The Son Paid It
There are some stories in the Bible that we have heard so many times that we almost stop wondering why God included the details He did. But sometimes the smallest details carry the deepest message.
Matthew 17 records one of the strangest little miracles in Jesus’ ministry. There was a tax to be paid, and instead of simply reaching into a money bag, Jesus told Peter,
“… go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” Matthew 17:27
A fish, a coin, and a fisherman. At first glance, it seems like an unusual miracle of provision. But there is something much deeper here.
This wasn’t a Roman tax collected for Caesar. It was the temple tax, which had its roots in Exodus 30. When God instructed Moses concerning the numbering of Israel, every man twenty years old and above was required to give half a shekel.
God called it “a ransom for his soul.” Exodus 30:12. Rich and poor gave the same amount “to make an atonement for your souls.” Exodus 30:15. No man’s soul was worth more than another, and every one needed atonement.
So when the collectors asked Peter, “Doth not your master pay tribute?” Peter answered, “Yes.” But before Peter could explain the situation, Jesus asked him, “Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers?” Peter answered, “Of strangers.” Jesus replied, “Then are the children free.” Matthew 17:25–26.
Don’t hurry past that. Whose house was the temple? His Father’s. Whose Son was Jesus? God’s Son. They were asking the Son to pay tribute toward His Father’s house. Jesus was not a stranger. He was the Son, and the Son was free. More importantly, Jesus was sinless. He had no debt of sin and needed no atonement for Himself.
The Son Owed Nothing
Jesus told Peter to go fishing. Peter knew that lake because fishing had been his livelihood. But Jesus gave him very specific instructions: cast a hook, take the first fish, open its mouth, and there you will find a coin. Not just any coin, but exactly enough to pay the temple tax for two people.
Jesus said, “Give unto them for me and thee.”
For Me and thee.
There is the heart of the story. One payment covered them both. Jesus, the Son who owed nothing, made the payment that also covered Peter, the man who did owe.
What a beautiful picture of Calvary! Jesus didn’t owe the debt of sin, yet He willingly took our place. Jesus later said, “The Son of man came… to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
That little coin in the fish’s mouth pointed toward something infinitely greater. One day the ransom wouldn’t be paid with silver. It would be paid with blood.
Peter later wrote that we were not redeemed “with corruptible things, as silver and gold… But with the precious blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18–19. I wonder if Peter thought about that fish when he wrote those words.
Years earlier, Jesus had said, “For me and thee.” But after Calvary, Peter understood that silver could never redeem his soul. Only the blood of Jesus could.
The Ransom Has Been Paid
We owed a debt we could never pay, and Jesus willingly paid it for us.
Maybe you have spent years standing at the spiritual water’s edge trying to catch your own ransom—trying to become good enough, make up for yesterday, or somehow earn God’s acceptance.
You can stop fishing for it because the ransom has already been paid.
Salvation isn’t something we achieve. It is something we receive. “For by grace are ye saved through faith… Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8–9.
There is one more beautiful lesson. Jesus had every right not to pay the temple tax, yet He laid down that right so He would not become a stumbling block to someone else.
Grace not only sets us free; it also teaches us what to do with our freedom. Sometimes love says, “I have the right, but I don’t have to use it.” Sometimes spiritual maturity means willingly laying something down if it helps someone else find their way to Christ.
What first looked like one of the strangest miracles in the Bible becomes one of the most beautiful: a free Son, a man who owed, and one payment that covered the debt.
The fish wasn’t the greatest message, and neither was the coin.
It was Jesus!
He owed nothing while we owed everything.
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, paid it all!