Matthew
Love will keep the Kingdom of Heaven united
We get some great counsel from Romans 13 concerning taxes and what we owe
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:6-9
To the kingdoms of this world pay what you owe: taxes, revenue, respect, & honor
Pay all debts, but there is one debt you and I are to always owe
It is the debt of love to one another
This is how the Kingdom of Heaven works
It works on a debt of love
And love always pays what is owed, then goes the extra mile
When the taxes or debt you have is more than you have
Remember what Jesus told Peter to do
He was to use his skills not to catch the millions from fish in the sea,
But the first one
Somewhere in the midst of a million fish is your provision
If you listen to Jesus, it will be your first catch
However, we don't want to offend them,
so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us." Matthew 17:26-27 NLT
Love is Greater Than Taxes
You have heard that there are
two certain things in life…
Death and Taxes.
Very few places you can live in the world
where the country does not have an income tax.
There are two reasons countries don’t tax…
One is they are so wealthy they don’t need it
and the other is the country is so poor
they are encouraging companies and people
to bring their wealth to boost their economy.
If you are like me,
you pay taxes and you don’t like it.
Why don’t we like taxes?
It is not because we don’t see a need
for leadership and common good.
It is when we don’t agree with government spending and
that spending puts an unnecessary hardship on the people.
So, taxes are a big issue.
We see Jesus was recorded
on this issue at least twice.
In Matthew 17:22-25 just 3 short verses
and later in Matthew 22:17-21.
Matthew 22 is a Roman tax where Jesus says
give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.
In Matthew 17 where we are at today,
we find Jesus dealing with the “Temple Tax”.
The two-drachma temple tax.
In Moses’ time,
each person over the age of 20
was to give a half-shekel offering
(the equivalent of two Roman drachmas)
for the support of the tabernacle
This practice was still being observed some 1,500 years later,
in Jesus’ day, to maintain the temple.
In Matthew 17:24, Jesus paid the tax for Himself and Peter,
using a shekel coin retrieved from a fish’s mouth!
This event was taking place in Capernaum
where Peter lived and Jesus probably lived with Peter.
So, it is not unusual for Peter to be asked about paying the Temple Tax
and to reply they both pay the tax.
"Yes, he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house.
But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him,
Jesus doesn’t give Peter a change to speak before He ask
"What do you think, Peter?
Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?"
Matthew 17:25 NLT
"They tax the people they have conquered," Peter replied.
"Well, then," Jesus said, "the citizens are free!
If Jesus asked you…
“What do you think?”
Probably we would think the temple
was made for God to dwell in.
Doesn’t it seem strange to tax Jesus,
the Son of God, and His servants.
They should be free citizens.
However, we don't want to offend them,
so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us." Matthew 17:26-27 NLT
This part of the story is very strange
but worthy of taking some notes.
Jesus says to Peter…
“Go”
Peter probably had the money to pay,
the common purse that Judas oversaw probably
had enough money to pay the tax.
But Jesus does not take the money
for Peter’s or His tax liability to pay the tax.
Go down to the lake and throw in a line.
Interesting Peter is told to do something
he was skilled to do “fishing”.
If we call this a miracle,
Peter had his part in the miracle,
he used something he had the skills for.
Peter had caught a lot of fish in his day
but you can be sure he had never caught a fish
with a silver coin in its mouth.
So how did the fish get the silver coin?
How did Jesus know about it
and it would be the first fish caught?
In the end who paid the tax?
The fish paid it because Jesus never owed it.
Now we need to remember who is writing the story,
it was probably Matthew the Tax collector.
Kingdom Taxes…
What do you think?
God’s Kingdom is so wealthy
it does not need a tax.
The temple was to meet the needs of people.
The church has fed people locally
and in other nations, without cost to them.
The church offers services for
grief, sickness, suffering and pain without cost.
Like Isaiah says…
"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Isaiah 55:1
Remember Jesus feeding the 5000 and the 4000.
He did it without cost….
When the disciples were wondering where to get the money.
The end of the Book of Revelation says…
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"
And let him who hears say, "Come!"
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes,
let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17
The famous Christian song says…
“Jesus paid it all”
One of my greatest struggles of my whole life
has been with “financial stress”.
How should you and I handle taxes
without being taxed?
Maybe the answer is in this story.
Jesus knew what Peter was skilled to do.
Peter listened to Jesus
and discovered things he could never know…
Things that don’t make cent,
oops I mean sense.
It was not Peter’s money…
But his willingness to use his time and skills
according to the knowledge of the Lord.
You and I do not enter or receive benefits
of the Kingdom of God by paying taxes.
You and I have an invitation
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The streets are made of gold
and its gates made of pearls.
Because of the Kingdom wealth
there is no tax.
You can buy without money.
But to enter and live in the Kingdom of God,
it will cost you.
It will cost you love.
Love for God and love for one another.
Exercising love will build relationships.
Those relationships of love will keep out thieves,
and the human evils that cost us so much.
Love will keep the Kingdom of Heaven united.
We get some great counsel from Romans 13
concerning taxes and what we owe…
This is also why you pay taxes,
for the authorities are God's servants,
who give their full time to governing.
Give everyone what you owe him:
If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Let no debt remain outstanding,
except the continuing debt to love one another,
for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:6-9
To the kingdoms of this world
pay what you owe…
Taxes, revenue, respect, and honor.
Pay all debts.
But there is one debt
you and I are to always owe…
It is the debt of love to one another.
This is how the Kingdom of Heaven works.
It works on a debt of love.
Love always pays what is owed,
then goes the extra mile.
When the taxes or debt you have
is more than you have…
Remember what Jesus told Peter to do.
He was to use his skills…
Not to catch the millions from fish in the sea,
but the first one.
Somewhere in the midst of a million fish
is your provision.
If you listen to Jesus…
It will be your first catch.
However, we don't want to offend them,
so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us." Matthew 17:26-27 NLT
Scripture Reading
Matthew 17:24-27 NLT
24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn't your teacher pay the Temple tax?"
25 "Yes, he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house.
But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?"
26 "They tax the people they have conquered," Peter replied.
"Well, then," Jesus said, "the citizens are free! 27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us."
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment