Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 103
Miracle #33. Caught fish with coin in mouth.
- The Thirty-third Miracle of Messiah
- The 12th of 12 Miracles in Kefar Nachum
- Miracle Provision
- Proof of Identity
- The Redemption of the Soul Temple Tax
- Currency Requirement
- The Confrontation
- Lesson on Freedom
The Thirty-third Miracle of Messiah:
Mattai 17:24-27
וַיְהִי כְּבוֹאָם אֶל־כְּפַר־נַחוּם וַיִּגְּשׁוּ אֶל־פֶּטְרוֹס גַּבָּאֵי מַחֲצִית הַשָׁקֶל וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲלֹא יִתֵּן רַבְּכֶם אֶת־מַחֲצִית הַשָׁקֶל׃ וַיֹּאמֶר יִתֵּן וּבְבוֹאוֹ הַבַּיְתָה קִדֵּם אֹתוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ לִשְׁאֹל וַיֹּאמַר מַה־דַּעְתְּךָ שִׁמְעוֹן מַלְכֵי הָאָרֶץ מִמִּי יִקְחוּ מֶכֶס וּמַס מֵאֵת בְּנֵיהֶם אוֹ מֵאֵת הַזָּרִים׃ וַיֹּאמֶר פֶּטְרוֹס אֵלָיו מֵאֵת הַזָּרִים וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ אִם־כֵּן אֵפוֹא הַבָּנִים פְּטוּרִים הֵמָּה׃ וְאוּלָם לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־נִהְיֶה לָהֶם לְמִכְשׁוֹל לֵךְ אֶל־הַיָּם וְהִשְׁלַכְתָּ חַכָּה אֶל־תּוֹכוֹ וְאֶת־הַדָּג הָרִאשׁוֹן אֲשֶׁר יַעֲלֶה שָׂאֵהוּ וְכַאֲשֶׁר תִּפְתַּח אֶת־פִּיו תִּמְצָא בוֹ מַטְבֵּעַ אוֹתוֹ קַח וְשָׁקַלְתָּ עַל יָדִי וְעַל יָדֶךָ׃
כְּבוֹאָם אֶל כְּפַר נַחוּם נִגְּשׁוּ אֶל כֵּיפָא גּוֹבֵי מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל וְשָׁאֲלוּ: “הַאִם רַבְּכֶם אֵינוֹ מְשַׁלֵּם אֶת מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל? “כֵּן”, הֵשִׁיב לָהֶם. כַּאֲשֶׁר נִכְנַס הַבַּיְתָה הִקְדִּים יֵשׁוּעַ לִשְׁאֹל אוֹתוֹ: “מַה דַּעְתְּךָ, שִׁמְעוֹן, מַלְכֵי הָאָרֶץ מִמִּי הֵם לוֹקְחִים מֶכֶס וּמַס, מִבְּנֵיהֶם אוֹ מִן הַזָּרִים?” כְּשֶׁהֵשִׁיב “מִן הַזָּרִים”, אָמַר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ: “אִם כֵּן, הַבָּנִים פְּטוּרִים. אֲבָל כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא נִהְיֶה לָהֶם לְמִכְשׁוֹל, לֵךְ אֶל הַיָּם, הַשְׁלֵךְ חַכָּה וְקַח אֶת הַדָּג שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה רִאשׁוֹנָה. כְּשֶׁתִּפְתַּח אֶת פִּיו תִּמְצָא מַטְבֵּעַ; קַח אוֹתוֹ וְתֵן לָהֶם בַּעֲדִי וּבַעַדְךָ.” פ
As they (Yeshua and his talmidin) came to Kefar Nachum (Capernaum), the collectors of the half-shekel approached Keifa and said, “Does your Rav (Teacher) not give the half-shekel?” (redemption of the soul tax) He said, “He will give it.” But when he came to the house (before he could say a word about the tax), Yeshua first asked him, “What is your opinion Shim’on? The kings of the earth—from whom do they take taxes and customs?” From their own children or from foreigners?” He said to him, “From foreigners.” Yeshua said to him, “If so, then the children are exempt. But nonetheless, in order that we will not be an obstacle to them, go to the sea, throw a fishhook into it, and take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth, you will find a coin (a shekel). Take it and pay on My behalf and on yours.”
The 12th of 12 Miracles in Kefar Nachum:
Today’s miracle of “Caught fish with coin in mouth,” is the twelfth of twelve recorded miracle events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) that occur in the Messiah’s hometown of Kefar Nachum (כפר נחום); a Village of [God’s] Comfort, Consolation, Compassion, and the giving of [His] Rest.
Miracle Provision:
Even though he was exempt, Yeshua chose to comply to avoid causing an unnecessary scandal or putting a barrier in the way of His message. He instructed Keifa (Peter):
“Go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin (a stater). Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
This miracle teaches that because Yeshua is the Son of God, he is exempt from the tax, but he pays it anyway to avoid causing offense and to demonstrate God’s unexpected provision.
Proof of Identity:
This miracle shows the Messiah has power over nature. It also underscores his status as Ben HaElohim, the Son of God—exempt from paying an earthly tax to maintain his “Father’s house.”
Avoiding Offense: By voluntarily paying a tax they didn’t technically owe, Yeshua and Keifa (Peter) chose not to provoke the religious authorities or create a stumbling block for others.
Divine Provision: It highlights God’s ability to provide for His followers’ physical needs in miraculous and unexpected ways, utilizing Keira’s exact profession to do so.
The Redemption of the Soul Temple Tax:
When they came to Kefar-Nachum (Village of Comfort and Consolation), those who collected the (Greek) *two-drachma (or Roman two denarii) tax came to Keifa and said:
“Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”
He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Yeshua spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Shimon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” When Keifa (Petros) said, “From strangers,” Rabbi Yeshua said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel-redemption of the soul tax enough for two. Take that and give it to them for you and me.”
The Torah passage that refers to the half shekel (one drachma) redemption of the soul tax states (Exodus 30:11-16):
God also spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to HaShem, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: a half shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to HaShem. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to HaShem. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to HaShem to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before HaShem to make atonement for yourselves.”
Observation #1. Quite interestingly in the Septuagint Torah passage of Exodus 30:11-16 the members of the Great Synagogue, who translated the Hebrew text into Greek, set an equivalent value to the half shekel of one drachma (lit. one half of a double drachma). However, by the time of the Messiah’s first century ministry on earth, the customary Greek exchange rate for a half shekel was two drachmas (one double drachma).
Observation #2. This large variance is accounted for by the historical fact that the dominance of the Greek culture and currency had significantly declined from the time of the second century BCE when the Septuagint was written to the time of the Messiah’s first appearance in Israel in the first century CE.
Observation #3. This providentially embedded witness of scriptural decline in the value of the Greek coinage, between the time of the completion of the writing of the Tanakh and that of the writing of the Brit Chadashah may be a very subtle prophetic prediction of the eventual decline of the global rule of the Gentiles and the inevitable rise of the rule of Israel and the International Commonwealth of Israel.
In this telescopic way we can see, on the one side, an end to the times of the gentiles and on the other side the beginning of the long awaited Messianic Kingdom. We can see that the continuous unchanging redemptive ministry of the Messiah is always and forever of a Hebrew denomination (the half-shekel).
We Jews are born with the half-shekel coin inside of us.
Therefore, for those of us who are Jews by birth it is not necessary for us to convert to the Hebrew shekel from the Greek drachma or the Roman denarius. This is so because we were conceived as sons and daughters of God. We Jews were born with the half-shekel coin inside of us. We were born with the half shekel redemption of the soul money already inside of our Hebrew soul. All that we Jews need do is believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.
הֲרֵי בְּלִבּוֹ מַאֲמִין אִישׁ וְיֻצְדַּק, וּבְפִיו יוֹדֶה וְיִוָּשַׁע.פִ
For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness [the cleansing that brings us to righteousness], and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Messiah’s use of the Fish as a symbol for the human soul:
All that we need to do is believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.
What do all of these Jewish (Hebrew) biblical numbers and symbols mean? In the Hebrew Scriptures the symbol of a fish in and out of the water is most often a symbol of the life of the human “soul.” So the fact that Shimon Keifa miraculously acquired the one shekel the way he did underscores the truth that the temple that was being supported was the lives of redeemed Israel. This is the reality that the symbol of the Temple building points to. The specific mission in view here is the redemption of our “souls.”
Insight #1. The floor of the tabernacle of Moses was made out of blocks of silver that were derived from the original redemption of the soul money. This tabernacle foundation made out of silver is a symbol of redemption; silver-blood-redemption. This means that the foundation of the entire tabernacle structure was spiritually supported by the redemption of our souls. Our souls are redeemed by the silver (blood) sacrifice!
Insight #2. For Messiah did not limit himself to paying for the redemption (tax) of Shimon Petros alone. In reality Messiah our Korban Pesach also paid for all of the redemption of the soul money–the silver half shekel–for you and me. Those paying the temple tax were required to do so as a prophetic sign that the spiritual significance of the real redemptive sacrifice would one day be ritually acknowledged, respected and fully understood in Israel and in the Commonwealth of Israel to come.
Currency Requirement:
Because Roman coins bore the images of pagan emperors and gods, religious leaders strictly prohibited them inside the temple treasury. Worshipers had to exchange their regular currency for a Tyrian Shekel—-a specific coin favored for its high silver purity—which gave rise to the “money changers.”
Since the priests of the temple in Jerusalem accepted the temple tax only in this currency, money changers around the Temple offered their services, converting foreign money to this coin type. Apparently the charge for this service was high, and Rabbi Yeshua referred to this injustice when he said,“It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’, but you are making it a den of robbers”(Mattai 21:13).
Confrontation:
In Kefar Nachun (Capernaum) the Jewish tax collectors approached Keifa and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”. Keifa reflexively answered, “Yes.”
Lesson on Freedom:
Before Keifa could bring it up, Rabbi Yeshua questioned him about how earthly rulers collect taxes: “From their own children or from others?” When Keifa replied, “From others,” Yeshua responded, “Then the children are exempt.” Through this analogy, Yeshua pointed out that since the Temple was his Father’s house, he—as the literal Son of God—was inherently free from the obligation.