| | The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus paid the temple tax. In Jesus' day, the denarius was the form of money used to pay Caesar, but the temple tax was paid with the drachma. Luke 20 tells us that the teachers of the law and the chief priests sent spies to watch Jesus. They asked Him, 22 "Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 "Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?" |  Silver shekel, BMC Phoenicia, Tyre mint, 92 - 91 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Melqarth right, lion’s skin knotted around neck; reverse TUROUIERAS KAIASULOU (of Tyre the holy and inviolable), eagle l., r. foot on ship’s ram, palm frond behind, date EL (year 35) over club and palm frond l., D right, Phoenician kaph between legs. image © forumancientcoins.com
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Jesus asked to see a denarius and whose portrait and inscription were on it knowing that Caesar's portrait and inscription were on it, and He taught that it was right to uphold our witness as citizens of the communities where God has placed us.In the time of Jesus, adult Jewish males (twenty years old or more) were required to pay a two-drachma tax each year, based upon the Old Testament Atonement Offering of Exodus 30:11-16, which was to be paid in the form of a half shekel (a weight of twenty gerahs or approximately 1/5 once or 6 grams). In Matthew's day, after the temple was destroyed this tax remained, but the tax was to be paid to the Roman government.The Temple Tax24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"25 "Yes, he does," he replied.When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?" 26 "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not offend them, 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." In this passage, we see that Jesus does not consider the tax compulsatory on Himself or Peter while realizing the tax collectors would not consider them exempt. He therefore does not reprimand Peter for obligating Him, to avoid potential misunderstandings or offenses that may lead people away from his gospel. Jesus had previously been a thorn for the Jewish religious authorities:13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." however, in Matthew 17:24-27, we see that Jesus views the situation as addressing "personal rights" rather than the truth of God's Kingdom. Similar to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31-32, 31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God.." Jesus is telling us that we should sacrifice our own personal "rights" for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 18:6). Like the king, whose children are able to pay the tax because the king gives them the money, Jesus is able to take care of the people of His Kingdom. |
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