Matthew 17:24–27’s account of the temple tax focuses on Jesus’ teaching about it. While placing himself under the temple tax, he shows that he is free from it by fulfilling it voluntarily, for our sake. He is Lord of the Sabbath (see Matthew 12:8), and of creation, which, in this incident serves him in his work, as with the pigs that ran into the sea or the donkey on which he entered Jerusalem. The miracle was only seen by the apostles, which matches the narrowed range of Jesus’ ministry at this time.
In the narrative of the temple tax recorded in Matthew 17:24–27 it is not the event itself, but the teaching that Jesus attaches to it, that holds primary importance. Jesus willingly places himself under the law of the temple tax, yet at the same time shows that he is free from it—he fulfills it voluntarily, for our sake. This must remain certain even now, as he approaches his suffering and death. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (see Matthew 12:8), and he exercises dominion over the earth; one could also say that he receives from the Father, who governs all things, everything he needs. Creation itself serves Christ in the fulfillment of his work. One might think, for example, of the pigs that ran down the steep bank or of the donkey on which he entered Jerusalem. The miracle was intended for the apostles, and the tax collectors did not witness it. This accords with the character of the period in which the miracle took place.1
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”