Did Peter Ever Catch That Fish?
From the Preacher’s Notes — October 26, 2026
This week, Pastor Luke Bowling of Parkview Baptist Church took us fishing. Not literally, of course, but into a rather extraordinary account in Matthew 17, where Jesus instructs Peter to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth.
The occasion was a question concerning the temple tax. Jesus explained to Peter that, as the Son of God, He was not obligated to pay it. Nevertheless, rather than cause unnecessary offense, He instructed Peter:
“Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.” — Matthew 17:27 (NKJV)
Pastor Luke raised several interesting points, but one particularly caught my attention. How easily we can read this account and overlook the extraordinary nature of what Jesus had just instructed Peter to do!
Pastor Luke, himself a keen fisherman, was not about to dismiss this as some minor miracle. If someone told him to go fishing and promised that the first fish he caught would have a coin in its mouth, he would be flabbergasted. In fact, as he repeatedly put it, his “FLABBER would be GASTED!”
He assured us that in all his fishing adventures, he had never caught a fish with a coin in its mouth.
And that raises an interesting question.
Did Peter ever catch that fish?
Remarkably, Matthew never tells us. There is no account of Peter going fishing, catching the fish, finding the coin, or paying the tax. The other Gospel writers are equally silent.
So, was this a miracle that actually happened? Or simply a remarkable instruction that Peter never carried out?
Before answering, let’s consider something about Peter and his fishing experiences with Jesus.
Earlier, in Luke 5, Peter and his companions had spent an entire night fishing without catching anything. Jesus instructed him to launch into deeper water and let down his nets. Peter, the experienced fisherman, reluctantly agreed. What followed was a catch so enormous that the nets began breaking and another boat was needed to help bring in the fish.
Peter had already learned that when Jesus gave fishing instructions, the results could be extraordinary.
Now return to Matthew 17. Jesus didn’t ask Peter to fill his nets. He didn’t even ask him to catch enough fish to sell and pay the tax. He instructed him to catch just one fish, and the money would already be in its mouth.
Peter knew how to catch fish. Jesus knew which fish to catch!
So, did Peter go fishing?
Knowing Peter’s character, his impulsiveness, his willingness to act, and particularly his previous experience with Jesus, I have little difficulty believing he did exactly what Jesus instructed.
Scripture doesn’t explicitly record the outcome, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. But I am quite comfortable presuming that Peter went fishing, found the coin, and paid the temple tax.
After all, he had already learned that when Jesus told him where to find fish, it was generally a good idea to listen.
And I suspect that if Peter had told Pastor Luke about that particular fishing trip, his FLABBER would have been GASTED all over again!
Inspired by Pastor Luke Bowling’s sermon, “Fishers of Money,” Parkview Baptist Church, Lewisburg, Tennessee, October 25, 2026.
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