Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Jesus and his disciples have arrived in Capernaum, a town on the Sea of Galilee. Tax collectors approach Peter and ask whether Jesus pays the annual temple tax — a required contribution for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple, roughly equal to two days' wages for a common worker. In a private conversation, Jesus explains to Peter that kings don't tax their own children — and since the temple belongs to his Father, he is technically exempt. But rather than make it a point of conflict, he performs a quiet, specific miracle: he tells Peter to go fishing, take the first fish he catches, open its mouth, and find a four-drachma coin — exactly enough to cover both their taxes. There's no crowd, no fanfare, no sermon. The miracle is precise, practical, and almost invisible.
Lord, thank you that nothing in my life is too small for your attention. You know the details I haven't thought to mention — the things I've decided are too ordinary to bring you. Help me trust that you are present in the mundane, and that your care goes all the way down. Amen.
Of all the miracles in the Gospels, this one might be the most quietly extraordinary — precisely because of how ordinary the problem is. A tax bill. Not a life-threatening illness. Not a storm at sea. Just an awkward financial obligation that needed handling. And Jesus doesn't wave it away or turn it into a theological standpoint. He says: go catch a fish, open its mouth, there's a coin in there, pay the tax. The miracle happened for an audience of one, to solve a problem almost too mundane to mention. There's something almost funny about God knowing exactly what your tax bill costs. But also something that quietly undoes you. The miracle here isn't just the coin — it's the specificity of attention. Jesus knew the amount. He knew where the coin was. He handled the mundane thing without being asked. If you've ever hesitated to bring your ordinary problems to God — the overdue bill, the tense conversation you've been dreading, the small daily friction that wears you thinner than you'd like to admit — this fish has a word for you. He's paying attention to the details of your life, down to the four drachmas.
Jesus is technically exempt from the temple tax but chooses to pay it anyway to avoid causing offense — what does that tell you about how he balanced his identity and his relationships with the people around him?
This miracle is private, practical, and performed for no audience and no visible lesson. What does that suggest about the kinds of things God is willing to be personally involved in?
It can feel almost irreverent to bring small, mundane problems to God when others are facing so much bigger crises. How do you decide what's "worth" praying about — and does this passage challenge that instinct at all?
Jesus cared about not unnecessarily offending people, even when he had every right to stand his ground. How might that same impulse apply to a specific relationship or situation in your life right now?
What is one small, ordinary, almost-embarrassing-to-mention problem in your life that you haven't brought to God? What would it look like to actually bring it to him this week?
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Romans 15:1
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Romans 15:3
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Romans 14:21
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luke 5:4
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:17
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Matthew 15:14
However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them [to pay the temple tax] for you and Me."
AMP
However, not to give offense to them, 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.”
ESV
'However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in 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 you and Me.'
NASB
“But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
NIV
Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
NKJV
However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
NLT
But so we don't upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and you'll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us."
MSG