1299. A Piece of Money

A Piece of Money

Mat_17:24-27

Does Your Master Pay Tribute? (Rom_13:6).

Lest We Should Offend Them (Rom_14:21).

That Take, and Give (Mat_10:8).

Me and Thee (Hos_3:3).

Me and Thee for It (Php_4:13).

For Me and Thee (Luk_15:31).

We have before us, today only four verses, but they are full of blessed truth. Sometimes the simpler things of the Bible present the deepest of spiritual messages.

The story of the tribute money reminds us at once of the humiliation of Christ Jesus. When we think of the One Who was before all things, Who was the creator of all things, and, therefore, the possessor of all things, standing penniless before a tax collector, we are almost startled.

The Lord Jesus Christ emptied Himself. He became poor for our sakes. The foxes had their rest and the birds their nests, but the Son of Man had no where to lay His head.

Another lesson which will be brought home is the way in which our Lord Jesus met the exigencies of His need. He commanded Peter to go down to the sea and cast in a hook. While there was a miracle in the fact that the special fish which was to be caught would contain a piece of money in its mouth, the exact amount needed for the tax collector, yet, there was also much of the practical turn. Peter had been fishing most of his active life. He knew how to cast the net or the hook; he knew how to land the fish. Thus it is that God links Himself to man to fulfil His purposes.

Perhaps the best that we are to discover, is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is mindful of our needs, and that He is a sympathetic High Priest, Who bids us to come unto Him that we may find grace and help in the time of need.

He holds the bounty of His supply, as the resource of His saints. The Word of God is plain and positive when it says: "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Php_4:19).

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR