Some Fishy Finance

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paradox3

paradox3

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www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 17:24-27 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Jesus and the Temple Tax - When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth...
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Our tale of fishy finance is a brief miracle story unique to Matthew's gospel. Jesus predicts that Peter will catch a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay the temple tax. There is no description in the text of this actually happening.

Could the story be a parable or perhaps an intentionally humorous folktale? Jesus has just predicted his death and resurrection for the second time. (Matthew 17: 22-23)

Along come the collectors of the temple tax who ask Peter if his teacher pays his taxes. "Yes he does," replies Peter.

When Peter goes inside, Jesus is aware of the conversation which has taken place. He compares himself to the son of an earthly king and remarks that the children of such a king are free and do not pay taxes. But he indicates he is willing to pay the temple tax to avoid offending anyone.

Jesus tells Peter to cast a line into the sea. He predicts that the first fish to be caught will have a coin in its mouth that can be used to pay the tax for both of them.

So what do you make of this tale of fishy finance? Could it be that Jesus was pulling Peter's leg? Is it a lesson that God will provide? Reassurance that help can appear in unexpected places?

What do you think?

What does the gospel writer want us to understand about Jesus and Peter?
 
One almost wonders if there is a Jesus-Peter in-joke here that somehow got picked up by later followers as being a parable.

That said, there's a number of possible meanings that aren't about Jesus and his best bud having a private laugh.

Simplest is "God will provide" but this almost seems too cryptic to have that simple a meaning.

Of course, one could get very symbolic with the fish being Jesus and the coin being ... salvation? grace? But that almost seems to be reading in too much.

Given what he says about the tax, perhaps it is a way of saying that they will pay the tax even though, really, the "children of the king" (meaning, I guess, Jesus, as Son of God) should be free. So they have a "magic penny" to pay the tax rather than paying it from their own resources. Or something like that.

Yeah, I'm rambling a bit here.
 
Or it could be something a simple as catch a fish, sell a fish, use that money to pay the tax. The 'Mouth' part is where the hook would snag the fish. The more important part of the passage may well be about from whom the rulers of the esrth exact tribute?
 
@Redbaron
Unless Jesus was speaking metaphorically (very possible) the prediction was for an actual coin in the mouth of the fish. It was even specified to be a four drachma coin.

Yes, the gospel writer could be commenting about the rulers on earth.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Matthew seems to be establishing here that Jesus is the Son of God. He also gives supernatural powers to Jesus.
 
Mathew being a former tax collector, may have appreciated the story more than another disciple would.
Just thinking out loud, but could this have been Jesus way to acknowledge his support of the Jewish faith by supporting the temple.
Then theres the fish, often used to represent Pisces and Jesus. And Jonah was swallowed by a fish and then spit out....could they be related stories?
 
@Mendalla
Yes the "God will provide" message could have been stated more simply. I first encountered this story when I was reading through all the gospels a few years ago. I was going through a metaphor phase at the time and immediately saw a message about finding blessing in unexpected places.

Examining the story again I am seeing other possible layers of meaning. I don't think you are reading in too much.
 
This is a bizarre story. I wonder why it is only in Matthew, possibly a story that circulated only in his community. I know synagogues have dues. I will add more after researching the temple tax. According to the story, it seemed the tax was paid by rabbis or teachers or leaders of evangelical groups or people who preached in the temple.
 
@Waterfall
Yes, the fish is important for sure. After all, Jesus could have predicted a coin hidden under a rock just as easily.

I also saw a parallel to the Jonah story. It could be significant that Jesus had just predicted his death and resurrection when this incident takes place.
 
The story could speak to Peter's future role as well. Jesus wanted the temple tax to be paid for both of them which suggests he was being protective of Peter.
 
paradox3 said:
It could be significant that Jesus had just predicted his death and resurrection when this incident takes place.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of this. Emerging from water later became a symbol for resurrection in the practice of immersion baptism so a tie back to Jesus' comments on resurrection seems likely. I just couldn't put any thoughts together as to exactly what it would mean (I have been doing housework so not exactly in a Biblical frame of mind).
 
paradox3 said:
The story could speak to Peter's future role as well. Jesus wanted the temple tax to be paid for both of them which suggests he was being protective of Peter.
Click to expand...
He did, after all, seem to acknowledge Peter's future leadership role in other places. Forget if they were in Matthew or not, though. Interesting that it was Paul's version of the church that won out in the end, rather than Peter's more Jewish version. But that's skipping ahead to the letters and Acts, I guess.
 
paradox3 said:
You mean in the Book of Jonah? Apparently it was a great fish in Hebrew. It became a whale in the Greek translation of the text.
Click to expand...
I have things to say on this but lets stick with fish spitting up coins rather than humans for now. I am pondering doing Jonah for next week or the week after.
 
Sounds good @Mendalla

Apparently there was a bottom feeding fish in the Sea of Galilee that held its eggs in a sac in its mouth.

So it's possible a coin actually was found in the mouth of a fish. And the story developed as an explanation. I also read that tossing coins into the sea as an offering to God was a thing.
 
More about the fish. Tradition holds that it was a tilapia which is sometimes known as St Peter's fish.

Tilapia are uniparental mouth breeders. The females hold the eggs and larvae in their mouths.

There are other mouth breeders in the world of fish. Who knew? :giggle:
 
This story has many optional sources.
1. It happened exactly as reported in Matthew including the assumption that Peter really did catch a fish with a four drachma coin in its mouth. This would testify to Jesus having special powers and might beva foretelling of Jesus coming out of the tomb, though jot necessarily.
2. It happened exactly as reported except Peter never caught the fish and it was Jesus having fun with the temple tax collector.
3. Peter caught a fish with a four drachma coin and they decided to use it to pay the tax. The story got reshaped to make it a better story.
4. Sometime between Jesus an the writing of the gospel someone caught a fish with a coin in its mouth and the story morphed as it got repeatedly retold.
5. Matthew made up the story for some or all of the reasons suggested.
6. When some members of the community were paying the temple tax, they speculated how Jesus might have paid this annual tax. Since Peter was a fisherman, this possibility might have arisen.
7. One day while fishing, Peter might have caught a fish with a coin in its mout, possibly close to when the tax was due and boasted that was how he and Jesus always paid the tax


And there are other possibilities. With so many options, let us assume one of the first two possibilities or the 5th possibility.

Back to processing the story.
 
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