A Coin in a Fish!

Jesus and His disciples had come back to the town of Capernaum, by the lake. While Peter was outside, some men came up to him. They were the ones who collected the tax for the temple, a small coin that every grown man paid once a year.

“Doesn’t your Teacher pay the temple tax?” they asked.

“Yes, He does,” Peter said quickly. But as he walked back to the house, he began to wonder. Where would the money come from?

Before Peter could say a single word, Jesus spoke first. He already knew what had happened outside. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked kindly. And He explained that He was the Son of God, so the temple was really His Father’s house. He did not truly have to pay.

“But,” said Jesus, “we don’t want to upset anyone. So go down to the lake.”

“Throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”

Matthew 17:27

A coin in a fish? Peter had been a fisherman all his life, and he had caught thousands of fish. He had never once found money in one!

But Peter went down to the water. He threw in his line, and very soon something tugged on it. He pulled up a fish, a nice shiny one. Then he opened its mouth, and there, just as Jesus had said, was a silver coin.

It was exactly the right amount. Enough for Jesus, and enough for Peter too. Not too little, not too much.

Peter stood on the shore with the fish in one hand and the coin in the other, amazed. Jesus had known about the question before Peter told Him. Jesus had known where the coin was before Peter caught the fish. And Jesus had cared about Peter’s worry, even a small one about a tax.

When we are not sure how something will work out, we can remember Peter’s fish. Jesus knows what we need, and He can take care of it in ways we would never imagine.