Sons, Strangers, and Silver Coins: Text: Matthew 17:24-27
Introduction: Kingdom Economics
We live in an age that is utterly confused about authority, liberty, and obligation. On the one hand, you have statists who believe the government is the source of all provision and therefore has a claim on every dollar, every child, and every breath. On the other hand, you have a strain of libertarianism, sometimes with a pious gloss, that views any and every tax as institutionalized theft, a gross violation of God-given autonomy. Both positions begin with man, one with collective man and the other with individual man, and as a result, both end in folly.
The Christian worldview begins with God. Because God is the Creator, He is the sovereign Lord of all things. This means that every government, every tax code, and every coin in your pocket exists under His authority. Caesar is not autonomous. The IRS is not ultimate. But neither are you. Your rights are not grounded in your own radical independence, but rather in your status as a creature made in the image of God, with duties and responsibilities assigned by Him.
This little episode in Capernaum, which seems at first glance to be a simple dispute over a minor religious tax, is in fact a profound lesson in kingdom economics, Christian liberty, and strategic wisdom. Jesus, as He so often does, uses a mundane, earthly affair to teach a deep, spiritual reality. He confronts the assumptions of the tax collectors, corrects the impulsive answer of Peter, and demonstrates His own unique identity as the Son of the Great King. This is not just about a two-drachma tax; it is about the collision of two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men. It teaches us who we are, to whom we owe our ultimate allegiance, and how we are to wisely navigate our obligations in a world that does not yet acknowledge our King.
In this brief interaction, Jesus establishes a principle, demonstrates an exception, and then provides a miracle. And in all of it, He shows us how to live as free sons of the King while graciously accommodating the ignorant demands of strangers, all for the sake of the gospel.
The Text
Now 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?" 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 tolls or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" And when Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. 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 stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you."
(Matthew 17:24-27 LSB)
The Presumptuous Question (v. 24-25a)
The scene opens with a question directed not to Jesus, but to Peter.
"Now 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?' He said, 'Yes.'" (Matthew 17:24-25a)
The two-drachma tax was the temple tax, a religious duty required of every Jewish male over twenty for the upkeep of the temple in Jerusalem. It was based on the "atonement money" prescribed in Exodus 30. The question from the collectors is loaded. It carries a hint of suspicion. "Does your teacher," this controversial rabbi from Nazareth, "not pay the tax?" They are probing for religious laxity, for some angle of attack. Is He a faithful Jew or a subversive?
Peter, ever impulsive and wanting to defend his master's honor, answers immediately and without consulting Jesus. "Yes." Of course He pays. He is the most righteous man in Israel. Peter's answer is well-intentioned, but it is wrong. It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of who Jesus is. Peter sees Jesus as the ultimate faithful subject of the temple system, when in fact, Jesus is the Lord of the temple. Peter thinks Jesus is just another son of Israel; he is about to learn that Jesus is the Son of God.
The King's Prerogative (v. 25b-26)
Jesus, demonstrating His omniscience, knows the conversation that happened outside and preempts Peter's report.
"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 tolls or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?' And when Peter said, 'From strangers,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are exempt.'" (Matthew 17:25b-26 LSB)
Jesus doesn't rebuke Peter for his hasty answer. Instead, He leads him with a question, a gentle Socratic dismantling of Peter's faulty premise. He uses an analogy from the political world that everyone would understand. Earthly kings tax their subjects, the "strangers" or "others," not their own children. The royal family is exempt. This is a universal principle of kingship. The king's household does not pay taxes to the king.
The logic is simple and inescapable. Peter answers correctly: kings tax strangers. Jesus then draws the devastating conclusion: "Then the sons are exempt." The unspoken premise, the truth that has been dawning on the disciples and was just confessed by Peter a chapter earlier, is now brought to bear on this practical, financial question. If the temple is the house of God the Father, and Jesus is the Son of God, then He is not a subject. He is the Son in His own Father's house. To demand the temple tax from Jesus is like asking the prince to pay admission to his own palace. It is a category error of cosmic proportions.
This is a radical claim of divinity. Jesus is not simply a good teacher or a prophet. He is the Son, and by virtue of that relationship, He is free. And notice the implication for us. By grace, we have been adopted into the family of God. We are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). We are sons and daughters of the King. This means our ultimate status is one of freedom. We are not slaves to sin, not slaves to the law, and not slaves to the religious systems of men. We are sons, and "the sons are exempt."
The Gracious Concession (v. 27)
Having established the principle of His freedom, Jesus then chooses to set it aside for a higher purpose.
"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 stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you." (Genesis 17:27 LSB)
Here we see the perfect balance of principle and prudence. Jesus is free, but He voluntarily lays aside His right in order not to "offend them." The word for offend here is skandalizo, from which we get our word scandal. It means to cause someone to stumble, to place a stumbling block in their path. Jesus is not concerned about hurting the tax collectors' feelings. He is concerned that by claiming His rightful exemption, He might create an unnecessary barrier to the gospel. They would not understand His claim to divinity. They would simply see Him as a tax-dodging, law-breaking troublemaker. His actions would be misinterpreted and would bring reproach upon His message.
This is a crucial lesson for the church. We are free in Christ. But our freedom is not a license for self-indulgence or for needlessly provoking the world. We are called to use our freedom wisely, for the sake of love and for the advancement of the gospel (Galatians 5:13). Sometimes this means laying down our rights, not because we are obligated to, but because it is the most strategic and loving thing to do. We pay our taxes to a pagan government, not because Caesar is our ultimate king, but so that we do not give him an unnecessary reason to persecute the church and hinder the gospel.
The Casual Miracle
The way Jesus chooses to pay the tax is as significant as the decision to pay it. He doesn't take it from the disciples' money bag. He performs a casual, almost off-the-cuff miracle.
"...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 stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you." (Matthew 17:27b LSB)
Think about the layers of sovereignty on display here. Jesus knows that a specific fish is currently swimming in the Sea of Galilee. He knows that this fish has a coin in its mouth. He knows that this coin is a stater, which was worth four drachmas, the exact amount needed to pay the tax for two people. And He knows that this specific fish will bite Peter's specific hook first. This is not just a lucky catch. This is a display of meticulous, sovereign control over the details of creation. The Lord who is exempt from the temple tax is the same Lord who directs the fish of the sea.
He is demonstrating to Peter, and to us, that the resources of the King are limitless. He does not need to submit to the systems of men out of necessity. He can create what is needed out of thin air, or, in this case, out of a fish's mouth. This provision is a sign of His identity. He is the Lord of creation, and He provides for His own. He pays the tax as a stranger, but He provides the payment as the King.
And notice the final phrase: "for Me and you." In this act, Jesus identifies Peter with Himself. He brings Peter under the umbrella of His sonship. The payment covers them both. This is a beautiful picture of the gospel. We are the ones who owe an unpayable debt to God's law. Jesus, the only one who is truly exempt, voluntarily takes on our liability. And He pays our debt not with a coin from a fish, but with the precious blood of His own life. He pays for Himself, in the sense that He stands as our representative, and for us, so that we might be counted as sons of the King, forever exempt from condemnation.
Conclusion: Free Men Paying Taxes
So what does this mean for us? This passage teaches us to hold two truths in tension. First, in Christ, we are fundamentally free. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven. We are sons and daughters of the Most High King, and in that ultimate sense, we are exempt from the claims of any earthly power. We do not belong to Caesar; we belong to God.
But second, we are called to live out that freedom with wisdom, grace, and a strategic eye for the gospel. We are not to be bomb-throwing revolutionaries or tax-protesting zealots who make our political opinions the main substance of our witness. We are to render to Caesar what is Caesar's, not because his claim is ultimate, but so that we do not create an unnecessary stumbling block that would prevent people from hearing about the one whose claim is.
We pay our taxes, we obey the laws of the land, and we submit to the authorities, all while knowing that we are the children of a higher King. We pay as "strangers," but we live as "sons." And we do so with confidence, knowing that our King, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and directs the fish in the sea, will provide everything we need to fulfill our obligations in this world while we await the full manifestation of His coming kingdom, where our status as exempt sons will be plain for all to see.