Matthew 17:27

Matthew 17:27. But lest we should cause them to stumble. Some ‘little ones' might thus be made to stumble (see chap. Matthew 18:6 ff.); the time was not ripe for asserting this freedom; our Lord was still ‘under the law' for us.

Thou shalt find a shekel (a ‘stater' = to four drachmas, the exact amount needed). To explain this as meaning the value of the fish is frivolous; no single fish thus caught had such a value. The piece of money was in the mouth of the fish. Our Lord here exhibits miraculous power, in drawing by the force of His will this fish to that place at that time, as well as foreknowledge of the event. The two coincide in Divine operations. This miracle was not a freak of power, but had a definite and proper motive; the money was provided in a way that asserted Christ's dignity to Peter, and yet gave no offense. The fisherman must resume his old occupation to discharge the debt he had so readily acknowledged. Our Lord's position, not his poverty, called for this provision.

For me and thee. Not ‘for us.' A distinction kept up throughout the Gospels (comp. John 20:17). Our Lord's humility and glory both appear here.