Matthew 17 - A Coin From a Fish's Mouth

He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. Matthew 17:25-27.

Jesus taught his disciples a spiritual lesson regarding payment of tribute to the kings of the earth. In the natural, it is understood that the earthly kings levy tributes and taxes against their subjects in exchange for protection, peace, harmony, etc. and NOT from the royal family. Therefore, the sons of a king are free from tribute obligation because they are able to bask in the blessings of being part of the monarchy.

The same is true in the spiritual realm. Sons of God are free from any payment or obligation but partake in all the rich inheritance of their Heavenly Father. This is made clear through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. By Him going to the cross, He took all of our payment, penalty, obligation for sin, leaving us free to live as children of the Most High God. Religious people and people of the world have no understanding of this freedom and so they will demand  from us, many times in the form of work or deeds and even an earthly tribute or tax.

Jesus told Peter to go ahead and pay the tribute, lest they offend the leaders of Israel who had no understanding of spiritual things. For us today, who live some 2000 years after the cross, we also must pay earthly tributes and taxes to the governments of the countries in which we live. Even though we are spiritually free sons of God, we must abide by the natural laws of the land in which we dwell.

God will provide all of that for us, and He will do it through the world system, whether it be through a job, business, or discovering treasure, or perhaps receiving a windfall of some kind. But it will not create harm to the world, in that He will not be taking from the world in order to bless us, like some divine Robin Hood.

No, as He blesses us, we in turn will be a blessing to all those around us, such that everyone will have an abundance that exceeds anything they could ask or think! The Gospel always brings prosperity in greater abundance than anything the world could do in their own strength. God is so good!

Matthew 17 - The Mount of Transfiguration

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. Matthew 17:5-6.

The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign from heaven proving He was Messiah, but He refused, stating that the only sign to be given Israel was the sign of Jonah. Fortunately, for three of the disciples, Peter, James and John, they were about to witness an amazing sign from heaven that would've made the Pharisees salivate! On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was transfigured before them as the God-man, His face and clothes brighter than the whitest white, just as the prophets of old had seen in visions and dreams! And what's more, even Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus. What an amazing opportunity for these three men!

Peter, in his zeal to worship the Lord, made the mistake of putting Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. As he was proclaiming his seemingly wonderful plan to build three tabernacles, the Heavenly Father interrupted his speech, declaring, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!"

What a wonderful message that is so true for us Christians today. We are to listen only to Jesus, for He is the exact representation of God the Father. Moses and Elijah are wonderful, but they are not on the same level as Jesus; instead, they point to Jesus! They represent all the Law and Prophets, which lead us to the person of Jesus. Praise God for that!

Jesus is the most wonderful gift that the Heavenly Father could ever give mankind. Sadly, there are many who are blind to this truth and needlessly suffer in sin, condemnation, and death. That's why it is so important for born again believers to advance the kingdom and share the good news of the Gospel!

Matthew 16 - Take Up Your Cross!

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26.

Peter's wonderful revelation of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the Living God was somewhat short-lived. As Jesus began sharing His future persecution and death on the cross, Peter used his natural thinking, as all of us would under the circumstances, and was understandably confused. In a moment of pride, Peter turned to Jesus and rebuked Him. Jesus, in turn, spoke back to Peter and rebuked Satan, claiming that he had in mind the things of man and NOT of God.

Satanic thinking always desires righteousness with God based on MAN's WORKS and not on GOD's WORK. God's righteousness comes from Jesus' final and complete work on the cross!

At that moment, Peter was speaking from his natural thinking and not from his newfound spiritual revelation. Because he wasn't yet born again, he had no true revelation of the coming spiritual kingdom, and so Jesus' death and resurrection made no sense to him. The natural mind cannot understand the things of God, because God is spirit and requires spiritual revelation.

The plans of God are always better than anything we could plan for our own natural lives. At the time Peter rebuked Jesus, the cross sounded like the worst plan in the world! But the reality is that it was the BEST plan in the world! It would establish the church and bring forth a multitude of born-again children of God filled with His Holy Spirit!

To be part of this wonderful spiritual kingdom, all of us must lay down our earthly dreams and desires and live the life the Heavenly Father has planned for us. When we "lose our lives" and take up our cross to follow Jesus, we FIND our spiritual lives. The spiritual life is what matters, for it will live on forever!