What did Jesus mean by saying that the children are exempt?

Question

We read in Ex 30:11-13:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

< Now we see in Mtt 17 Jesus arranging to pay the tribute money of 4 drachmas for himself and Peter, a bit more than the actual requirement of 3.70 drachmas (one Hebrew shekel equalling 3.35 Greek drachma). But he has this discussion before making the payment (Mtt 17:25-26):

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered.“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.

< So, was it actually the census money that Jesus paid ? If so, what did he mean by saying that the children are exempt ?

Answer 1

This was a vexed question at the time about Jesus' meaning. Ellicott makes these very astute observations when commenting on Matt 17:26 -

Then are the children free.—The words are commonly interpreted as simply reminding Peter of his confession, and pressing home its logical consequence that He, the Christ, as the Son of God. was not liable to the “tribute” which was the acknowledgment of His Father’s sovereignty. This was doubtless prominent in the answer, but its range is, it is believed, wider.

(1.) If this is the only meaning, then the Israelites who paid the rate are spoken of as “aliens,” or “foreigners,” in direct opposition to the uniform language of Scripture as to their filial relation to Jehovah.

(2.) The plural used not only in this verse but in that which follows, the “lest we should offend them,” the payment for Peter as well as for Himself, all indicate that we are dealing with a general truth of wide application. Some light is thrown upon the matter by a fact of contemporary history.

The very point which our Lord decides had been debated between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Temple-rate question was to them what the Church-rate question has been in modern politics. After a struggle of seven days in the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees carried their point, made it (what it had not been before) a compulsory payment, and kept an annual festival in commemoration of their victory. Our Lord, placing the question on its true ground, pronounces judgment against the Pharisees on this as on other points. They were placing the Israelite on the level of a “stranger,” not of a “son.” The true law for “the children of the kingdom” was that which St. Paul afterwards proclaimed: “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Answer 2

Are angels paying taxes? If an angel appears in a human vision in the US, will he be asked to pay taxes and present ID? No! Why? Because the Kingdom of Heavens from which the angel condescended to the human reality is more important and has a greater gravity and dignity than the US state with all its positive laws and regulations. When Caruso sings, an amateur singer should shut up.

Now, Christians, who are really such, and really Christ lives in them and they are co-heirs of Christ, and can boldly address God as "Father", like Christ does address Him (albeit Christ is Father's natural co-eternal Son, while we are sons by adoption through Christ), such Christians are far superior to angels and archangels. In fact angels are servants of the heirs of the Kingdom, therefore of the Christians. Thus, if angels are not entitled to pay taxes anywhere, how much more free from taxes and all human state regulations are the children of God, the citizens of the Divine State, the Divine Kingdom! How much more are they exempt from all laws and regulations! Christians are Kings, co-Kings with Christ and will any idiot statesman ask Christ to pay taxes? If not, than how can the same statesman, if he is not really an idiot, ask Christ's brethren to pay taxes?

But in order not to scandalize the earthly authorities (and all those people who denied to themselves the right to hold the title of “son of God” and remained slaves to their sinfulness), and thus create a turmoil, Christ pays taxes both on His own behalf as a subject to the Rome’s puppet kingdom Israel and subject to the Roman authorities, and asks His disciples to do the same.

Sometimes, however, He shows us, Christians, His servants and co-Kings of the Heavenly Kingdom His authority over all state laws, constitutions and regulations. For instance, once I have forgotten to make visa and went to a foreign country where this visa was required. Only when a customs officer at the airport let me in the country, I remembered about the visa and realized that it was Lord who helped me, His servant and adopted brother to enter a foreign country with unintentionally skipping all legal regulations, for it was good for me not to miss my first classes at the university in order to undergo some naughty bureaucratic nuisances.

Christ could destroy the entire Roman Empire alongside with the Persian Empire in an eyewink, of course.