Navigating the ethics of life in light of the kingdom of God is often difficult. It can be like driving on a hilly bike path with hairpin turns. Consider for example, that you are free in Christ; this is a position of tremendous liberty. However, at times what you have the right to do is not the best thing for you to do.
Sometimes, it may be better for the sake of the gospel, to be strategically inconvenienced.
A (Loaded) Question about Taxes
One day the tax collectors asked Peter a bit of a loaded question along these lines. In Matthew 17:24 we read, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” It anticipates the positive answer. In other words, you could say, “Your teacher pays the tax, right?”
The tax here is the same one discussed in Exodus 30:11-16. It was imposed on every Israelite at the time of the census. The money went to support the tabernacle. This tax was attended with some controversy. Imagine that, a controversy over taxes. Historians note that for some the payment of the fee was a matter of national pride, while the Sadducees were opposed to it.
Peter answers with brevity, “Yes.”
But then when they got to the house, likely Peter’s home, another conversation takes place. And this is between Jesus and Peter about the tax. As it turns out, paying the tax was not as cut and dry as it might seem. It wasn’t just about being patriotic. Jesus asks Peter a question in verse 25. “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?’” (Matt. 17:25)
And, Peter answers him. ““From others” (Matt. 17:26a).
You are free in Christ; this is a position of tremendous liberty. However, at times what you have the right to do is not the best thing for you to do. Sometimes, it may be better for the sake of the gospel, to be strategically inconvenienced.
Kingdom Wisdom
Then Jesus provides a bit of a surprising answer. He said to him, “Then the sons are free. 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” (Matt. 17:26b–27).
Jesus navigates this complicated situation with remarkable wisdom. And, in doing so, he provides us with some basic principles for how winsomely live as kingdom citizens in a foreign land.
Jesus builds a metaphor to make his point. He asks about the kings of the earth: whom do they tax? The answer is pretty straightforward. Kings tax their citizens and people they conquer, not their families. As a result, the sons (of the king) are free. They don’t have to pay taxes.
Who is the tax paid to? Ultimately it’s paid to God, since it’s about the temple and worship. So, should God’s Son be forced to pay a tax? Following Jesus’s logic here the answer is “no.” No king would tax his own family. And since Jesus is God’s Son, he is exempt from this requirement.
But this isn’t the end of the answer. Even though Jesus has rights to refuse to pay, he sets them aside. Even though he has the logical and theological high ground, he opts to flex to a place of submission to others. He says, in effect, “to avoid offense, pay it.”
I mentioned this was complex. Think with me as to how this could have been problematic. If he paid the tax people could understand him to be saying that he was not the Son of God. Also, what if he took the money out of his money box? People gave that money, and perhaps his payment would be misunderstood. If he said he would not pay it, then he could be seen as saying in a public way that he rejected the temple—and all it stands for.
It’s complicated.
Strategic Inconveniences for Kingdom Advancement
Jesus says he does not want to be an offense or a stumbling block to anyone. He is concerned about how people will respond to him using his rights. He does something that would satisfy the tax collectors and not offend any of his supporters. He tells Peter to go and catch a fish. And inside of it, there will be a shekel, which would be sufficient for payment for both Peter and Jesus.
A lot of ink is spilled over the fish. And that’s a shame, because the fish and the coin are not the point. The issue here is about how the King responds to a complicated situation and what we can learn from it. What we need to see that Jesus is willing to set aside his rights to not unnecessarily offend someone else.
And this is where we need to learn from Jesus. He has a governing principle of the kingdom. He has put his entire life into it. He has freedom here that he willingly sets aside to aid the mission.
This is where we need to get to as Christians; we need to develop a reflex that responds to situations from the perspective of gospel advancement. While it is clear that we are free in Christ there are careful nuances to consider. As Paul writes, “all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful” (1 Cor. 6:12). How do we know what is helpful? We need to have a mind like Christ that is governed by kingdom expansion.
This comes into play in the early church with certain issues related to what people ate and drank. You can read about this in Romans 14-15, as well as 1 Corinthians 8-9. We learn that freedom does not always mean enjoying your rights, but sometimes it means forgoing them. The Christian is in a position of flexibility. You are free to enjoy everything that God has created and sanctioned, but you don’t have to. When your freedom would interfere with the expansion of the gospel, then you should wisely set aside your liberty for the sake of the gospel.
Freedom does not always mean enjoying your rights, sometimes it means forgoing them. The Christian is in a position of flexibility. You are free to enjoy everything that God has created and sanctioned, but you don’t have to.
This is indeed not something that comes naturally. We tend to think self first and others last. But when Jesus instructs us in what it means to be a kingdom citizen, then we learn from the one who showed the most significant demonstration of self-sacrifice.
Let’s remember it was Jesus who laid aside his rights and privileges as God to become a man also. He did this for the sake of the kingdom of God. He was willing to be inconvenienced so that God would be glorified and people like you and me would be blessed (Philippians 2:5-11).
Are you willing to be strategically inconvenienced for the sake of kingdom advancement?
