This passage suggests that there are two laws by which human beings can live: the law of the world, in which people ("others") pay taxes to the "kings of the earth"; and the law of discipleship to Jesus, wherein Jesus pays taxes to the "kings of the earth" while the disciple ("son") engages life free from those obligations. From where these tax payments come is a mystery symbolized in this passage as the mouth of a fish. Secrets of the kingdom.
The "taxes" in this passage, however, do not refer to tax demands the ruling authority of a land makes upon its citizens. They refer to the laws governing human behavior and to the responsibility each person must take for his or her actions. This law is inherent in the human condition and is not derived from the laws of human government. Briefly stated this law says that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. As a teaching, this law states: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Or, you reap what you sow.
In the human world, human action is never balanced. Individual activities and collective activities generate influences which must be acted upon, which generate more influences which must be acted upon . . . forever, without any agency by which balance can be attained and, therefore, freedom gained. Human beings who are not disciples living in the kingdom are, then, like billiard balls on a pool table who act exclusively out of laws governing the impact of one ball upon another. This kind of life is unconscious and without redemption.
Upon entry into discipleship to Jesus, the debts automatically accumulated by engaging in human activity are automatically paid by the "treasury" of the kingdom--instantly. The shekel in the mouth of the fish pays these "taxes" and Jesus is the treasurer. With these taxes paid, the disciple is free of the world. New actions in the world, that is, actions generated out of citizenship in the kingdom, arise out of the Holy Spirit and have as their intent increase in the disciple's capacity to take on greater faith.
When Jesus forgives the sins of those whom he encounters through healing, driving out demons, and through teachings, he is paying off a particular debt for that individual. What does that mean for the healed man? Is it possible for that person to "sin no more"? Not without engaging discipleship. In discipleship, all human actions are forgiven. They must all be forgiven, for any unforgiven action must necessarily generate other unforgiven activities which continue one's bondage to the world. Discipleship is all or nothing.
The shekel in the fish's mouth is for both Jesus and Peter. Even Jesus walking through the human world must pay this half shekel.
Discipleship is the ongoing forgiveness of sins (any human activity) so that other influences can manifest in the life of the disciple. This ongoing forgiveness of sins is the basis of righteousness.
The "taxes" in this passage, however, do not refer to tax demands the ruling authority of a land makes upon its citizens. They refer to the laws governing human behavior and to the responsibility each person must take for his or her actions. This law is inherent in the human condition and is not derived from the laws of human government. Briefly stated this law says that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. As a teaching, this law states: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Or, you reap what you sow.
In the human world, human action is never balanced. Individual activities and collective activities generate influences which must be acted upon, which generate more influences which must be acted upon . . . forever, without any agency by which balance can be attained and, therefore, freedom gained. Human beings who are not disciples living in the kingdom are, then, like billiard balls on a pool table who act exclusively out of laws governing the impact of one ball upon another. This kind of life is unconscious and without redemption.
Upon entry into discipleship to Jesus, the debts automatically accumulated by engaging in human activity are automatically paid by the "treasury" of the kingdom--instantly. The shekel in the mouth of the fish pays these "taxes" and Jesus is the treasurer. With these taxes paid, the disciple is free of the world. New actions in the world, that is, actions generated out of citizenship in the kingdom, arise out of the Holy Spirit and have as their intent increase in the disciple's capacity to take on greater faith.
When Jesus forgives the sins of those whom he encounters through healing, driving out demons, and through teachings, he is paying off a particular debt for that individual. What does that mean for the healed man? Is it possible for that person to "sin no more"? Not without engaging discipleship. In discipleship, all human actions are forgiven. They must all be forgiven, for any unforgiven action must necessarily generate other unforgiven activities which continue one's bondage to the world. Discipleship is all or nothing.
The shekel in the fish's mouth is for both Jesus and Peter. Even Jesus walking through the human world must pay this half shekel.
Discipleship is the ongoing forgiveness of sins (any human activity) so that other influences can manifest in the life of the disciple. This ongoing forgiveness of sins is the basis of righteousness.
