They
watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor. They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They weren’t able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent.
Luke 20:20-26
Luke 20 [17.] But he looked at them, and said, “Then what is this that is written,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the chief cornerstone?’
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces,
but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”
Luke 20 [19.] The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them. They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor. They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Luke 20 [23.] But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.”
Luke 20 [25.] He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Luke 20 [26.] They weren’t able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent. Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection. They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother. There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless. The second took her as wife, and he died childless. The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died. Afterward the woman also died. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.”
Meaning:
After the parable of the wicked tenants, the chief priests and scribes wanted to arrest Jesus at once, but they feared the people (Luke 20:19). So they tried another way: a trap to get him in trouble with the Roman governor. Mark and Matthew tell the same story and name the Pharisees and Herodians as the questioners (Mark 12:13-15; Mark 12:16; Mark 12:17; Matthew 22:17-21).
- “Spies, who pretended to be righteous”
The leaders sent men who posed as sincere seekers. Their aim was “to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.” If Jesus said anything that sounded like rebellion against Rome, they could hand him over to Pilate. In fact, when they later brought him to Pilate they falsely accused him of “forbidding paying taxes to Caesar” (Luke 23:2).
- “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right”
Their words were true, but they were flattery meant to disarm him and make him answer boldly. Scripture warns, “A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet” (Proverbs 29:5).
- “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
The tax was the Roman poll tax, hated by many Jews as a sign of foreign rule and paid with a Roman coin. If Jesus said yes, he would lose the people who longed for freedom. If he said no, he could be charged with sedition. Either answer seemed to lead to trouble.
- “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
Jesus “perceived their craftiness.” The denarius of the emperor Tiberius bore his head and an inscription calling him the son of the divine Augustus. That his questioners could produce such a coin showed they already used Caesar’s money. Jesus’ question about the “image” is important. Caesar’s image was on the coin, but every human being bears the image of God: “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27).
- “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”
Jesus avoids the trap and teaches a lasting principle. Paying taxes to a government is right, since the coin belongs to its system; Paul later wrote, “Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due” (Romans 13:7). But Caesar is not God. What bears God’s image, our whole life, belongs to God alone. The questioners “marveled at his answer, and were silent.”
The Significance of Luke 20:20-26
- Good citizens, wholly God’s
Christians are to respect and support lawful government, paying what is owed. Peter sums it up: “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). Yet our highest loyalty belongs to God, and no ruler may claim what is his.
- Giving ourselves to God
If Caesar’s image on a coin meant it should be given to Caesar, then God’s image on us means we should give ourselves to him.
Cross-References:
Mark 12:17: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." Mark’s account of the same answer.
Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities" The Christian’s duty to government.
Genesis 1:27: "God created man in his own image" Why we belong to God.
Conclusion: Spies flattered Jesus and asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, hoping to deliver him to the governor. Jesus asked whose image was on a denarius and answered that people should give Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s. They could not trap him, and his answer still teaches respect for government and total devotion to God.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible