By[25] “… 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 children or from others?” [26] “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. [27] “But so that we may not cause offense, 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.” — Matthew 17:25 - 27 NIV
I’m not a civil servant, so I don’t really understand how countries’ tax systems work. But I know that the children of top government executives like the president, vice president, monarch, etc., are given certain privileges that aren’t available to mere citizens. One of them is tax exemptions, if not all, at least some. This system didn’t originate from this modern world. It existed during Jesus’ time of earthly ministry too.
One day, Jesus and his disciples went to the temple. The Israelites used to pay the temple tax, so Jesus and his disciples had to pay that before entering the synagogue. Jesus knew that taxes were exempted from the children of the king. And according to His spiritual understanding, nobody should charge any tax for God’s child to enter His temple. This truth is still valid and is effective today because I rarely see churches charging people before entering into church for service, except for some events.
Jesus could have defended this truth and used His influence to reject tax payments for himself and the disciples. But he said something to Peter in Matthew 17:27 — that, to avoid causing offence, they should pay the tax. Then, He performed a miracle and got a four-drachma coin from a fish’s mouth to pay the tax.
Although this verse has been used to preach about miracles and money, I see it differently. Jesus is teaching us that no matter how highly knowledgeable a child of God is about the scriptures and systems of God, it’s okay to compromise in order to maintain peace.
Love isn’t selfish, no matter your knowledge.
See, compromise isn’t a bad word. It just means a middle way between two extremes. As long as what you must compromise to do doesn’t lead you to sin and exalts the manifestation of God’s love, it’s acceptable before God. Jesus could have rejected the tax payment, but He knew it’d speak badly of Him because of the then-existent culture of Israel in His time. He decided to go for peace rather than defend himself.
Here’s what I’ve learned. Peacemakers don’t always choose to defend their opinion based on the knowledge they have. They value peace and relationships more than having their way. It was Paul who said,
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18 NIV
Can I tell you something? You don’t have to be always right to maintain peace. This statement goes more strongly to people in dating relationships and marriage. Love isn’t selfish, no matter your knowledge. Everyone knows something, and some people have more understanding than others. Jesus knew what Pharisees and tax collectors didn’t know, yet He wasn’t puffed up. He was humble.
Like any purposeful organisation with committed team members, you can’t have your way every time. Accept people’s knowledge deficiencies, delays, and excesses. Help them to improve to become more godly. And lastly, learn to live in peace with them.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer
Father, I refuse to allow my knowledge to puff me up. I refuse to use my insight to defend myself while promoting violence with people I live and work with. In the name of Jesus, teach me how to train people to understand Your systems better, as far as I know, so that Your Word will become exalted in all my life endeavours. Amen.
Devotional Code: KGD – 2023 – 003
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