<p>17:24&nbsp;<em>And when they arrived in Capernaum, they that collected the tribute money</em>- Matthew was also from Capernaum (9:9), so these were his one time colleagues. Josephus says that the temple tax was payable in March, a month before Passover. This would suggest that Matthew is now recording incidents in the final month of the Lord's life.&nbsp;The half shekel (as RV) of the temple tax (Ex. 30:11-16). This had to be paid in the old coinage of Israel, and the money changers in the temple converted Roman money into this coinage at a large profit. It was their tables which the Lord overthrew.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Came to Peter and said: Does not your teacher pay the tribute money?</em>- Even outsiders considered Peter to be representative of all the disciples (Mt. 17:24). &ldquo;Peter and those with him&rdquo; is how the group is described (Mk. 1:36; Lk. 8:45 Gk.; 9:32). Peter&rsquo;s crucial confession that he believed that Jesus was the Son of God is repeated almost verbatim by all the disciples, some time later (Jn. 6:69; 16:30). He is portrayed as the representative disciple. It is Peter who answers when the Lord asks a question of them all (Mk. 8:29 cp. the other accounts). The way Jesus looks upon all the disciples as He speaks to Peter makes Peter some kind of representative of them all in the Lord&rsquo;s eyes (Mk. 8:33). In Mt. 16:17 Peter is commended for having had the Father reveal Jesus to Him. Yet Mt. 11:27 says that the Father reveals the identity of His Son to&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;who truly come to Him. Thus Peter is representative of all who have truly perceived the Son&rsquo;s identity in Jesus of Nazareth. In one Gospel, all the disciples ask a question, while in the parallel passage Peter is stated to have asked it (Mk. 7:17 cp. Mt. 15:15 and Mt. 21:20 cp. Mk. 11:21).</p>