Jesus perform many miracles, only some that we are made aware of through the gospel writers pens. I've heard, countless times, that all of His miracles point to His work or His kingdom in some way. They are not sideshow acts. I believe that the case, but this particular miracle has me a bit stumped.
What significance is there to the miracle of the coin in the fish's mouth? Which truth about Christ's work or His kingdom does it reveal?
However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast 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 me and for yourself.” (Matt 17:27 ESV)
I hadn't given any thought to this miracle in the past, just taking it at face value, and not looking for any deeper explanation.
But now the question has been raised, I suppose it's worthy of some comment.
First of all, Peter and some of the others were fishermen by trade, so telling them to fish was to tell them to do some "work". The Temple Tax came from their labour, even if there was a fair hint of the supernatural in the miracle. Fish don't normally come with coins in their mouth.
Of course we're not told whether Christ "knew" this particular fish, which would just throw itself on Peter's(?) hook, would have a coin in its mouth that it had scavenged from the sea bed, or if God manufactured the coin in its mouth, or if for that matter God manufactured both fish and coin, since He could have done any of them.
The other sense I get is that Christ regarded the Temple Tax almost as a sideshow. He had more important things to do, so relegated the whole job to a fish. I get a feeling of divine cynicism at work.
Other than that, I just take it at face value. He's in control, and that's all there is to it.
I suppose I could tell a short story of my own here. (Many!) Years ago I was involved with a "leading" a Presbyterian youth group. One Saturday night there was a "party" in the automobile workshop owned by one of the other leaders.
The next morning I received a phone call from the mother of one of the young ladies present saying she'd lost a ring outside the premises, and would I be able to help? I was somewhat cynical about finding a coin lost in the dark, but went and picked up the young lady anyway.
When we arrived back at the workshop, she showed me where she'd been standing on the footpath and had been waving her hands around when the ring just flew off. In the dark she had no idea where it went.
So she said, "Maybe if I loosen this other ring, and shake my hand it will help." I was concerned, as I thought there was a very good chance she'd lose both rings. There was grass about three feet high on the other side of the fence on one side, and if it went in there she'd never find it. On the other side was a road with a gravel verge.
But she insisted, loosened the ring and waved her hands around, to my consternation. Away went the second ring. I didn't even see it go, but as she did this I had this peculiar sense of time standing still for an instant. I think God was pulling a swiftie.
She saw which way it went though, and pointed across the road. We walked across and in a couple of minutes she found the second ring she'd just shaken off. But as she bent down to pick it up, I saw the ring she'd lost the night before no more than about six inches away. It was strange she didn't see it herself, as it was so close. I think God wanted me to find it.
What the odds were of this happening I have no idea. But I should think they'd be rather remote.
So I took her home and that was that. I was a bit slow on the uptake, but I could have used that to witness to her mother. Whether she or her mother remember that mini-miracle all these years later, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure God had a hand in something as small and insignificant as that.
