"Does Your Teacher Not Pay
the [Temple] Tax? (Mt 17:24-27
Gordon Franz
Benjamin
Franklin once wrote, "... in this world nothing is certain but death and
taxes." What was said in 1789 is
still true today. Franklin,
however, was not the first to address these issues. The Lord Jesus spoke of the certainty of death (Luke 12:20;
cf. Heb. 9:27; James 4:14, 15) as well as the certainty of taxes. He addressed the issue of the civil tax
to the Roman government (Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26) as well
as the religious tax, called the Shekalim, paid to the Temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 17:24-27).
Matthew,
the tax collector (Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32), was employed by
the Roman government to collect civil taxes. He is the only gospel writer to record the incident of the
Temple tax.
This
paper will explore several aspects of this saying. First, the saying will be put in its chronological
setting. Second, the shekel will
be examined in light of First Century Jewish use for the Temple tax. Third, fishhooks from the area of the Sea
of Galilee will be analyzed. The
kind of fish caught by Peter will be the next subject. Finally the purpose of this saying will
round out our search.
The Chronological
Setting
The
Temple tax incident took place in Capernaum soon after the Transfiguration of
the Lord Jesus on Mount Hermon.
This event occurred in September of AD 29, right before Succoth (the Feast of Tabernacles). As the disciples walked back to
Capernaum with the Lord Jesus, they engaged in a heated theological discussion
among themselves, "Who is the greatest?" (Mark 9:33, 34). Before the Lord Jesus addressed that
question, He demonstrated Biblical greatness by paying the Temple tax for
Himself and Peter.
The
Shekel (Stater)
During
the Second Temple period, the Temple institution collected a half-shekel tax annually. This tax was designated for the daily
and Shabbat
(festival) sacrifices, their libations, the omer, the two loaves of bread, the show
bread, the communal sacrifices and other needs of the Temple (Mishnah
Shekalim
4:1-4). The rabbis linked the
annual half-shekel
tax to the half-shekel offering in the Pentateuch (Liver 1963: 184).
This
half-shekel was
mentioned in Exodus 30:11-16.
There seems to be a hint in the Bible that this tax became a permanent
institution during the First Temple Period (Je(ho)ash – II Kings 12:4, 16
// II Chron. 24:4-13; Josiah – II Kings 22:3-7 // II Chron.
34:8-14). The one-third shekel seems to be the Persian equivalent
of the half-shekel
(Neh. 10:33, 34). Josephus, the
First Century AD Jewish historian, likewise understood the Temple tax to be the
same as the one decreed by Moses in the wilderness (Antiquities 3:193-196; LCL 4:409-411;
18:312-314; LCL 9:181).
A
warning was given on the first day of Adar (around the month of March) that the
half-shekel was
due (Mishnah Shekalim 1:1). On the 15th
of the month, the tables were set up in the provinces in order to collect the
tax.
One
might assume, since Capernaum was a major Jewish center in Galilee that one of
the tables was in that city. By
the 25th of Adar, the tables were set up in the Temple (Mishnah
Shekalim 1:3). If one chose to pay the tax in the
Temple, there were 13 shofar-chests in the Temple court which were used to collect
different offerings (Mishnah Shekalim 6:5). One was
inscribed "New Shekel dues: which was for that year.
Another was inscribed "Old [shekel dues]" in order to collect the tax from the previous
year if it had not been paid.
Every
Jewish male, 20 years old and up, voluntarily paid this tax once a year. He was to pay the tax either in his
province or in the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Shekalim 1:3). The tax was always paid in the Tyrian coinage (Mishnah
Bekhoroth 8:7; Babylonian
Talmud Kiddushim
11b). These coins average 14.2
grams in weight and were minted with near pure silver.
Leo Kadman describes an important discovery relating to
these Tyrian shekels. He reports:
"In the spring of 1960, a hoard of about 4,500 ancient coins was discovered
near Isfiya on Mount Carmel; 3,400 of the coins were Tyrian Shekels, about
1,000 Half-shekels, and 160 Roman Dinarii of Augustus. The Shekels and Half-shekels are dated
from 40 B.C.E. to 52/53 C.E. ... the bulk of them from 20-53 C.E. ... In the middle
of the first century C.E., there was only one purpose for which the exclusive use
of Tyrian Shekels was prescribed: the Temple-Dues of half a Shekel, which every
male Jew of 20 years of age and above had to pay yearly to the Temple in
Jerusalem. ... The disproportion between the 3,400 Shekels and the 1,000
Half-Shekels is to be understood from the prescription of the Mishnah that each
payment of a Half-Shekel for one person was liable to an agio[1]
of 4-8%, while the payment of a Full-Shekel for two persons was exempt from the
agio. ... The 160 Dinarii exactly represents the agio of 8% on the 1,000 Half-Shekel
found in the hoard (1962:9, 10).
This
hoard of coins was probably from a community of 30,000 Jews living in
Phoenicia. The coins were most
likely hidden on Mount Carmel when the caravans realized they could not make it
to Jerusalem in May AD 67, because the Romans controlled the road from Megiddo
to Jerusalem (Kadman 1962:11).
Those
in authority approached Peter in September of AD 29 to inquire if he and Jesus
were going to pay their Temple tax for that year. Apparently, Jesus did not pay the Temple tax the previous
spring because the only time He was in Capernaum before Passover was on Shabbat (John 6:4, 59). As an observant Jew, He would not have
handled money on that day. The Temple
tax from Mesopotamia was due in September for Succoth (Kadman 1962:11). Those who received the Temple tax in
Capernaum probably wanted to send what they collected since Passover along with
the caravans going up to Jerusalem for Succoth that year.
The
Fishhook
Only
a few fishhooks have been discovered in archaeological excavations in the
region of the Sea of Galilee. Two
were found in the traditional "St. Peter's House" in Capernaum (Corbo 1972:73,
74, fig. 26; 1975:83, photo 32).
These fishhooks come from the destruction level of the fourth century
structure and not the floor of the first century house. Most likely the hooks were placed there
by pilgrims wanting to commemorate the event from the life of Peter (Taylor
1993: 278). Another fishhook, made
of iron and measuring 2.5 inches long, was found at the site of et-Tell,
identified by the excavators as Bethsaida (Kuhn and Arav 1991:102, 105, plate
1:13). The hook is most likely
first century or earlier. However,
in the first volume of the excavation report, there is no mention of this
fishhook (Arav and Freund 1995:27, 28, Fig. 17, 244, 245).
The Fish
A
tourist visiting Israel usually has an obligatory fish dinner at one of the
fish restaurants around the Sea of Galilee. The fish usually served, head and all, is called the "St.
Peter's" fish, known as the Musht (or "comb" in Arabic, for its long dorsal fin) fish. Sometimes a modern shekel coin is found
in the mouth by someone in the tour group, usually one of the children. Of course, the waiter put it in the
mouth!
Early
Christian tradition says that the musht fish was the one caught with the hook by Peter
(Sapir and Ne-eman 1967:7). One of
its characteristics is that the mother fish carries the fertilized eggs in her
mouth for three weeks until they hatch.
For several days thereafter, the young fry swim near the mouth. Any sign of danger, the mother opens
her mouth and the fry swim back inside the mouth for protection (Nun 1989:6,
7). This fish, the reasoning goes,
has a big enough mouth to hold a shekel coin. The problem with this tradition is that the musht fish is a plankton eater and caught
with a net and not a hook and line.
The most likely reason this fish got the name "St. Peter's" was because
the local eating establishments, catering to the pilgrims to the Holy Land,
found the name very marketable and good for tourism! (Nun 1989:46-48).
Only
two other fish are possible, the catfish and the barbell fish. The catfish, a scavenger, is possible
because it feeds off the bottom of the Lake, and thus could pick up the
coin. It can also be seen along
the rocky shore near ancient Capernaum.
If it was the catfish, the reason Jesus instructed Peter to open the
mouth of the fish (Matt. 17:17) was because it was non-kosher (it has no scales,
Lev. 11:9-12) and would have been thrown back by the fisherman without even
looking inside (Matt. 13:48).
Most
likely, however, the fish caught by Peter was the Barbel fish. This fish, in the carp family, has
barbs at the corner of its mouth, thus its name. It is a predator and "bottom feeder" and would go for a
baited hook (Nun 1989:86). It is
usually caught along the shore during the autumn (Dalman 1935:134), the
chronological setting of this event.
The
Purpose of This Incident
A
lesson is most effectively taught if the teacher demonstrates the idea in a
practical way. The Lord Jesus, the
Master Teacher, demonstrated Biblical greatness before He answered the question
put to Him by His disciples.
In
His omniscience, Jesus knew of the conversation between Peter and the
individuals who received the Temple tax.
They asked of Jesus paid the tax or not. Peter answered in the affirmative. When Peter entered the house, Jesus put the question to
Peter whether the sons of the kings or strangers paid taxes to kings of the
earth. Peter correctly responded
that the strangers did. Jesus
reinforced this fact by stating that the sons were free. Not wanting to offend the tax
collectors though, Jesus instructed Peter to cast a hook in the lake and take a
shekel that
would be found in the mouth of the fish and pay the Temple tax for Him and
Peter. Why did He do this?
Jesus
was demonstrating humility and servant hood, the true characteristic of
Biblical greatness, to Peter and his fellow disciples (Mark 10:42-45). Jesus, following up on Peter's great
confession made at Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:15-17), was God manifest in
human flesh (I Tim. 3:16 NKJV). He
did not have to pay the Temple tax because in the analogy that He made to
Peter, He was the king's son. The
Temple was His Father's House and He was greater than that Temple (Matt. 12:6;
21:12, 13; Mark 11:17), yet He voluntarily, and in humility, paid the tax. What a lesson in humility!
Jesus
demonstrated another principle of humility when He paid for Peter as well. He did not have to do this either, but
He did. I suspect, but can not
prove, that Jesus singled out Peter because he was full of pride after having
seen the Transfiguration. I wonder
if Peter was not the one who first raised the question, "Who is the
greatest?" It is quite possible
that this is the incident that the Apostle Paul had in mind when he described
the humble "mind of Christ" when he wrote: "In lowliness of mind let each
esteem others better than himself.
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for
the interests of others" (Phil. 3:3, 4).
Jesus
exemplified humility when He paid Peter's tax as well. These words were penned in the context
of the Lord Jesus humbling Himself by His death on the cross of Calvary (Phil.
2:1-11).
This event records the first time the disciples asked the
question, "Who is the greatest?", but it was not the last. On the way to Jerusalem for Passover in
AD 30, they raised the question in Jericho (Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45). Later, just before Passover, Jesus
addressed the scribes and Pharisees on this issue (Matt. 23:11, 12). The disciples, however, still did not
understand the answer to the question.
At the Last Supper they were still arguing the question (Luke 22:24-30). Jesus again gave a practical
demonstration of humility by washing the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-20).
These
examples of humility finally broke through to Peter. Years later, as he reflected on them, he admonished his
follow elders to ... "shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as
overseers, ... [not] being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples
to the flock (I Pet. 5:2, 3).
Peter
finally learned the lesson: God gives grace to the humble, but He will exalt
the humble in due time (I Pet. 5:5, 6; cf. Prov. 3:34; 15:33).
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