Page 58 - Demo

17:24 Jesus pays the tax that is required of every Jewish man. How seriously do we take our civic responsibilities?
18:1 Jesus teaches his disciples about life in community, in the church. The power structure among his followers must be di erent from that of the world. Here, power is service. Jesus must have stunned his followers when he told them to become like children, who in the ancient world had no status. To be like children is to be totally dependent on God and on each other.
Chapter 17
k. [17:22–23] 16:21; 20:18–19.
l. [17:24] Ex 30:11–16; Neh 10:33.
Chapter 18
a. [18:1–5] Mk 9:36–37; Lk 9:46–48. b. [18:3] 19:14; Mk 10:15; Lk 18:17.
46
MATTHEW -
The Second Prediction of the Passion.* 22k As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, 23and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief.
Payment of the Temple Tax.* 24l When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax* approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” 25“Yes,” he said.* When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” 26* When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. 27But that we may not offend them,* go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”
18* 1a At that time the disciples* approached Jesus and said, “Who 2
The Greatest in the Kingdom.
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3b and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless
* [17:22–23] The second passion prediction (cf. Mt 16:21–23) is the least detailed of the three and may be the earliest. In the Marcan parallel the disciples do not understand (Mk 9:32); here they understand and are overwhelmed with grief at the prospect of Jesus’ death (Mt 17:23).
* [17:24–27] Like Mt 14:28–31 and Mt 16:16b–19, this episode comes from Matthew’s special material on Peter. Although the question of the collectors concerns Jesus’ payment of the temple tax, it is put to Peter. It is he who receives instruction from Jesus about freedom from the obligation of payment and yet why it should be made. The means of doing so is provided miraculously. The pericope deals with a problem of Matthew’s church, whether its members should pay the temple tax, and the answer is given through a word of Jesus conveyed to Peter. Some scholars see here an example of the teaching authority of Peter exercised in the name of Jesus (see Mt 16:19). The speci c problem was a Jewish Christian one and may have arisen when the Matthean church was composed largely of that group.
* [17:24] The temple tax: before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in A.D. 70 every male Jew above nineteen years of age was obliged to make an annual contribution to its upkeep (cf. Ex 30:11–16; Neh 10:33). After the destruction the Romans imposed upon Jews the obligation of paying that tax for the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. There is disagreement about which period the story deals with.
* [17:25] From their subjects or from foreigners?: the Greek word here translated subjects literally means “sons.”
* [17:26] Then the subjects are exempt: just as subjects are not bound by laws applying to foreigners, neither are Jesus and his disciples, who belong to the kingdom of heaven, bound by the duty of paying the temple tax imposed on those who are not of the kingdom. If the Greek is translated “sons,” the freedom of Jesus, the Son of God, and of his disciples, children (“sons”) of the kingdom (cf. Mt 13:38), is even more clear.
* [17:27] That we may not o end them: though they are exempt (Mt 17:26), Jesus and his disciples are to avoid giving o ense; therefore the tax is to be paid. A coin worth twice the temple tax: literally, “a stater,” a Greek coin worth two double drachmas. Two double drachmas were equal to the Jewish shekel and the tax was a half-shekel. For me and for you: not only Jesus but Peter pays the tax, and this example serves as a standard for the conduct of all the disciples.
* [18:1–35] This discourse of the fourth book of the gospel is often called the “church order” discourse, but it lacks most of the considerations usually connected with church order, such as various o ces in the church and the duties of each, and deals principally with the relations that must obtain among the members of the church. Beginning with the warning that greatness in the kingdom of heaven is measured not by rank or power but by childlikeness (Mt 18:1–5), it deals with the care that the disciples must take not to cause the little ones to sin or to neglect them if they stray from the community (Mt 18:6–14), the correction of members who sin (Mt 18:15–18), the e cacy of the prayer of the disciples because of the presence of Jesus (Mt 18:19–20), and the forgiveness that must be repeatedly extended to sinful members who repent (Mt 18:21–35).
* [18:1] The initiative is taken not by Jesus as in the Marcan parallel (Mk 9:33–34) but by the disciples. Kingdom of heaven: this may mean the kingdom in its fullness, i.e., after the parousia and the nal judgment. But what follows about causes of sin, church discipline, and forgiveness, all dealing with the present age, suggests that the question has to do with rank also in the church, where the kingdom is manifested here and now, although only partially and by anticipation; see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17.
* [18:3] Become like children: the child is held up as a model for the disciples not because
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