TRANSLATION MATTHEW 17:24

On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple Tax approached Peter and said,” Your teacher pays the Temple Tax, doesn’t he?” He said, “Yes.”

And when Peter came into the house, Jesus was ahead of him, and said,”What do you think Peter? From whom do kings of this world get tolls or taxes – from their own citizens or from foreigners? He replied, “From foreigners.” Jesus responded, “So the citizens are free! But so as not to irritate them, go to the lake, throw in a hook, take the first fish that bites, and when you open its mouth, you’ll find a coin worth double the Temple Tax. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Although it is not clear from the text, scholars assume that the tax is the double drachma tax for the temple in Jerusalem, which by Matthew’s time had been destroyed by the Romans. Very probably after that disaster the tax was continued to support the rabbinical leadership of the people.

The story is a kind of joke – doubtless Peter could afford to pay the tax from the proceeds of his fishing – but it indicates a kind of sympathy in Jesus towards the temple leadership, in spite of his judgement that the citizens, that is, the Jewish people, should not be taxed for their temple, but only gentile tourists. Matthew uses the ambiguous term ‘sons’ for the citizens because he wants to remind readers that Jesus, and by extension his followers are God’s children.

The motive expressed is so that Jesus and his followers will not cause offence/ annoyance/ irritation. That may reflect a policy of Jesus himself, as well as a suggested policy for Matthew’s Jewish Christian community at the time the gospel was written.

In any case it is a playful narrative illustrating Jesus effortless mastery of contentious issues.