In Bible days, each Jewish man 20 years and older was expected to contribute voluntarily a two-drachma tax every year for the upkeep of the temple in Jerusalem—that’s about a third of a dollar.

In the book he wrote, Matthew, who himself was a tax collector before Jesus called him to be a disciple, relates that when Jesus and his disciples arrived in the region of Lake Galilee, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” Actually, the tax was several months overdue at this point because Jesus had not been in the area to pay it.

“Yes, He does pay the tax,” Peter replied, perhaps a bit presumptuously, for apparently Peter had no money. Then Peter went to Jesus to find out where they would get the money.

Jesus gave him instructions as to what he was to do: “Go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours” (excerpted from Matthew 17:24-27).

What is interesting to me is that Jesus didn’t ask Peter to do something he couldn’t do.  He asked him to do something he knew how to do probably better than anything else in life—go fishing. That had been his vocation for years before Jesus called him to follow Him.  When Peter did what he could, God miraculously provided what Peter lacked.

Jesus sometimes asks us to do difficult things, but He never asks us to do anything impossible.  He simply says, “Follow me, and I will take care of your needs. Do what I tell you, and I will do the rest.”

Maybe your taxes are overdue—or you have some other pressing need. Listen to God’s voice. Do what you can to meet the need, and God will do a miracle, if necessary, to provide for you.