Living Responsibly With Freedom

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: October 9, 2005

Living Responsibly With Freedom
by Dan Trygg

"When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the 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 kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?’ 26 And when he said, ‘From others,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast 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 Me and for yourself.’" Matthew 17:24-27
“Yahweh said to Moses, 12 ‘When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to Yahweh when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to Yahweh. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give Yahweh's offering 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give Yahweh's offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Yahweh, so as to make atonement for your lives.’" Exodus 30:11-16

This is a very interesting passage. On first blush, it may appear to be an isolated incident inserted into Matthew’s account, an incident which the other gospel writers did not even include in their writings. In reality, however, it seems to initiate a discussion which spills into the next chapter. For now, instead of developing that connection, let us go back to get the background of this incident, so that we can understand what is taking place.

The half-shekel (or two-drachma) tax was a voluntary religious tax. It was roughly equivalent to two-day’s wages. It originated in Exodus 30, as cited above. It was given as a “covering” or atonement for those who were counted in a census. This was a symbol of deference and acknowledgement to God, a recognition that He, not their numbers, was the source of their strength and security. The money was used for the upkeep of the temple. This tax, along with any voluntary offerings, were the only source of revenue used to support the temple construction and maintenance. (Tithing was used to support people in ministry, not buildings – Num. 18:21f.)

Typically, this “tax” was due in the month of Adar, which is roughly equivalent to February-March. If we go back and follow the sequence of events from the past couple of chapters, and compare them with information from the other gospel accounts, we find that Jesus fed the 5,000 close to the time of the Passover (Jn. 6:4; Matt. 14:13f.). One factor that led to that miracle was that things were so busy in Jesus’ ministry that they could barely find time to eat. It was Jesus’ idea to get away so they could rest and talk. Undoubtedly, after the miracle, Jesus would have gone to Judea to attend the feast, since it was required of all Jewish men. Matthew describes some of the travels of Jesus after this event, crossing to Capernaum, then north to Syro-Phoenicia, then back to the southeast corner of the sea of Galilee, then to the west side at Magdala, then to the north to Caesarea Philippi, and now finally returning to Capernaum. Somewhere in here, there was the Passover trip, mentioned in John 6. Since John mentioned it was “at hand”, we can assume that Jesus had gone there shortly after the feeding of the 5,000, although none of the gospel writers actually records the visit. If that is true, then most of these travels would have occurred after that Passover trip. What we do know is John 7 begins with Jesus returning to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, which happens in the fall. The point of mentioning all this is that apparently Jesus had not yet paid the temple tax, and now it had been some months past the customary time to pay.

Note that it was when they returned to Capernaum, which Jesus had made his home town (Matt. 9:1; Mk. 2:1), that “the ones collecting the two-drachma tax” approached Peter. Sometimes we are naïve regarding how structured and organized the social and political systems were at that time. They may not have had computers, but they undoubtedly had their lists, and people were registered in some way or another. For example, in Luke 2:1-4 the Roman government required that a census, or enrollment, be made of everyone. Joseph was required to enroll in Bethlehem, because he was from the “house and lineage of David” and that was “his own city”, which probably meant either that he was born there, or officially enrolled there, even though he was living in Nazareth at that time. It could be that since Jesus had moved from Nazareth, and had made Capernaum “His own city”, that He was registered there for the various taxations that were required. Or, it may be that this tax was administered through the local synagogue, since it was a voluntary religious offering, not a governmental tax. In any case, there were tax officials who were keeping track of who gave what, and they had noticed that Jesus had not yet fulfilled His expected contribution. (Furthermore, since this tax had to be paid in Hebrew shekels, the money would have to be exchanged from Roman currency into shekels, which were available only in the Jerusalem temple. Money changers charged a small fee for this service, which amounted to the equivalent of thousands of dollars per year. It was in their self-interest to monitor who gave what, and to “remind” those who had not yet given their portion for the year.)

The details of the rest of the story are quite plain. When Peter was approached by the tax-collectors, he spoke out of what he knew of his Master’s heart. Of course He paid the temple tax. How Jesus knew of their conversation is not clear, but when Peter entered the house to speak to Him about the situation, Jesus spoke to him first. He asked him, “Do kings collect taxes from their children or from strangers?” The answer was readily apparent. “From strangers.” “Then,” said Jesus, “the sons are free (exempt).” In other words, what Jesus was saying is, “You know, Peter, we are not obligated to pay this tax. Being sons of the Father, the true King, we are exempt.” It was a stunning statement. Specifically, it spoke of the change in relationship to God from being a people subject to a benevolent King, to now being sons and daughters of that King. As part of the King’s family, the children are not only exempt, but they often even live from the tribute and taxes given by others. This was a mind bender! What would be the ramifications of such thinking? Jesus does not take Peter down that road. He just cracks the door a little to get Peter to see an entirely different way of operating. Instead of living under obligation and duty, we are to live in grace and freedom. This freedom may not be noticeable to others as far as our behavior is concerned, but our inner heart will be totally different.

Note that the Lord quickly steers this new awareness of freedom in a responsible direction. “But, in order that we might not stumble or offend them…” This freedom of understanding was not to be flaunted above others, it was actually to liberate us to serve with more wholeheartedness. Others will not immediately understand our newfound freedom, so we had better be careful not to offend them. If we want to influence them, then nothing will be as counterproductive as offending them over something insignificant. To drive this point home, Jesus sends Peter on a “miracle mission”. “Go, cast a line into the sea, and open the mouth of the first fish you will catch. You will find a stater (worth four drachmas or a whole shekel). Take that and pay the tax for you and for Me.” The point? God will provide so that we can freely live in a manner that is commendable, not offensive, to others. Through God’s miraculous provision, Jesus showed Peter that freedom is not always to stop doing things we don’t want to do, or no longer have to do. Rather, freedom is the ability to do what is good and right from a good heart.

This experience Peter had with Jesus reminds me of what Paul later would teach, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (I Cor. 6:12), or again, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. …Give no offense either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved” (I Cor. 10:23,24,32,33). Paul and Barnabus even knew that they had a right to be supported by those to whom they ministered, but they freely chose to work with their hands so as not to cause any hindrance to the good news (I Cor. 9:3-12). The freedom they understood did not inflate them with self-importance, rather it caused them to more easily and completely adjust their ways so as to not offend others with a false offense. “For though I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God, but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all people, that I may by any means save some” (I Cor. 9:19-22).

There is a legitimate place of offense. Jesus Himself became a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to certain people (I Pet. 2:8). They were offended by the truth, or they stumbled over their religious pride, but never because He acted irresponsibly or in an offensive, selfish manner. Jesus was “meek and lowly of heart”. He was a safe person to those who were beat up and wounded by life, and invited them to come to Him for rest and healing. Meekness is not weakness, any more than freedom in Christ is a license to do evil. The Greek word for meekness means “power under control”. There is an underlying self-confidence in true meekness. The power is held in check for the purpose of service, but is ready to be asserted if needed, as well. Freedom is like that, too. We have freedom to do right, not to do wrong. The difference is in our attitude, and is seen in our service.