The avoidance of needless offence.
The miracle of the stater in the fish's mouth is one of the most difficult miracles to deal wisely with; and that for this reason—it seems to be opposed to the principle our Lord adopted, and so readily carried through, that he would work no miracle for the supply of his own needs. All Christ's miracles are acts of service; sometimes evidently the service of teaching moral and spiritual truth to his disciples. But if this incident be carefully observed, it will be seen that, though the supernatural element is clearly present, the precisely miraculous element is absent. Christ, by supernatural power, knew which fish would first seize St. Peter's hook, and what would be found in that fish; but not a word is said which intimates that Christ put forth miraculous power in order to place that stater in the fish's mouth. There is, indeed, no miracle to explain to those who believe in the Divine-human nature of Christ. The point we take is the reason given by Jesus for allowing this tax money to be paid—"Lest we should offend them." Those who note the finer shades of language can scarcely fail to trace in these words the tone of what we should describe in a human teacher as a half playful, half serious irony.
I. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE DO WELL TO STAND TO OUR RIGHTS. There were such times in the life of Jesus. Standing on our dignity is a very doubtful thing. A man's dignity is but a poor thing if it cannot take care of itself. But every man has rights. He ought to be prepared to assert them on all fitting occasions. A man's rights represent his trust, his mission for God, and he must be jealous of them.
II. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE DO WELL NOT TO PRESS OUR RIGHTS. It may be that men do not recognize them, or do not admit them, as in the case of Christ. Then we do better to live them rather than assert them. It may be that those around us are unsympathetic and prepared to object, as in the case of Christ. Then Christian prudence advises a careful reticence, lest we offend them.
III. THE SKILL OF CHRISTIAN LIVING IS SEEN IN DISCERNING THE TIME TO ACT, AND THE TIME TO REFRAIN FROM ACTING. Many things are not abstractly right, but are relatively right. We have to act in view of existing circumstances, in ways we should not adopt if all the circumstances were according to our mind. A Christian should not hesitate to give offence, but he should avoid giving needless offence.—R.T.
Matthew
Matthew 17 - matthew-17 - worlddic.com