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The Fish That Cometh Up



What the hell does this passage in the Gospel of Matthew mean? I came across it last night… Anybody? This happens when they come to Capernaum where it is demanded that Jesus and his band pay tribute (tax) to the temple. Jesus then asks Simon/Peter who typically pays tribute before a king, stranger or his own children. Peter answers, strangers and then Jesus conveys a peculiar set of instructions to him:

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

I’m sure there is a (or several) wonderful “normal” explanation that exists for this passage, but to me this whole thing of catching a fish with money in its mouth strikes a much more mythical/esoteric chord for me. I know there is a folktale about something similar as well. Will have to track down the link to that… Here’s something similar. I believe it is the tale of the fisherman’s wife.

(And hey, since it came up in a Google search on the subject, also check out this early 19th century Japanese erotic woodcut entitled “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife.”)

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15 Reader Responses

  1. Jennifer Emick Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 3:15 am

    Sounds like that may be a gematricv puzzle of some sort, there are a lot of those in fish related stories in the NT.

  2. Cosette Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 3:37 am

    I don’t know about the esoteric meaning, but it might be worth nothing that the temple tax was a half-shekel and a “coin” was worth two didrachmas, twice the temple tax. Some people read this passage as an example of one of Jesus’ miracles, but others read it as a commentary written to address the question of Jewish-Christian obligations to the temple and as an example (based on familiar folklore) serving as a standard for the conduct of all the disciples.

    I knew that minor in Religious Studies would come in handy one day :)

  3. speedbird Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 5:58 am

    And what are we to make of ‘King Fisherman’ in the Grail romances, that’s what I’d like to know?

    Images of money always make me think of the ‘render unto Caesar’ episode: whose face is on this coin? Caesar’s? Then render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. And remember in whose image /you/ were created…

  4. speedbird Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 6:31 am

    This also reminds me (mine of useless information here!) that I heard that in Japan, one of the strongest protests a senior official or politician can make is to pack his or her things, walk out of the office and go fishing… apparently it’s some sort of middle-finger to the whole system of governance, to take oneself out to catch one’s own food.

  5. Tim Boucher Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 7:05 am

    “coin” was worth two didrachmas, twice the temple tax

    Well, he is talking to Peter, so I assume if that’s the case, then the tax would be to cover each of their share? Although I don’t know if they were each being charged individually. But this story, for obvious reasons, isn’t one I would take at face value.

  6. Tim Boucher Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 7:06 am

    whose face is on this coin? Caesar’s? Then render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. And remember in whose image /you/ were created…

    And on our coins, we have dead presidents, but the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” so the two have been conflated.

  7. skip sievert Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 9:32 am

    Never look a gift fish in the mouth. ?

  8. SubstanceM Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 9:36 am

    Go drag the net and find some fish with money…
    Maybe Simon was big J’s strongarm dude, collecting.

  9. skip sievert Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 9:41 am

    Fisher of Men , he was known as also. Could that be. ?

  10. p Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 9:53 am

    In ‘Lives of the Muslim Saints’ there are a couple miracles where the sea is suddenly filled with fishes, each with a jewel or coin (depending on the version of the story) in its mouth:
    hxxp://omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/mussm.pdf

  11. Piers Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 11:54 am

    Must be very hard to know what to do with a passage like that if you believe that the gospels give a literal account of what happened. I used to be an evangelical Christian (middle class, not fundamentalist, allowed to believe that the creation took place across millions of years, etc), and I don’t recall ever coming across the passage before. I think that what those kind of believers generally do is just try and avoid the tricky passages.

    Does sound more like something from a gnostic gospel than the canonical gospels.

    Or maybe it’s just one of those odd things that shaman type people do - seeing stuff the rest of us can’t, communicating with a greater reality including animals etc. I mean, money does get dropped in the sea sometimes and maybe the fish happened to have swallowed it, and Jesus picked up on that and thought it was a cool way of illustrating that with faith and insight then things come along when you need them. Perhaps.

  12. jp Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 2:02 pm

    For my money, Jacques Ellul’s explanation in “Anarcy and Christianity” is my fave:

    We read in Matthew 17:24ff. that “when they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel tax spoke to Peter and said, ‘Does not your teacher pay the half shekel tax? Peter responded, ‘Yes.’ And when he came into the house, Jesus said to him, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tribute or taxes? From their own sons or from foreigners?’ Peter answered, ‘From foreigners.’ Jesus then said to him, ‘The sons are thus free. However, not to scandalize them, go to the lake, cast your line, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth, and you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”‘

    Naturally, for a long time attention focused on the miracle. Jesus was making money like a magician! But the miracle is without real importance as such. On the contrary, we have to remember that the miracles of Jesus are quite different from marvels. He performs miracles of healing out of love and compassion. He performs some extraordinary miracles (e.g., stilling the storm) to come to the help of people. He never performs miracles to astonish people or to prove his power or to stir up belief in his divine sonship. He refuses to perform miracles on demand. If people say: Perform this miracle and we will believe in you, he refuses absolutely. (This is why faith is not linked to miracles!) A miracle of the type found here is thus inconceivable in and for itself. What then is the point of it?

    Jesus first states that he does not owe the tax. The half shekel tax was the temple tax. But it was not simply in aid of the priests. It was also levied by Herod the king. It was thus imposed for religious purposes but was taken over in part by the ruler. Jesus claims that he is a son, not merely a Jew but the Son of God. Hence he plainly does not owe this religious tax. Yet it is not worth causing offense for so petty a matter, that is, causing offense to the little people who raise the tax, for Jesus does not like to cause offense to the humble. He thus turns the matter into a subject of ridicule. That is the point of the miracle. The power which imposes the levy is ridiculous, and he thus performs an absurd miracle to show how unimportant the power is. The miracle displays the complete indifference of Jesus to the king, the temple authorities, etc. Catch a fish– any fish– and you will find the coin in its mouth. We find once again the typical attitude of Jesus. He devalues political and religious power. He makes it plain that it is not worth submitting and obeying except in a ridiculous way.

    More here.

  13. Tim Boucher Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 5:48 pm

    Must be very hard to know what to do with a passage like that if you believe that the gospels give a literal account of what happened.

    Well, what about the whole “resurrection” thing? Thats certainly pretty outrageous in itself, but they dont seem to have a lot of problems “swallowing” that

  14. Tim Boucher Says:
    November 21st, 2006 at 5:50 pm

    He devalues political and religious power. He makes it plain that it is not worth submitting and obeying except in a ridiculous way.

    Right on! I am about to post another great quote that I’m surprised no one talks about.

  15. Jecklin Says:
    November 22nd, 2006 at 12:10 pm

    The tricky part of the passage is the take any fish line. Good ol’ Jacques points this out.

    That any shines a different light on things as compared to the passage in the Gospel of Thomas where Jesus talks about how the wise fisherman throws out all of the little fishies and just holds onto the big one.



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