412: When Little Things are a Big Deal | Dave Sloop

Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be together. I don't know if you had the chance to see this bulletin today. I'm very proud. This is one of the times that I got to be on the cover of the bulletin, and the reason I wanted to show you this is because my friend Charlotte Dunlap, when she saw this picture, she instantly goes, "Oh, the priesty boys." Now, I recognize—I said this at the first service too—that joke was for some of you that are right down the middle like me. There's a rap band called the Beastie Boys, so anyway.

Well, we are continuing our journey today through the Gospel of Matthew, going verse by verse, but just grabbing a little snapshot at a time from each chapter from the life of Jesus. And today, we're going to be looking at a peculiar miracle. In fact, if I was to tell you that today we're going to look at Jesus and Peter and a miraculous catch, likely you would have thought, "Oh, I know what we're gonna look at."

You might think we're going to look at the time when Jesus calls Peter to follow him. Jesus was teaching from his boat and says, "Let's put out for a catch." And Peter says, "Lord, we haven't caught anything all night, but at your word, I'll do it." They go out, and he puts down the net, and there's so many fish in the net that the nets begin to break and the boats begin to sink. But that's not the one.

You might think, "Okay, maybe you're talking about that other miraculous catch," after Jesus dies and is raised back to life. Peter and some of the other disciples are out fishing, and they're not having much success. Someone from the beach says, "Haven't you any fish?" And Peter says, "Nothing, sir." And that man says, "Well, cast your net on the other side." When he does, the net is filled with so many fish that the nets begin to break. And Peter looks back at the beach and says, "It's the Lord." But that's not the miraculous catch I'm talking about either.

The Weirdest Miracle

The miracle that we are going to look at today, at the end of Matthew chapter 17, is—and this is my opinion, but I think this is actually true—this is the weirdest miracle that Jesus performs in the New Testament. It's a strange, miraculous catch. It's one of those that's so confusing, you might even just miss it. In fact, I was talking to my friend Brad Thompson last night, who debuted in the choir today, by the way. They did a fantastic job, all of you. Thank you. And Brad said he's read through the Bible many times, but it was on his fourth time reading through that he got to that passage, and he said he didn't remember ever reading this because it's one of those that's just kind of weird, and the temptation is to skip right over it.

But here's the thing: every single miracle we see in the gospel account is there for a reason and a purpose. His miracles are signs. They signify something about who he is and who he came to be, the kind of kingdom he intended to bring. And so it's important that we don't just skip over and get to chapter 18, but we actually pause and ask the question, "God, what is it that you want us to see from this miracle?"

At the end of John's gospel, it says that if the disciples were to have written down everything that Jesus did, there would not be room in the entire world to contain the books that would have been written about him. So this miracle matters. It's included only in Matthew's account, perhaps because Matthew was a tax collector, and this miracle had to do with some kind of tax. Maybe that's why he remembered it. But in any case, we're going to ask together the question, "God, what do you have for us in 2024 about this miracle?"

The Text

Chapter 17, starting in verse 24:

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" He said, "Yes." — Matthew 17:24

Now in order to understand what in the world is going on here, we have to understand who these men are, what is the tax that they are collecting, and why do they care whether or not Jesus pays it.

Generally, when you see tax collectors in the gospel narratives, those are the bad guys. Do you know that? Like Zacchaeus—everybody hated him. Why? Because Zacchaeus was a traitor to his own.

So they were the bad guys because they were collecting a Roman tax from the Jewish people, and they inflated that tax so that they could get rich off their own countrymen's backs. And so they were despised. The people couldn't stand them. That is not who these people were. These were not evil Jewish men collecting a Roman tax. These were faithful Jewish men collecting a Jewish tax. In fact, it was called the temple tax and it was a tax that was originally instituted by God himself in Exodus 30, verses 11 through 16.

This was around the time that Moses had gone up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God along with a whole bunch of other instructions for how God's people were to live. And in verses 11 through 16, you can go look it up yourself later, but I'm just going to summarize for you what it says. God says, "Moses, I want you to take a census of the nation. And every male who is 20 years old or older is to give this tax of half a shekel," and it would later be called the temple tax. He says, "I want them to give this offering and here's what he says: as a ransom for their life."

Do you know what a ransom is? A ransom is a sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner. The very presence of this tax in the nation of Israel is evidence that they weren't free. They were enslaved to something or someone.

Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. — John 8

And because of their sin, they could not enter God's presence. They had a broken relationship.

Let me tell you some other things about this tax. It was a universal tax. All of the adult males over 20, they all had to pay it. Secondly, it was a flat tax. Here's what it specifically says in Exodus 30: it says that the rich people aren't to pay more and the poor people aren't to pay less. In other words, everybody's debt is the same. Everybody owes the same.

And finally, he calls it atonement money. He says, "Moses, I want you to take this atonement money." That is money that is given in as payment to forgive. He says, "Take that money and I want you to use it in service of the tent of meeting which would become the tabernacle and then the temple." And he took this money and melted down the metal, and it would build the first tabernacle, which was the place where people would meet God. It was the place where the presence of God would dwell, and it was the place where the priest would go in and offer sacrifices on behalf of the people because of their slavery to sin. That is what this tax was.

And these men, they say, "Does your teacher pay this tax?" Now why would they care? Well, perhaps because their teacher, Jesus, had said some pretty strange things about the temple. In just a little bit, you know what he would say? He would say:

Tear this temple down, and in three days, I will rebuild it.

Okay, that's confusing. Jesus also, in Matthew chapter 12, just a few chapters before, he would say:

Something better than the temple is here.

These men rightly wondered: where does Jesus stand with the temple? They may have been wondering, is this man a faithful Jew? Is he pro-Israel? Is he pro-temple? Does he support its ministry? And those were fair questions.

And Peter, without hesitation, says, "He pays the tax. We pay the tax." And then he walks back inside.

Now here's the picture of what is taking place. We imagine they're back in Capernaum, and Peter is on the front porch of his house, and that is where this conversation takes place. And then he walks back inside where Jesus is. We hear Matthew writing this:

When he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first. — Matthew 17

And here's why I think Matthew wrote that. This was one of those moments where Jesus is about to speak into a conversation that he was not present for. He's going to be showing his divinity because there's something about this seemingly insignificant conversation that he does not want Peter to miss.

Listen to what he says. He says, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?"

The logic that Jesus is following here is pretty obvious. He's saying: when kings have to raise taxes, do they do it from their children or from others? That word is strangers. The obvious point that Jesus is making here is this: kings don't raise taxes from their son. And that is precisely who I am—a point, by the way, that Peter identified himself in Matthew chapter 16.

Jesus walks into Caesarea Philippi with his disciples and he says, "Who do the people say that I am?" And they gave him some answers of what the people thought. And then he looks at them and he says, "But what about you? What do you say? Who do you say that I am?"

And in one of Peter's most shining moments, he says:

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. — Matthew 16

He was going out of his way to make sure that Peter understood.

That tax that they asked you about, I don't owe that tax. Why? Because I am the son, not of some earthly king, but of the king of kings. I don't owe that tax, Peter. That's what you would expect him to say, but it's not quite what he says. He says, or Matthew writes this: when Peter said from others, Jesus said to him, "then the sons are free."

You would have expected him to say the son is free, but he says, the sons are free. In other words, Peter, because of your association and identification with me, the son, you have become a son. Not in the same way, but a son nonetheless.

Paul would put it this way in Romans chapter eight:

We have not received a spirit of slavery which leads again to fear, but a spirit of adoption which causes us to cry, Abba, father. The spirit testifies with our spirit that we are his children, and if children, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. — Romans 8

He is saying, Peter, because of your association with me, you share the same status. You are free.

Now what did that mean? What did it mean that he was free? Free from what? Does Jesus just go out of his way to make sure Peter knows you don't have to pay this particular tax, or is there something else going on here?

He is free from the tax, but more. He's free from all the tax represented. You see, that tax represented the ministry of the temple. It was the place of sacrifice. It was the place of worship. It was the place where God's presence dwelt. And what Jesus is telling Peter is: you are free from that broken system. That place where you have to keep on sacrificing because that old system never produced one righteous person. It is a failed system. It was never meant to be a permanent system.

You see, when Jesus said something greater than the temple is here, do you know what he was saying? He was saying, the presence of God doesn't dwell there anymore. I am the presence of God. The presence of God is right here.

The word became flesh and tabernacled among us. — John 1:14

He's saying, the presence is right here, and therefore, the place of worship is not in some building. It is at my feet. I'm the place of worship, and you don't have to go anywhere to make sacrifices for your sin. Why? Because I, in a few short weeks, I will become the true and final sacrifice. Once and for all sacrifice.

See, Jesus is the new and better temple, and he meant to obsolete the old system. Peter, I don't owe that tax, and you don't owe that tax. He goes out of his way to make sure that Peter knows he is free.

Do you understand your freedom this morning? Do you understand that you and I are not qualified before God? We are not approved of or accepted because of any righteous thing that we have done—only because of what Christ has done.

The Paradox of Freedom and Obedience

Peter, you don't pay the tax. I don't pay the tax. You are free. Which makes it incredibly confusing that the very next thing Jesus is going to tell him is this: go ahead and pay the tax anyway. What is going on with that? What is Jesus trying to teach Peter?

He's saying, you're free. Now lay down your freedom. Peter is being invited into a new kind of obedience. It's a different relationship with obedience than he used to have. It is not obey in order that you might be accepted. It is: Peter, you are free. And in that posture of freedom, I'm giving you an opportunity to lay down your freedom. Surrender it. Why? He says, in order that we might not give offense.

See, what Jesus knew is that they had the freedom that they could exercise to not pay that tax, but it would send a message that they did not intend to send. Do you remember these men coming to ask the question? "Does your teacher pay the tax?" What they were asking is, is he a faithful Jew? The most faithful Jew to ever live. Does he love God more than you could possibly fathom? Does he support the ministry of the temple? It's complicated. Not in the way that you think.

You see, he came to obsolete the temple. He came to replace the temple. And Jesus just said, Peter, we're going to pay the tax. Because you see, in exercising their freedom, they would have hindered the advancement of the kingdom Jesus came to bring.

And this is the invitation to a new kind of obedience that all Jesus followers get to consider. Not in obedience for acceptance, but in obedience from a place of freedom and love to lay down our rights for the sake of his gospel.

Can I give you an example of how I've experienced this in my own life? We've had the opportunity to be on Young Life staff for many years, and for thirteen of those years, we worked with college kids. And inevitably, around late sophomore year or early junior year, there's a bunch of our college students who are turning 21 in a college town. You know what that means? There is a new freedom that they have. They're no longer constrained by law. All their peers who didn't follow Christ, they weren't constrained by law prior, but these kids at least were—they honored the law.

These were kids who loved Christ, who were giving their life away, and we would have a conversation with them when they turned 21, and we would say, you are no longer under any obligation. You are free to drink responsibly. But here's what we're gonna ask you to do. Lay that freedom down. We're gonna invite you to not exercise your freedom. Why? Because inevitably, your exercising of that freedom is going to send a message you don't mean to send. I'm quite certain that if you were downtown in Harrisonburg drinking a beer and Johnny's parent sees you at the bar, they're not thinking, I bet you he's just gonna have one and then be the designated driver for all of his other sinners friends. That's not what they're thinking. You're going to send a message you don't intend to send, and therefore, would you lay down that freedom as an offering to Christ? Not because you have to, but as a sacrifice, as a willing sacrifice to him. And for anyone who is willing to obey Christ in that way, there is a reward.

And I think that is why this miracle happens at the end of this exchange between Jesus and Peter, this miracle that almost feels out of place. I wanna read this miracle to you, and then I wanna tell you why I think it's here. He says:

However, to not 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.

I think this miracle is here for three reasons. The first one is this. I think it's a metaphor for the kind of obedience that Jesus is calling Peter to and therefore, you and I too. Peter was a professional fisherman. And Jesus tells Peter, I want you to go take a line and a hook, and you're going to catch the first fish you find. What did professional fishermen use to fish? They used nets. They didn't use a line and a hook. That's how kids fish. That was a kind of fishing that was beneath Peter's status.

Now I have been teaching my kid, Claire, my youngest, to fish. It's actually not true. My 14 year old female neighbor, Emmeline Sorrell, has been teaching Claire to fish because her dad doesn't like to touch worms or fish. Now I know that instantly that makes me look like a lot less of a man in many of your eyes, including my own, but that's okay. That's just the truth. And the other day, I actually saw this happen. Claire and Emmeline were fishing, and Emmeline baits the hook for her, and Claire cast that thing into the water, and within five minutes, she caught a fish. Because when you're fishing with a line and a hook, a kid could do it.

He says, I want you to go fish in a way that is beneath you. It is humbling to obey Christ in the way he's asking us to obey him, to take the freedom I've given you and lay it right back down on my feet.

The Optional Invitation

But secondly, it's optional. Do you notice that? This is an observation. This is something I had not noticed until I studied it this week. This is the only miracle of Jesus that we don't know if it actually came to fruition. He invites Peter to go do it but we don't know if Peter actually does and I wonder how true is that for you and me. He is inviting us to lay down and surrender our freedom for the advancement of his gospel and the question is, will we do it? We don't have to. He's not going to make us do that in order to be saved. But if we do, there is a reward. In fact, I would put it this way. For anybody who is willing to obey Christ in this way, we become a candidate to experience his supernatural power and provision.

And I think that's the second reason for the miracle. It is a metaphor for the reward that is available to you and I if we will trust him and surrender our own freedom. I want you to think for a second. Just step into Peter's shoes. What would have had to happen for this miracle to occur? I mean, someone would have had to throw a coin. And by the way, the tax that was owed was half a shekel each, and this fish was gonna be carrying a full shekel, the exact amount needed. Someone would have had to throw that into the sea, and then some fish would have had to swallow it but just keep it in its mouth, not take it down into its stomach. And then when Peter throws in his line, it doesn't say, fish until you catch a fish with a coin in his mouth. It says the first fish that you catch will have the coin with the exact amount that you need to pay the tax that we owe. Well, not really, but we're gonna pay it anyway.

What do you think the reward for Peter was assuming that he did it? I'll give you a hint. It wasn't the coin. It was having the experience of realizing that Jesus Christ is everything he promised to be. He will give us everything that we need if we would only be willing to just lay down our freedom and to trust him so that the gospel would not be hindered. You know who lived this way? Perhaps better than any human other than Jesus?

His name was Paul. Do you know what he said in 1 Corinthians 9?

Am I free as an apostle? Though I am free, I become a slave to all men. To the Jew, I become like a Jew. To the Gentile, I became like a Gentile. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means, I might save some. — 1 Corinthians 9

See, this new standard for obedience is: will it hinder or will it advance the kingdom of God that he has called me to partner with him in proliferating throughout the earth. There is a reward for anyone who would be willing to obey Christ in this way. I wonder for how many of us is there a coin in the mouth somewhere in our future if we would just surrender what we feel like we're entitled to.

The Metaphor of the Fish

But then third and finally, I think that this miracle is a metaphor for the way that Peter's freedom would actually be purchased. Did you know that the sea that he asks Peter to go fishing in—the sea is actually biblically a picture of God's divine judgment all throughout Scripture. And in that sea, there is one fish. That fish looks like all the other fish, but there's something different about this one. Because you see, this fish carries in his very body the ransom, the exact amount that is necessary to pay the debt that is owed.

But the only way for that fish to get that ransom to the one who needs it was to willingly bite a hook that would cause his own death so that anyone that lays hold of him would find sufficient payment for what they owe. Does that sound familiar?

You see, Jesus was inviting Peter into a kind of obedience that he already endured. See, he was invited into an assignment that was beneath him too.

He, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself. He made himself nothing. He took on the very nature of a servant, and being found in human likeness, he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Jesus said to Peter, I want you to pay the tax anyway. I don't owe it. And by virtue of me, you don't either, but honestly, Peter, you do still owe it, and I'm gonna pay it for you too.

This is the gospel. He has been thrown into the sea of God's wrath. He didn't owe a debt. He was perfect. But he took your sin. He took my sin. He bore it in his body so that we might be free.

And the question is: what do you do with that freedom? What is our response?

The Call to Response

Perhaps some of you are here today and you sense in your heart that you are a stranger. Maybe you've spent your whole life wondering if you are good enough and wondering if when you die, God will accept you. I want to give you some bad news and then some good news.

You aren't good enough, and you never will be. But the good news is you don't have to be. He came, and he lived the life you couldn't live, and he died the death that you deserve. And all you need to do is lay hold of the one who holds the payment for your sin in his very life. It's free for the taking. Perhaps some of you would grab hold of that for the first time today.

But then some of you here—some of you here are already sons and daughters, and I think Jesus' invitation to you and to me today is this: Will you lay your freedom down? Would you be willing to trust me with this different kind of obedience, not in order that you would be accepted, but when you trust me in this way, there is a reward. And the reward is this: he is all he promises to be for you and for me.

Let's lay hold of that reward.

Prayer

Let's pray.

Father, thank you for the chance to be together, to be in your Word. We love you. We thank you for the beauty of it. We thank you for how it changes us. We thank you for how the gospel is just saturated throughout every word of this book.

God, I pray for anyone today that might be grasping for life and trying to earn it. Lord, that they would be made aware today for the first time that they're free. Their freedom comes from what you have done, not from anything they could do.

And for the rest of us, Lord, would you cause us to live with the same posture that Paul lived with, that Jesus modeled—that we would lay down our freedom, that we would surrender the things that we feel entitled to for the advancement of your kingdom here on this earth.

In Christ's name. Amen.

Before we stand and worship, if you are feeling led to pray with someone, we have a hallway back here. We want a group of people that would love to pray with you, or if you just want to pray privately between you and God, we have these rails that are available, and don't miss this opportunity.

For the rest of us, let's stand and worship together.