Most people go places or do things that are a mix of need (work) and opportunity (meeting friends). During these experiences, and especially through conversation, both meaning and mystery can be found. However, most people misunderstand the meaning and completely lose the mystery of what they do and what has been done for them. Just last week, I discerned the meaning and caught a glimpse of the mystery.
I have needed the help of a physical therapist for many weeks. She and I have talked in every session. We have started sharing information about ourselves that is not routinely shared among strangers. I told him about the joy my wife and I have with our granddaughter. The therapist is enlightened by this. I asked her about her family and she proudly showed me photos of her two dogs. “They,” she said, “are from my husband and my family.”
I didn’t snoop, but several sessions later the therapist told me that his mother had passed from ovarian cancer at a young age. She said no more than that. For me, this was a mystery. I searched the web and discovered that there is a 10% risk of hereditary transmission of this type of cancer. There are tests that can be done and the tests can suggest a much higher risk. I thought I had found sense, that my therapist would love to have a family, but she was scared or had taken steps to stop the pregnancy. I prayed that she and her husband would have God’s grace.
Today’s Jewish places of worship are called primarily synagogues, but during the three years of Jesus’ ministry, they were called temples. Even the smallest temple was run by a priest with support staff. They needed money to eat. Generally, those who used the temple were expected to offer some payment (a tithe) for being in the building. In addition, the priest’s staff left the temple to actively try to collect a “temple tax.” The temple tax was neither a tithe nor a law, but a local custom. The disciple Matthew wrote about an experience of his brother, the disciple Simon Peter (Peter), who was asked if Jesus had paid the temple tax.
The disciple Matthew heard Peter say this to Jesus. Web search Matthew 17: 24-27. Look for a meaning and a mystery. Jesus taught his disciples during his ministry. He listened to Peter, then asked him questions, which allowed him to reason and comment. Did the Temple Tax support God’s business or did it support the priest and his staff personally? You may have to read the passage several times to find the meaning. The mystery lies in how Jesus decided what to do with the tax.
Form your opinion about the meaning, the mystery. Was a miracle performed? A miracle is an event that cannot be explained by scientific evaluation, nor is it natural.
My opinion:
Jesus taught Peter to open his eyes to the meaning of what men do. And it helped Peter understand that those who sin are still loved by God. Instead of trusting God to provide it, the priest used his office to get more for himself. However, upsetting the priest by refusing to pay the tax would be contrary to God’s purpose for Jesus and would be contrary to God’s (and Jesus’) practice of teaching lessons that would bring people closer to God.
Was the appearance of a 4 drachma coin in a fish’s mouth a miracle? No. Fish are attracted to shiny objects. This is why many fish lures today have shiny metal. Jesus told Peter that the first fish he caught would have the coin. It was a miracle? No. By then, Jesus knew that he was the Son of God. Through prayer, Jesus had conversations with God, and since God sees everything, God may have told him. Or, when Jesus proved himself worthy of the task that God had for him, God transferred power to him (raise the dead). It is possible that Jesus had a vision of what would happen when Peter went fishing. This is a mystery.
And the meaning? Why a fish? Why does he have a 4 drachma coin? Search the web for “Fish” in the Christian Bible to come to an understanding of the fish as a symbol of God providing for his people. Seven of the disciples chosen by Jesus were fishermen. Two fish were blessed by Jesus, along with five loaves, and fed 5,000 men and even more women and children. The 4 drachma coin had meaning. Jesus meant, “I will pay for what i shouldn’tand I will also pay for you (Peter). “Not long after this teaching, Jesus paid with his own life for all the sins of mankind. Peter was allowed to glimpse what was to come, and Matthew was allowed to observe and listen for millions of people to read about him in the Christian Bible (God’s word that has stood the test of time).