And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s.
When asked to see the tribute money, those questioning Jesus at once produced a Roman coin bearing Caesar's image and inscription and acknowledged it as Caesar's. The question was a trap demanding a yes or no about paying tribute, so that calling it unlawful would allow them to report Him to the Romans as a rebel, and calling it lawful would allow them to accuse Him before the Jews of opposing God's law. By asking whose image and inscription were on the coin He held, He showed He was not deceived by their pretensions, exposed their hypocrisy, forced the admission from them, and thereby defeated their plot. That admission prepared His distinction between what is due to Caesar and what is due to God. Because the people lived under the protection of the Roman power they were to render it the support it claimed, including tribute, so long as it did not conflict with duty to God, to whom first allegiance and obedience were always due, and Jesus Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so.
Setting and Entrapping Question
When asked to see the tribute money, those questioning Jesus at once brought Him a Roman coin bearing Caesar's image and inscription or name, and when He asked whose they were they identified it as Caesar's Roman money. The coin held in His hand was stamped with the name and image of the Roman ruler, marking it as belonging to the Roman authority.
The question was laid by flattering spies sent with the Herodians to entrap Him, as part of a joint plot of the Pharisees with the Herodians, whom they hated. It belonged to a series of entangling questions by which the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees sought to entangle Christ and turn His answers against Him.
The question was founded in falsehood and malice rather than honest inquiry. It was pressed by men determined not to abandon their purpose after being again and again confounded and put to silence by the wisdom of His words. They acted because they knew that if Jesus continued His work many would believe on Him and the scribes and Pharisees would lose their power with the people. To rid the earth of Him they were ready to stoop to any base or contemptible measure, and eagerly listened to every rumor to find some pretext to ply Him again with opposing questions.
It was a trap expecting a direct yes or no about paying tribute. If He called it unlawful to pay tribute they could report Him to the Romans as a rebel, and if He called it lawful they planned to accuse Him before the Jewish people of opposing God's law and the divine law.
By asking whose image and inscription were on the coin He held, Jesus showed He was not deceived by their pretensions. Holding the coin He exposed their hypocrisy and motives and forced from them the admission that it was Caesar's. His candid and wise question and reply thereby defeated their trap and rebuked their hypocrisy and presumption.
Teaching on Civil Duty
The admission that the image and inscription on the coin were Caesar's prepared the distinction between what is due to Caesar and what is due to God. The coin brought to Him bore Caesar's image and inscription, identifying it as Caesar's Roman money belonging to the Roman authority. Because the people were living under the protection of the Roman power they were to render to that power the support it claimed, including tribute, so long as it did not conflict with duty to God, while at all times rendering obedience to God and answering His claims, with first allegiance to God, in peaceful subjection to the laws of the land. He Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, showing obedience to the ruling authority, neither forbidding the paying of taxes nor leading resistance against Roman rule.
The forced admission was also a severe rebuke, for had they answered God's claims and faithfully fulfilled their obligations to Him they would not have become a broken nation subject to a foreign power, and their present tribute was the penalty of apostasy from God that left a Roman ensign over Jerusalem, a Roman sentinel at her gates, and a Roman governor within her walls. His plain and intelligent answer brought precious light to the gathered people and sowed seeds of truth. His candid and wise reply rebuked hypocrisy and presumption, clarified the principle behind the question, and settled a vexed issue in many minds.
The verse belongs to warnings about rejecting the Son of God that apply in every age, and unless sinners repent the doom foreshadowed by them will be theirs.
When asked to see the tribute money, those questioning Jesus at once produced a Roman coin bearing Caesar's image and inscription and acknowledged it as Caesar's. The question was a trap demanding a yes or no about paying tribute, so that calling it unlawful would allow them to report Him to the Romans as a rebel, and calling it lawful would allow them to accuse Him before the Jews of opposing God's law. By asking whose image and inscription were on the coin He held, He showed He was not deceived by their pretensions, exposed their hypocrisy, forced the admission from them, and thereby defeated their plot. That admission prepared His distinction between what is due to Caesar and what is due to God. Because the people lived under the protection of the Roman power they were to render it the support it claimed, including tribute, so long as it did not conflict with duty to God, to whom first allegiance and obedience were always due, and Jesus Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so.
Setting and Entrapping Question
When asked to see the tribute money, those questioning Jesus at once brought Him a Roman coin bearing Caesar's image and inscription or name, and when He asked whose they were they identified it as Caesar's Roman money. The coin held in His hand was stamped with the name and image of the Roman ruler, marking it as belonging to the Roman authority.
The question was laid by flattering spies sent with the Herodians to entrap Him, as part of a joint plot of the Pharisees with the Herodians, whom they hated. It belonged to a series of entangling questions by which the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees sought to entangle Christ and turn His answers against Him.
The question was founded in falsehood and malice rather than honest inquiry. It was pressed by men determined not to abandon their purpose after being again and again confounded and put to silence by the wisdom of His words. They acted because they knew that if Jesus continued His work many would believe on Him and the scribes and Pharisees would lose their power with the people. To rid the earth of Him they were ready to stoop to any base or contemptible measure, and eagerly listened to every rumor to find some pretext to ply Him again with opposing questions.
It was a trap expecting a direct yes or no about paying tribute. If He called it unlawful to pay tribute they could report Him to the Romans as a rebel, and if He called it lawful they planned to accuse Him before the Jewish people of opposing God's law and the divine law.
By asking whose image and inscription were on the coin He held, Jesus showed He was not deceived by their pretensions. Holding the coin He exposed their hypocrisy and motives and forced from them the admission that it was Caesar's. His candid and wise question and reply thereby defeated their trap and rebuked their hypocrisy and presumption.
Teaching on Civil Duty
The admission that the image and inscription on the coin were Caesar's prepared the distinction between what is due to Caesar and what is due to God. The coin brought to Him bore Caesar's image and inscription, identifying it as Caesar's Roman money belonging to the Roman authority. Because the people were living under the protection of the Roman power they were to render to that power the support it claimed, including tribute, so long as it did not conflict with duty to God, while at all times rendering obedience to God and answering His claims, with first allegiance to God, in peaceful subjection to the laws of the land. He Himself paid the tribute and taught His disciples to do so, showing obedience to the ruling authority, neither forbidding the paying of taxes nor leading resistance against Roman rule.
The forced admission was also a severe rebuke, for had they answered God's claims and faithfully fulfilled their obligations to Him they would not have become a broken nation subject to a foreign power, and their present tribute was the penalty of apostasy from God that left a Roman ensign over Jerusalem, a Roman sentinel at her gates, and a Roman governor within her walls. His plain and intelligent answer brought precious light to the gathered people and sowed seeds of truth. His candid and wise reply rebuked hypocrisy and presumption, clarified the principle behind the question, and settled a vexed issue in many minds.
The verse belongs to warnings about rejecting the Son of God that apply in every age, and unless sinners repent the doom foreshadowed by them will be theirs.