Daily Devotional For Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Note: In each devotional where you see only the reference to a Bible passage without the verse (ex. John 3:16), that is a direct link to that passage online. All you have to do is click on that reference and you will be taken to the verse itself. Thank you.
Good morning Southside. We are making our way through Matthew’s Gospel attempting to glean from it the deep truths for our walk with Christ, our relationship to Christ and our discipleship for Christ. Today, we come to Matthew 17:24-27:
“When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?’ (25) He said, ‘Yes.’ And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ (26) When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are exempt. (27) However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me’” (NASB).
This passage is strange. It is only found in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus and His 12 disciples return to Capernaum, the homebase of Jesus’ ministry. It is possible that seeing the tax collector at his poll booth created this story by Matthew, a former tax collector (see Matt. 9:9). Again, Jesus finds Himself embroiled in a discussion about Himself, and not His disciples’ behavior (see Matt. 12:2).
The problem seems to be over the issue of the two-drachma tax, also known as the half-shekel tax. One shekel equaled four drachmas, and a drachma was approximately equivalent to the Roman denarius—the standard wage for a day laborer. Hence, this tax involved two days’ wages. All Israelite males over the age of twenty paid this tribute annually for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple as specified in the law (see Ex. 30:11-16 and Ex. 38:25-26). This tax went to help cover the cost of the animal sacrifices as well as the upkeep of the Temple. Any leftover, went for the upkeep of Jerusalem, which was considered an extension of the Temple.
This tax was collected from Jews who lived outside of Palestine. For example, we know during that time there were around 8-10 million Jews living in Egypt alone. This brought in enormous amounts of tax revenue and these tax collectors were responsible for collecting it. These tax collectors were not the same as the official Roman tax collectors such as Matthew. This tax collector came to Peter first. Why? A couple of reasons:
- Maybe he assumed Peter was the top disciple of all the disciples. Though not official, when we read of the disciples, it is common at times to read of “Peter, James, and John,” who had a closer relationship to Jesus than the other 9. It is possible that by this time, since they are in Capernaum, Peter’s hometown, that is what the residents thought.
- Or maybe because Peter was head of his household and a homeowner in Capernaum. We learn this from (see Mark 1:29 and Mark 9:33). The tax collector asked Peter if his Teacher was going to pay the Temple tax. Not to pay this tax would cause one to be separated from the Jewish religious community. The Greek text is written in a way that how the question is asked indicates the answer to be “yes.”
At no time did Jesus ever break Jewish Old Testament laws. He did at times qualify God’s intent behind some of them that the religious leaders had distorted such as what constituted work on the Sabbath. Jesus was criticized for healing (working) on the Sabbath by the religious leaders (see Matt. 12:1-14). Since Rabbis had exempted themselves from paying this tax and since Jesus was not an official Jewish rabbi, maybe the tax collector wondered if Jesus was going to ask for an exemption, claim this privilege even though He did not have the official training, pedigrees and diplomas. This is the 3rd time in Matthew’s Gospel that Peter is at center stage (see Matt. 16:22-23 and Matt. 17:4). New Testament scholar Matthew Bloomberg writes this:
“This is also the fourth of Matthew’s five unique additions concerning Peter in these middle chapters of his Gospel (cf. Matt. 14:28-31, Matt. 15:15, and Matt. 16:17-19). In this instance, however, Peter’s role seems quite neutral; little can be deduced about Matthew’s reasons for highlighting him here” (Source: Matthew Blomberg, The New American Commentary, “Matthew,” Vol. 22, p. 270).
Peter has done what he is accustomed to doing, spoke without first checking with Jesus. This put Jesus and His disciples in an awkward situation, but Jesus did not panic. Instead, Jesus used this as an opportunity to talk to His disciples about His kingly role. Kings tax the people they conquer, but not their own children. The royal family and inner court were exempt. Since Jesus was over the Temple and was God’s Son, there was no need for Him to pay this temple tax. Some Christians have taken this passage to imply as children of God, they are exempt from paying taxes to their governments. They should read Romans 13:1-7 and Matthew 22:15-22.
Jesus told Peter how they could avoid offending everyone on this. The Greek New Testament word translated as “offend” is [σκανδαλίζω; skandalizō]. This is where we get our English word “scandal.” This word means “to cause to stumble.” Jesus told Peter that even though He and His disciple were exempt, so as not to offend those who do not believe they should pay it and then Jesus told Peter how they could. The Bible is clear there are times we are to submit to our government leaders (see Romans 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; Titus 3:1-3, 8 and 1 Pet. 2:13-17).
Though Jesus provided the money to pay the tax, Peter still had to go get it or in this case catch it. This means that even when we pray for God to answer our prayers, He may answer them with a task we must step out in faith to do to receive it. New Testament scholar Matthew Bloomberg concludes with this:
“What is clear is that Jesus is reinforcing two of the frequent themes of his teaching: (1) disciples should avoid unnecessarily offending others (Matt. 15:12-13) has shown that they cannot avoid all offense); (2) ultimately Jesus has freed them from obeying the law, both oral and written, except inasmuch as it is fulfilled and reinterpreted in His person and teaching (cf. under Matt. 5:17-20). If God’s people are freed from paying the tax for the temple’s upkeep, they must be freed from the sacrifices for which the temple existed” (Source: Matthew Craig Blomber, The New American Commentary, “Matthew,” Vol. 22, p. 271).
Assignment: How careful are you not to offend others? How intentional are you to pay your taxes to the government? Are you honest in your tax returns? Think back over a bill you had to pay but was short of funds to do it. How did God provide you the means to pay for it and what, if anything, did you have to do to receive God’s blessings? Thank Him right now for that. How much do you remind yourself that you have dual citizenship ? – one here and one in heaven? Do you ever take advantage of this and push your liberty too far with your citizenship here?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Corinthians 8:9, “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, thank You for how You take care of all my needs. Help me not to use my liberty in Christ in such a way that I am a stumbling block to others. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly