The Fish and the Coin

 The Fish and the Coin

    My granddaughter was so excited when she caught her first fish in a lake in South Carolina.  It was a nice looking fish and we were all happy for her.  Not surprising - there was nothing in its mouth but a hook.  

     Let me tell you a fish story.  One day, about two thousand years ago, Jesus instructed Simon Peter to go to the Sea of Galilee and catch one fish.  The fish may have looked very much like the one my sweet girl is holding, but with one difference.  Imagine Peter pulling the fish from the sea, opening it's mouth and finding a coin sitting there waiting for him.  Sound strange?  Here's how the story goes -

      Jesus and the disciples were in Capernaum when one of the temple tax collectors asked Peter if Jesus had paid the temple tax.  Jesus didn't want to offend those in the temple, so he agreed to pay.  That's when he told Peter, "Go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you," Matthew 17:27.

        This is one of those little stories about Jesus that's contained in a mere four verses, easily missed and often taken for granted.  But, think about it.  This is just as much a miracle as the feeding of the five thousand and turning water into wine.  How did this coin get into the fish's mouth?  Why was the coin not swallowed?  How did the coin happen to be just the right amount needed for the tax?  How did the fish just happen to be in the spot where Peter cast his line that day?  

          I believe someone dropped the coin into the sea just as the fish swam by.  The fish grabbed the coin in its mouth and God led the fish to swim to just the right spot at just the right moment so it could bite Peter's hook.  However it happened that day, it's a miracle that shows the Almighty power of God in every single facet of life -- and I love it!

         This is a perfect illustration of Isaiah 46:9-11:  "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning...saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,' calling a bird of prey [or a fish] from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country.  Indeed I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass..."

       

         I get excited when I think of all the miracles God is still performing in our world today.  What an amazing blessing to be loved by an omnipotent God who holds every bit of everything in His hands and has complete control of it all!

          "Oh, give thanks to the Lord!  Make known His deeds among the peoples!  Glory in His holy name," Psalm 105:1-2. 

           Wanna go fishing?