The Greatest Fish Tale Ever
Matthew 17:27 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.
Intro: It’s a beautiful
day outside, so I thought it would be good to take everybody fishing! I enjoy fishing, especially with my
kids. I have some great fishing stories
to tell.
(Illustrations: fishing with my Papa
in South Georgia, catching a hammer-head shark in Samoa, catching nothing in
Africa and eating ostrich meat hot dogs instead, catching shark with Callie in
Savannah GA, deep sea fishing with the boys in Steinhatchee FLA., etc.
But here’s a fish story that tops any
fish story I’ve ever heard!
I. The Fall of the Money
A.
The Image on the Money
§ The sea is the type
of the world
§ The fish is a type
of Christ
ΙΧΘΥΣ (Greek word for fish
is Ichthys) is an acronym for "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ",
(Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr), which translates into English as
"Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior". The fish was the universal sign of
Christianity
§ The money is the
type of man – it had the image
of a man engraved on it.
The money was a a stater, a Roman silver coin of the value
of four drachms, or one shekel, and of course sufficient to pay the tribute for
two
B.
The Intentions for the Money
It was created to be used and spent;
to increase the value of its owner
C.
The Indiscretion with the Money
Someone was careless, and their lack
of attention resulted in the money falling into the sea.
It got NEAR the sea, and through
carelessness, it ended up FALLING into the sea.
·
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
II. The Finding of the Money
A.
The Plight of the Money
1. Its Location
Due to its nature, it fell as far as
it could go. It went to the bottom.
It was in a foreign location;
somewhere it was never supposed to end up.
2.
It was Lost
It was in a place where it was not
created to be; so nobody knew to look for it there.
It didn’t belong there; it was
fearfully and wonderfully made; but not for the bottom of the sea!
3.
It was Lifeless
The money was lifeless; dead;
incapable of doing anything about its condition.
It could not fight the power of the
sea; it succumbed to its overwhelming power.
The nature of the money made it
impossible for it to survive the fall.
·
Eph. 2:1-3 And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others.
B.
The Pursuit of the Money
The only hope for this piece of money
was for somebody who recognized its value to come looking for it.
It needed somebody to come to where
it was and see its plight!
It was at the mercy of the Seeker!
·
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost.
NOTE: The money was worthless to the fish; it sought it for
someone else.
·
John 6:38 For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
III. The Freeing of the Money
A.
The Saving of the Money
The money was unable to save itself:
didn't even know it was lost
The money attracted the attention of
the fish; something about it appealed to him.
The fish went to where the money was;
the money couldn’t come to him.
The fish reached down further than
the money could reach up.
The fish had to stoop to the depths
of the money’s plight in order to save it.
·
Phil. 2: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
The fish scooped up that lost money
in its mouth.
The power of the fish’s mouth was the
only hope that money had to be saved.
B.
The Sacrifice for the Money
This is the only place in the Bible
that a fish is caught with a hook.
Everywhere else fish were caught with
nets.
A net signifies a trap or a fish
being caught contrary to its wish.
For a fish to be caught with a hook,
it had to CHOOSE to take it; no man taketh it from him.
·
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
There was no mention of BAIT – just a
hook. No trickery; no deceit; no lure;
just a plain hook.
C.
The Shedding for the Money
That hook that was taken voluntarily
produced pain and suffering.
It’s decision to save that money
resulted in the shedding of its blood.
·
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are
by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
When Peter reached down and took that
money out of the fish’s mouth, he had to bring it through the blood in order to
save it from the world.
SONG: Some through the water, some
through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood!
IV. The Fulfillment of the Money
A.
It was Cleaned
The first thing he did was to wash it
and clean it up. It was a mess!!
·
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word,
B.
It was Carried
Then Peter carried it up to the
Temple to pay the Temple tax.
NOTE: The first place God takes a
regenerated sinner is to the house of God!
·
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.
C.
It was Changed
Since this piece of money was a Roman
coin, the first thing that had to be done at the Temple was it had to be
converted over into Jewish money.
The Temple Tax couldn’t be paid with
Roman money!
It went through a process called
“currency conversion”
REMINDER: That was what the money
changers were supposed to do in the Temple.
·
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren.
D.
It was Circulated
After
it was cleaned, and changed, it then could be used to pay a debt.
·
Romans 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks,
and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
Conclusion: This story is a perfect
example of Christ’s love for fallen man, and His sacrificial death for man’s
atonement. Question: Have you ever been
born again, saved by the grace of God?
Or are you still lost in sin, in need of a loving Savior to rescue you
from a life you were not created to live?
