“Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, 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 KJV
Jesus told Peter, “But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out your hook, and the first fish that rises up will have a coin in its mouth. It will be the exact amount you need to pay the temple tax for both of us.” This miracle is a picture of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The depth of the sea is the depth of the suffering Jesus passed through for us on the Cross. The fish rose to the surface on its own, it was not caught. In the mouth of our Lord Jesus is the full price of our debt, for He declared the work of redemption finished and the “tax” paid in full. Although Peter told the tax collectors that Jesus pays His taxes without checking first, Jesus backed up Peter’s statement by performing this miracle. Jesus let Peter off the hook by getting the exact amount of the tax for Peter and Himself! It is the faith in the finished work of the Cross we release with our mouth, that Jesus backs up with miracles. Let’s not depend on our own works but on the work of Christ’s redemption for us at the Cross. Amen!
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