St Matthew Chapter XVII : Verses 23-26
Contents
- Matt. xvii. 23-26. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: And he said : Of strangers. The Temple Shekel.
Matt. xvii. 23-26
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| The Miracle of the Stater, c1000. Artist unknown. J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles) |
Et cum venissent Capharnaum, accesserunt qui didrachma accipiebant ad Petrum, et dixerunt ei : Magister vester non solvit didrachma?
24 He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers?
Ait : Etiam. Et cum intrasset in domum, prævenit eum Jesus, dicens : Quid tibi videtur Simon? reges terrae a quibus accipiunt tributum vel censum? a filiis suis, an ab alienis?
25 And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free.
Et ille dixit : Ab alienis. Dixit illi Jesus : Ergo liberi sunt filii.
26 But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.
Ut autem non scandalizemus eos, vade ad mare, et mitte hamum : et eum piscem, qui primus ascenderit, tolle : et aperto ore ejus, invenies staterem : illum sumens, da eis pro me et te.
Notes
23. come to Capharnaum. This was the last time Jesus visited Capharnaum, His own city.
they that received the didrachmas, — i.e. the tax for the Temple service. Every male Israelite paid half a shekel annually. This was equal to four Attic drachmas, or two didrachmas. The Jews of the Dispersion also paid this tax, and it produced a revenue of about £75,000 in the time of Christ (Edersheim). The money was paid into the “Corban” or treasury of the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple it was still maintained by order of Vespasian, and was given to defray the expenses of building a temple to the Capitoline Jupiter (see Jos., B.J., vii. B. 6). The Temple tax was collected in the month of Adar (March), the first of the Jewish year (see Jewish Calendar, Bk. II.).
came to Peter. Possibly they questioned St Peter rather than our Lord for two reasons : —
(a) They feared to ask Him directly.
(b) St Peter was the owner of the house in which Jesus dwelt ; also, he was well known in Capharnaum.
Doth not your master, etc. ? The form of the sentence in Greek shews that the collectors expected an answer in the affirmative — “ Pays he not,” etc.? (οὐ τελεῖ) The plural pronoun “your” (ὑμῶν) is used, thus shewing that Jesus was the recognized Teacher or Rabbi of the apostles.
24. He said : Yes. St Peter gave a decided and prompt answer, since in all probability Jesus had paid the tax in former years, but the apostle did not consider for the moment that if Jesus was the Christ the Son of the living God, as He had so recently confessed Him to be. He was consequently not bound to pay the didrachmas.
prevented him, — i.e. anticipated his request. This is the original meaning of the word to prevent (præ-venire, προέφθασεν). Jesus here reveals His omniscience.
The kings of the earth. They are contrasted here with God, the King of Heaven.
tribute. Taxes on merchandise (the Roman vectigalia).
custom. The capitation tax and the land tax. In order to assess the former, a census had to be taken (see St Luke ii. 1, 2.)
of their own children. Of members of the royal family. Both the Greek MSS. and the Vulgate have “of their own sons” (ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῶν).
of strangers, — i.e. of their subjects.
25. Then the children are free. As the Son of God, Christ was exempt from paying the tribute.
26. that we may not scandalize. Jesus complied with the demand because, had He refused, offence would have been taken, since the motives of His conduct would not have been manifest, and people might have attributed His refusal to want of zeal for the Temple. There is, perhaps, also an allusion to St Peter’s own words (see supra, xv. 12).
go to the sea, — i.e. of Galilee, which was close to Capharnaum.
a hook. Not a net, which would have taken a number of fishes.
a stater. Equal in value to two didrachmas, hence just the sum required to pay the tax for two.
for me and thee. The other apostles are not mentioned. From this we may infer that they lodged elsewhere in Capharnaum.
Note. — St Matthew does not relate the actual miracle, but by his silence he shews his own faith in his Master, who had even recalled the dead to life, and who could certainly bring His words to pass on this as on other occasions. Commentators give two reasons for this miracle being performed: —
(a) There was no money in the common purse, as our Lord had been living a more retired life for some short time.
(b) He worked the miracle that He might shew His divine power, and thus manifest to His disciples that He was above the law, though He complied with it.
This miracle, unlike others, was not worked on account of the faith of the one benefited by it, nor out of compassion for human suffering.
Additional Notes
25. And he said : Of strangers. “ The answer must be looked at from the Eastern rather than the European theory of taxation. To the Jews, as to the other Eastern nations, direct taxation was hateful as a sign of subjugation. It had roused them to revolt under Roboam (3 Kings xii. 4), and they had stoned the officer who was over the tribute. They had groaned under it when imposed by the Syrian kings (1 Macc. X. 29, 30, xi. 35). It was one of their grievances under Herod and his sons (Jos., Ant., xvii. 8. 4). Judas of Galilee and his followers had headed an insurrection against it as imposed by the Romans (Acts v. 37). It was still (as we see in ch. xxii. 17) a moot point between the Pharisees and Herodians whether any Jew might lawfully pay it. Peter naturally answered our Lord’s question at once from the popular Galilean view ” (Ellicott, Com. St Matt., p. 108).
The Temple Shekel. This sum, equal in value to about 1s. 2d. of our money, was rigorously exacted from all Jews. Lightfoot, speaking on this subject, quotes from the Talmud and the treatise Shekalim : — “ It is an affirmative (i.e. as opposed to what the Jews called negative precepts) precept of the Law, that every Israelite should give half a shekel yearly : even the poor, who live by alms, are obliged to this, and must either beg the money of others, or sell their clothes to pay half a shekel, as it is said, ‘ The rich shall give no more, the poor shall give no less.’ In the first day of the month Adar, they make a public proclamation concerning these shekels that every one .... be ready to pay it. On the fifteenth day, the exchangers sat in every city civilly requiring this money ; they received it of those that gave it, and compelled those who did not. On the five and twentieth day they sat in the Temple .... and from him that did not give, they forced a pledge, even his very coat.”
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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