Out of curiosity, I recently looked briefly at Bible Verse Trivia l On the Street l Michael Jr. on YouTube. Michael is randomly asking young people inside a mall, Biblical questions. For example: "Finish this verse: 'God so loved the world that He: "_______________"
John 3:16 may be the most memorized verse in the Bible, but you'd never know that from the answers Michael was given by those he questioned. Most of the answers weren't even close:
"That he made it in six days."
"That he made it very nice."
"He gave Adam and Eve the land."
"He gave his son" - When asked the son's name, there was no response.
I'm not sure why the absence of correct answers surprised me. How would people know the answers if they haven't attended church? Don't get me wrong, I don't know all of the answers either.
I have attended church all my life, yet there are times when it seems as though I am a novice when it comes to Biblical knowledge. It almost seems as though I'm a fish out of water. Pardon the pun, but you'll understand later.
As you know, I'm a collector of stories. From my earliest memories of Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, Biblical stories stuck with me. Things like Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, Joseph's coat of many colors, the angel's announcement of the birth of Christ to the shepherds, the feeding of the 5,000, the story of the Good Samaritan, a lame man lowered through the thatched roof who subsequently took up his mat and walked, the disciples fishing and their nets being filed, the resurrection of Lazarus, the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The stories are too numerous to mention, but my head is filled with many Bible stories.
Yesterday, our pastor's message about our identity as children of God caught me totally off guard. He shared a story that I don't ever remember hearing or reading.
What about you? Have you heard any reference of Christ instructing Peter to cast a hook and to take the first fish that comes up? I remember Christ's mandate to the disciples to cast their nets, but I have no recall of Peter being singled out to fish with a single hook.
Christ's instructions to Peter are precise. Peter is to look inside the fish's mouth, remove a shekel, and use it to pay the Temple tax for both Christ and him.
I have no recall of ever hearing that story. What about you? You can find the story in Matthew 17:24-27:
"24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? 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.[g] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
All My Best!
Don
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