Lest we offend them

Augustin Tünger: Facetiae Latinae et Germanicae, Konstanz 1486.  Illustration: Saint Peter paying the temple tax by extracting a coin from the mouth of a fish

 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 or from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go into 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 Transfiguration, when Jesus and the three disciples with Him (Peter, James, and John) 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 Jesus has predicted to the disciples His death and Resurrection.  My study bible comments that He does this to show them He is going to His Passion freely, and is not being taken against His will.

 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 or from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go into 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, as explained by my study bible, was an annual head tax on all male Jews (except priests).  It applied to all males over twelve years old, and was for the maintenance of the temple (see Numbers 3:43-51).  As Jesus is the Son of God, that means He is at once High Priest and also "proprietor" (to quote my study bible) of the temple.  Therefore He is exempt from the tax.  But nevertheless, Jesus pays anyway -- to avoid unnecessary offense and also revealing His total identification as human being.

Have you ever decided that it was better not to raise an issue that had you concerned, or that you felt was unfair or unjust?  Peter has confessed that Jesus is the Christ, and therefore understands already that Jesus has no true need to pay the temple tax.  As Messiah and Son of God, as my study bible explains, He's both the High Priest and also the "proprietor" of the temple. (Jesus will clearly express this in the cleansing of the temple, when He arrives and is welcomed as Messiah into Jerusalem in 21:1-11.  It is for this reason that the religious leaders will question Him as to proof of His authority.)  Today's short little passage on the paying of the temple tax is very revealing of Peter's personality.  First of all, this is Capernaum, where Peter's family has a home (which has become the ministry's headquarters in Galilee), so he is well-known here.  We know already the qualities of Peter which will be revealed when He denies Christ three times after Jesus was seized by the authorities (26:33-35, 69-75).  On that occasion, his denial will come in the face of a servant girl's question that he is also a follower of Jesus.  Clearly Peter is a man for whom a certain level of public pressure is important, and we might think this also plays a role in the controversy after Jesus' death, when Peter is challenged by St. Paul regarding treatment of Gentile and Jewish Christians (Galatians 2:11-13).  We might also consider an aspect of St. Peter as one for whom his Jewish heritage and citizenship is unshakable from identity and orientation to the world and community.  Whatever the reasons, St. Peter has already promised, before speaking to Jesus, that He certainly will pay the temple tax.  As an indication of Jesus' quality of knowing the hearts of all, the text tells us that He anticipates Peter's question and anxiety before Peter returns to the house.  Jesus takes great pains to emphasize the identity as Christ that Peter has confessed (see this reading), by explaining that the sons are free.  But He adds that there is no need to cause offense in this community -- and once again, in an emphasis on His true identity, suggests a miraculous way to find payment for the temple tax for both of them.  It will not come out of the treasury of the ministry.  Jesus could easily have chosen to make an issue of this payment of the temple tax, and refuse to pay it in order to publicly express His identity as the Christ.  Indeed, many early Christian martyrs would die for refusing particular honors after valiant service in the Roman army, because they would involve aspects of pagan worship.  So why does Christ go to the trouble of telling Peter they will pay the tax in order not to cause offense?  The text makes it so clear that this is important in Jesus' thinking (and clearly we know it's important to Peter).  We can think of a few reasons.  First of all, it is not time for Jesus to publicly reveal Himself to everyone as the Christ.  Second, there will be a time for confrontation with the authorities, and this is not that time, nor is it the place.  But there is a deeper layer of context here also, and that is in the conduct for Christians advocated by St. Paul when the fledgling movement has begun.  It is a general practice of not causing unnecessary offense to society.  Even as a persecuted sect, even as those who understand themselves as being "not of the world" (John 17:14-16) and who live in opposition to "the prince of this world" (John 12:31,14:30, 16:11), St. Paul nevertheless advised his flock to avoid giving offense needlessly in order to avoid scandalizing both those already of the flock and those who may become saved by Christ in the future.  He told the Church to pray for all, including pagan kings, in order to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" -- for the reason that God desires all to be saved and come to knowledge of truth, and that Christ gave Himself a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:1-7).    He wrote that the most important thing is keeping the commandments of God, and in this respect each should not place so much emphasis on outward status as on a heart that belonged to God -- this included even slaves, although if the opportunity came to be made free, one should use it (1 Corinthians 7:17-24).  He was scandalized at those who would sue one another who were brethren in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:1-11), teaching that all will be judged, and all have sinned, but all can be washed by Christ.  St. Paul additionally sought to avoid scandalizing those who would not eat meat that had been given to idols, although he himself understood that no idol existed, and Christians were not saved by food -- but nevertheless the chief concern was over believers who would be lost to the faith through it (1 Corinthians 8:1-13).  In other words, what seems fully just and right must be tempered against giving offense where it would simply jeopardize true faith and the manifestation of the fullness of that faith, the saving of each one -- and Christ truly died for each one, saint and sinner, member of the Church and non-member.  St. Paul's understanding was as one who kept the ranking of concerns in priority:  and his highest priority was the health and well-being of the Church and faithfulness to Christ's word.  So Jesus, in today's reading, avoids giving offense where it will do no good, where confrontation is not appropriate nor beneficial nor helpful.  There are times God will call us out to stand for something, and stand out in so doing.  But there are also times when we must be more concerned with needlessly and heedlessly giving offense.  To let conscience be our guide is not to go around shaming and right-fighting all and sundry on every possible occasion, thus pointing to our own perfection (or, more often than not, our lack of understanding or hypocrisy).  But to act wisely is to love, and to cherish love above all in remembering the commandments of Christ regarding judgment, and that Christ died for the life of the world.   Let us remember to whom we are to be most loyal, first before all.