Mark 12:15
Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
Hypocritical spies sent by the rulers pretended sincere guidance-seeking with flattering courtesy to trap Him over paying tribute to Rome. They laid a double bind hoping rejection would betray Him to Roman authority and approval would accuse Him of opposing God's law. He was not deceived for a moment but knew their concealed hypocrisy and exposed them by challenging them for testing Him. He then asked to be shown the tribute money in order to inspect it, and they brought Him a coin bearing Caesar's image and inscription. By that image He taught that loyalty to God does not cancel civil obligation, so what belongs to the earthly power is to be rendered to it in peaceable subjection so long as it does not conflict with full obedience to God.
The Hypocritical Trap
The question about tribute did not come from honest inquirers but from hypocritical spies, the Pharisees joined by the Herodians as witnesses and sent by the chief priests and rulers to entrap Him. They came pretending sincere interest and a desire for guidance, hiding their intent to trap Him behind courteous flattery about His fearless teaching. Their flattering approach masked false sincerity while they posed as seekers of truth.
They laid a deliberate double bind over Roman tribute, which they themselves chafed under as contrary to God's law, hoping He would offend either Roman authority or Jewish law. If He rejected tribute to Caesar there would be ground to have Him arrested by the Romans, while if He approved it there would be ground to accuse Him of opposing God's law and the law of the Jews. Their artful questions were part of a deliberate malicious effort to undermine His influence and remove Him.
He was not deceived for a moment but knew their hypocrisy, wicked device, false sincerity, and concealed motives. He turned upon them by challenging them for testing Him, asking why they tempted Him, and thereby exposed their hidden purpose and brought their deceit into the open. That discernment of concealed motives gave evidence of His divinity.
He then asked to be shown the tribute money in order to inspect it and prepare His answer about duties to Caesar and to God. Thrown off guard by His counter-demand, they immediately brought Him a penny bearing the image and inscription of Caesar the Roman ruler. The coin they produced carried the image and superscription of the Roman ruler under whose power they lived.
Duty to Caesar and God
Holding up the coin with Caesar's image and inscription, He taught that what belonged to Caesar should be given to him. Loyalty to God does not cancel civil obligation while living under the protection of an earthly power. Those so living owe support to the governing power so long as it does not conflict with duty to God, with full obedience rendered to God and peaceable subjection to the laws of the land. He Himself paid tribute and taught His disciples to do so, remaining obedient to the governing power.
The encounter also carried a rebuke, for Israel's subjection to Rome was the penalty of apostasy. Had they answered God's claims and fulfilled their obligations to Him, they would not have become a broken nation. Instead Roman ensigns, sentinels, and governors stood over Jerusalem as the fruit of that failure. His exposure of the trappers warns that rejecting Him as Son of God and Redeemer without repentance brings the judgment foreshadowed in this account, a warning that applies to every sinner who refuses to receive Christ.
His request for the coin and His reply were wise and candid, plain and intelligent, rather than evasive. They laid out the principle behind the question clearly and settled it for many minds. At the same time His plain answers brought precious truth to the people listening.