In Matthew 17:26, Jesus means that he and his disciples are the sons of the great King (see Matthew 5:35), so if even the servants of the temple—the priests—were exempt from the temple tax (Leviticus 6:16), how much more so should he be who is greater than the temple itself (see Matthew 12:6).
When Jesus says that the sons are free,
he is simply stating that we truly are sons of the king, so we are free from the temple tax. Jesus, the Son of God, is God himself, sent by the Father, and so has no need to pay a tax for the service of God, just as the apostles, who had given up their trades to enter his service, are also free sons, unlike the Jews, who do not worship God rightly, and so are slaves of sin (see John 8:34–36).
In Matthew 17:26 Jesus refers to the fact that he and his disciples are the sons of the great King (see Matthew 5:35). Therefore, if even the servants of the temple—the priests—were exempt from the temple tax (Leviticus 6:16), how much more so should he be who is greater than the temple itself (see Matthew 12:6).1 When Jesus says that the sons are free,
the emphasis on free
shows that he is not prescribing what ought to happen, but stating what is in reality the case. He is proclaiming a general principle, namely that we are sons of the king, and therefore we are free from the temple tax. Jesus is the Son of God—he is God himself, sent by the Father—and therefore has no need to pay a tax for the service of God. Likewise, the apostles, who had all given up their trades and entered his service, are truly free sons as well. In contrast to this stand the Jews, who do not worship God rightly, are therefore slaves of sin (see John 8:34–36).2
26 Il lui dit: Des étrangers. Et Jésus lui répondit: Les fils en sont donc exempts.