Traces of Jesus' Miracle Finally Found, Turns Out in Indonesia's Waters

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Today, Christians commemorate Ascension Day. Not many people know that there is a story of Jesus’ miracle whose traces have now been found in Indonesia. That miracle is related to tilapia fish, which is believed to be the fish that carried the drachma coin in the famous story at Lake Galilee.

For context, the miracle is linked to the story of Peter who lived thousands of years ago around Lake Galilee. He was a disciple of Jesus who earned his living by catching fish in the lake.

Peter then went to Lake Galilee and caught a fish. When the fish’s mouth was opened, there was a drachma coin sufficient to pay the tax for himself and Jesus. This story is known as one of Jesus’ miracles in Christian tradition.

Centuries later, several researchers tried to trace the type of fish mentioned in the story and why there could be a foreign object in the fish’s mouth. Author Grant Jeffrey in his book The Handwriting of God (1997) states that the fish was likely tilapia, known as Saint Peter’s Fish or the Fish of Saint Peter.

During its lifetime, tilapia was indeed endemic to Lake Galilee or Lake Tiberias. In the book The Biology and Culture of Tilapias (1982), it is explained that this fish has a habit of mouthbrooding, that is, storing eggs in its mouth to protect its young from predators.

“Usually, the female parent will pick up the eggs into its mouth after fertilisation until they hatch,” writes the book.

When not in the reproductive period, tilapia also often puts foreign objects into its mouth. This habit is considered to match the story of the fish carrying the drachma in the Gospel.

Interestingly, tilapia fish is now very familiar in Indonesia. One type is known as mujair fish with the Latin name Tilapia mossambica (Oreochromis mossambicus Peters). This fish first became popular in Indonesia after being discovered by a man from Blitar named Moedjair in 1936 in the southern Java waters.

At that time, Moedjair brought some sea fish to a freshwater pond at his home. One of the fish turned out to be able to survive and breed very quickly. This discovery attracted the attention of a Dutch official named Schuster who then identified the fish as tilapia.

“It turns out that is Tilapia mossambica,” said Schuster after conducting further research, quoted from Studies on Tilapia Mossambica Peters (ikan Mudjair) in Indonesia (1952).

Since then, people have started to cultivate mujair widely. According to the magazine Landbouwkundig Tijdschrift (December 1948), mujair fish is widely cultivated in ponds by local residents, so it has spread even more widely. Its position has slowly begun to replace milkfish, shrimp, and various other aquatic animals, especially in difficult situations.

In addition to mujair, Indonesia also knows nila fish which is still in the same family as tilapia. Both have become important commodities in the national fisheries sector.

Based on data from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries for 2023, Indonesia is the world’s second-largest exporter of tilapia with a volume of 1.42 million tonnes or about 20.11% of the global market, second only to China.