17:24–27 In New Testament times every male Jew twenty years of age or older was required to pay a half-shekel per year for the maintenance of the temple service (cf. Exod. 30:11–16). This was equivalent to two day’s pay for the average worker. When Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter to ask whether Jesus would be paying the required tax. The question, as stated in the Greek text, calls for an affirmative answer: “Your teacher, he pays the temple tax, does he not?” Peter answers, Yes, he does. Refusal to pay the tax would indicate a decision to withdraw from the religious community. Even the Essenes at Qumran, who had separated from Jerusalem in protest against the temple and its priesthood, paid the half-shekel tax.

Peter then …