“That take and give for Me and thee” (Matt. xvii. 27).
There is a beautiful touch of loving thoughtfulness in the account of
Christ’s miracle at Capernaum in providing the tribute money. After the
reference to Peter’s interview with the tax collector, it is added, “When
he came into the house Jesus prevented him,” that is, anticipated him, as
the old Saxon word means, by arranging for the need before Peter needed to
speak about it at all, and He sent Peter down to the sea to find the piece
of gold in the mouth of the fish.
So our dear Lord is always thinking in advance of our needs, and He loves
to save us from embarrassment, and anticipate our anxieties and cares by
laying up His loving acts and providing before the emergency comes. Then
with exquisite tenderness the Master adds: “That take and give for Me and
thee.” He puts Himself first in the embarrassing need and bears the heavy
end of the burden for His distressed and suffering child. He makes our
cares His cares, our sorrows His sorrows, our shame His shame, and “He is
able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”