Overlooked Obedience

God is funny. Really, He is. As I reread certain passages in scripture, I am thankful that God allows me to see each passage from a different perspective. Though the Word is limited to just these exclusive books, they are never without impact or relevance every time you read a passage for a second time. God intended it that way, and we are aware of that in our mind. Yet, it is important that we remind our heart as we open His Word and expose ourselves to His written voice once more. Our church is going through a corporate Bible reading for the year and we are currently in the book of Matthew.

In Matthew 17:24-27, our author, Matthew/Levi, recaptures a moment with the disciples where Jesus was challenged, or even antagonized by the local authorities. I imagine that though there are many of these events recorded in scripture, they are just a grazing of the grief given to Jesus by both the church and governing leadership. Even today, we see people with certain power react with frustration or anger or hatred towards anything that may question their position or pose a threat to their popularity. That is a side lesson for another day.

In this passage, the disciples and Jesus are posed with the required collection of a tax. Though Jesus explains that His true authority afforded Him the privilege of being exempt from the tax, He will appease the local authorities and pay the tax. How often do we choose to appease the masses in order to be more affective in our ministry instead of buck the system? This the first act of obedience that I see covered in this text. Jesus chooses His battles. This battle is not worth the fight. Instead of revealing to the collectors who He truly is and His exemption status, He complies with their wishes so that He may remain in His present location continuing to impact those who are under the effective circle of influence at that time.

God is so funny. In this situation, I could easily imagine many of us challenging authority with statements like, "I don't have to pay that." "Don't you know who I am?" "You can keep asking, but I am not paying." "Go back and check your records. My name will be on the exemption list." "I am taking this to the courts to challenge." "How dare you question what I am entitled to!" "No!"

Jesus explains the small, but impacting, fact of who He is and where this quandry places Him. Yet, He leads by showing the importance of winning those in authority over as well by being obedient to the laws at the given time. By not fighting the system at this time, He makes greater strides in His impact to this local community and eventually the surrounding areas as well.

The other intriguing and humorous example of obedience in this passage is Peter's fishing excursion. Jesus tells Peter to go catch a fish and pull money out of the fish's mouth to pay the tax. What?!?! So Peter says, "OK" (said in my best Goofy voice). Wow. Though the disciples don't get it many times, this unusual command was not questioned by Peter. He just went to do what he does best - fish. Neat how Jesus chooses to utilize this strength to teach Peter on many occassions. (Something else to take note of - Jesus met people where they are in order to make His message more understandable).

Because Jesus had made His message more understandable, Peter was far more willing to obey the strangest of commands. When you are frustrated with parenting or with some area of authority that you possess, re-evaluate your approach. Are you communicating with your target on a level that gives them understanding? Are you respecting the place where your target audience is currently operating. Are you respecting your target audience period? With just a little bit of coaching in communication techniques, you too can persuade people to pull money out of the mouth of a fish.