“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
Through the Bible: Matthew 17, Mark 9
In my part of the country, this is the first week it’s been cool enough to need a jacket when you go outside. The other day I put on a jacket I hadn’t worn since last year. Imagine my delight when I put my hand in my pocket and found a twenty-dollar bill!
It felt like a tiny gift from last-year-me to this-year-me. I laughed out loud, said “thank you, Jesus,” and went about my day.
It reminded me of one of the most creative, delightful miracles recorded in the Gospels—the day Jesus paid Peter’s temple tax with a coin from a fish’s mouth.
A Tax and a Teachable Moment
When Jesus and His disciples returned to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and asked, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” (Matthew 17:24).
This wasn’t a Roman tax—it was a Jewish one, used for the upkeep of the temple. Every Jewish male over the age of twenty was expected to contribute a half-shekel (about two drachmas) each year, according to Exodus 30:13–16.
Rabbinic tradition said that only men twenty and older were required to pay. Which makes it fascinating that when Jesus performs this miracle, He tells Peter, “Take that coin and give it to them for me and for you.” (v. 27) Not for us. Just for me and you.
This has led many scholars to believe Peter was the only disciple over twenty—since Jesus didn’t make provision for the other disciples to pay the tax. But it could also mean that Jesus just wanted to have a teachable moment(and possibly an inside joke) with the leader of the disciples.
Humility and Humor
Beyond the humor of the scene, we see the humility of the King. Jesus could easily have refused to pay. After all, the temple was His Father’s house, and He was the true Son. As He points out to Peter, “From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” (v. 25). Kings don’t tax their own children.
But rather than insist on His rights, Jesus says, “However, not to give offense to them…” and provides the payment anyway.
That’s the heart of the King we follow: humble, considerate, and willing to pay what He doesn’t owe so others won’t stumble. It’s a small preview of what He would do on the cross—paying a debt He didn’t owe, for sinners who couldn’t pay.
The Playfulness of Providence
Then comes the part that makes me smile every time I read it. “Go to the sea,” Jesus says, “cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth, you’ll find a coin.” (v. 27)
Of all the ways to pay a bill, this one might be the most delightful. Jesus could have made the coin appear in His hand. He could have told Judas, the group treasurer, to pull it from the money bag. But instead, He sends Peter—who, of course, was a fisherman—back to the lake.
I like to think Peter chuckled as he baited the hook. He has seen Jesus fill his nets with so many fish he nearly sank his boat (see Luke 5:1-11). Now, Jesus tells him to catch one fish. This command must have sounded absurd to a professional fisherman. Still, he obeys, and when he pulled that fish up and found the exact coin needed—a stater worth two double-drachmas—it must have felt like grace with a grin.
No thunderclaps. No crowds. Just quiet provision, laced with humor.
The Point of the Playfulness
Maybe that’s the lesson for us. Jesus isn’t just powerful; He’s playful. He delights in surprising His children, meeting their needs in ways that make them smile. This miracle didn’t heal anyone or silence demons—it simply paid a tax. But in doing so, it showed that God’s sovereignty reaches all the way down to the smallest details of ordinary life.
And maybe that’s how He still works. Just enough. Just in time. Just surprising enough to remind us He’s near.
So the next time you find a forgotten bill in your pocket—or an unexpected blessing that seems too perfect to be coincidence—smile. The same Lord who put a coin in a fish’s mouth still knows how to provide, sometimes with a wink, always with love.
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