When thou hast opened his mouth

『And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?  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?  Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.  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. 』 (Matthew 17: 24-27)

This is a parable. People think that temple taxes are taxes to repair and serve the temple. There is no provision in the Bible for temple taxes.

 At the time of Jesus, the Israelites demanded a shekel "on the basis of the ransom mentioned in Exodus 30: 12-16". Prostitution (half shekel) means ransom (Hebrew: Koper).

Half shekel means that the rich and the poor pay their money without discrimination. The ransom is for those who serve the tabernacle. Half Shekel (Old Testament) is the value of the Greek (Greece) money, the two drachmas. The drachma is worth two to three days of labor. Prostitution has the meaning of a ransom.

Prostitution is a substitute for ransom. Our ransom is Jesus Christ. God had His Son die on the cross for those who repent. God pays the blood of Jesus to Satan and buys those who repent from Satan.

 Why did God ask for a Prostitution? God delivered the Israelites from Egypt as a ransom for the Passover Lamb. The Passover Lamb typifies Jesus Christ. Because of the blood of the Lamb, the Israelites were redeemed. Thus, they are people dedicated to God.

 When the Israelites came out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea into the wilderness, God let Israel keep the Passover "to remember Exodus," and chose the Levites to do God's work. God gives the people a sense of the ransom. Remembering the slavery in Egypt and being free (the ransom), look to the ransom (Christ) that will come through the promises of God in the future.

The reason God gave the sanctuary to Israel is that "God is with the Israelites." The sanctuary is a sign that God is with Israel. However, it is a promise that God will come to this world in the physical body and be with Israel. It is contained in the future that the Saints will be the temple and God and the Saints will be one. Paying the ransom is an expression of faith in what God will accomplish in the future.

After the census, every time the Israelites became 20 years old, they were given a ransom. Prospering is an expression of believing that God will save. By paying, they realize that they will be saved in the future.

"Prospering" has the same meaning as being circumcised. Circumcision is a sign on the body, believing that God will save. It is an expression that believes that the future promise will be fulfilled. However, God made them realize through this meaning of ransom. However, in Jesus' day, it was recognized that ransom became like the taxes of the temple. It is expressed in II Chronicles 24: 4-6 as "the tax set for the tabernacle," but it is not the tax but the share of those who participate. kjv is the collection, niv is tax.

 In 2 Kings 12: 4 it is translated as ransom. So, half shekel does not mean tax. Many people say that Jesus paid the temple tax. Does it make sense that Jesus, the owner of the temple, paid the temple tax? The prospering of a half shekel is a ransom, and it is not true that Jesus pays ransom for himself. Those who say that Jesus paid the temple tax are like not knowing the meaning of Jesus' ransom. Who changed the ransom to temple tax? Those who follow Satan become Satan's children.

 『And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 』(17:24) When Peter said he was paying money.『 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? 』(17:25)

For customs and national taxes, kjv is expressed as custom and tribute, and niv as duty and tax. The original word customs means "end." The national tax is Gensus (English Census: Census). Peter said to him, “It is to strangers.” When Peter said, “The Lord also gives,” then, Jesus points out and corrects "what Peter said to the man is wrong."

 Jesus came as the Son of God and the Son came to redeem, but it is wrong to say that the Son’s Prospering.『 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.』(17:26) The phrase `` get away from taxing '' means excluding the census. Sons have nothing to do with this. The sons are those in Christ. Those who threw fishing become sons.

Through the ransom, the Israelites did not realize that the word of promise for Christ to come was contained in it, but thought of it as repairing the temple. Jesus asked Peter to correct what the Israelites had wronged. Jesus said that he was a ransom.

『Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 』(Matthew 20:28). The ransom is the Greek word litron (Hebrew: Koper: ransom).『 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 』(17:27) If Jesus said that he came to this world as a ransom, they (the Israelites) would not believe. A shekel came out of the fish's mouth. It is Prospering for two people. One shekel was expressed "stater“  Stater is the equivalent of 4 drachmas. This word is derived from the word "kakesis＂of Greek language

There must be an understanding of the sea and of Peter. God divided the water below the firmament into water above the firmament, and called the water below the firmament the sea. The water under firmament means the word of God on earth and the law (the law of wrath). Jesus told Peter to be a fisherman of men. It is to catch people in the world (sea). The words, "Peter's fishing and fish came up," went to the world (law) and threw fishing to save people. Because of Jesus Christ, people were caught fishing. Thus, they gained heavenly life and became sons of God. When they become sons of God, they boast (Jesus Christ). That is why the word kakesis is used here.

『But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 』 (Galatians 6:14)