Jesus Speaks about His Death and Taxes

[22] For the second time—the first was in Caesarea Philippi in northern Galilee (Matt. 16:21)—the Lord Jesus revealed to His disciples in Galilee God’s plan for Him: “The Son of man is about (méllei, the present tense of méllō [3195], to be about to do, to be at the point of, to be impending) to deliver Himself (paradídosthai, the present middle/passive infinitive of paradídōmi [3860]) into the hands of men” (a.t.).

Here Jesus declared that this event that “must be” (deí [1163]), that it is imminent, near at hand. The voice of paradídōmi is middle, the action both directed by the Son of God and at the Son of man. The ultimate deliverer is not human, not even Judas, “the one who delivered (paradoús) Him” (Matt. 10:4; a.t.), but the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27-28).

“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:18). “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14).

The death of Christ is here unambiguously attributed to the prior, determinative counsel of the Trinity. Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Gentiles did what God had determined beforehand to be done to His Son. Furthermore, the death is accomplished actively by the Son: not “I permit man to take it from Me,” but “no one (oudeís, ‘not even one’ created thing, man or demon) takes it from Me (i.e., it is not decreed to be taken), but I lay it down (actively) of Myself (i.e., not of anyone else)” (a.t.). And Jesus did this “through the eternal Spirit,” that is, through the Holy Spirit, who, with the Father and Word, is one Spirit. The predetermined death of Christ included redemption, for in His death the way to eternal life was opened. Even Judas acted within the plan of God. Though he joined the Twelve for ulterior motives, he, without realizing it, fulfilled Old Testament prophecies (Ps. 41:9; Luke 22:21, 22).

[23] Unable to comprehend Jesus’ bodily resurrection, the disciples “grieved (elupēthēsan, the aorist passive of lupéō [3076], to grieve) very much” (a.t.). If they had a preconception of a spiritual resurrection that left the physical body in the grave, they would naturally grieve for the loss of Jesus’ bodily presence. Yet Jesus told them He would raise His physical body (John 2:19–21), not just ascend in spirit to the Father.

When we read the Synoptic passages, we learn more: “But they were ignoring (ēgnóoun, the imperfect active of agnoéō [50], to ignore; Acts 17:23; 1 Cor. 14:38) this saying” (a.t.; Mark 9:32; cf. Luke 9:43–45). The translation, “they understood not” (KJV), is too passive sounding, so we have substituted the more precise translation “ignored” that captures the active, volitional sense. This does not mean, however, that they were fully conscious of their motives. We tend to ignore things that make us confused, angry, or frightened.

Mark 9:32, in fact, continues, “And they were fearing (ephoboúnto, the imperfect middle of phobéō, to be afraid) to ask Him” (a.t.). The middle voice implies that cause and effect are both internal; that is, they were causing themselves to fear. How so? They subjectively reacted (effect) to the subjective possibility (cause) that Jesus’ hope of resurrection was wishful thinking on His part. But this was not objective. Objectively, it was impossible that He not be raised from the dead: “It was not possible (ouk dunatón) for Him to be held (krateísthai) by [Death]” (Acts 2:24; a.t.). Accordingly, the subjective fear that He was wrong and they would never see Him again prevented their talking about His death.

Luke looks beyond the facts and fears to the Lord’s plan: “…and it has been hidden (parakekalumménon, the perfect passive participle of parakalúptō [3871], from pará, besides, alongside of, near; and kalúptō [2572], to cover) from them in order that (hína [2443], a purpose clause) they might not perceive (aísthōntai, the aorist middle subjunctive of aisthánomai [143]) it” (Luke 9:45; a.t.; cf. Sept.; Job 23:5; Prov. 24:14).

We should be careful to limit our understanding to the precise truth in the Greek verbs. For example, the perfect tense of “hidden” only brings the disciples up to the present; no strictures are put on future revelation. This is corroborated by the aorist tense of “perceive,” meaning for an instant; that is, there is no sense of duration. Finally, the prior verse (Luke 9:44) tells us that the truth that was partially hidden was the Son of man “being delivered” into the hands of men.

Jesus had not disclosed any details of “the delivery” at this point. For one thing, although He said “is about” (v. 22), He did not reveal when the event would occur in terms of hours and days, so the imminence itself may have frightened the disciples. Also, Jesus veiled the fact that Judas would be the betrayer until he performed the act itself. But the veil was partial. Just before this, Jesus told them to “put [what was revealed]…into [their] ears” (Luke 9:44).

God sometimes covers up (kalúptō) elements that are “alongside” or “near” (pará) the disclosed elements of predictive prophecy. He waits until we are properly equipped “in His hour” to understand and absorb. We cannot rush God. His plan includes its own timetable. Parakalúptō, therefore, means neither full disclosure nor full nondisclosure.

[24] After the scenario at the base of the Mount of Transfiguration in which Jesus drove out a demon and taught the disciples about faith, Jesus went to Peter’s “house” (v. 25), where He stayed frequently. Upon His arrival in Capernaum, some tax collectors approached Peter concerning Jesus’ accountability to Caesar. Only Matthew deals with this incident, possibly because it was his former occupation (Matt. 9:9–13).

Taxes were increased at the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 10:32) and again, later, to one-half shekel (two drachmas in Greek currency) per person for temple services. Exacted in New Testament times (Matt. 17:24), a large part of the collections was sent yearly to Rome.

The tax collectors asked, “Does not your Master pay taxes (teleí, the present tense of teléō [5055], to pay taxes; from which telōnēs [5057], tax collector, is derived)?” (a.t.).

[25] Peter, standing outside, responded simply, “Yes” (naí [3483], truly), not “Yes, He does not,” but “Yes, He does.” Though the answer is syntactically ambiguous, as in most cultures, the negative aspect of the question is ignored. The collectors knew what Peter meant, since they understood their own question. Peter would not imply that Jesus would do anything immoral, and he knew that paying taxes was moral.

Then Peter entered his house. Jesus “preempted (proéphthasen, the aorist tense of prophthánō [4399], to anticipate, used only here in the New Testament) him saying, What do you think (dokeí, the present active indicative of dokéō [1380], to think), Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute (kēnson [2778], census, poll)? Of their own children (huiōn [5207], sons) or of strangers (allotríōn [245], others)?” (a.t.).

Jesus apparently knew what the tax collectors had asked outside the house. His lead question forced Peter to think beyond the mundane ethics of tax accountability to higher biblical truth. The King of kings will exact the righteous requirements of the Law from unbelievers while paying off the debt for His children, thereby setting them free. Later, Paul constructs a complete allegory on this theme in Galatians 4:22–31.

[26] The answer was self-evident. Peter knew that kings impose taxes on strangers, not their children. Jesus concluded, “Then (ára [686]; ge [1065], therefore doubtless) the children are free (eleútheroi [1658])” (a.t.). He did not say “will be” but “are” free, meaning as children. The relationship itself included freedom from this law of taxes that was imposed only on strangers. Similarly, we believers are freed from this imposition of the Law: “God sent forth His Son…to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son” (Gal. 4:4–7).

[27] God Himself, with equal discrimination, frees His own sons from the Law by fulfilling in Christ both its requirements and its penalty. Jesus was not implying that earthly kings were immoral by imposing taxes only on strangers. Nor was He implying that strangers should rebel for the status accorded to sons. The truth is, that’s exactly what it would take—a revolution, for no king would adopt all his subjects to grant them equal status with his natural sons.

Because the Lord has ordained government to defend against external aggression and prevent internal anarchy, it is proper to finance it (Rom. 13:1–7). Taxes simply underwrite international peace and domestic civil order. So it is morally right to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17).

Accordingly, Jesus said, “But in order that we not offend (skandalísōmen, the aorist subjunctive of skandalízō [4624], to offend, scandalize),” let’s give Caesar what he demands. The aorist tense carries the idea of not offending even one time. We should never avoid or cheat on our taxes.

Not having the money in hand, Jesus used the occasion to perform another miracle. As prophesied, the first fish Peter landed contained the exact amount of money required to pay the taxes for both Jesus and himself—a statēra ([4715]; “a piece of money” [KJV]), an Attic silver coin equal to four drachmae, equivalent to the Jewish shekel. Since one-half shekel was required per person, this was sufficient for the tax.

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International in Chattanooga, Tennessee for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine, and authored dozens of exegetical books.