like these were used by Galilean fishermen.
© Dr. James C. Martin. The Cairo Museum. Photographed by permission.

Tilapia galilea, known as St. Peter’s Fish.

The Latin name for St. Peter’s Fish is Tilapia galilea. In Hebrew it is called am nun, which means “mother fish,” because it cares for its young in its mouth.
Courtesy of the House of Anchors Museum, Kibbutz Ein Gev.

After Peter affirmed that Jesus paid the Jerusalem Temple tax, he entered the house and Jesus asked him, “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?” Peter responded, “From others,” to which Jesus replied, “Then the sons are exempt” (Matt. 17:25–26).

As Messiah, Jesus confirmed both his authority over the Temple (2 Sam. 7:11–13) and his destiny to fulfill the symbolic sacrifices that occurred within it (Heb. 10:1–10). He was King of the Universe, including the Temple. Jesus brought in the Kingdom of God, and those who belonged to him also became exempt from paying the Temple tax.

In order to prevent the issue of the Temple tax from becoming an offense (Matt. 17:27), Jesus instructed Peter to pay the tax. Rather than taking money from the purse (see John 12:6), however, Jesus instructed Peter to pay the tax for the two of them from resources provided by God. Peter went to the lake, threw in a fishing line, and took a coin for the exact amount of the Temple tax out of the mouth of the first fish he caught.32 Various species of fish fill this lake, but one in particular inhabits the waters near Capernaum in the springtime. It is now called Saint Peter’s Fish in memory of this event.33

Tyrian shekels such as these were required payment for the Temple tax.
© Dr. James C. Martin. The Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv. Photographed by permission.