Mt. 17:24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25a He saith, Yes.
All modern commentaries on the Bible say that Matthew 17:24 is a reference to the temple tax. Also, much older commentaries such as Matthew Henry 1714 A.D., Adam Clarke 1832 A.D., John Calvin 1564 A.D., John Gill 1771 A.D., John Broasdus 1895 A.D., and Oregin in the 3rd century A.D. say the tribute is the temple tax. What does the Bible say about the temple tax? Let us review the relevant scriptures.
Exodus 30:11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord.
We learn from Exodus 30 that God commanded that the temple tax would be collected from the children of Israel and that it would be half a shekel. This is not a tax on strangers.
Exodus 38:26 a bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
From Exodsu 38 we learn that every man 20 years old and older was to pay the half shekel. The following three scriptures show how the tax was collected over the years. This began as a tax collected when they numbered the men in a census, to a tax collected annually. It's also important to note that this is a tax on the children of Israel, God's children, not on foreigners or strangers.
Numbers 3:47 thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
2 Chronicles 24:9 And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.
Nehemiah 10:32 Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;
You wouldn't understand that these tax collectors were temple tax collectors from what Jesus asked Peter. The Lord of the temple and the kings of the earth have nothing in common. The kings of the earth tax strangers but the Lord of the temple does not take money from strangers to support the temple.
Matthew 17:25b 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? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
If we are to understand from the conversation Jesus has with Peter that he, as the son of God, the Lord of the temple, Jesus is free and doesn't have to pay the tax, and all who Jesus gives the power to become the sons of God are free and don't have to pay the tax to support the temple. That would suggest that Christians don't have to support the church today.
Where do scholars get the idea that Matthew 17:24 is the temple tax? There is no scripture to support this position. Almost all commentaries on this subject make reference to the writings of Josephus, who wrote his history of the Jews from 90 A.D. to 100 A.D.
Josephus, War. 7.6.6 He also laid a tribute upon the Jews wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bring two drachmae every year into the Capitol, as they used to pay the same to the temple at Jerusalem. And this was the state of the Jewish affairs at this time.
Josephus, Ant. 3.8.2 And when he had gathered the multitude together again, he ordained that they should offer half a shekel for every man, as an oblation to God; which shekel is a piece among the Hebrews, and is equal to four Athenian drachmae.
Josephus Ant. 18.9.1 There was also the city Nisibis, situate on the same current of the river. For which reason the Jews, depending on the natural strength of these places, deposited in them that half shekel which every one, by the custom of our country, offers unto God, as well as they did other things devoted to him;
It seems to me, that the understanding that Matthew 17:24 is the temple tax comes from Josephus. There is nothing in the passage to suggest that these tax collectors are anything more than representatives of a sovereign lord, collecting tribute or custom from travelers entering his sovereign (King Herod) territory. Citizens who return home would be free from paying tribute or custom, but strangers would be taxed. The lesson we should take from this is that Jesus is treated as a stranger and not a citizen of this world, we are all strangers and pilgrims in this world, and this is not our home. Secular history should support and not explain or interpret scripture.
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