Free But Not Exempt: How God's Children Are Called to Move Through the World's Systems - Matthew 17:24–27

📖 Scripture: Matthew 17:24–27 & Romans 14

📅 Date: May 18, 2025

📺 Watch the Full Lesson Here 

Hey Everyone,

Thank you for taking a moment to explore this week’s scripture with us.

At first glance, this passage from Matthew might seem like a minor moment — Jesus talks about paying a temple tax. But just beneath the surface, it holds a radical teaching on how the children of God are called to live: not bound by systems, but still willing to serve within them.

And to help us go deeper, we’re pairing it with Romans 14, where Paul expands this same idea — that in the Kingdom, freedom is never about flaunting your rights, but about laying them down for the sake of someone else’s growth.

Jesus teaches us that freedom isn’t entitlement.

It’s discernment, restraint, and love in action.

Let’s dig in.

Recap of Last Week’s Lesson (Matthew 17:14–22)

Last week, we followed Jesus from the mountaintop into the valley — where a father begged for help, a boy suffered, and the disciples fell short.

We reflected on:

• How proximity to Jesus is not the same as cultivated intimacy
  

• How spiritual momentum can’t replace daily formation
  

• How faith must be practiced, not assumed
  

• And how Jesus doesn’t shame us when we fall — He meets us and moves us forward

This week, we’re still in Capernaum — but now Jesus is teaching Peter (and us) what it really means to live as sons of the Kingdom in a world full of systems, expectations, and watching eyes.

📖 Scripture Reading – Matthew 17:24–27 (ESV)

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said,

“Does your teacher not pay the tax?”

He said, “Yes.”

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?”

And when he said, “From others,” Jesus 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.”

📖 Romans 14:13–21 (ESV)

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.

By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.

Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Context & Background

What Was the Two-Drachma Tax?

• A voluntary temple tax, not a Roman one.
  

• Based on Exodus 30:13–16, it was expected of all Jewish men over 20.
  

• It symbolized devotion and participation in temple worship.
  

• While not legally enforceable, not paying it would raise eyebrows.
  

Why Do They Ask Peter?

The collectors approach Peter, not Jesus — perhaps to test His credibility through His closest disciple.

Peter says “Yes” — possibly without thinking.

But Jesus already knows what happened and uses the moment to teach Peter about identity and mission.

✨ Key Lessons & Takeaways

Matthew 17:24–27 & Romans 14

1. Sons Are Free — But They Still Move in Love

Jesus makes an identity statement:

“Then the sons are free.”

He’s saying, If this tax is for God’s house, and I’m God’s Son — I don’t owe anything.

And Peter, as part of Christ’s inner circle, is likewise not obligated.

Yet Jesus pays.

Why? Because He refuses to let His freedom become a stumbling block.

This directly mirrors Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:

“If your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.” (v.15)

“Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” (v.13)

In other words:

You may have the right — but love doesn’t just ask, “Can I?”

It asks, “Should I — if it could cost someone else their clarity or peace?”

Jesus shows us that maturity in the Kingdom isn’t proven by how loudly we declare our freedom, but by how willingly we restrain it for the sake of others.

📍 Takeaway:

The sons of the Kingdom are free — but they’re not reckless.

True spiritual authority walks with quiet confidence, not performative boldness.

And when love and wisdom require it, sons are willing to lay down what they don’t owe to protect someone else’s faith.

2. Sometimes Submission Is the Highest Strategy

Jesus had every reason to challenge the question.

He had Scripture on His side.

He had status on His side.

He had identity on His side.

But He doesn’t argue.

He pays — and keeps moving.

Not because He’s defeated.

But because He’s not distracted.

This mirrors Paul’s command in Romans 14:19:

“Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

Jesus models this.

He’s focused on the mission, not the moment.

On the cross, not the coin.

And Paul echoes it when he says:

“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” (v.20)

We could paraphrase:

Don’t, for the sake of proving your rights, derail what God is trying to build in someone else.

📍 Takeaway:

Submission doesn’t mean surrendering truth — it means preserving peace when peace keeps the door open for transformation.

There’s a time to take a stand — and a time to take a step back because the mission is too important to derail over something small.

3. The Kingdom Pays for the Cost of Humility

Peter, as usual, speaks too soon:

“Yes, He pays the tax!”

But instead of scolding Peter or correcting the public record, Jesus covers him — not just spiritually, but financially… and miraculously.

“Take the first fish you catch. Inside will be the coin. Use it for me and for you.”

It’s enough for both of them.

No one’s embarrassed.

No one’s shamed.

It’s not just provision — it’s protection through grace.

And Romans 14 gives us the backdrop:

“Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble…

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” (v.20–21)

Jesus essentially says:

“Let’s cover the cost so no one stumbles — and let’s trust that the Father will fund the humility.”

📍 Takeaway:

Sometimes love costs you — but Kingdom grace always covers the bill.

Whether it’s your reputation, your energy, or your peace…

If humility asks for it, Jesus will meet it — often in ways you don’t expect.

Challenge for the Week

Here are three questions to carry into the days ahead:

1. Where am I holding onto my “right” when Jesus is calling me to release it for the sake of someone else’s faith?
   
   

2. Am I confusing strength with stubbornness — or am I walking in the kind of freedom that knows how to move through systems without becoming entangled in them?
   
   

3. Where do I need to trust that God will provide — not just for what I need, but for what humility might cost me this week?

Final Word 

This short passage about a temple tax reveals something much bigger than coins or obligations.

It reveals a different kind of strength.

A deeper kind of freedom.

The kind that doesn’t need to be loud… because it’s rooted in love.

Jesus didn’t pay the tax because He owed it.

He paid it because He understood the weight of distraction.

He wasn’t here to fight for financial exemption.

He was here to lay down His life.

And that’s what spiritual maturity looks like:

Not needing to prove your freedom — but knowing when to set it aside to preserve the mission.

This is the same Jesus who knew He was King…

but still let Pilate mock Him.

Who knew He had legions of angels at His command…

but stayed silent before the cross.

Who knew the temple belonged to His Father…

but paid for its maintenance with a coin from a fish’s mouth.

This is what sons and daughters do.

We don’t move through the world anxiously trying to prove we’re chosen —

we move with clarity, quiet strength, and love that’s stronger than opinion.

This week, let’s not get tangled in unnecessary arguments.

Let’s not be baited into flexing our rights when God is inviting us to bend in love.

Let’s be people who pay what we don’t owe — because we’ve already received what we could never earn.

And let’s remember:

The King doesn’t just supply the freedom.

He covers the cost of humility too.

Grace, clarity, and maturity to you this week,

— Michael