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The question of the Temple-tax:
v. 24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, Doth not your Master pay tribute?
v. 25. He saith, 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?
v. 26. Peter saith unto Him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
Capernaum was still considered the home of Jesus, and here He returned for a brief visit. Here the receivers of the custom, the collectors of the Temple-tax, were making their rounds. In the Old Testament, Exo_30:13-16, every Jew above twenty had been taxed a half shekel annually for the support of the Sanctuary. This tax was renewed in the time following the exile, the money being paid in the nearest equivalent of the coins then in circulation. The didrachma , or double Attic drachma , was now the commonly accepted tax for the Temple. The collectors did not approach Jesus directly, but, knowing Peter from former days, they address their request to him. Peter, familiar with his Master's habits and certain that He had always paid His contribution as a member of the Jewish Church, answered in the affirmative. Jesus, according to His omniscience, knew of the conversation before Peter ever stepped into the house and before he had had an opportunity to speak of the matter. So He anticipated His disciple; literally, got ahead of him. He also has a question to propose by presenting a parallel case. He wants to know what is customary with the rulers of the world in demanding and accepting duties on merchandise and poll-tax. The question is put in a lively spirit: What think you? Are the children liable or strangers? From the answer of Peter, who naturally exempted the children, Jesus then drew His conclusion: Therefore free are the children. Jesus was a Son in His Father's house, in the Jewish Church and its Temple, and not a servant in another's, and therefore could claim, as His rightful property, the offerings of the Temple. God is King of the Temple-city, therefore His Son is free from Temple-tribute. "His meaning includes this: My dear Peter, I know that we are kings and children of kings. I am the King of kings, and no one has the right to exact the Temple-tax from us, but they should rather pay it to us. How is it, then, My dear Peter, that they demand the tax from thee, since thou art a king's son? What thinkest thou? Do they do right that they demand the tax of thee? But since Christ proposes this question in a general way, Peter also answers in a general way in his simplicity, when he says: Not the children, but others usually pay the tax, not knowing that Christ in His words had called him a king's son. " This thought may be emphasized still more strongly. The children of God by faith in Christ, Gal_3:26, the children of the New Testament, kings in their own right, Rev_5:10, are free in the best sense of the word, Joh_8:36. They are no longer held in the yoke of any Old Testament ceremonial law, they, like their Master, are free from the precepts of Israel. Jesus thus makes a joyful declaration, which holds true for all times.