At the beginning of the year, our church was going through a series in which we took a deep dive into what it means to follow Jesus. At the end of one of the first sermons in the series, the preacher sent us home with a challenge. He encouraged us to read a chapter of Matthew everyday from now until the end of the month, reflecting on what it taught us about Jesus and how we can also reflect that in our own lives. I wanted to take on this challenge, so off I went. I had read many chapters of Matthew before, so most of the stories were nothing new to me. Several days in I reached Matthew 17. I came across a story that I don’t think I had ever heard before, and I stopped in my tracks when I realized the truth behind the story in verses 24-27. The story is as follows:
“On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?’ ‘Yes, he does,’ Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, ‘What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?’ ‘They tax the people they have conquered,’ Peter replied. ‘Well then,’ Jesus said, ‘the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us’”.
Jesus is God, and the Temple is God’s house, so Jesus should not have had to pay to enter. Jesus also didn’t have to pay the price for our sins, but he did, just like with the Temple tax. Jesus covered the cost of Peter going into the temple, and he covers the cost for all of us to enter into heaven. Jesus pays for the price of admission into God’s kingdom. He doesn’t say, “Hey, I’ll pay this time and then you owe me”. He covers the cost for Peter without Peter ever needing to ask. We didn’t have to ask Jesus to cover for us because he knew that we were not able to pay such a high price all by ourselves. Jesus offered his life freely to cover our cost, so that we may freely enter God’s presence.
This is a truth that leaves me speechless. Jesus did all of that just for me, and just for you. The God of the Universe stepped down out of glory and perfection, put on the flesh of a weak, limited human being, lived a perfect life, and then died for all the things that we have done. And he did that just so that we could be welcomed into God’s family, have the opportunity to be in God’s presence and to gain eternal life. All of this would have never been possible without Jesus paying this price for us. No one has the power to save themselves, because we all fall short of God’s expectation. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). Honestly I could go on and on about this, because it is just so humbling and amazing that someone would do something like that for me, because I know that I really don’t deserve it. I am so thankful to have and know Jesus and all that he has done for me.
Have you ever really considered what the price of admission is into God’s kingdom? We need to understand that it would be impossible for us to pay for this on our own. Reflect on what Jesus had to do to pay this price, and thank him for being willing to pay for our ticket home.
Comments