17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting
―Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.‖
The subject of fasting is another that is often misunderstood. Many consider fasting simply to be a means of
"getting something". YHWH is not some "puppet", however, whose strings you can pull when desired.
Fasting is a means of clearing the mind of earthly thoughts and desires in order to connect to YHWH at a
higher spiritual level.
17:22-25 Doth not your master pay tribute?
―(22) And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the
hands of men: (23) And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were
exceeding sorry. (24) And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to
Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? (25) He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the
house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take
custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?‖
This is in reference to the Temple tax that all Jews were to pay to support the work of the Temple. This tax is
also an atonement, according to the Torah.
(11) ―And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(12) When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man
a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them,
when thou numberest them.
(13) This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the
shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
(14) Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give
an offering unto the LORD.
(15) The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an
offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
(16) And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service
of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD,
to make an atonement for your souls.‖ Exod 30:11- 16
17:26 Then are the children free
―Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.‖
Does Y‘shua teach breaking of the Torah here by saying this?
No, for the same reason found in Matthew 12 when Y‘shua was challenged as to the behaviour of his
disciples on the Sabbath. If the religious authorities recognised who Y‘shua was, they would have realised
that they had a greater "Tabernacle/Temple" before them in the form the Messiah.
Y‘shua's presence among them took priority over the physical Temple, which was (in this sense, only) a
"lesser" representation of the image of YHWH and His Kingdom, (a "shadow"; i.e., Col 2:17; Heb 8:5, 10:1).
Y‘shua is above the physical Temple, as He is the actual image of the invisible YHWH (Col 1:15). Note,
however, that after His death His disciples continued to attend the Temple for services and sacrifices.
Nonetheless, Y‘shua commanded His disciples to pay the tax for the reason explained below.
17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them
―Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish
that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and
give unto them for me and thee.‖
Note that although Y‘shua was correct in that His presence initiated a higher level of Torah commandment,
He deferred to the principle of setting aside His "right" for the benefit of others.