WEBVTT 00:00:03.309 --> 00:00:11.769 Fairview family It is It is snowing hard outside 00:00:11.769 --> 00:00:15.990 and we've made the call About today's service 00:00:15.990 --> 00:00:18.309 and so I know you're listening to this online 00:00:18.309 --> 00:00:22.929 and that's just not the same Certainly we miss 00:00:22.929 --> 00:00:26.210 being together our second Sunday in a row, but 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:31.899 I do pray that this sermon would be edifying 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:38.299 for you and that it would help you to know even 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:44.280 more about your Savior and who you are as a disciple 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:48.539 of Christ. And I pray that as we are separated 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:51.799 from one another with these wintry conditions 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:57.280 that this would cause you to yearn and long even 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:02.020 more for together worship. and prayerfully we'll 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:04.959 be back at it for next Sunday and prayerfully 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.980 we'll have Wednesday together as well. Before 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:14.939 I preach I want to direct your attention to some 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:17.079 announcements here and so if you want to have 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:19.939 your Bible open to Matthew chapter 17 we're looking 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:23.519 at verses 24 through 27. While you do that I 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:27.780 want to highlight just some announcements that 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:32.379 were in our bulletin. And the first one I want 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:37.340 to announce is that next Sunday is a second Sunday 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:40.859 of the month, which means it's our normal time 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:44.219 for observing, having the Lord's Supper. And 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:47.079 so I pray that you would take time within this 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:51.079 next week to prepare yourself for that sacrament. 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:53.140 It's very important that we prepare our hearts, 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.159 that we examine who we are in Christ, considering 00:01:57.159 --> 00:01:59.079 what we're doing before we come to the table. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.079 And if there are ways in which we need to further 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:06.260 prepare ourselves, maybe from the last time that 00:02:06.260 --> 00:02:09.379 we took it. And so I encourage you to do that. 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:12.620 And looking at passages that may help you, 1 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:16.500 Corinthians chapter 11 is a great help in considering 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:20.719 how we prepare for the Lord's Supper. Also just 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.259 some other announcements, things that are coming 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:30.500 up or events. We last Sunday were again not together, 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.539 but we are supposed to have our fourth Sunday 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:37.759 evening worship service and after that was going 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:42.319 to be a missionary presentation from Corey with 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.699 the dinner and I was really looking forward to 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:46.599 that. We're going to postpone that and I will 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:50.740 let you know when we're going to have that. Also, 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:53.780 please note that Prayerfully, we'll be back to 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:57.939 having table talk this Wednesday at 5 30. I don't 00:02:57.939 --> 00:02:59.699 know how we're going to do sign ups for food. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.639 That's OK. I'll probably just order a bunch of 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:04.740 pizzas and salad and whatnot, but I hope you 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:08.520 can come out for that as we are able. You'll 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.080 you'll notice that we sent out communication 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:13.819 earlier this week about the memorial service 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:17.400 for Mike Williams that was supposed to be yesterday. 00:03:17.770 --> 00:03:22.349 at 1 30 p .m. That's been rescheduled to March 00:03:22.349 --> 00:03:26.870 the 7th at the same time of 1 30 there in the 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:31.340 afternoon. I want to encourage you to To write 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:33.979 letters and cards to Joe and Pat Payton their 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:36.599 address change is listed in the bulletin. They 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:42.699 are at 3727 Wade Cobble Drive Apartment 210 in 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:47.379 Burlington, North Carolina 27215 again see your 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:50.599 bulletin We sent these out in the Fairview columns 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.280 our weekly newsletter And so you can see that 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:55.539 listed in the bulletin if you're not getting 00:03:55.539 --> 00:04:00.219 our newsletter You can go onto our website And 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:03.020 there, go to Resources. And under Resources, 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:07.300 you'll see a tab, a page for the Fairview columns, 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:10.099 and you can actually subscribe yourself. You 00:04:10.099 --> 00:04:13.659 can also reach out to Amy Lawless, our admin 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:17.199 assistant, and she can get you added on there. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:25.550 Her email address is FPC1786 at Gmail. And so 00:04:25.550 --> 00:04:28.269 let her know if you're not subscribed or subscribe 00:04:28.269 --> 00:04:31.930 yourself by going to our website Just a few things 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:35.470 that are coming up our wick evening circle Meeting 00:04:35.470 --> 00:04:41.420 is on February 8th at 5 p .m So that would be 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:44.699 next Sunday. And then Men of the Covenant, that's 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:49.120 actually on February 14th. However, stay tuned 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:50.860 whether or not we're going to have that. I recognize 00:04:50.860 --> 00:04:55.699 that's Valentine's Day and you may wish to stay 00:04:55.699 --> 00:04:59.560 home. Just stay tuned for further announcements 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:03.540 on if we're having Men of the Covenant. And then 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:06.819 February 22nd is fourth Sunday evening worship 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:10.480 at five. And looking forward to that. and then 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:12.779 we didn't get to go to FIKE, Fountain Inn Kid 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:15.860 Enrichment. We didn't get to go to that in January. 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:21.629 The one for February is February 23rd at Capstone 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:26.170 Church at 3 .30 p .m. And I hope you can participate 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:31.629 in that if you would like to. Well, let's take 00:05:31.629 --> 00:05:35.689 some time now to read the text that we've actually 00:05:35.689 --> 00:05:38.990 had scheduled for the last two Sundays here as 00:05:38.990 --> 00:05:42.550 we continue in our sermon series through some 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:45.490 of the miracles of Jesus. And so the text, as 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:52.040 I said earlier, Matthew chapter 17 verses 24 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:55.939 through 27 I'm gonna read this text for us and 00:05:55.939 --> 00:06:02.639 then I'm gonna pray and then we'll get into it 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:06.579 when they came to Capernaum the collectors of 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.560 the two drachma tax went up to Peter and said 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:14.800 does your teacher not pay the tax he said yes 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.860 And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.600 to him first, saying, What do you think, Simon? 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:25.639 From whom do kings of the earth take toll or 00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:29.180 tax? From their sons or from others? And when 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:32.879 he said, From others, Jesus said to him, Then 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:37.339 the sons are free. However, not to give offense 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:41.810 to them, go to the sea and cast a hook. and take 00:06:41.810 --> 00:06:44.509 the first fish that comes up. And when you open 00:06:44.509 --> 00:06:47.850 its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that 00:06:47.850 --> 00:06:52.250 and give it to them for me and for yourself. 00:06:53.750 --> 00:06:59.350 This is God's holy word. Let's pray. Father in 00:06:59.350 --> 00:07:05.149 heaven, we thank you that in your word, we have 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:08.540 what we need. We know that we don't live by bread 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:11.560 alone, but by every word that proceeds from your 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.620 mouth It's the Lord you have given us this you 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:17.139 have nourished us with your word And I pray that 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.120 you will continue to do so through the preaching 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.759 of this word that you would open up our hearts 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.000 and our minds to understand what is here and 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.240 to apply it and that Through this word you will 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:32.600 continue to sanctify us to grow us in the grace 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:36.769 and knowledge of our Savior Jesus in whose name 00:07:36.769 --> 00:07:46.769 we pray amen I Don't know who might be listening 00:07:46.769 --> 00:07:50.610 today who is a fisherman But if you are have 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:54.089 you ever caught a fish and found something strange 00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:59.389 inside? This week I ended up doing a bit of a 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:03.920 deep dive on the internet about Fish that were 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.019 caught and the things that were found inside 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:09.800 of fish People talked about finding other animals 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.000 with inside fish People talked about finding 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.120 jewelry inside of fish one man shared that he 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:19.339 found a spark plug in a fish that he caught Even 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:22.959 one man if you can believe this He said that 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:29.519 he found his car keys in a fish which Naturally 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:33.289 surfaces questions like well How did the car 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:36.870 keys get there and how thankful if he's telling 00:08:36.870 --> 00:08:40.789 the truth? How thankful was he to find his keys 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:43.529 inside the fish that he caught those questions? 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:45.990 We may ask her actually the questions we may 00:08:45.990 --> 00:08:51.710 ask similarly about this text How in the world? 00:08:52.669 --> 00:08:56.490 Did the coin get there inside of the fish and 00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:00.700 how thankful was Peter to catch that fish? Friends, 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:03.840 what we're looking at, this is not a wacky tale. 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:09.240 There is real truth within this episode about 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:14.820 who Jesus is and who we are. But what we're really 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:19.600 going to see from this is that Jesus does more 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:26.620 than just pay the temple tax for us, for all 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:32.940 of his disciples. Jesus pays it all. Now, this 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:35.539 is a sermon series on some of the miracles of 00:09:35.539 --> 00:09:37.679 Jesus, as I said, and you might look at this 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:40.200 and say, well, where is the miracle? It's not 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:44.159 actually recorded. It's just that there is instruction 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.220 from Jesus to Peter to go fishing, and then the 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:49.840 miracle, if you will, will be inside of the mouth 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:52.600 of the fish. Now, just because we don't see Peter 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:55.919 do that. Think we should rightly assume that 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.379 he does out of obedience. It doesn't take away 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:05.379 from the miracle Because if it did Why would 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:08.159 Matthew even include this? Additionally, I think 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.440 Matthew is very interested in this episode about 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:15.340 taxes because who was Matthew? Matthew was a 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:19.100 tax collector. It kind of makes you wonder what 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:23.110 stories Matthew heard From people about not paying 00:10:23.110 --> 00:10:27.009 for taxes the excuses that they made the dog 00:10:27.009 --> 00:10:31.230 the dog ate my drachma, you know But you see 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:33.789 within the text there is this question from the 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:37.370 collectors to Peter Now the setting of this is 00:10:37.370 --> 00:10:40.769 they are in Capernaum. It's perhaps likely that 00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:44.629 they're in Peter's house Peter was from Capernaum. 00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:48.309 And this may explain why the collectors go to 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:51.850 Peter to ask about Jesus. They go to the homeowner, 00:10:52.269 --> 00:10:54.710 not to the guests. And so they ask this question. 00:10:55.289 --> 00:10:59.269 Your teacher pays the temple tax, doesn't he? 00:11:00.509 --> 00:11:03.889 There is something clearly behind that question. 00:11:03.889 --> 00:11:07.629 And we're perhaps wondering if Peter understands 00:11:07.629 --> 00:11:11.470 the weight of the question. He simply answers, 00:11:12.090 --> 00:11:15.980 yes. Now let's think about this. Is there any 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:19.320 reason why Jesus would not pay the temple tax? 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.759 There could be three that I've come up with. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.879 Three possible reasons, and some of them more 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:30.139 possible than others, why Jesus would not pay. 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:34.480 First of all, some groups disagreed with paying 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:37.360 the temple tax. Some groups of people thought 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.220 in Jesus' day that the temple was corrupt and 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.090 therefore were just not going to pay that. I 00:11:43.090 --> 00:11:46.909 don't think that that's Jesus, do you? Secondly, 00:11:47.289 --> 00:11:50.750 there were charitable groups that were not required 00:11:50.750 --> 00:11:54.889 to pay for this. So we're thinking of rabbis 00:11:54.889 --> 00:11:58.750 and priests who were not required to pay this 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:01.669 tax. So perhaps Jesus falls into that category. 00:12:01.769 --> 00:12:04.730 After all, he is called a teacher, a rabbi throughout 00:12:04.730 --> 00:12:09.080 this. As for the third reason, maybe just hold 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.480 on to that thought because the third reason I'm 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:15.360 going to give to you relates to who Jesus is. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:19.379 It's also important for us to say this. The temple 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:24.220 tax was not... bad. It was not a Roman tax. There's 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:27.379 really no problem with paying for most people 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:29.580 because it supported the work of the temple. 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:32.980 Matter of fact, we can see in scripture that 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:36.659 this tax was commanded by God. I'm going to take 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:40.580 you to Exodus chapter 30. I'm going to read just 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:46.639 a little bit of this starting in verse 11. The 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:50.210 Lord said to Moses, When you take the census 00:12:50.210 --> 00:12:53.789 of the people of Israel Then each shall give 00:12:53.789 --> 00:12:56.309 a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number 00:12:56.309 --> 00:12:59.929 them That there be no plague among them when 00:12:59.929 --> 00:13:02.870 you number them each one who is numbered in the 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:06.889 census shall give this half a shekel According 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:09.269 to the shekel of the sanctuary the shekel is 00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:13.480 20 garaz half a shekel an offering to the Lord. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.159 Everyone who is numbered in the census from 20 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:20.539 years old and upward shall give the Lord's offering. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.600 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.580 not give less than the half shekel when you give 00:13:27.580 --> 00:13:32.519 the Lord's offering to make atonement for your 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:36.820 lives." And so people have called this and I 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:42.190 think rightly a ransom. It's symbolized salvation 00:13:42.190 --> 00:13:46.149 for people and their need for God. Additionally, 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:49.889 it wasn't all that expensive. We're talking about 00:13:49.889 --> 00:13:53.730 half a shackle or two drachma. And so it's not 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:56.809 like Jesus couldn't pay this, as we're gonna 00:13:56.809 --> 00:14:00.710 see. Jesus is not limited in his resources. And 00:14:00.710 --> 00:14:03.269 so what does Peter say to the question? He simply 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:06.710 replies, yes. But let's think about the implications 00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:10.299 of this. What would be the implications if Jesus 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:16.120 says no to this? Well, it could imply that Jesus 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:20.259 is in these groups of exemption. Perhaps that 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:24.620 he is a rabbi or a priest, which he kind of is, 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.990 but how would that sit? with other priests back 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:32.490 in Jerusalem, they might not like that. Also, 00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:35.450 the tax is commanded again by God, just like 00:14:35.450 --> 00:14:38.850 I read from Exodus chapter 30. And so if Jesus 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:42.710 doesn't have exempt status, but he says no, this 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:45.649 would appear to be a disobedience to scripture. 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:48.730 But let's think about this. If Jesus says yes, 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:51.870 which you see here, Peter answers for him. If 00:14:51.870 --> 00:14:54.730 it's yes, well, what does this imply about Jesus? 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.580 To the tax collectors is Jesus just a regular 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:02.539 guy with no special standing before the tax collectors 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:07.100 even though the collectors are asking and So 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:09.860 there's a kind of a lot on the line here Peter 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:15.220 as you see he says yes and Then Jesus talks to 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:17.379 Peter look if you will back into the text at 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:22.419 verse 25 So he says yes, and when he came into 00:15:22.419 --> 00:15:25.600 the house Jesus spoke to him first saying what 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.840 do you think Simon? From whom do kings of the 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.460 earth take toll or tax? from their sons or from 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:37.480 others And Peter answers rightly from others, 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.100 but you might think well Why is Jesus suddenly 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:43.259 talking about kings and sons? What's going on 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:47.169 here? Jesus is laying out the case for why he 00:15:47.169 --> 00:15:50.850 and his disciples don't have to pay. Remember 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:53.570 how I said there's a third reason. Jesus is giving 00:15:53.570 --> 00:15:59.269 the real reason that he is exempt and yet he's 00:15:59.269 --> 00:16:07.090 going to pay the tax anyway. This relates to 00:16:07.090 --> 00:16:10.379 a couple of discussions from Paul. his letter 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:13.440 to the Romans in chapter 14 of that book and 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.159 1st Corinthians chapter 8 this discussion from 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:20.960 Paul on food sacrifice to idols and whether Christians 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.120 should eat such food so I want to take you to 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:31.620 1st Corinthians chapter 8 verses 3 through 9 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:39.399 and it reads in this way But if anyone loves 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:45.320 God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.179 eating of food offered to idols, we know that 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:51.320 an idol has no real existence, and that there 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:55.350 is no God but one. For although there may be 00:16:55.350 --> 00:16:58.169 so -called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed 00:16:58.169 --> 00:17:02.090 there are many gods and many lords, yet for us 00:17:02.090 --> 00:17:06.430 there is one God, the Father, from whom are all 00:17:06.430 --> 00:17:10.430 things, and for whom we exist, and one Lord Jesus 00:17:10.430 --> 00:17:14.190 Christ, through whom are all things, and through 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:17.109 whom we exist. However, not all possess this 00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:21.390 knowledge. But some Through former association 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:25.130 with idols eat food as really offered to an idol 00:17:25.130 --> 00:17:28.670 and their conscience being clean is defiled or 00:17:28.670 --> 00:17:32.589 being weak is defiled Food will not commend us 00:17:32.589 --> 00:17:35.910 to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat 00:17:35.910 --> 00:17:41.230 and no better off If we do but take care That 00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:44.150 this right of yours has not somehow become a 00:17:44.150 --> 00:17:46.369 stumbling block to the weak and I included there 00:17:46.369 --> 00:17:51.329 in verse 9 what's What what does this have to 00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:54.150 do with the temple tax you may asking what Paul 00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:58.710 is saying here is It wasn't wrong to eat the 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:00.930 food sacrificed to the idols because the idols 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:03.650 are what they they are nothing And so he essentially 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:07.690 says go for it Unless and unless is an important 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:11.750 word here unless you are around a weaker believer 00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:16.349 He is getting at Christian Liberty people confuse 00:18:16.349 --> 00:18:20.150 Liberty with the freedom to do whatever you like. 00:18:21.130 --> 00:18:23.769 You say, well, I've been saved by Jesus. I've 00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:26.430 punched my ticket to heaven. But Christian liberty 00:18:26.430 --> 00:18:29.329 isn't really that. Christian liberty says you 00:18:29.329 --> 00:18:33.190 have freedom and that you are freed from your 00:18:33.190 --> 00:18:35.369 enslavement to sin. But you're not just freed 00:18:35.369 --> 00:18:38.829 from something, you're freed to something. You 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:43.990 are freed in Christ to serve him and his church. 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:47.079 And so even though you may not be under this 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.640 obligation or that, there are other considerations 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:55.460 at hand. Jesus, he's considering other people. 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.319 He's considering the tax collectors, and he's 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.099 not looking to bring unnecessary trouble upon 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:05.559 him or his disciples. The text says not to give 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.539 offense, and so seeking not to give offense, 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:14.069 Jesus seeks to pay the temple tax. Consider these 00:19:14.069 --> 00:19:18.369 words from a commentator who said Even though 00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:23.029 Jesus could exercise his right to kingship He 00:19:23.029 --> 00:19:26.710 did not want to give offense Especially not by 00:19:26.710 --> 00:19:30.529 cute excusing himself as well as Peter from paying 00:19:30.529 --> 00:19:34.630 taxes Jesus did not want to cause any trouble 00:19:34.630 --> 00:19:37.789 from the tax collectors and their superiors They 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:41.410 certainly would not have accepted his claim to 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:46.640 kingship They wouldn't have accepted it, right? 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.619 Jesus is not looking to cause, as I've said, 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:58.059 trouble for the sake of trouble, right? Jesus, 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.799 he'll ruffle feathers at times sometimes, but 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:06.839 not without reason, not without cause. Jesus 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:10.519 seeks to keep the peace, doesn't he? He shows 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:12.859 he has a great concern for tax collectors. He 00:20:12.859 --> 00:20:14.640 doesn't seek to offend them and there's something 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:20.740 here for us. Do you Christian bring unnecessary 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:23.579 trouble on yourself or upon others with your 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:26.779 speech or your actions? Do you Christian enjoy 00:20:26.779 --> 00:20:30.160 offending others or are you considerate of others? 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:36.500 Do your actions, do your words make it easy or 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:40.740 more difficult to share? the gospel. Do you like 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:43.259 to stir the pot for the sake of simply stirring 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:47.839 the pot? Friends, Jesus did not behave in this 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:51.599 way, did he? There's purpose to every single 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.759 thing that Jesus does. Think of the times that 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.920 Jesus does ruffle feathers when it was necessary, 00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:02.099 like the time when he drives out the money changers 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:04.140 and he says, you've made this place a den of 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:06.380 robbers. That was necessary to doing something 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:10.630 very wrong. Or Matthew 15, where it says the 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:14.769 Pharisees were offended by Jesus' teaching on 00:21:14.769 --> 00:21:18.569 uncleanliness and uncleanliness. Why does he 00:21:18.569 --> 00:21:21.950 offend them? Well, the people were leading, the 00:21:21.950 --> 00:21:25.029 leaders were leading people astray, and so Jesus, 00:21:25.029 --> 00:21:27.509 he corrects their teaching, and they're offended 00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:30.410 by that. But he doesn't do it unnecessarily. 00:21:30.930 --> 00:21:33.609 And so please see that this episode is not that. 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:37.859 Jesus pays the tax. Even when he didn't have 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:41.380 to Really what Jesus is doing is he's upholding 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:45.619 the law and beyond that and so are we? Looking 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:51.839 to offend unnecessarily Friends the gospel will 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.180 offend because people don't want to hear that 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:59.380 they are sinful They don't want to hear the truth 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:02.740 But we're gonna get we're really not gonna get 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:07.450 very far in our evangelism for looking to offend 00:22:07.450 --> 00:22:10.630 unnecessarily. I like how another commentator 00:22:10.630 --> 00:22:14.730 put this, who said of this, a miracle is worked 00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:20.150 rather than offend a tax collector. A miracle 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:22.630 is worked rather than offend a tax collector. 00:22:23.009 --> 00:22:26.980 And so we need to learn here from Jesus. It's 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:29.259 also interesting here is we've looked at other 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:32.200 miracles of Jesus. This time we actually see 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.880 the miracle benefiting Jesus, which we really 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:38.819 don't see very much in the other miracles. Because 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:41.980 who was supposed to be paying this? The tax collectors 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:45.079 are asking, does Jesus pay this or not? And so 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:48.380 when he sends Peter to go fishing, he's saying, 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:53.650 go get this money to pay the tax. But really, 00:22:53.910 --> 00:22:57.410 Jesus is not looking to benefit himself. What 00:22:57.410 --> 00:22:59.470 I think Jesus is really doing here is making 00:22:59.470 --> 00:23:06.009 a statement about his deity. Since the tax supports 00:23:06.009 --> 00:23:09.009 the temple and the temple is for the worship 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:13.630 of God, think about it. Would God, the father, 00:23:13.630 --> 00:23:19.809 require the tax of his son? Think about it this 00:23:19.809 --> 00:23:25.440 way. Think about restaurant owner real nice restaurant 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.799 really good food reasonable prices doing pretty 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:33.200 well for itself popular place let's say the son 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:38.299 of the restaurant owner comes for a meal is the 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:41.740 father gonna charge the son for the meal probably 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:47.839 not right well Jesus here he is the son of God 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:52.779 and therefore is exempt but he pays it anyway. 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:55.660 Now notice something when he talks about sons 00:23:55.660 --> 00:23:58.880 the word sons here is plural and so we should 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.279 think that this includes the disciples specifically 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:07.059 here in this story Peter. But please see this 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.980 Jesus does something far greater than pay the 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:13.680 temple tax for himself and for Peter. What this 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:18.839 should illustrate to us as sons of the King is 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:24.619 how we can become sons. How do we join the family? 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:28.279 Today, if we were working our way through the 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:32.519 entire liturgy, the service, we had our affirmation 00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:35.019 of faith from Westminster Shorter Catechism number 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:38.779 34, and it asks this question, what is adoption? 00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:44.779 And the answer is this, adoption is an act of 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:48.799 God's free grace, whereby we are received into 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.640 the number. and have a right to all the privileges 00:24:52.640 --> 00:25:02.720 of the sons of God. We join the family by God's 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.980 grace as the Holy Spirit applies Christ to our 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:10.599 lives as we have faith. I was in a discussion 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.059 recently with somebody who told me that all people 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:16.059 who are created are God's children. And maybe 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:19.819 that sounds nice, but it's just not true. We 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:24.200 are made children of God by Jesus' redeeming 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.140 effort. Consider some verses to back this up. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:33.500 1 John chapter 3 verse 2 puts it like this, beloved, 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:39.119 we are God's children now. and what we will be 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.460 has not yet appeared. But we know that when he 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:46.000 appears, we shall be like him, because we shall 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.599 see him as he is. We are, friends, we are God's 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:53.960 children right now. John's writing to believers, 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:57.900 but also consider just from the gospel of John, 00:25:58.180 --> 00:26:03.500 chapter one, verse 12. But to all who did receive 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:07.640 him, who believed in his name, He gave the right 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:12.220 to become children of God who were born not of 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:15.440 blood Nor of the will of the flesh nor of the 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:20.240 will of man but of God we are made children of 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:26.339 God by God as He justifies us with the righteousness 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:30.480 of Christ and adopts us into his family We are 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:34.460 only children of God if Jesus is our Savior and 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:39.190 our brother So please see as this as Jesus is 00:26:39.190 --> 00:26:41.769 telling what Peter what to do. He's he's teaching 00:26:41.769 --> 00:26:44.190 him Isn't he he's teaching all of us as we as 00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:48.490 we examine this great word from him Jesus turns 00:26:48.490 --> 00:26:51.289 this simple question from these collectors into 00:26:51.289 --> 00:26:57.430 a teaching moment right now look at verse 27 00:26:57.430 --> 00:27:03.529 as Jesus tells Peter to do something He has done 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:06.740 probably hundreds of times, I'll read it again. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.000 However, not to give offense to them, go to the 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.880 sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:18.079 comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:20.740 find a shekel. Take that and give it to them 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:29.279 for me and for yourself. Jesus tells Peter to 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:32.920 do something he's done. So many times, go fishing. 00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:37.799 And as this instruction comes and we see what 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:40.480 is really miraculous, we see something about 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:44.319 Jesus, his sovereignty over creation, right? 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:48.880 You kind of wonder. What is Peter thinking about 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:51.759 Jesus with this instruction is Jesus losing it 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.339 here perhaps remember this is chapter 17 So we've 00:27:55.339 --> 00:27:58.259 seen a lot of things happen here Peter's seen 00:27:58.259 --> 00:28:02.720 it all so he's trusting in Jesus Friends this 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:05.119 is not a weird story about catching fish with 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:09.319 money inside Jesus is demonstrating his divine 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:14.059 knowledge and power and the accomplishment of 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:16.579 adoption for his people. Remember the point of 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:20.359 the story. Jesus is making this claim that he 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:24.480 is the son of God. And so Jesus doesn't simply 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.559 remind Peter of this. He shows him this by doing 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:29.299 something that would have hit home with Peter 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:32.700 as a fisherman. That Jesus has unlimited resources. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:35.700 And this will be crucial. This will be crucial 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:40.440 because Jesus is preparing his disciples for 00:28:40.440 --> 00:28:43.759 when he will go to the Father and they will continue 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.740 his mission. Jesus is saying through this miracle, 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:55.460 trust me and I will supply your needs. Perhaps 00:28:55.460 --> 00:29:02.559 Philippians chapter 4 is one that you've memorized. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.400 Perhaps it's one that has given you comfort in 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:11.099 the past. Philippians 4 .19 says this, and my 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:16.000 God will supply every need of yours according 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:21.059 to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. And so 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:25.240 Christian, what do you need today? Do you trust 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.380 that Jesus can meet your needs? Do you really? 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:32.460 Jesus tells Peter to cast that line and find 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:35.880 that shekel. But also consider this, the tax 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:41.740 is only two drachmas. So why the shekel? Well, 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:44.680 clearly Jesus isn't paying for himself only. 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:49.859 He pays for Peter too. And inside that fish is 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:54.599 the exact amount needed for one shekel equals 00:29:54.599 --> 00:30:01.849 two drachmas. Jesus indeed provides exactly what 00:30:01.849 --> 00:30:06.950 we need. And Jesus exhibits humility in paying 00:30:06.950 --> 00:30:11.809 when he didn't have to. It's not expected that 00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:14.890 a king would pay his own taxes. It's actually 00:30:14.890 --> 00:30:19.809 beneath the king. And so this whole thing is 00:30:19.809 --> 00:30:25.359 showing the humility of Jesus. and the presence 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:29.039 of God because this tax went towards the work 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:31.640 of the temple and the temple represents God's 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:34.079 presence. We've just gone through the Christmas 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:37.980 season, Emmanuel, God with us. Rick Phillips 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:45.720 at Second Pres says, why pay for the symbol when 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:49.059 he himself is the reality to which the symbol 00:30:49.059 --> 00:30:55.710 points? Jesus lowered himself for us. Jesus lowered 00:30:55.710 --> 00:31:02.309 himself for this and for so much more. Consider 00:31:02.309 --> 00:31:09.410 Philippians chapter 2 verses 3 and 4. Do nothing 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:13.529 from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility 00:31:13.529 --> 00:31:17.289 count others more significant than yourselves. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:21.200 Let each of you look not only to his own interests 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:23.279 but also to the interests of others and let's 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:26.500 keep going verse 5. Have this mind among yourselves 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:29.019 which is yours in Christ Jesus who though he 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:31.960 was in the form of God did not count equality 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:35.299 with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:38.519 by taking the form of a servant being born in 00:31:38.519 --> 00:31:41.839 the likeness of men. being found in human form 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:45.319 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:49.400 point of death even death on a cross and therefore 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:53.039 God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:55.599 the name that is above every name so that at 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:59.619 the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven 00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:01.740 and on earth and under the earth and every tongue 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:06.200 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:13.680 of God the Father And so you see all of this 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:18.779 is more, it's more than just about paying taxes, 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:23.500 isn't it? I said how Jesus is really preparing 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:28.079 his disciples for the cross. And this is very, 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:32.140 very true because what appears just before this 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:37.109 episode, if you still have Matthew 17 open. Go 00:32:37.109 --> 00:32:40.509 just before our sermon text and look in chapter 00:32:40.509 --> 00:32:44.430 17 verses 22 and 23 as they were gathering in 00:32:44.430 --> 00:32:48.049 Galilee Jesus said to them the son of man is 00:32:48.049 --> 00:32:50.769 about to be delivered into the hands of men and 00:32:50.769 --> 00:32:54.670 they will kill him and he will be raised on the 00:32:54.670 --> 00:33:01.150 third day and they were greatly distressed He 00:33:01.150 --> 00:33:03.650 doesn't want them he doesn't want peter any of 00:33:03.650 --> 00:33:07.509 them to forget that He, Jesus, is the Son of 00:33:07.509 --> 00:33:10.670 God. And so what is the Son of God doing on the 00:33:10.670 --> 00:33:14.029 cross? Well, we saw it from Philippians 2. He's 00:33:14.029 --> 00:33:17.450 securing our salvation. Remember the very thing 00:33:17.450 --> 00:33:20.049 the temple tax pointed towards, atonement. This 00:33:20.049 --> 00:33:24.490 is what Jesus accomplishes for us. And He's free 00:33:24.490 --> 00:33:28.549 to do it. Jesus had the power to call down the 00:33:28.549 --> 00:33:35.559 angels. But He doesn't do it. Because... He went 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:39.519 to the cross because it was the only way. He 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.460 goes to the cross to exclaim, it is finished 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:45.900 for God's children. What this story means then 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:50.220 is really that because of Jesus, his life and 00:33:50.220 --> 00:33:53.339 his death and the gift of faith and being adopted 00:33:53.339 --> 00:33:56.339 into God's family, that we have special status 00:33:56.339 --> 00:34:00.460 as God's children, that God gives us what we 00:34:00.460 --> 00:34:04.970 need. You see, Jesus doesn't just pay the temple 00:34:04.970 --> 00:34:10.630 tax for us. No, friends. We should understand. 00:34:10.829 --> 00:34:14.510 We must understand that Jesus paid it all. You, 00:34:14.750 --> 00:34:18.090 Christian, were bought with a price. And Jesus 00:34:18.090 --> 00:34:20.769 pays the exact amount. Nothing more and nothing 00:34:20.769 --> 00:34:28.349 less. He paid it. He paid it with His own blood. 00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:33.219 Christian, you indeed were bought with a price. 00:34:34.739 --> 00:34:39.980 Jesus has purchased you to bring you into his 00:34:39.980 --> 00:34:45.900 marvelous light. Let us praise God for that today 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:53.420 and every single day. Let's pray. Glorious Father 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:58.039 in heaven above, how we do thank you. How would 00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:01.219 he praise you and bless your name for salvation 00:35:01.219 --> 00:35:07.179 in Christ alone he Who has set us free from all 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:10.579 the power of the devil and taken us out of darkness 00:35:10.579 --> 00:35:14.380 and into light father Thank you that jesus would 00:35:14.380 --> 00:35:19.539 pay Pay it all for us Lord help us to be more 00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:21.699 and more Thank you and thankful and would you 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:25.219 give us the humility of Christ the mind of Christ? 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:29.500 Help us not look to offend unnecessarily But 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:33.059 help us to look out for others And share the 00:35:33.059 --> 00:35:37.880 gospel these things we ask in Christ name. Amen 00:35:37.880 --> 00:35:46.280 The The hymn of response in your bulletin is, 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:49.739 I surrender all, number 366. And I would encourage 00:35:49.739 --> 00:35:52.400 you to look up the lyrics for that. Take time 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:55.619 today to sing that. What a great hymn that is, 00:35:55.619 --> 00:35:59.079 because quite frankly, as we sing those words, 00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:02.619 I surrender all, we realize that Jesus really 00:36:02.619 --> 00:36:06.579 surrendered Himself for us. And so the reason 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:10.559 that we can sing that is because of Him, right? 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:14.599 And so take time, if you will, to sing that. 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:16.460 It's okay. It's a good thing to sing in your 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:19.340 homes. I know that you do. And so we can sing. 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:24.440 We should sing good, good hymns, even from our 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:29.079 homes, even on a day like today. Well, friends, 00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:32.840 thank you so very much for listening today. and 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:36.980 prayerfully we will be back together on Wednesday 00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:40.860 and certainly on the next Lord's Day. If you 00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:44.199 have any needs that we can help with, please 00:36:44.199 --> 00:36:47.739 reach out to a shepherding elder, reach out to 00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:50.219 a deacon, reach out to just one another. Let's 00:36:50.219 --> 00:36:53.460 bear one another's burdens. Let us be there for 00:36:53.460 --> 00:36:56.920 one and all, for each other. And now would you 00:36:56.920 --> 00:37:02.179 just give attention. To this benediction from 00:37:02.179 --> 00:37:07.400 2nd Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14 the grace 00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:11.659 of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:15.760 the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:17.760 all Amen