How One Strange Bible Verse Supports The Papacy

Joe Heschmeyer, @shamelesspopery , explores a strange bible verse that can be used to support the papacy.

Matthew 17:24-17 (RSVCE):
24 When they came to Caper′na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

[Fiona]

I never noticed this meaning of the story before. Peter is also the one who goes first into the tomb even though John got there first. He definitely deferred to him.

[bengoolie]

And let us not forget that very important point of catechesis given to us by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, when he quotes the portion of the verse "But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook..." now Sheen emphasizes "But that WE may not scandalize them" Sheen then tells us that this is the only time in all of Scripture that God (Jesus) identifies Himself with one of His creatures (Peter) under the personal pronoun "WE"! Sheen then goes on to say that that is why popes would speak in the plural "We, Our" when signing letters or pronouncements and items of that nature. The pope would sign that he and Jesus (We) "pronounce and declare" or "set our signature to"
I have always found that instruction from Sheen fascinating and enlightening.

[thenazarenecatholic]

This is especially interesting given that Judas was the one in charge of the purse. If the point was merely "pay the tax, " it wouldn't make sense for Jesus to ask Peter to do that; he'd have directed Judas to do that since he was responsible for the disciples' finances.

[bigfootapologetics]

Joe Heschmeyer's book "Pope Peter" does a great job of fleshing this and other arguments out - I highly recommend it! A lot of Protestants today say Matthew 16:18 is the only verse we use to support the papacy, but as here, there are far, far more!

[IzakD]

I first saw this argument in Joe's book "Pope Peter", I would suggest reading that for anyone who hasn't yet.

[mariocerdacornejo]

Also as you mentioned, non of this is a coincidence. Specially in John, where he very carefully chose his characters and stories. For that reason is very revealing when he is telling that John and Peter are running to see the open sepulchre and John gets there first. However, he allows Peter to go inside first!!! That is not a merely gesture of kindness. Not specially knowing the gospel was written almost 60 years later when this doctrine was established. Peter’s primacy is overwhelming in scripture.

[thoughtlessroamer]

Gosh, there’s a lot of angry prots in these comments just saying “NUH UH”

[animula]

What an interesting detail I never noticed before.

[SECPETE]

Good insight.... but there's something else that gets missed here with John 21's connection with all this. When the six Apostle catch the fish, it's the direct result of the miracle Jesus performs for them... and whenever Jesus performs a miracle it is always to show that he has the authority to validate the divine message of what he has established and is establishing. This of course needs to be unpacked, but the point here is that the miracle in John 21 yet another sign that validates and confirms what Jesus established with Peter.

[iscool]

With all due respect, Peter being the most significant out of the apostles is a long stretch from him having an infallible office which is then passed down (with equal infallibility) to each one ordained in his place.

[Matt-]

This story was the favorite section of the book. It was eye opening to me.

[MrGabrielJude]

Good stuff! Always learning something new even when I’m not trying. Thank you for pointing it out, thanks be to God!

[sergiofernandes]

Thank you Lord, for your Church, the Catholic Church!

[RobertStewart-im]

I'm an Alaskan native from a family of commercial fishermen, and spent 4 months a year for 4 years at it. We did purse seine, until some Corp crashed a super tanker there. Map reference: Prince William Sound. My hometown Cordova is on 🎉and east side and Valdez is on the north side.
We caught a school once. We're in a 46' boat and the net's 3/4 aboard, and several hundred feet are still out. There were so many fish that they were swimming over the cork line in places. Across the whole area inside the net, about 250' by 75', the whole area is the backs of salmon. Yes there was space between the fish.
There were 10s of thousands of salmon. We had the ring line aboard (the bottom of the net) and the boat kept leaning portside. There was no way to get the nets aboard, and we couldn't hold that many. In fact, there's so many fish other boats set their seine beside us for the ones we missed/jumped out. Is that picture in your mind? Perfect.
Now imagine you're in a 22' rowboat with a sail and you're 100' from shore. You have a couple hundred feet of net, but you've got 100' aboard. All of a sudden, there's 25, 000 fish in your net. People in neighboring boats come to tow you close to shore and people are coming off the beach to get you And the fish.
That was FOOD for a starving people. Yes money, but food. Everyone won that day. The Israelis did share like that. Imagine Seeing it happen. A massive school of fish out of Nowhere. Like my fishing boat, they were nearly pulled down.
And look-- Because they worked for it, they were rewarded. By a visible act of direct Divine Intervention. Work, food, and some money for everybody there in that hour. I know how much space 300 salmon averaging 5lbs each, compared to a 22' skiff with an outboard motor. Thousands of fish for an occupied and starving people. There were probably 50 people that directly laid hands to help. There would've been a couple hundred people out on the shore. The Apostles spread the wealth. If each person got 10 fish, the Apostles were left with well over a thousand fish.

[JB-oufl]

I never thought of that passage this way. I am Catholic and believe that Jesus gave authority to St. Peter, but this point of view is an eye opener for me. Great explanation!

[frankperrella]

That's why Peter CEPHEUS is Special & was the 1st Pope from Jesus Christ to Simon Peter CEPHEUS 🙏🙏🗝️🗝️💯 Catholic God bless

[jacksgirl]

Also if I remember correctly, that coin was for the temple tax for taking care of temple!

[angelacartland]

Some Protestants try to explain this verse by saying that all the other disciples were teenagers and did not have to pay tax. This has been popularised by Kenneth Bailey, who lived in the middle east for forty years and learned much from Orthodox Christians and wrote some great books but who maybe inoculated himself against a full acceptance of Orthodoxy or Catholicism by insisting that the disciples were super young. He even said I believe, that John was at the Cross with Mary because he was too young to be left on his own...!

[gomezjkv]

One detail that seems to be ignored here in Matthew 17:24 is that the tax collectors speak to Peter. Just Peter, not Peter and the other disciples. The tax collectors ask Peter if his master, not his master and the other disciples, pay the tax. It appears that it’s only Peter and Jesus who are being asked this question because the text does not mention anything about anyone else being present. It’s an extrapolation that there is some other message being presented here. In other words, this papal connection is a fabrication from information that is not in the text. God bless.

[sph]

I do not get it, just because the collector came to Peter asked about Jesus was paying the tax or not,
how this verse agreed with papacy?

while Jesus said,
Matthew 23:9
Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.