A Tax Not His Own

Journal of Evangelical Theological Society 65.1 (2022): 79-91

This article argues that Matthew 17:24–27 should be read in the context of Jesus’s preceding passion prediction in Matthew 17:22–23. In light of Jesus’s statement of his impending death and resurrection, his discourse about the temple tax and his miracle of the stater in the fish’s mouth can be viewed as an enacted parable of Jesus’s impending atonement on the cross. This article seeks to demonstrate that interpretations of this narrative as a moral example, polemic sarcasm, or a mixture of Jewish and Greek mythology simply do not demonstrate the Christological value of Matthew 17:24–27. When read in the context of Matthew 17:22–23, Matthew 17:24–27 gives an illustration of Jesus’s person and work. As the free, royal Son, Jesus pays a ransom tax, from which he is exempt, in order to demonstrate what he has come to do for those who follow him.