When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came up to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”
The temple tax, the two-drachma coin, was an annual contribution that every Jewish man had to pay for the service of the temple and the keeping of its rites (see Exodus 30:13–16). The tax collectors’ question to Peter could have been not only an administrative matter, but also a hidden test, to see how Jesus related to religious obligations. Next we will see Jesus’ brilliant explanation on this point.