Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Pledge

Passage: When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”

25 He said, “Yes.”

And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon?

From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?

From their sons or from others?”

26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.

27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.

Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Title: Freedom in Christ

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

What we are going to be looking at this morning is “What does Freedom in Christ look like.”

Do you ever ask yourself, “Why do I do what I do, why do I react the way I react, why do I feel a certain way in a given situation?”

These reaction I am referencing here are the negative and harmful ones: to you, to others, or in the situation.

WHY DO I FEEL IMPRISONED BY THEM?

Anyone here this morning like to be free?

Raise your hands

Segway:

PICK UP THE FISHING POLE

What have read this morning is a pretty impressive FISHING story.

I have come to the conclusion there are those here this morning that would call yourselves “Fishermen.”

There is one thing that some (If not most) fishermen have in common.

There is one thing that causes some Fishermen to feel trapped in.

They feel imprisoned by.

Its the one thing that they cannot stop themselves from doing.

Pause:

And that one thing is Exaggeration.

My grandfather had to be a fishermen because each story he would share seemed to get bigger and bigger every time he would tell someone.

He told me the story of his daughter (My Aunt) Mary Jane.

She had a friend at HS who told her that her father played college Basketball.

Now my Aunt was not up on sports but knew some of the teams.

She came home and shared this with my grandfather at the dinner table.

My grandfather then in turn told her He played Basketball as well.

She asked, “What team did you play for?”

He replied, “I played for the STATE PENN University”

Mary Jane's face lit up with excitement.

Her dad played for State Penn University!

She went to school the next day and shared this information with a couple of friends to only find out that her dad was messing with her.

He did not play basketball for State Penn University.

(State Penitentiary “JAIL”)

She was thinking he was talking about Penn State University.

She came home mad at her dad and embarrassed.

Now each time my Grandfather would share that story it seemed to get bigger and longer.

He must have been a fisherman.

Most Fisherman feel they are imprisoned by this thing called Exaggeration.

Your imprisonment might be something different .....

Lying (You don’t know why you do it but you do)

Gossiping (You don’t know why you do it but you do)

Negative attitude (You don’t know why you have one but you do)

Anger (You don’t know why you get angry but you do)

I would be safe to say, the reason “WE DO” is because we have become IMPRISONED by them!

Fishermen feel this way and ....

PUT THE FISHING POLE DOWN

..... this morning we are going to look at a whopper of a fishing story.

Body:

Let’s take a look at this pericope.

Jesus and the disciples are back in Capernaum.

This could be because of the time of the year where this tax is collected.

They call this the “two-drachma tax” or better stated the “temple tax.”

So we find Jesus and Peter in Capernaum (their headquarters for Jesus Ministry.)

And Peter is confronted by the collectors of this tax.

This Tax is not a Roman Tax but one that was a Jewish tax.

We find the Tax back in Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.

To help support the TEMPLE!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

2 Drachma’s is half a Shekel.

(4 Drachma’s = 1 Shekel)

This tax was about a 2 day’s earning for a person back then.

a custom had arisen, and was being defended in Jesus’ day as a requirement of the Law,

The collectors ask if Jesus is going to Pay this tax.

Peter answers them with an emphatic “YES.”

Peter answers them with an emphatic “YES.”

A custom had arisen (pay the tax), and was being defended in Jesus’ day as a requirement of the Law,

And when Peter comes into the house Jesus immediately ask the question, “What do you think, Simon?”

And when Peter comes into the house Jesus immediately ask the question, “What do you think, Simon?”

From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?

From their sons or from others?”

In reference to others, he means “Strangers.”

Peter answers “from others (strangers).”

Apparently this is the correct answer and then Jesus reveals who doesn’t pay this tax …

The son’s (are free.)

The word free is translated “being free from obligation (exempt).

This analogy for the earthly kings and their sons and others is compared to

..... the Father being the earthly king,

..... their sons is those who believe in Christ,

..... and the others (strangers) are those who don’t believe.

Given the present situation of the dawning of the “kingdom of God” in the ministry and person of Jesus, the paying of the temple tax was or would be, strictly speaking, no longer a necessity.

Those who participate in this new reality are the children of the king and thus need not pay the tax to support what will after all soon belong to the old order.

To sum this up, this tax concerned “redemption money,” the ransom price—“a ransom for his soul”—which every Israelite, twenty years and over, was by the Lord ordered to pay, and which was used for the maintenance of the sanctuary.

And Jesus was saying this is no longer needed because he will be the ransom that will be paid for of all man kind.

But as we read, Jesus doesn’t want to make a big stink about this right now so he tells Peter to go fishing.

And what we read is the most NON-exaggerated fish story of all times.

I could not figure up the odds!!!!!!!!!

Lets just say its astronomical!

1/Gazillion

The shekel will be just enough to meet the tax for Jesus and Peter.

Climax: