The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 177

Ver. 23,-Shall be raiaed again (1-y•pB~- an aoknowledgment e.nd e. thank-offering, a. ' a-•Tci<): be waT,ened. This was al wo.ys a sub- re.nsom, as it were, for the lives rescued joct of perplexity: and indeod, o.ccording to from Egypt, it he.d been need in the wilder- the other synoptiats, " they underst.ood not ness in providing the framework of the the so.ying: it was hid from them, and they tabernacle and the ornamentation of its perceived it not, ond wore e.fraid to ask pillars. Based on this practice arose a cus- him." Were exoeeding sorry. They' no tom that every me.le Israelite of twenty years • longer rebuke him, as Peter had done (oh. old and upwe.rds should e.nnually contribute xvi. 22), or try to divert him from his pur- to the temple treasury the sum of e. he.lf- pose: they begin to realize the position, and shekel. Dr. E,lersheim reckons the tribute to anticipate with poignant sorrow the over- in our Lord's time to he.ve been equivalent throw of their hopes. to £75,000 per e.nnum. The money was Vera. 24-27.-Thecoinin the fish's mouth. stored in the temple treasury, e.nd we.a ex- This is one of the three miracles of our Lord pended partly in the purchase of the daily which are peculiar to this Gospel. St. se.crifioes, victims, incense, etc., in the pe.y- meut of rabbis and other officials connected Matthew seems to concern himself particu- with the temple, in maintaining tbeefficiency larly with matters which pre~ent Jeana as of the water supply, and in keeping in repair King-MeBBiah; and this occurrence was in the ve.st and magnificent buildings in the his view specie.Uy notable, as herein Christ temple axee.. After e.11 this outlay, there claimed for himself a royal position-Son in we.a alwe.ys e. large sum in hand, which proved a strong temptation to the greed of hia Father's house. conq uerore, and the sacred coffers were often Ver. 24.-Capernoum. Once more before plundered; and even after many previous the final scene he visited the spot so dear to spoliations, we read the.t Crassus (s.c. 54) car- his human heart--" his own city." They ried off 110 less than two and a half millions that reoeived tribute money (ol Ta 5l3pciXJLci sterling. The tax wo.e due by the twenty- 'A.aµfJ&110111'fs ). This ia an unfortunate ren- fifth of the month Adar (equivalent to Feb- dering, as it may be taken to countenance ru.e.ry-Mo.roh), and the collectors who were an erroneous view of the demanded impost, appointed to or took upon theinselves the found in many ancient and some· modem office, opened stalls in, every country town commentaries, which vitiates their whole in- for the reception of the money. For many terpretation. According to this opinion, the centuries the re.te we.a of e. volunte.ry uature, tribute was o civil payment, like the dena- considered, indeed, e. religious duty, e.nd to riw of eh. xxii. 19, levied by the Roman bo eve.ded by 110 one, Phorisee or Sadducee, government, or a capitation tax imposed by who wie.hed to be regarded as an orthodox Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee (of whlch tax, believer, but its payment had not been however, we have no historical proot). That secured by any legal process. Lately, indeed, this is a misunderstanding is plain from the penalty of diatre.int had been enacted in many ooUBidemtions. In the first plo.ce, the order to obtain the tax from defe.ulters; hut collectors are not T<'A.riv ..., publioans, but U is doubtful whether this we.a generally quite another set of people, called they that enforced. Possibly the appointed day had recei!Jed the didrachmaa.. Again, the officers now arrived, and the collectors thought right of government would not have made their to stir in the matter. Cams to Peter. They -demand mildly in an interrogative form, applied to Peter instead of directly to Christ, "Doth not your Master," eto.? but would perlle.ps out of respect for the latter, e.ud have exhibited that violent and oft'eUBive from e. certain e.we with which he inspired behaviour which me.de them so he.ted among them. Beeides, Peter we.a their fellow- the Jews. The political te.x is never termed toWUBman, and they doubtless knew him well. didracllma, but alwe.ys census, e.s in oh. :uii. His natural impulsiveness might have in- 17,19; nor could Jesus he.vegiven thee.llBwer duced llim to &UBwer the call. It may also -whioh is reported below, if the te.x he.d been he.ve been his own. house, the other eleven -one levied in the interest of any earthly being apparently staying with other frienda, monarch, be it Omsar or Herod. The di- and Jesus with him(" me and thee," ver. 27). drachmas is a term denoting a well-known We me.y suppose that Jesus had complied ·rate, concerning whioh we he.ve full informa- with the demand on former occasions, when -tiou from me.ny souroee-bibliee.l, Talmudic, sojourning in his Ge.lillllll.Il home, so the.t the and tre.di tione.1. The didraohma was a present appliee.tion we.a only natural, Dotli silver ooin equal to two Attio dre.ohms, or, not your Master (6 .o.,~&a-,caAas 6JJci11, your in Jewish money, to one half-shekel of the Teaoher) pay tribute (the didrachma)? Per- aanotuary-something under our 11.oriu in hupe the form of the que•tion might be better weight. It was the amount of e.n ecclesias- rendered, "Your 'l'eaolicr pays the two tical rate levied for religious purposee. dre.ohms, doos he not?" The pronol1.Il -Originally (Exod, xu. IS, eto,) exacted as " your" is pi ure.l, beoouse they recognized  180 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW, [on. xvn.1-27'.