Randy Suits

Jesus Paid the Temple Tax

Eva, the only woman I can tell everything on my mind,

Most Americans agree that taxes are necessary to support government, build roads and maintain infrastructure. But few things provoke outrage as quickly as exorbitant or outrageous taxation. The greatest revolt in English history occurred when Richard II imposed a ‘poll tax’ or head tax. The first armed rebellions in the United States were Shays Rebellion (by New England farmers against property taxes) and the Whiskey Rebellion in 1791 (against liquor tax). Roman emperor Nero, about AD 60, imposed a urine tax. (contents of public toilets were collected by tanners and laundry workers for the ammonia (urine was used for curing leather and bleaching togas). Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, taxed souls in 1718 and if you were a nonbeliever, you paid a ‘religious dissenters’ tax. Czar Peter also taxed beards, beehives, horse collars, hats, boots, food, basements, chimneys, clothing, all males, birth, marriage and burial. A bachelor tax was imposed by Julias Caesar in 18 B.C., the English imposed it in 1695, Czar Peter the Great in 1702 and the state of Missouri legislature in 1820. British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger tried a chimney tax but found that windows were more plentiful and easier to count (this lead to an abundance of boarded windows).
The disciple Peter was confronted by tax officials regarding the Temple Tax. Some gifts given to the Lord God were voluntary (Exodus 25:1ff) and others were mandatory. In order to impress upon Israel the value of redemption, Moses issued the following law: “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD” (Ex. 30:13, 14) The ½ shekel tax was a mandatory tax laid only upon adult males in Israel. Apparently, the tax collectors kept tabs on Jesus and were aware that they had not yet received a didrachma from Jesus (proof that they were indeed tax collectors). Since this occurred late in Jesus’ ministry and the San Hedron sought to discredit him, they were not really interested in the tax but were trying to find an accusation against him. When confronted by the tax collectors, Peter hastily answered for his Master to affirm to them that Jesus was indeed a taxpayer. Jesus, the Omniscient One, knew about the encounter and raised the issue when Peter arrived home: “What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?” Peter knew the answer, “of strangers;” i.e., the kings of the earth do not collect taxes from their sons to pay for government services. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. Jesus was seeking to impress an important lesson upon His impetuous disciple’. Peter had forgotten what happened a few weeks prior on the Mount of Transfiguration, the proclamation of the Father that Jesus was the beloved Son of God. As the Son, Jesus had no duty to pay the Temple tax. Jesus was not giving a lesson on taxes to His disciple or on His tax-exempt status regarding the payment taxes. He was teaching a lesson regarding His Sonship! As the Son of God, Jesus had no duty to pay the Temple tax in the first place and therefore could not be exempt. He was simply free from any tax obligation. As the Son He was not the object or subject of the tax. As the Son He was simply non assessable. As the Son He was Master and Lord of the Temple. The temple servants had no authority to tax the Master. Jesus was sovereign and a sovereign is not subject to law because this Sovereign is the source of law (Mt. 5:22, “but I say unto you . . .”). Since the Temple servants had no jurisdiction over Jesus, they had no power to tax Him. But, because this truth was difficult to grasp even for Jesus’ disciples, Jesus provided a supernatural way to impress this lesson on Peter and a way for Peter to “save face” before the tax collectors. Jesus knew a fish had the tetradrachma lodged in his mouth and He knew He was sovereign over creation—even the fish. When Peter pulled the coin out of the fish’s mouth, he was able to voluntarily pay the mandatory tax for the Savior. The lesson that Jesus was indeed the omniscient Son of God, LORD of the Temple, the Only Sovereign must have been a happy truth to Peter’s soul. I like the way Jesus paid taxes which He did not owe as the Son of God but instead chose to be subject in all ways to the burdens of the very men and women he came to save. The fact that He was exempt from earthly taxes is further proof that He was also exempt from death (not subject to death) and was qualified, authorized and able/empowered to give his life for the redemption of anyone who would confess his sin and profess Him as Lord and Savior. Every other man who lived on earth was required to die for his sin. He could willingly die prematurely but because of his fallen nature could not offer his life with its’ sinful nature to cover the sin of the sinful nature of another man. A life required as penalty for sin cannot be offered to redeem another sinner. Jesus had no sin. As such there was no death curse on this God/Man, and begotten Son of God. We can be assured that there will be no Temple Tax in heaven and that thought is heavenly in itself.

There are no taxes in the Lord, Kochany