Jesus Holds Up the Tribute Coin to Pharisees and Herodiansby emmanuel_higgins
20:24Luke 20:24
Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Cæsar’s.
Caught in a trap over paying tribute to Caesar, pressed by spies who hoped either answer would give grounds to accuse Him, Jesus met the question head-on. He called for a penny and asked whose image and inscription it bore, and the answer, Caesar's, marked the coin as belonging to Caesar and to Roman authority. By that image and inscription the coin showed its place within Caesar's sphere, so those living under Roman protection owed the civil government its rightful support in tribute and in peaceable submission and obedience to the laws of the land. That duty holds only so long as it does not conflict with the higher duty to God, for first allegiance belongs to God. Jesus Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, and His answer gave no ground for a charge of sedition against Rome.
Trap and Coin's Meaning
The question whether tribute should be paid to Caesar was not an honest inquiry but a trap laid by spies sent to catch Jesus in His words. Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees pressed Him with it together, expecting that either a yes or a no would give them grounds to accuse Him. He met the demand by asking for a penny to be shown to Him and by asking whose image and inscription it bore. The answer given was Caesar's, and that answer identified the coin as belonging to Caesar and to Roman authority. By that plain fact the dispute was marked out as one over Roman tribute and the civil power to which tribute was owed.
His use of the fact was candid and intelligent rather than evasive. It exposed the hypocrisy and presumption of those who had laid the trap and demonstrated divine wisdom. The plotters were left with nothing to say, and the Romans present saw that the plot had failed. The principle He set forth settled the disputed question for many minds, bringing precious light and sowing seeds of truth, though some remained dissatisfied.
Duty to Caesar and God
The image and inscription on the penny showed that it belonged to Caesar's sphere and identified the civil authority to which the tribute was owed. That mark on the coin supplied the basis for distinguishing what was owed to Caesar from what was owed to God. Because the people lived under Roman protection, they owed the civil government its rightful support. That support meant paying the tribute Rome claimed and peaceably submitting to and obeying the laws of the land and the reigning power.
Jesus himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, showing obedience to the reigning government. That civil duty holds only so long as it does not conflict with the higher duty to God. First allegiance remains to God, so what belongs to Caesar is to be given to Caesar and what belongs to God is to be given to God. His answer therefore gave no ground for accusation of sedition against Rome. It exposes as false the later charge before Pilate that He perverted the nation, forbade tribute to Caesar, and acted against Roman rule, a charge made by priests who knew it was unfounded.
Warning and Character Likeness
The questioning over the coin belongs among the warnings given against rejecting the Son of God, standing as part of the answer to those who came seeking to trap Him. Those warnings reach beyond that moment to every age, so that all who refuse Christ as Redeemer stand under the doom foreshadowed by the examples He set forth unless they repent. The image and inscription on the coin also show the principle that a person carries a likeness that declares whose representative he is. The character in view bears an image more like the Lord’s enemies than the sanctified Spirit of Christ, and God cannot accept or use such a one until self-exaltation and self-righteousness are put away and Christ’s character is reflected.
Caught in a trap over paying tribute to Caesar, pressed by spies who hoped either answer would give grounds to accuse Him, Jesus met the question head-on. He called for a penny and asked whose image and inscription it bore, and the answer, Caesar's, marked the coin as belonging to Caesar and to Roman authority. By that image and inscription the coin showed its place within Caesar's sphere, so those living under Roman protection owed the civil government its rightful support in tribute and in peaceable submission and obedience to the laws of the land. That duty holds only so long as it does not conflict with the higher duty to God, for first allegiance belongs to God. Jesus Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, and His answer gave no ground for a charge of sedition against Rome.
Trap and Coin's Meaning
The question whether tribute should be paid to Caesar was not an honest inquiry but a trap laid by spies sent to catch Jesus in His words. Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees pressed Him with it together, expecting that either a yes or a no would give them grounds to accuse Him. He met the demand by asking for a penny to be shown to Him and by asking whose image and inscription it bore. The answer given was Caesar's, and that answer identified the coin as belonging to Caesar and to Roman authority. By that plain fact the dispute was marked out as one over Roman tribute and the civil power to which tribute was owed.
His use of the fact was candid and intelligent rather than evasive. It exposed the hypocrisy and presumption of those who had laid the trap and demonstrated divine wisdom. The plotters were left with nothing to say, and the Romans present saw that the plot had failed. The principle He set forth settled the disputed question for many minds, bringing precious light and sowing seeds of truth, though some remained dissatisfied.
Duty to Caesar and God
The image and inscription on the penny showed that it belonged to Caesar's sphere and identified the civil authority to which the tribute was owed. That mark on the coin supplied the basis for distinguishing what was owed to Caesar from what was owed to God. Because the people lived under Roman protection, they owed the civil government its rightful support. That support meant paying the tribute Rome claimed and peaceably submitting to and obeying the laws of the land and the reigning power.
Jesus himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, showing obedience to the reigning government. That civil duty holds only so long as it does not conflict with the higher duty to God. First allegiance remains to God, so what belongs to Caesar is to be given to Caesar and what belongs to God is to be given to God. His answer therefore gave no ground for accusation of sedition against Rome. It exposes as false the later charge before Pilate that He perverted the nation, forbade tribute to Caesar, and acted against Roman rule, a charge made by priests who knew it was unfounded.
Warning and Character Likeness
The questioning over the coin belongs among the warnings given against rejecting the Son of God, standing as part of the answer to those who came seeking to trap Him. Those warnings reach beyond that moment to every age, so that all who refuse Christ as Redeemer stand under the doom foreshadowed by the examples He set forth unless they repent. The image and inscription on the coin also show the principle that a person carries a likeness that declares whose representative he is. The character in view bears an image more like the Lord’s enemies than the sanctified Spirit of Christ, and God cannot accept or use such a one until self-exaltation and self-righteousness are put away and Christ’s character is reflected.