On Line Bible Study - For the week June 16-22, 2008

Death and Taxes

Matthew 17:22-27

In Matthew's gospel, we read that Jesus is "going to Jerusalem" or Judea, and that he will be handed over. (16:21, 17:22, 19:1, and 20:17.) Recall Peter's response in Matthew 16:22? "This shall never happen to you!" In Mark's gospel we read that, upon hearing Jesus speak of his death, the disciples "did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it." (Mark 9:32.) Look how Matthew records this scene in chapter 17:

Matthew 17: ²²When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.

"Grief" replaces lack of understanding and fear.

How do you react when someone speaks of their death? "Oh, don't talk like that!" Interesting, isn't it, that the one thing that is unavoidable in life is the one thing we are least comfortable talking about. Not so with Jesus. From the earliest moments of his ministry he was aware of the inevitable, and not afraid to speak of it.

John Nolland says that a better translation than "betrayed into the hands" is "handed over into human hands". This isn't to diminish the act of betrayal; but it does underscore the fact that God is going to let human hands do what, in the mind of the evangelist, is the beginning of a heavenly sacrifice. In the prayer attributed to St. Francis, we pray to be "instruments of thy peace". If we can be the means by which divine things are accomplished, is it not possible for us to be the agents of evil as well?

From death, Matthew takes us to taxes:

Matthew 17: ²⁴After 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?"

Several things about this "tax":

1. The exact amount is unknown - but probably it was close to two days wages.
2. Was the tax obligatory? Exodus 30 says each one over 20 must pay a half shekel for the "service of the tent of meeting" - and the offering was associated with taking count of the people. Nehemiah 10:32 tells us the people committed to give one third of a shekel each year "for the service of the house of our God".
3. Some did not pay the tax - the priests, for example, probably thought of themselves as "exempt". Not everyone agreed that the tax was a lawful one. But most people paid.

Taxes! You just can't get around them!

When Peter comes to Jesus again, Jesus speaks with Peter about the "tax"

Matthew 17: 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."

The word "offend" might better be translated as "scandalize". In looking at Jesus' words, we see that he makes the point regarding who pays. The kings of earth don't collect taxes from their own family. It may be that Jesus means for us to realize that God would not expect taxes from the people of Israel; or perhaps the early church, as it distanced itself from the Jewish Temple, felt themselves to be exempt. Maybe Jesus was referring to himself - that his Father would not expect him to pay the tax.

But now - here is the connection between verses 22-23, and verses 24-27 - Jesus does not want to offend people for the wrong reason! It's not paying taxes or refusing to do so that will be his hallmark. Rather, it is his death and resurrection that forms the heart of his mission! "Pay the tax," says Jesus, "so that we don't let people get distracted from the real purpose of my coming!

Death and taxes - we avoid one, and incessantly complain about the other! Jesus hit both of those issues head on.

For next time we will look at Chapter 18:1-34. Read through it if you get the chance.