The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 17:25-27,
"'What do you think, Simon?' he [Jesus] asked. 'From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?' 'From others,' Peter answered. 'Then the children are exempt,' Jesus said to him. 'But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.'"
A temple tax was required and when Peter was approached by the tax collectors they asked him if Jesus paid the temple tax or not. It wasn't a question of whether Jesus was a tax cheat, but given that Jesus was presented as the Son of God and the King of the Jews, it would hardly be appropriate for him to pay the temple tax.
The above words were spoken by Jesus in regard to the question asked by the tax collectors. As we see, even though it would be unseemly for the Son of God to pay a tax to support his own temple, he nevertheless told Peter to make the tax payment for both Peter and himself. The reason he gave is an eye opener: to not cause offense.
Jesus certainly did not mind "offending" people. Paul even speaks of the offense of the cross, "Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished." Galatians 5:11. The gospel contains within it the accusation that we are all sinners and need saving. Offending people in this way is not only appropriate but vitally necessary.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"'What do you think, Simon?' he [Jesus] asked. 'From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?' 'From others,' Peter answered. 'Then the children are exempt,' Jesus said to him. 'But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.'"
A temple tax was required and when Peter was approached by the tax collectors they asked him if Jesus paid the temple tax or not. It wasn't a question of whether Jesus was a tax cheat, but given that Jesus was presented as the Son of God and the King of the Jews, it would hardly be appropriate for him to pay the temple tax.
The above words were spoken by Jesus in regard to the question asked by the tax collectors. As we see, even though it would be unseemly for the Son of God to pay a tax to support his own temple, he nevertheless told Peter to make the tax payment for both Peter and himself. The reason he gave is an eye opener: to not cause offense.
Jesus certainly did not mind "offending" people. Paul even speaks of the offense of the cross, "Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished." Galatians 5:11. The gospel contains within it the accusation that we are all sinners and need saving. Offending people in this way is not only appropriate but vitally necessary.
Offending someone is not in and of itself wrong, it all depends on the nature of the offense and how appropriate it is. There are a number of exhortations in Paul's writings to not offend people in the culture for needless and unproductive reasons. Underlying his concerns was the importance he placed on advancing the gospel: make sure the gospel and Jesus Christ is the issue and not something that is really unimportant in the larger scheme of things.
For instance in our day, if you are going to host an event to evangelize Jews, don't plan a pork barbecue - even though Jesus taught us all food is clean.
There should be consideration given in determining the larger, more important issues, and I believe this is what Jesus was driving home to Peter. Something more important was afoot with him than offending tax collectors.
Wisdom is required here to determine these decisions.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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