Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew chapter 17. Matthew 17. I'd like for us to be here one
more time today. We're going to look at something
that has always been the most amazing thought to me. This has
always been, honestly, the most amazing thought, just the most
amazing thing to consider. The circumstance of this, the
exactness of this, the sovereignty of this, the glory of the Lord
in this. I just, from the first moment
I remember reading this, I can't help but smile inside every time
I think about this. What I'm talking about starts
in verse 24, but let's begin reading in verse 22 with a very
solemn declaration from our Lord. Matthew 17, verse 22 says, and while they abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, the son of man shall be betrayed into
the hands of men. and they shall kill him. And
the third day he shall be raised again, and they were exceeding
sorry." Our Lord told them that over and over and over again
to inform them, to prepare them, to provide comfort to them when
it happened. He very kindly, very lovingly,
told them over and over again, this is what's going to happen
to me. Then in verse 24, it says, when
they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money
came to Peter and said, doth not your master pay tribute?
He sayeth 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 and 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 they. Do we understand what what's
happening here? I've titled this message, a fish
swallowed a coin. The Lord and his disciples came
into this city called Capernaum. And Peter was confronted by tax
collectors. who told him, you owe us a tax
to be here. And they said, your master owes
us a tax too. They said, your master pays his
taxes, doesn't he? Questioning his character, you
know, as, as questioning, he, he obeys the law, right? He,
he abides by the law, right? Peter said, absolutely he does.
Yes, every jot, every tittle, absolutely. So Peter went back
to the house where the Lord was to tell him that both of them
owed money for taxes. And when Peter came into the
house, it says the Lord prevented him. That means the Lord responded
to his question before Peter ever asked the question. Peter never got a word out. He
didn't need to. The Lord already knew all things
he knew what was in Peter's heart to ask. He already knew what
things Peter had need of. And Peter didn't need to say
one word to him, and here's the thing about it. Neither do we. Neither do we. We don't need to notify him of
anything. We ask. He told us to ask, didn't
he? He said, ask and you'll receive. Seek and you'll find. Knock,
it'll be open. But we do not need to notify him of anything. It's almost like we find out
certain news, bad news, whatever it is, and it's like, well, we
need to notify the Lord so he can know we need help. He already
knows. He already knows. Isn't that
so comforting? So comforting. Don't turn, but Matthew chapter
six says this, it says, take no thought saying what shall
we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed? Take no thought. It says your heavenly father
already knows that you have need of these things. You just look to Christ and everything
will be taken care of. You won't even have to ask for
it. Meaning you won't have to inform him of anything. You won't
have to notify him of anything. Romans 8 says we don't really
know what to ask for as we ought. We do ask. We do cry out. We do tell the Lord these things,
but Romans 8 says we don't know what to ask for as we ought. But it says the spirit of Almighty
God knows. And he makes intercessions and
he makes groanings for us that we could never even utter. We wouldn't even know how to
ask it. If we could, we couldn't even
utter it properly. If we knew what to ask for Isaiah
65 says in glory, this is going to be for all eternity. This
is what Isaiah 65 says before we ever even asked the question,
he'll give us the answer. And our Lord demonstrated the
truth of that for Peter, for us right here. Peter went into
the house and before he could notify the Lord of the taxes
they owed, this is what the Lord said. He said, let me ask you
a question, Peter. Do the kings of this earth take tax money
from strangers or their own children? Peter said, from strangers. He
said, that's how the king of kings does it too. What he was saying was, I don't
owe tax money for my own land that I created and I own, and
neither do you. As a child of the father, this
is what he was telling Peter, you will never pay taxes in the
heavenly kingdom, never. But he said, lest we should offend,
and I'll go ahead and tell you this. That ought to be our attitude. Toward everything, I'll go ahead
and tell you this, that ought to be our attitude toward things
that hinder our liberties. You know, we have certain liberties
and different ones may be offended by them and. Whatever it is, whatever it is
that ought to be our attitude, we ought to learn from our Lord.
He said, lest we should offend. Paul, the apostle Paul was constantly
saying, brethren, don't be an offense. Just don't offend whatever
it is. Don't offend. That's kind. That's loving. What a beautiful
example. But our Lord said, lest we should
offend, we're going to pay the taxes. So he said, Peter, grab
a fishing pole. Go down to the beach. Cast your hook into the sea and
the first fish you snag reel him in. Reach into his mouth. You're
going to find a coin in there. Take that coin and go pay our
taxes with it. Don't you love that? I'm smiling on the inside and
it's coming out on the outside. I just love that. Now there are
four things that we can see in this that truly bless my heart.
There are four things I see in this. There's probably an infinite
number of things we can see in it. Number one is this. The Lord will provide. The Lord is going to provide.
He is going to provide for us spiritually. He's going to provide
for us materially. He's going to provide for us
in our homes. What if my job goes south? Here's what the Lord
will provide. Well, what if my health goes
south? Here's what the Lord will provide. The Lord will provide
for his ministry if this is his ministry. If this is of Him, if this is
not of our flesh and not of our doing, if God did this, He will
provide. The Lord will provide, truly. When Abraham and Isaac were on
the top of Mount Moriah, and a substitute sacrifice for sin
was revealed to them. They were on top of that mountain.
for the purpose of offering a sacrifice for sin. And when a substitute
sacrifice for sin was revealed to them, Abraham cried, I can
see that man literally shedding tears, crying, Jehovah Jireh. The Lord has provided. Isaac, the Lord will provide.
The Lord, he said he would and he did and he will. The Lord
will provide, the Lord provided our great eternal need, our great
eternal need. Think about everything he went
through and everything he did to provide our great eternal
need. We needed a sacrifice for sin,
we needed a substitute sacrifice for sin. Abraham said the Lord
will provide that and he did. The Lamb of God allowed himself
to get caught in the thicket. Just like he said he would right
here in verse 22 and 23, that's how we just started right here.
He said he would. It says while they abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, the son of man shall be betrayed into
the hands of men and they shall kill him. And the third day he'll
be raised again. Why? Because he allowed himself
to be. He allowed himself to be caught
in that thicket to provide for his people. Because of that,
because of his promise, he is not going to leave us empty. He's not going to leave us and
he is not going to leave us empty. He will provide for us eternally. He will provide for us temporally. David said, I have been young
and now I'm old and I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor
his seed begging bread. I just quoted Matthew 6 where
our Lord said, you seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness
first. His righteousness is a person.
The kingdom of God is a person. It's all a person. The Lord Jesus
Christ. You seek Christ first and everything
else will be added to you. You will not do without. That's
his promise. You will not do without. I can't
help but just adore and be so thankful for the thought of eternity.
Everything that the Lord has for his people to provide and
sustain his people, it will never diminish. There'll never be a
point where, well, the resources are running out. We have a problem
on our hands. The resources are running out.
It's never going to be said. The Lord will provide. Peter brought his need to the
Lord. He went back to that house. He brought his need to the Lord
and he didn't go away empty handed. That's the first thing we can
see in this that truly blesses my heart. The Lord will provide.
All right. Here's the second thing we can see in it. Our Lord
will satisfy the law for us. That's good news. Peter was empty. He did not have anything to satisfy
the law with. He could not satisfy the law.
Look with me, if you would, back at Matthew chapter 10. Matthew 10 verse 1 says, And when he had called unto him
his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits,
to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles
are these, and then he lists them right there. Verse 7 says,
And as you go, preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils,
freely you have received, freely give. Verse nine says, provide
neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses, nor script for
your journey, Neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves,
for the workman is worthy of his meat. He said, don't bring
any money with you. That's what he said. Don't bring
any money with you. Don't bring any extra things
with you. Just go. Just go with the message. That's
the condition Peter was in. He didn't have anything. He didn't
bring any money with him. The law came to him and said, you're
going to have to satisfy what is demanded. And Peter couldn't,
or he would have satisfied it right then and there. Well, how
much do I owe you? How much is the tribute? So he went to the Lord and the
Lord satisfied it for him. Everything that God's law has
demanded of us, Christ has satisfied for us. every single thing that
the law demands Christ has provided and satisfied. Isn't that relieving?
No creditors were going to come looking for Peter. Those men
were not going to grab him and haul him off to jail. Peter's Lord paid the debt, satisfied
the law. All right, go back to Matthew
17. Here's the third thing we can see in this that This just blesses my heart indescribably. This is incredible. It's how amazing the Lord our
God's perfect providence in this is. How amazing it is to see
that he truly does order all things well. My imagination just
can't help but run with this. Just imagine this with me, okay?
Let's just imagine it together for a minute. The Capernaum government
decides to mint a coin. They come up with some value.
The coin is going to be worth some value, you know. So they mint this coin. The coin
makes it into the hand of some man or woman. Whether he or she goes swimming
or walks out on a pier or gets into a boat, Somehow he or she
drops the coin into the water. I can envision him or her realizing
that crying. Oh, no. That's a terrible mistake. I
didn't mean for that to happen. As the coin is going down through
the water, a fish swallows it. Our Lord then tells Peter, Go
fishing. Peter and the fish come to the
exact same spot on the beach. The fish sits there waiting for
Peter's hook. The Lord said, Peter, it's going
to be the first fish you pull up. He didn't say, now you pull
up a fish and then reach in there. If there's nothing in there,
you just keep snagging them out until you find something. He
said, it's going to be the first fish you pull up. No other fish was going to get
that hook. Peter casts his line. The fish bites. Peter reels him
in. And can you believe it? There
is a stater inside. The government made, the man
dropped, the fish ate, a stater. Peter needed a didrachma. The Capernaum government said
the Lord needed a didrachma. Look at verse 24. And when they
were come to Capernaum, They that received tribute money. Do you have the center margin
in your Bible? Mine? I have a little two next to tribute. It says called in the original
did Rachma. Being in value 1S3D. That's how much the tribute was.
That's how much was owed. 1S3D I have no idea what an S
is or a D is. I didn't look that up. But the tax that Peter owed was
1S3D. The tax that the Lord owed was
1S3D. Okay, 1S3D, 1S3D. Look at verse
27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, Go thou to the sea, and cast
and hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up. And when
thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money."
I got either a number one or a capital I. I don't know what
that is. But this is what my center margin says. It's a stater. It is half an ounce of silver.
in value 2S 6D after 5S the ounce. Anybody catching that? They each owed 1S 3D plus 1S
3D. Peter looked inside that fish's
mouth and there was 2S 6D inside that mouth, the exact amount. No more, no less. Each one of our lives is being
carried out in that kind of perfect providence. I know it seems random. A fish ate a coin. Peter went
fishing. I know it seems so random, but
every detail of the life that each one of us is living on this
earth has been from eternity past. From second one to second whatever. It has been perfectly ordered
and it is being perfectly orchestrated. The master conductor is perfectly
orchestrating all of the providence concerning each one of us. All
of the providence. Every step you take. Every coin
you drop. Really, how important is it that
you had butter fingers and dropped a coin? It's very important. Everything you think is an accident.
Every encounter you have. Every piece of news you receive. Everything in this life that
you have to do down to the taxes you have to pay. All of it is the beautifully
orchestrated providence of the Lord, our God. All of it, everything
concerning us, everything that happens in our life. is the beautifully
orchestrated providence of the Lord our God. That's such a blessing
to me. That's such a comfort to me.
I thank the Lord for showing us that. This one little mention
of this account, this shows us that the Lord will provide for
us. The Lord will satisfy everything
that needs to be satisfied for us. In this, we see his perfect
providence ordering everything concerning our lives. And the
last thing that I'll mention tonight is in this, we see our
Lord's willingness to join himself into a true union with us in
the condition that we are in. His willingness to join Himself
to our condition. Look at the end of verse 27. He said, you're going to pull
up a piece of money. He said, that take and give unto
them for me and thee. Me and thee, both of us. We're in this boat together. Again, verse 22 says, while they
abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, the son of man shall
be betrayed into the hands of men and they shall kill him. And the third day he shall be
raised again. Why? Why did he say that? Why did he do that? It's because
he made himself to be in the same boat with his people. He willingly joined himself into
union with the condition of his people. As they were, so he made
himself to be. Galatians 4 says, when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons. He willingly joined
himself to our condition to deliver us from it. How thankful we are
to see that and to know that. How thankful we are. There's
nothing more comforting for any child of God to hear and to know
than to hear the Lord Jesus Christ say, me and thee. Me and thee,
we are in a union together. I'm with you, you're with me. Nothing more comforting. In closing,
let me read Hebrews 2 to you. Go with me there to Hebrews chapter
2. Hebrews 2 verse 14 says, For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part in the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For
in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succor them that are tempted. What a blessing that is to know.
I thank God for this little account of the fish that swallowed the
coin. I really do. All right.