Tax Exempt

The two-drachma tax was money collected to maintain the upkeep of the temple. The church is a place to worship, not a commercial enterprise. Jesus did something that He did not have to do. He paid the temple tax so that He would not offend others. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe. Not only did He pay the temple tax, but He also paid the debt of our sins. The reason why Jesus came was to bring us into the family of God. God has given us a gift of grace so that we can glorify God by benefiting others. We are all likely to have a distorted self-image because of sin. Peter did not understand who Jesus was and is. Peter also did not know who Jesus was making him to be. God sent His son so that we can be sons and daughters of God. No amount of money compares to the debt we owe, which was paid for us by Jesus. We need to pray to God for a heart of thankfulness for all things. We must obey God by walking into situations where we must depend on Him. We must act on what our Heavenly Father tells us to do.