“Needed Reminders”

(Matthew 17:22-27)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

February 2, 2020

The Passage

Matthew 17:22-27

22 As they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes,” he said. When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers?” 26 “From strangers,” he said. “Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. 27 “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Introductory Comments:

Matthew chapter 17 has some powerful moments in the beginning, including the transfigurations of Jesus and the healing of a boy with a demon, followed by this occurrence near the end which seems pretty mild and maybe even a little unusual. 

However, there are some great truths for us to learn in this passage. 

In fact, Matthew is the only Gospel writer to include this occurrence. Part of this passage has to do with paying a tax and some suggest that maybe Matthew liked this story because before Jesus called him to be a disciple he was a tax collector. 

Nevertheless, this is the Word of God and we will take some time today to discover what God has for us. 

Before we do, let’s go to God in prayer. 

(prayer)

Before we go much further, it’s important to note that some of you may be wondering why we didn’t cover verse 21 in last week’s passage. The short of it is that the oldest translations that have been discovered do not contain verse 21. Verse 21 does not change the meaning of the text, and it does not change any theology in the Christian faith, so it certainly doesn’t upset our Christian faith. The only reason it’s not there is that it’s not in the oldest manuscripts that we have and modern Bible translators want to be careful not to include anything in the Word of God that wasn’t originally in the Word of God. I suspect that’s enough explanation for most of you, but if you would like to talk to me further about it, please find me after the service or contact me sometime soon. 

How many of you need reminders sometime? I need reminders about a lot of stuff. Sometimes some of you will ask me to do something when I’m visiting around the Bible study classes or in the sanctuary before service. I usually always write it down or ask you to contact me and remind me. I need reminders about stuff in order to help me remember important things.

Well, today we’re going to see four helpful reminders in this passage that will help us as we faithfully follow God. 

Let’s jump right in. Number one is . . .

I. A reminder about Jesus’ death (vv. 22-23) [on screen]

Remember, Jesus’ days on earth are limited at this point. He is nearing the end of His time on earth and He is continually pointing His apostles to the fact that He will have to die and to the fact that He will rise from the dead. 

Here, Jesus is pointing them to His death again. Look at verses 22 and 23. 

22 As they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.

They are now again in the Galilee region, which is naturally near the Sea of Galilee, on the western side of the sea. This is home-base for Jesus and His disciples.

As they are gathered, Jesus is again reminding them that He must be betrayed, He must die, and He will rise from the dead. He is laser-focused on His mission and He’s revealing i