The Kenosis in Action: Matt. 17:24-27

by Pastor Terry L. Reese

The Doctrine of the Kenosis: Christ did not divest Himself of His Deity in the Incarnation; rather it involves a veiling of His Divine attributes. The Kenosis involves His setting aside His prerogatives to independently exercise His attributes of Deity. Paradoxically, it involves not a subtraction (His Deity), but an addition of a human nature.

 

Phil. 2:3-8: 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 

A great Christological text—but one that exists within an appeal as to how we are to live out Christian lives…

 

Phil. 2:12-13:  So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

 

 

An Illustrative Text: Matt. 17:24-27

²⁴When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" ²⁵He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" ²⁶When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. ²⁷However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in 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 you and Me."

 

I. Intro: An introduction to the discourse on humility in Matt. 18, following a section

underscoring the glory of Christ.

 

II. The tax (24-25a).

²⁴When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" ²⁵He said, "Yes."

 

The "two-drachma tax:" a Jewish tax that every male Jew between 20 and 50 years of age had to pay toward the maintenance of the temple and its services.

 

Ex. 30:11-16:  The LORD said to Moses, "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 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. Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for your lives. You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives."

 

III. “Prevented” (KJV), or “anticipated.” (25a)

²⁵He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first…

 

Jesus knew what the issue was before Peter spoke—a token of His Divinity.

 

IV. The illustration (vv. 25-26).

²⁵He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" ²⁶When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt.

 

Jesus turns a tax collector’s inquiry into a teaching situation. In the illustration, He applies a principle from civil taxation to clarify His point with regard to this religious tax.

 

Jesus' point: as the sons of kings are exempt from the taxes their fathers impose, so He too was exempt from the taxes His Father imposed (the temple tax).

 

The temple really belonged to God (Mal. 3:1). Jesus was teaching Peter the implications of His Deity.

 

Mal. 3:1: "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple…”

 

God had clearly declared Jesus His Son in the Transfiguration (v. 5), as well as at Jesus' baptism.

 

Matt 3:17: “…and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

 

Matt 17:5  He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

 

John 5:18: For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

V. The Self-emptying…

²⁷“However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in 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 you and Me."

 

Even though He was "exempt" (v. 26), Jesus would relinquish His rights and pay the tax, because He did not want to "offend" anyone needlessly or cause occasion for stumbling. Because Peter was one of Jesus' disciples and one of God's children through faith in Jesus, he also had no obligation to pay the temple tax.  

 

Note Paul’s later application,: 1 Cor. 8:13; 9:12.

1Cor. 8:13  Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

1Cor 9:12  If others have the right to expect this from you, don't we deserve even more? But we haven't used our rights. Instead, we would put up with anything in order not to hinder the Good News of Christ in any way.

 

This forgoing of personal rights out of love for God and others (Matt. 22:35-40) establishes a pattern for Jesus’ disciples regarding Christian Liberty.

 

“Even though He was free from the Law's demands, being God's Son, He submitted to them and miraculously provided for His disciples to do so. This demonstration of humility and power is even more impressive following as it does an announcement of Jesus' passion.”—Constable

 

Far from the feelings of pride, pretension, and self-assertion that the disciples manifested (Matt. 18:1) by discussing who would be the greatest in Christ's kingdom, Jesus Himself humbly paid a tax that He really did not owe. He did not owe it, in the sense that He was Lord over the whole system that this tax supported. He took no offense, however, at having to pay this tax, and He was careful to give no offense to those to whom it was due.

 

This story teaches the children of the kingdom not to murmur because the world does not recognize their status and dignity.

 

Involved in this Divine condescension is another miracle that greatness of the condescension—the catching of the fish, orchestrated by the One who walked on the water (ch. 14), controls the wind and waves (Luke 8), and provided the great catch of Luke 5.

 

This story sets the stage for Jesus’ continued teaching His disciples on the importance of following the examples that He provided for them in the next section (ch. 18; humility, faith, conflict resolution, forgiveness).