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Whenever this passage is taught, it is almost always spun as a teaching about freedom, namely freedom in Christ and it usually cross references that verse from John 8:36 which says: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” However, given the context that we have been exploring in this series, I believe this miracle was intended to be a very clear lesson to Jesus’ disciples, and thus a lesson to all of us, that Jesus insists His Church remain foreign to institutional religion. Let me explain.

First we need to go back to Jesus’ exchange in the desert with Satan in Matthew 5:8-10. Satan tried three times to tempt Jesus and in this third attempt he offers Jesus all the kingdom’s of the world (kosmos– world systems, institutional power).

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Jesus makes it clear that he will only serve God, and not be lured into worshiping Satan by seeking institutional power. The kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is continually pointing people toward is of “another source”, it is an ever-lasting kingdom, with an entirely different set of rules and leadership than the kingdoms of this world.

Now back to our blueprint for the Church Jesus said he would build.

“When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.” (Matthew 17:24-26)

The “two-drachma” tax was the temple tax extracted from all people passing through the area. Each drachma was equivalent to two denarius (two days of labor). Keep in mind that in this time, the Temple system was the center of the city, it provided the social services, the safety, the governance and was usually held within a set of walls, which this coastal city had. This is where Jesus found most of his disciples and was essentially his second home. This is important because those collecting the tax don’t see him as a citizen. The most likely reason the consider him an outsider is that Jesus had already condemned the city when they had arrested John the Baptist.

“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” (Matthew 11:23)

So contextually, Jesus is back where he had dwelled, and the religious system was going to impose their tax on him as their posture of power. Jesus sees through the hypocrisy and asks Peter what he thinks about religion’s posture of innies and outies, calling the religious the “Kings of the earth” (gy– land, local systems, earth). Jesus uses the contrasting terms “uios” (son or citizen) and “hállótrios” (foreigner, enemy, belonging to another). Peter correctly answers Jesus pop quiz, likely heard in the presence of the tax collectors, that the “son’s are free“.

The miracle that followed was far more than a way for Jesus to pay the tax without having money of his own, it was the provision of God which ensured Jesus would not participate as a “son or citizen” of the Kingdom of the world which in this case was religious institutional power.

“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.” (v.26)

Had he not paid this tax, Jesus would have immediately been arrested and since he knows he has to soon go to Jerusalem and will be arrested there, God provides this payment via the fish so as not to create any drama. Scholars have differing views as to why he needs this miracle. Some say because he and his disciples are poor. I think having a few coins in their pockets was quite likely, and that meant Jesus wasn’t willing to pay it from his own resources, because that would make him complicit in the ethos behind it. Jesus is not a son of that kingdom. He is an outsider.

The contextual application here is that the Church (gathering or congregation) that Jesus is building, the one with the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, stands in clear distinction to and is foreign to institutional religion. The reason I teach the Bible according to the best skill and care I can provide, is to reveal to you, especially those who are over-identified with their favorite institution, denomination, or tradition, precisely how subversive Jesus’ message and Church is to institutional religion. This is why I confidently can say that Christianity should never have become a world religion. The biblical revelation is very clear that Jesus did not ever inaugurate a new alternative religion.

So long as Christianity views itself as a world religion, replete with its own power structure, economic engines, and exclusionary propaganda, it is not existing as the true Church established by Jesus. The collective of people who deny themselves and strive toward Christ following are those who belong to Christ, not those who are a part of a religious conversion strategy. If we were to insert the modern Church, as it is defined and understood today, into this story, Jesus would clearly stand on the outside and insist on remaining a foreigner to the trajectory of our modern institutional religion because it is a kingdom modeled after the world.

Would you care to test this position?

If you are honest, is your church more like a .com or business? Could you become a leader in your church, or even a member if you elected not to tithe or pay your “temple tax?” Does your church have to talk about giving your time, talent, or treasure to the system to keep it going, to keep the staff paid, the mortgage and insurance all paid up? How many of the bills which are incurred by your church are due to embracing tradition compared to those that required to proclaim the Gospel? Is the Gospel and all the expenses going toward it mostly being spent on those within the system, with only small percentages reaching outside the safety of the church walls?

Again, I hear your concerns that many of you have voiced, which state that I’m being too harsh or critical of the modern church. I know that many pastors teach and warn you against those like me who “deconstruct” the systems and I recognize the political, social, spiritual, and economic pressure that is put on you if you were to question things as I have. None of this oppression is lost on me. I too had to face all of this as the Gospel freed me from institutional overreach. My goal in deconstruction is to give you a lens through which you can see what is really and truly the Kingdom and the Gospel, and what is merely a social convention, or the tradition of men. Being able to separate them will allow you to serve and lead these communities back on course. But ignoring the critiques which I believe are fair and warranted, will only prolong and allow the church to remain without much faith or power in this world which needs it more than ever. Remember Jesus started this blueprint in Matthew 15:7-9 by quoting Isaiah:

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Jesus paid the tax so that he could stay and not make waves in his home town. He is not opposed to making waves, but this was not his time to do so. That is a consideration for you as well. Once you do, you can’t undo it. However, there was no confusion as to whether Jesus was a son of the world’s kingdom, or a foreigner to his own religion. His Church, His followers would remain foreigners as they sought the Kingdom of God. This group represented the revolution that was coming. The church was revolutionary by Jesus’ design. Is yours? If the very disciples of Jesus, if his fledgling church, had to relearn God outside of their religion, then perhaps we might need to as well.

So I ask you, if instead of Judaism, Capernaum had a large evangelical church, would you rather follow Jesus toward God outside the system, or would you try and find God within it amidst all of its programming and propaganda?