November 7, 2023 — Does the Bible Say?

Does The Bible Say You Can Catch Fish With Coins in Their Mouths?

“When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.” Matthew 17:24-27

Recently I attended a fishing trip with a couple of friends. We flew into a small fishing camp in Quebec. We spent seven days of fishing and fishing, and fishing. The fish we were after were not small fish — we were looking to catch some Northern Pike, Walleye, and Fall fish. Catching many of these fish takes some real knowledge of their habits and their appetites. You usually have to spend some time and have some knowledge if you plan to catch a fish that is worthy of a picture to show to your friends back home. But just imagine if you boated a fish — took it back to the local cleaning station — cut it open and found a roll of one hundred dollar bills in its stomach. I believe this would really catch your attention.

Consider the power of Christ in obtaining the money from the fish’s mouth. Either He put it there (which is a miracle in and of itself) or Jesus knew it was there because, well, Jesus knows everything. In either case, this is evidence that Jesus is Lord of all. He chose to take the money out of a fish’s mouth, even though he could have received it from any of a multitude of sources — and fishermen from all over the world envy his luck. Even though the coins amounted to just enough to pay the tax for Jesus and Peter, don’t you think commanding a bag of money in the mouth of a large fish would have made a more significant impact?

Perhaps there is a lesson in this odd story. Perhaps Jesus is teaching us to be content to have just enough for our current needs — and not to constantly strive for too much. We are to trust G-d, even if we have to live from hand-to-mouth. If we have enough for today, “let tomorrow worry about itself.”

Look, if I happen to catch a fish whose stomach contains a roll of bills (American, not Canadian) I will certainly thank the Lord for the bounty given to me. But I am constantly reminded that striving for an abundance of money or goods or property is nowhere comparable to the abundance of love, mercy and Grace that G-d gives to me every day through Jesus Christ. And my friends, that is no “fish story”.

Pastor Dave