Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first

Early circular ΙΧΘΥΣ symbol, made by transposing each Greek letter atop one another.  Ephesus (photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons of from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

- Matthew 17:22-27

Yesterday we read that, after the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

  Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.   This is the second time that Jesus has predicted His death and Resurrection, after the revelation that He is the Christ (this reading).  My study bible says that this repeated warning shows He is going to His Passion freely, and is not being taken against His will.  At His  first warning of what was to come, Peter denied that this should happen to Him (in this reading).  Here, the disciples are exceedingly sorrowful.

When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons of from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."  The temple tax was an annual head tax on all male Jews (except priests) over twelve years of age.  My study bible explains that this tax was for the maintenance of the temple (see Numbers 3:43-51).  As Jesus is the Son of God, it notes, He is both High Priest and also the "proprietor" (so to speak) of the temple; therefore He is exempt from the temple tax.  But He pays it anyway -- to avoid unnecessary offense and also to show that He has completely identified Himself with mankind.

My study bible says that Jesus' decision to pay the temple tax is evidence of the fullness and totality of His identification with mankind.  As High Priest, He should be exempt from the temple tax in terms of His true identity as Son.  The very question, therefore, of paying the temple tax, brings up the issue of Christ's identity as revealed both through the confession of Peter and the Transfiguration -- and how Jesus will live the remainder of His life.  It makes the issue for Peter, in particular, as "leader" or spokesperson, so to speak, among the apostles, a question of how Jesus will respond to this reminder about the temple tax.   How will Jesus reply?  Will He openly refuse to pay, as He is Son?  Let us note also in this context the rather sneaky way that the disciples -- or rather, Peter -- has been put under pressure by surreptitiously being asked about his master.  It's important to understand the dynamic under which Peter is placed by being so asked -- and that Jesus frees Peter from the social pressure implied by paying the tax, and for both of them.  It tells us something important, just as Jesus' repeated avoidance of confrontation with the religious leadership until it is the appropriate time to do so.  Sometimes in our lives there are battles to pick, and for Jesus, this is not one of those times.  We note first of all that all things are placed in God the Father's hands by Christ.  Whatever He does in His ministry, it is following the will of the Father.  Clearly, over this issue and at this juncture, it is important that He make the distinction to Peter that He is Son and therefore exempt, but it is also important that He nevertheless pay the tax, "lest we offend them."   In other words, while we know there will be an important time for confrontation and over particular issues and accusations, this is not the time for it, nor the issue for it.  Jesus not only picks His battles wisely, but He also protects His disciples from unnecessary public scrutiny, hostility, and embarrassment.  This shows us the right way to be a leader.  It also teaches us about the importance of nominal respect for social structures.  Although Jesus "disrupts" the religious establishment by His very existence in the Incarnation -- and also by His teachings against hypocrisy -- this is not the time to assert that identity.  As His followers, there will be many times that we disagree with what happens in the society, but humility is the key here.  And Christ's humility is complete within this story in today's reading.  He does not assert His place as Son to avoid paying the tax.  But in His very way of paying the tax -- directing Peter to take up the first fish he catches -- Jesus reveals and affirms His identity to Peter, who certainly lived to pass on the story.   To make this impact even more meaningful, the word for fish used in the Gospel is the Greek ἰχθύς/ixthys.  This is the very word that gave the early Christians the acronym of Christ's identity, and therefore the use of the fish as symbol for Christ.  Each Greek letter of this word stands for the first letter in the following sentence:  Jesus (Ἰησοῦς) Christ (Χριστός) God's (Θεοῦ) Son (Yἱός) Savior (Σωτήρ).  Therefore in this story is another revelation of Jesus' identity, hidden in the symbolic value of the fish which contained payment of the temple tax for Himself and for Peter.  Some ancient patristic commenters note that the coin itself in the fish's mouth is symbolic of Christ's work as redeemer for all of us.  It is His Passion, death, and Resurrection that redeems our souls, and grants us the grace of God so that we, also, may become sons and heirs of the Kingdom.