The Coin in the Fish's Mouth

Fishin’ N Fellowship Devotion 5/15/25: The Fish & The Coin
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.” 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?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 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 (ESV)
This is a really interesting snippet from the life of Jesus and something I mentioned in my last Fishin’ N Fellowship blog. I think it isn’t talked about much because there is some confusion as to what this miracle actually means, but from my reading of the Gospels, this is the only miraclous act Jesus does to prevent causing offense. It has been interpreted as a discussion of obedience to civil authorities, Jesus distinguishing His followers from a rebellious Jewish sect, etc[1] . The beauty of the miracle, in my opinion, is that it demonstrates God’s providence in everyday things. We know God is ABLE to provide for us, but sometimes we forget that He is WILLING. This isn’t limited to the “big” things we often focus on in prayer- illness, forgiveness, and so on.  The small, seemingly insignificant issues we face each day can be brought to Him and He WILL listen.  After all, we are now His sons and daughters because of Christ. Our faith in Jesus as the Messiah means that we are part of God’s family:
 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[a] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Galatins 3.25-28[2]
 What a powerful thought….we can call ourselves children of God and we have the privaleges that come with that. It is also a reminder that all we need to worry about is pleasing Him and He will take care of the rest[3].
 We hope you are having a wonderful week. Tonight men’s ministry will be back on the lake for Fishin’ N Fellowship and we will see if we can finally unthrone Jody Adams as the “King of Cats” and catch more than him. As always, if there is anything we can do for you, please let us know.
  – FCC Grayson Men’s Ministry
 
   [1] For a basic discussion of the temple tax, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_in_the_fish's_mouth#:~:text=The coin in the fish's,served in a Tiberias restaurant
[2] See also Luke 20.36, 2 Corinthians 6.18 & Hebrews 2.10-11
   [3] Matthew 6.33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”. (KJV because it always reminds me of singing that song when I was a kid)