The Fish and the Coin

Monday:	The Fish and the Coin
Story Passage:	Matthew 17:24-27
Other Passages:	Matthew 12:1-8, Matthew 22:15-22, John 5:18
Objective:	Jesus is God
Memory Verse:	Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Visuals:	Available

Introductory Drama: Peter remembers spending time with Jesus.

Peter:	Hi, my name is Peter. How many of you have ever heard of a man named Jesus? Well, I was one of Jesus' followers. I remember one time, when the temple tax collectors asked about Jesus' paying the temple tax...
Jesus:	What do you think, Peter? Whom do kings collect taxes from, their own sons, or others?
Peter:	I said, From others.
Jesus:	Then the sons are exempt.
Peter:	Then he told me to go catch a fish, open its mouth, and find a coin to pay the tax for both of us, so that we wouldn't offend the tax collectors.

Discussion: Who is taxed?

Thank you, Peter. Why didn't Jesus have to pay the temple tax? (Because he was God's son.) What does it mean that Jesus was God's son? (It means he was equal with God.)

Story: Lord of the Sabbath

[This can optionally be told from Peter's perspective.]

One time, Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grainfield. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some of the grain. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, Look! Your disciples are picking grain. They're working on the Sabbath. (The Pharisees had a big set of rules about things they thought were too much work to do on the Sabbath, and picking grain was one of them.) But Jesus said, Haven't you read in the law that the priests in the temple work on the Sabbath, but are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here... For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

Main Point: Lordship

What does it mean to be Lord of something? What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of the Sabbath? (It means he is in charge of it.) Who could be in charge of that? Who could be greater than the temple? (Only God.)

What did Jesus tell Peter to do about the tax? (Caught a fish, opened its mouth, took out a coin, and payed it.) Have any of you ever been fishing? Did you ever find a coin in the mouth of a fish? If you catch a fish, do you usually expect to find a coin? How could Jesus know there would be a coin? (He is God.)

What did Peter use the coin for? (To pay the temple tax.) Why did Jesus pay the temple tax? (So he wouldn't offend the temple tax guys.)

Closing Drama: Title

Jesus:	Who do men say that I am?
Disciple(s):	Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah...
Jesus:	What about you? Who do you say that I am?
Peter:	You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus:	You didn't hear that from men, but from God.

Invitation: Lordship

Invite any children who want to acknowledge Jesus as God and as Lord of their lives to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.