The Wrong Question...

Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. It's amazing how often the disciples and we just ask the wrong question. We live by comparision, wanting to know who is the biggest and best, while Jesus is thinking little. The greatest is the one who is thinking the least about his or her self. The greatest doesn't think of him or herself as the greatest, but things about others - about how to serve them and to share with them a relationship with God through Christ. The right question is not "how can I be the greatest?" but "Lord, how can I serve you today?"

Pulling it all together...

However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” (Matthew 17:27 ESV) Peter was up against the wall. He and Jesus owed the temple tax. He had stuck his neck out and said Jesus would pay His, and he was not sure where either of them would get the money. After a lesson about Who He really was(which basically said Jesus was tax-exempt as the Son of God...) Jesus takes care of it all with one simple... but overwhelming solution. Matthew does not record what happened, as with the other Gospels, but by now Jesus has a proven track record. Peter caught the fish, paid their taxes, and learned a lifetime lesson: Christ will take care of it.

Tax-Exempt Status...

Matthew 17:24-26 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied.When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered.“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. Jesus paid His taxes, and encouraged his followers to do the same. But there was a spiritual lesson to be learned in this situation. First, Jesus knew Peter's question before he even asked it: "Where are we going to get the money to pay this tax?" But more importantly: "Does Jesus owe the temple tax?" The Jews paid a lot of taxes to Rome and resented it. The Romans taxed heavily for their roads, armies and building projects. They were outsiders. But the Jews did not resent the temple tax; it was not to outsiders. But Jesus did not owe the tax. The Temple was His. He was the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven. His Father "lived" there. He was tax exempt, yet He would pay it. Just as He was sinless, yet died for our sins.

Suspecting the worst...

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” (Matthew 17:24 ESV) Jesus and His disciples had been away up north for a time of refreshing and further instruction. As soon as they return to their home base, they are greeted by those looking for something to accuse Jesus of. According to the Old Testament, Jesus, as a man over twenty, was to pay a per capita tax to the temple. Since He had been out of town, He may have missed the usual time for it to be taken. The tax we associated with the atonement that took place at the temple, so this time approaching Passover may have been a common time to pay the tax. At any rate, the way things are stated, the collectors presumed Jesus would NOT pay the tax, because He and the temple leaders did not see eye to eye. Viewing Him as some sort of revolutionary, they expected Him to be a conscientious objector. We must beware the same attitude we can often acquire: always thinking the worse about someone, thinking we know their inner thoughts and motives. As we will see, they were very wrong...

Preparing for the worst...

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed. (Matthew 17:22-23 ESV) This is the second time Jesus unfolds some details about His coming "departure". His words are quite distressing at this time because as they are "gathering", they are getting ready for this journey to Jerusalem, which Jesus had told them earlier would result in His death. As they are packing their bags, the uncertainty, and in a sense certainty, weighs heavily upon them. "How will this come down? What will happen to us? What is Jesus not telling us?" Yet, they pack and prepare. Why? They have learned that Jesus knows what He is doing, and they can trust in Him to see them through. May we learn the same lessons today as we follow Him.

Not just any old mountain...

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:19-20 ESV) Some of the disciples had failed at faith... again. As Jesus challenged them, He also promised them about the rewards of faith - mountain-moving faith. But it's not just any old mountains. There behind Him as He spoke, he pointed them to Mt. Hermon, one of the great mountains physically and in spiritual history. It was there big as life. The mountains God promises to move are not those pie-in-the-sky, halfway-across-the-world mountains; they are the ones right in front of us now. Those are the ones we need to pray about and entrust to Him today, and see Him work. We cannot move those mountains; He can.

Facing Facts...

Matthew 17:15-18 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. How embarassing! The disciples were publically found out: they could not heal this son. But that's the fact. We cannot; He can. He can do in moment what we cannot do over time. He can do completely what we can only do in part. We need to face that facts that our faith often fails, and He never fails. We need to bring our problems, and our failures to to Him, and not hide them. They will surface, and be bigger. And He can still handle them.