When Andrew Cheatle lost his cell phone at the beach, he thought it was gone forever. About a week later, however, fisherman Glen Kerley called him. He had pulled Cheatle’s phone, still functional after it dried, out of a 25-pound cod.

安德鲁在海边遗失了手机，他认为应该是找不回来了。然而，大约一个星期过后，有个渔夫打电话给他。那个渔夫从重达11公斤的鳕鱼肚子里，将安德鲁的手机取出来，经过晾干、手机恢复功能之后，便用手机与安德鲁取得连系。

Life is full of odd stories, and we find more than a few of them in the Bible. One day tax collectors came to Peter demanding to know, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (Matt. 17:24). Jesus turned the situation into a teaching moment. He wanted Peter to understand His role as king. Taxes weren’t collected from the children of the king, and the Lord made it clear that neither He nor His children owed any temple tax (vv. 25–26).

生活中充满了这般奇闻怪事，圣经上也记载了许多类似的事件。有个收税的人，质问彼得说：“你们的先生不纳殿税吗？”（马太福音17章24节）耶稣却借此让彼得明白祂是一位君王，而且君王的儿子也同样不必纳税。耶稣表明，祂和祂的儿女都无需缴殿税（25-26节）。

Yet Jesus wanted to be careful not to “cause offense” (v. 27), so He told Peter to go fishing. (This is the odd part of the story.) Peter found a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught.

然而，耶稣不愿“触犯他们”（27节），所以祂吩咐彼得去钓鱼。彼得听从吩咐，从最先钓上来的鱼口中，得到一块钱可作税银。

What on earth is Jesus doing here? A better question is, “What in God’s kingdom is Jesus doing?” He is the rightful King—even when many do not recognize Him as such. When we accept His role as Lord in our lives, we become His children.

在这里，耶稣要教导我们什么重要的功课？即使很多人并不认同耶稣的身分，但祂确实是位君王。当祂成为我们生命的主宰，我们便成为祂的儿女。

Life will still throw its various demands at us, but Jesus will provide for us. As former pastor David Pompo put it, “When we’re fishing for our Father, we can depend on Him for all we need.”

虽然我们是上帝的儿女，生活中却难免会面对各种不同的需求，但耶稣必定看顾我们。如同庞波（David Pompo）牧师曾说：“当我们为天父钓鱼时，便可倚靠祂供应我们一切所需。”

Lord, teach us to bask in the wonderful realization that You provide everything we need.

Matthew 17:24-27New International Version (NIV)

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

马太福音 17:24-27Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

24 到了迦百农，有收丁税的人来见彼得，说：“你们的先生不纳丁税吗？” 25 彼得说：“纳。”他进了屋子，耶稣先向他说：“西门，你的意思如何？世上的君王向谁征收关税、丁税？是向自己的儿子呢，是向外人呢？” 26 彼得说：“是向外人。”耶稣说：“既然如此，儿子就可以免税了。 27 但恐怕触犯他们，你且往海边去钓鱼，把先钓上来的鱼拿起来，开了它的口，必得一块钱，可以拿去给他们，做你我的税银。”

INSIGHT

People in Jesus’s day worried over the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter just as we do. But Jesus assures us of God’s care and provision by pointing us to His constant providential care for all the earth. Because we are more precious to God than all of creation (Matt. 6:25–30), Jesus reminds us, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need [these things]” (vv. 31–32). Because we have a heavenly Father who loves and cares for us deeply, we can ask Him to give us what we need (7:9–11; 1 Peter 5:7). Paul encourages us to replace our anxieties with expectant trust and grateful prayer. The peace of God is the inner calm or tranquility that comes from a confident trust in God who hears our cries (Phil. 4:6–7).

In what ways has God provided for you this week?

灵粮透视

耶稣时代的人跟我们一样，常会担心衣食和住所这些基本的生活需要。但耶稣告诉我们，上帝不断地看顾全地，让我们确信上帝会眷顾我们、供应我们的需要，因为上帝看我们比一切受造之物更加宝贵（马太福音6章25-30节）。耶稣提醒我们，不要忧虑说：“吃什么？喝什么？穿什么？”祂说：“你们需用的这一切东西，你们的天父是知道的”（31-32节）。因为我们有一位深爱我们、眷顾我们的天父，所以我们可以求祂赐给我们所需要的一切（7章9-11节；彼得前书5章7节）。保罗鼓励我们不要忧虑，反倒要心怀期盼和感谢来祈求。全心信靠这位垂听我们呼求的上帝，就能得着祂所赐的平安，心得平静和安稳（腓立比书4章6-7节）。

在这一周当中，上帝曾以哪些方式供应你的需要？