He saith, Yes— Peter told the collectors, that his Master would pay tribute, and consequently, made a sort of promise to procure it for them; yet when he considered the matter more minutely, he was afraid to speak to the Messiah concerning his paying taxes upon any pretences whatever. In the mean time, Jesus knowing both what had happened, and what was turning in Peter's thoughts, saved him the pain of introducing the discourse: Jesus prevented him, saying, what thinkest thou, Simon, &c.? hereby insinuating, that because he was the Son of the Great King, to whom heaven, earth, and sea, and all things in them belong, he was not obliged to pay tribute, as not holding any thing by a derived right from any king whatever. Or if, as is more probable, the contribution was made for the service and reparation of the temple, his meaning was, that being the Son of Him to whom the tributewas paid, he could justly have excused himself. Nevertheless, that he might not give offence, He sent Peter to the lake, with a line and a hook, telling him, that in the mouth of the first fish that came he should find a stater, a Grecian piece of money so called, equal in value to two didrachma, or one shekel of Jewish money, the sum required for himself and for Peter. There can be no reason to suppose, with some commentators, that the piece of money was created on this occasion; but if the fish had accidentally swallowed it, perhaps as it was falling into thewater near some other prey, one cannot forbear remarking how illustrious a degree of knowledge and power our Lord discovers in the event before us. Jesus chose to provide the tribute-money by miracle, either because the disciple who carried the bag was absent; or because he had not so much money as was necessary. Farther, he chose to provide it by this particular miracle rather than any other, because it was of such a kind as to demonstrate that hewas the Son of the Great Monarch worshipped in the temple, and who rules the universe. Wherefore, in this verymanner of paying the tax, he shewed Peter that he was free from all taxes; and at the same time gave his followers this useful lesson, that in matters which affect their property in a smaller degree, it is better to recede somewhat from their just rights, than by stubbornly insisting on them to offend their brethren, or disturb the state. Instead of strangers, Matthew 17:25-26. Dr. Campbell reads others. We postpone the Inferences on the transfiguration, and the cure of the lunatic, to the other Evangelists, and subjoin here Inferences on our Lord's payment of the tribute-money.
Inferences.—All the other histories set forth the power of Christ; this shews both his power and obedience; his power over the creature, his obedience to the civil authority. Capernaum was one of his own cities: to his host therefore the collectors repair for the tribute. Doth not your master, say they, pay tribute? All Capernaum knew that Christ was a great prophet; his doctrine had delighted them, his miracles had astonished them; yet when it comes to a money matter, his share is as deep as the rest. Questions of profit admit no difference: and whatever reverence may be challenged by the sacred tribe, who cares how little they receive, how much they pay? Yet no man knows with what mind this demand was made, whether in a churlish grudging at Christ's immunity, or in an aweful address to the servant, rather than the master.
Peter had a ready answer at hand; I do not hear him require them to stay till he should go in, and learn his Master's resolution; but as one well acquainted with the mind and practice of his Lord, he answers, Yes; Peter well knowing that he not only gave but preached tribute. When the Herodians had laid snares for him, supposing that so great a prophet would be for insisting on the liberty and exemption of God's chosen people, he repels their artifices in their own way, and tells them that the stamp argued the right,—Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. O Saviour! if thou by whom kings reign didst not withhold the payment of tribute, what power under thee can deny it to those who rule for thee?
The demand was made without doors; but no sooner is Peter come in, than he is prevented by his Master's question, What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom, &c. The very interrogation was a sufficient answer to his intended inquiry. He who could thus know the heart was certainly, by true right, liable to no human exaction. But O Saviour! may I presume to ask, What this is to thee? Thou hast said, my kingdom is not of this world; how then does it concern thee what is done by the kings of the earth, or imposed upon the sons of earthly kings? Thou wouldst be the son of a humble virgin, and choosedst not a royal but a servile state; but it is thy divine royalty and Sonship which thou here justly urgest. Hence the argument is irrefragable: "If the kings of the earth do so privilege their children, that they are free from all tributes and impositions, how much more shall the King of heaven give this immunity to his only Son? So that in true reason I might claim an exemption for me and my train."
Our Saviour was free, and yet would not urge that freedom. He was free by natural right, yet he would not be so by voluntary dispensation, lest an offence might be taken. Surely, had there followed an offence, it had been taken only, and not given; Woe unto that man by whom the offence cometh! It cometh by him who gives it; it cometh by him who takes it when it is not given; no part therefore of this censure could have cleaved unto our Lord either way: yet such was his goodness, that he would not suffer an offence even to be unjustly taken at that which he might justly have denied. We may hence learn that meekness of wisdom, which will teach us to seek the interest of others rather than our own, and to consider how we may edify mankind by the abundance of our good works, rather than how we may excuse ourselves in the omission of any.
To avoid the unjust offence even of publicans, Jesus will work a miracle. What would not one of a loving spirit do for peace? Any thing surely, which is not expressly forbidden in the word of God. Peter is sent to the lake, and that not with a net but with a hook: he knew a net might enclose many fishes: a hook could take but one. The disciple was now in his own trade: with that hook he must go and angle for the tribute-money! a fish shall bring him a stater in his mouth, and that fish which bites first. What an unusual bearer is here! What an unlikely element to yield a piece of ready coin! I adore thine infinite knowledge and power, O Saviour! which could make use of the unlikeliest means, and serve thyself of the very fishes of the sea, in a business of earthly and civil employment. Thy knowledge, in penetrating into the bowels of this animal, though in the sea; thy power, in directing the very fish to Peter's hook, though thou thyself wert at a distance! how must this have encouraged both Peter and his brethren in a firm dependence on the Divine Providence!
It was not out of need that our Saviour did this: what veins of gold and mines of silver lay open to his command! but out of a desire to instruct Peter, that, while he would be tributary to Caesar, the very fishes of the sea were tributaries to him. How should this encourage our dependence on that omnipotent hand of the Saviour, which hath heaven, earth, and sea at his disposal! still he is the same for us his members, as he was for himself the head: rather than offences shall be given to the world, by a seeming neglect of his dear children, he will cause the very fowls of heaven to bring them meat, and the fishes of the sea to bring them money. O let us then ever look up to Him by the eye of our faith, and not be wanting in our dependence on Him who cannot be wanting in his providential care of us.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, As Christ had so lately spoken of the Son of man's coming in his kingdom, he here gives them a glimpse of his glory on the mount of transfiguration. We are told,
1. When and where this happened, and who were the spectators. It was six days after the former discourse before recorded; or, according to St. Luke, about eight, he taking in the day the discourse passed, and that on which the transfiguration happened; but the other evangelists only mentioned the intervening space of time. The place was the top of a mountain apart, whither he had retired for prayer, with three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, whom he was pleased to favour with the glorious vision, the lively impression of which dwelt long after on their minds. See 2 Peter 1:16-18.
2. The manner of his transfiguration. As he was praying, Luke 9:29 the glory of the Divinity burst forth, and he who bore the form of a servant suddenly appeared in the form of God, Philippians 2:6. His face as the sun shining in its strength, dazzled the beholders with its transcendant lustre, and such bright beams darted from his glorified body, that, surrounded with irradiation, his very raiment glittered, and became white as the light—An aweful pleasing sight! Happy the favoured souls who then beheld him! and yet far happier they who shall with open face behold him on the mount of God, and be changed into the same image, fashioned like to his glorious body.
3. The attendants who waited on him, Moses and Elias. They too appeared in glory, known probably to the disciples by immediate revelation, or by the conversation they heard, which we are told, Luke 9:31 respected Christ's suffering and death at Jerusalem.
4. Overwhelmed with wonder and delight, Peter, the ready spokesman for his brethren, expresses the exulting rapture of his heart, and wishes for the continuance of the glorious vision. Fain would he for ever there fix his abode, and, with a mixture of commendable piety and inconsiderate weakness, proposes to make three booths, where Christ with his celestial visitants might dwell; scarce knowing what he said through the transport of his mind. Note; (1.) They who have ever known experimentally the sweetness of communion with Jesus, and have by faith beheld some of his glory, long to maintain the delightful intercourse; for it is good to be with him. (2.) The place to enjoy Christ's visits is not in the busy world, or gay circle, but in retirement, meditation, and prayer: in this mount of the Lord he may still be seen.
5. A bright cloud, at the instant Peter spoke, overshadowed them, the emblem of the Divine presence; and from the excellent glory issued forth the voice of God the Father proclaiming the dignity, excellence, and acceptableness of his dear Son Jesus, and enjoining on them solemn attention to all his words: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. Where we may observe, (1.) That this was a repetition of what had been declared at Christ's baptism, containing the grand truth on which our everlasting hopes depend, that God is well pleased with the undertaking of Jesus, and is in him reconciling sinners to himself, satisfied with his substitution on their behalf, and therefore not imputing their trespasses unto them. (2.) There never has appeared but one person under the sun concerning whom God could fully say, In him I am well pleased, and that was his own Son. Him therefore we must hear, since only by and through him can God be well pleased with us: the infinite merit of his righteous obedience unto the death of the cross must be alone our trust; his word of gospel-grace our constant rule, his will our duty and delight. Lord, speak thou to my heart, that I may thus hear thee!
6. Terrified with the appearance of the Divine Majesty, and trembling at the voice of God, the disciples prostrated themselves on the earth in silent adoration, conscious of their own vileness, and afraid to lift up their eyes before the holy Lord God. But Jesus kindly approached and quieted their fears, encouraged them to arise, and bid them not be afraid; the voice which they had heard was not that of an angry God, but of the Father of mercies; not speaking out of the thick darkness, as on Mount Sinai, the demands of an inexorable law, but, out of the bright cloud of Gospel light and love, publishing salvation, and pointing them to a Redeemer. Note; (1.) It is through the infinite merit of Christ alone that we can with boldness approach the throne of God. (2.) Jesus is the comforter of his afflicted people; and when we are dismayed under what we feel or fear, and ready to sink down in despair, his words of consolation revive our drooping heads, and embolden us to look up.
7. Rising at the command of Jesus, when they looked around the vision had disappeared, and Moses and Elias were gone. Jesus however still remained with them in his usual form, as before the transfiguration. Note; If Christ remain with us, we can easily rest content with the loss of any thing besides.
8. He charged them as they came down from the mount, to take no notice of the vision they had seen, but reserve it till his resurrection from the dead, when that would add credibility to their report, which now, considering the state of sufferings which was before him, might be disbelieved and rejected.
9. A difficulty arose in the disciples' minds; revolving what had passed; the short stay that Elias made; and the injunctions of secrecy laid upon them; why it should be so often inculcated by the scribes that Elias must first come, publicly ushering in the appearing of the Messiah; and this question they begged their Master to resolve: which he does to their full satisfaction. He tells them, it was true that Elias must be the forerunner of the Messiah, as was prophesied, Malachi 4:5-6 and by his preaching restore all things, preach the doctrine of repentance, and direct the people to him who comes to make all things new. But this had already been fulfilled; there had appeared one in the spirit and power of Elias, whom they knew not as the person meant by the prophesy; and him the scribes and Pharisees in general had rejected, and treated with contempt: and Herod had murdered him. And as they had persecuted to death the messenger, so would they deal by the Master, that Son of man, whose way he was sent to prepare, who would suffer the like indignities, cruelty, and death itself, by their hands: Note; (1.) When we do not thoroughly understand any passage of Scripture, we must go to Christ on our knees, and shall find prayer the best means of arriving at all necessary truth. (2.) If we be treated with insult and cruelty by the world, let it not be thought strange; we are compassed with a great cloud of witnesses who have trod the way before us. Lastly; the disciples now understood clearly what he meant, and that John the Baptist was the person to whom he pointed; and from the fulfilment of the prophesy in him, they received a fresh confirmation of their faith in Jesus, as the Christ.
2nd, The next day, when Jesus, with the three disciples, returned from the mountain to the rest of their company and the people who waited for him, he found his presence greatly needed, and opportunely arrived to give a fresh display of his power and mercy.
1. An afflicted father addresses him on his knees, in behalf of his only son, possessed with a devil, a lunatic, and frequently seized with epileptic fits, in which he fell into the fire or water, which-ever he chanced to be near, to the great hazard of his life. In the absence of Christ he had applied in vain to the disciples, who were unable to cast out the evil spirit; so that, unless Jesus could help, the case was desperate. Note; (1.) Tender parents suffer in every pang which their children feel. (2.) Under all their diseases of body or soul, we must carry our children's miseries to Jesus, and at least commend them in prayer to him, when every other means and method fail.
2. Christ compassionates the case, and bids the patient be brought to him; but he directs a sharp rebuke to that perverse and faithless generation the Scribes and Pharisees, and the people, who probably insulted the disciples on their failing in attempting the cure, and imagined this was a case which would baffle the Master's skill. Justly he upbraids them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, after all the miracles that he had wrought before them; and well might he refute any longer to bear with their perverseness. Yet his patience waits, and he will give them fresh instances of his power, that at least they may be inexcusable in their rejecting him. Note; (1.) Nothing is so provoking to the Redeemer, as the perverseness and unbelief of those, to whom he has long vouchsafed the means of grace. (2.) Men's wickedness will not prevent the exercise of Christ's goodness; and if this lead them not to repentance, it will heap up wrath upon them against the day of wrath.
3. Jesus with a word dispossessed the devil, and the child immediately received a perfect cure. Before his authoritative command, Satan fell a vanquished foe; and by the word of Jesus, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith, shall we still triumph over the powers of darkness, and see the arch enemy of our souls bruised under our feet.
4. The disciples took the first opportunity, when alone, to inquire of their Master why they had failed in attempting the cure, and dispossessing the evil spirit; being concerned perhaps for their reputation among the people, or fearful left they had provoked the Lord to withdraw that miraculous power which he had once bestowed upon them. Note; When we see ourselves baffled in contending with the powers of evil, it becomes us seriously to inquire how we came to fail, and by what means the fault may be amended.
5. Christ gives them a full answer: it was their unbelief which prevented the cure. While the multitude in general were utterly faithless, they were culpable in a lesser measure; for though they were not utterly destitute of faith, they had at this time failed in the exercise of it. For, else, the least measure of this miraculous faith, possessed and exerted, was sufficient to remove the mountain now before them, and to do whatever else should be needful to confirm the truth of their mission, and to promote the glory of God and the good of mankind, however to human view impossible: but this faith must be the fruit of earnest prayer and fasting, the means appointed of God for obtaining it. Some refer the words, this kind, not to faith, but to the devils, supposing some more difficult to be dispossessed than others, and considering this as another reason why they could not succeed. See the critical notes. Note; (1.) Whenever we fail in duty, and are foiled in temptation—to this we must ever ascribe it, it is because of our unbelief. (2.) Though we may not be classed with unbelievers, yet have we daily cause to lament the weakness of our faith. (3.) The faith of miracles has ceased; we cannot now say to this mountain, remove: but it is as great an instance of divine power, and requires as real an exercise of divine faith, to remove the mountains of guilt and corruption. And, blessed be the Lord, this faith remaineth in all the faithful people of God.
3rdly, While they were journeying through Galilee, in their return to Capernaum, we are told,
1. That Jesus again took occasion to remind his disciples of the sufferings to which he must be delivered up through the treachery and malice of wicked men, who, thirsting for his blood, would murder him by the most cruel and ignominious death. See Luke 24:7. But for their comfort he added, that on the third day he should rise again.
2. His disciples appeared exceeding sorry, and deeply affected with what he told them. They did not understand what his rising again meant, and then all the rest appeared dark and dismal, and utterly contradictory to those opinions of the Messiah which they had entertained. Note; Through the darkness of our minds we suffer, needlessly, many a gloomy hour under afflictive providences. We do not look to their end, or understand how all these things are working together for our good: if we did, we should be always rejoicing.
4thly, The tribute mentioned Matthew 17:24, &c. was probably the half shekel, about fifteen pence in value, which every Jew, above twenty years of age, paid annually to the temple for the maintenance of the service. See the notes.
1. The collectors of this tax applied to Peter, at whose house, probably, Jesus abode when at Capernaum, Chap. Matthew 8:14 to know if his Master did not pay the usual tribute. And Peter, not doubting his Master's readiness to comply with the established law, answered in the affirmative.
2. Jesus prevented him, as he came to speak to him of the matter, with a question which shewed his omniscience, as being acquainted with the purpose of his coming, and the right he had to exemption, had he chosen to plead his privilege. Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? The answer was obvious: and Peter instantly replied, such taxes could be exacted from none but strangers, since to tax their own children would be absurd and useless. Then, said Jesus, are the children free; and consequently I, who am the Son of God, for the service of whose temple this tribute is levied, am excused from the payment of it. Nevertheless he waves his right, though so poor as to be unable, without a miracle, to furnish the pittance demanded; and, to avoid the appearance of offence to those who, not knowing his character, might be led to esteem him, if he had refused to pay, a despiser of the temple, and thereby might be prejudiced against his doctrine, he orders Peter to go to the sea, and baiting his hook, to take up the first fish which came to it, in the mouth of which he would find a stater, a piece of money of the value of a Jewish shekel, which would just suffice to pay for both, and remove all occasion of offence. We may learn hence, (1.) The divine perfections which shone forth in Jesus during his humiliation. All creatures are under his controul, and subservient to his pleasure: he is acquainted with all that passes in the heart of man and in the depths of the sea; thus, even when in the form of a man, shewing still his divine power and Godhead. (2.) If Christ paid tribute, and submitted to the existing powers, who can plead a right to exemption? (3.) In many cases it is a Christian's duty to wave his title to what may be strictly his due, and even to suffer in his secular interests, rather than give offence, or prejudice any against the Gospel. We shall in the end be no losers by such self-denial. (4.) When Christ would work a miracle, Peter must use the appointed means; for it is in the way of diligence in duty, not in sloth, that we can expect a divine interpolation in our behalf. (5.) When Christ could have furnished all his wants for ever, he chose just a sufficiency for the present emergence, and depended for a subsistence afterwards, in the ordinary way; to teach us, if we have enough for to-day, to trust God for the morrow.