And the chief priests and the scribes sought the same hour to lay hands on him, and they feared the people; for they knew that he had spoken this parable of them.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And having watched [him], they sent out suborned persons, pretending to be just men, that they might take hold of him in [his] language, so that they might deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
The rulers could not seize Jesus openly, so they changed tactics. This verse shows their plot in three parts: watching Him, sending men to play a part, and a target — the Roman governor.
One writer traces where the word behind "watched him" came from, and how Luke uses it:
Doctors used the word paratērēsis and its related verb for watching the symptoms of a disease. So it means investigating before acting. Astrologers used it too, for watching the stars. When Luke uses the verb (Luke 6:7; Luke 14:1; Luke 20:20), he shows hostile intent.
This was not a single moment of watching. It was the pattern of His whole life:
Men hated Him because He told them the truth. His ministry, His words, His ways, His whole life stood as a testimony against the world. That is why they opposed Him so bitterly and never let up. They let other men pass on by. But they watched Him and lay in wait for Him at every turn of His path.
One dictionary explains who these spies were, and how their plan ended:
The men the rulers of Israel sent to trap the Lord are called "spies." They were secret agents. By pretending to be just men, they hoped to catch the Lord in His replies. But they were the ones put to shame, and His wisdom left them confused.
They needed the disguise because they dared not act openly:
Still the chief priests could not find the courage to seize Him. So they hired secret agents — hypocrites — to give them a believable excuse to put Him under Roman condemnation.
One writer names the groups behind this attack and what they shared:
Three great groups represented the people: the Herodians, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The Herodian was religious in a political way. The Sadducee was religious in a free-thinking way. The Pharisee was religious in a legal way. But these were only different forms of enmity against God. Human nature can never form an alliance with God's Christ.
Another writer is struck by the partnership itself:
It was an artfully laid plot. Pharisees and Herodians! Who will not combine to oppose God and His Son?
The aim was to hand Jesus over to Rome. The bait was a question about paying tribute to Caesar:
They wanted to trap the Lord in a Yes or No that would compromise Him, either with the Jews or with the Romans. If He said Yes, He seemed to be giving up the hopes of Israel. He would only be sealing them up in their bondage to the Romans. How could He be a true-hearted Jew, or the Messiah they expected to set them free, if He left them slaves of Rome as much as ever? If He said No, He would offend that suspicious government. He would give them a charge against Him as a man raising rebel claims to the throne of Palestine.
The plot failed that day, but they kept the charge and used it at the trial:
The Lord's enemies rose up and led Him to Pilate (23:1), the Roman governor who ruled the province of Judea. There they began to accuse Him (v. 2). The charge they brought — that the Lord was misleading the nation and forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar — had no truth in it at all (compare 20:25). But it was designed to reach their goal. Before the religious council they had used the charge of blasphemy. Before Pilate, they used a political charge.
Both sides of this deal were corrupt, and a plain answer defeated them:
The moral corruption of everyone involved stands out here — both those who paid the bribes and those who took them. Simplicity of purpose detects and exposes the crafty. Jesus sacrifices no duty. Let Caesar have what is his, and God His own.
- Watched. The word here means hostile watching, the way a doctor tracks symptoms. Others were left alone. He was watched and waylaid at every turn.
- Disguised. The rulers dared not seize Him openly. So they hired secret agents to act the part of just men, hoping for a believable excuse to have Rome condemn Him.
- United. Political, free-thinking and legal religion joined forces against Him. They were only different forms of the same enmity against God.
- Delivered. They aimed at the governor's court. They shaped the tribute question so that either answer would compromise Him — with Rome or with Israel.
- Exposed. A single, honest purpose exposes the crafty. He gave up no duty, and the spies who came to trap Him went away confused.
And they asked him saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest no [man's] person, but teachest with truth the way of God
The chief priests and scribes could not arrest Jesus in the open, so they sent men who looked sincere and began with praise. Every word of that praise was true, yet it was bait for a question meant to hand Him over to Rome.
The men who spoke these polished words were not students. They were plants, sent to listen for something usable.
Those called 'spies' are the men whom the rulers of Israel sent to trap the Lord. They were secret agents. By pretending to be just men, they hoped to catch the Lord in His replies. But His wisdom put them to shame and left them confused. Luke 20:20.
Guilt lay on both sides of the arrangement — on the men who hired and the men who performed. What defeated the scheme was not clever tactics but plain honesty of purpose.
The moral depravity of everyone involved stands out here — both the men who set it up and the men they used. Simplicity of purpose detects and exposes the crafty.
The flattery was not clumsy. It named the very qualities a teacher would most want to hear, and it aimed at getting Him killed.
One striking example is the men who came to the Lord Jesus (Luke 20:20-25). They pretended to honour Him by saying: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God." So in effect their mouths blessed Him, but their object was to have Him cursed. Of course the Lord Jesus discerned their falsehood, and silenced them by His wise answer.
Their description was not an exaggeration. It fell short. And it fits only one servant of God.
Notice how these opponents paid tribute to His perfect truth. Their words were true in a way far beyond anything they realised. In the fullest sense He was the truth and taught the truth, never turned aside by man and his little world. No other servant of God fits that description. Human considerations even influenced Paul, as Acts 21:20-26 shows. Jesus alone is the perfect Servant of God, and He was so poor that He had to ask for a "penny" to be brought to Him.
Note what that does to the men speaking. They stood in public and certified the teaching they were plotting to silence.
They sent spies who pretended to be righteous men. But the Lord fully discerned their hypocritical flattery. Yet, enemies as they were, they bore public witness that He taught the way of God in truth (v.21). What a condemnation of their own evil designs!
The praise opened the door. The tax question was the trap behind it, and either answer looked fatal.
The question of tribute to Caesar was very subtle. They used the effect of their own wickedness to tempt the Lord. In principle the Jews ought not to have been subject to the Gentiles. And besides, the Messiah had come, the Deliverer of Israel. If He said, Obey the Gentiles, where was His delivering power? If He said, Rebel, they would have had an excuse to hand Him over to Pilate. But the Lord answered with divine wisdom. He put them exactly in the place where their sin had put them: Caesar's things are to be rendered to Caesar, and God's things to God.
He answered the motive before He answered the question. The men asking were not confused about God's will; they were hunting.
They thought they had Him, and it was a sharp, subtle question. He read the moral character of the moment at once and went straight at it. "You come to lay a snare, not to have a difficulty solved. Why do you test Me? Show Me a penny."
Few of us will ever face a trap question like this one. Almost all of us will hear the flattering opening line.
Once more the sin of flattery is mentioned. "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet" (verse 5). Flattery is close kin to lying and can never be right. It is always a mistake, and it leads to the gravest consequences. Flattery has spoiled more servants of the Lord than anything else.
- Sent — The questioners were spies. The rulers hired them to act sincere, catch His words, and hand Him to the governor.
- Sweetened — Their opening praise was a blessing on the lips hiding a curse in the heart. The compliment was there to soften Him for the trap.
- True — Every phrase they used was accurate, and truer than they knew. He alone taught the truth, never turned aside by man and his little world.
- Self-condemned — In public they testified that He taught the way of God in truth. That verdict convicted them. The next step, obeying that teaching, was the one they refused.
- Guarded — Flattery spreads a net for the feet, and it has spoiled more of God's servants than anything else. Simplicity of purpose, not cleverness, exposes the crafty.
Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
Rival religious groups joined forces against Jesus and set a trap: was it right for a Jew to pay Roman taxes? They came to lay a snare, not to settle a doubt — and His answer settled the believer's duty to government for every age since.
The men who asked had no interest in the answer. One writer names the groups behind the trap, and shows how the Lord read their motive.
There were three great representatives of the people, the Herodians, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The Herodian's religion was political. The Sadducee's religion was free-thinking. The Pharisee's religion was legal. But these were only different forms of hostility to God. The flesh can never form an alliance with God's Christ. We must be born again for that. Now they come to Him with a question: "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" They thought they had Him. It was a shrewd, subtle question. At once He saw the moral point of the occasion, and went straight at it. "You come to lay a snare, not to have a difficulty solved."
Either answer seemed fatal. Say yes, and He denies Israel's hope of deliverance. Say no, and His enemies have a charge of rebellion to take to Pilate.
The question of tribute to Caesar was very subtle. They used the effect of their own wickedness to tempt the Lord. In principle the Jews ought not to have been subject to the Gentiles. And, moreover, the Messiah had come, the Deliverer of Israel. If He said, Obey the Gentiles, where was His delivering power? If He said, Rebel, they would have had an excuse to hand Him over to Pilate. Because of Israel's sin, God has broken down the key-stone of nations, and given power to the Gentile.
Instead of arguing, He asked for a coin — one He did not carry Himself. Their own money admitted what they would not say out loud.
The Lord's question, "Why put Me to the test?" showed that He was fully aware of their craft. Asking for the penny shows His own poverty. The inscription on the penny was a witness to their subjection to Caesar. His reply was therefore that they must render to Caesar his rights, and yield to God the rights that were His. Caesar had gained the rights of conquest over them because they had not rendered to God the things that were His. All this was so clear, once He pointed it out, that these crafty questioners were silenced.
Roman coins in the land were not proof of theft. They were proof of what the nation had lost.
The Lord was not going to treat Caesar as a usurper. He was the rod of God's anger in the land of Israel. Whether Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, or Romans, they were no usurpers. So, when the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land, He saw in it Israel's shame, not Caesar's usurpation.
The Lord did not cancel one duty with the other. He gave each its place, and the ruler's character did not change the answer.
The civil power has rights, and we should respect them. In this case the Caesar on the throne was anything but a pattern of goodness; yet, since he was God's minister (Rom. 13:4), they were to pay him tribute. But God has His rights over men. Men should respect these rights too, and submit to them. Peter once said, "We must obey God rather than men." He was upholding the duty of rendering to God the things that were God's. Paul wrote, "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed." He was upholding, in turn, the principle of rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. In this way the Lord settled the question for that time, and for all later ages as well.
The coin carried Caesar's likeness, so it went back to Caesar. The men holding it carried another likeness. That is where His answer reached their consciences.
This was not only a word to silence their objections, and to meet their hypocrisy, but was also a word for their consciences. They bore the image of God, and ought to have rendered to God what belonged to Him. But instead of putting themselves at God's disposal, they stood in opposition to Him and to His Son.
- Trap — the question was a snare, not an honest difficulty. Either answer gave them a charge to bring to Pilate.
- Coin — He asked for money He did not carry. Its inscription proved they were already Caesar's subjects.
- Shame — Caesar was no thief but the rod of God's anger. Israel had failed to render to God, so God gave the Gentile power over them.
- Claim — Caesar's rights stand even under a bad ruler. God's rights stand beside them, and when the two collide, we must obey God.
- Image — the coin bore Caesar's likeness, so it went back to him. Men bear God's likeness, so they owe God themselves.
But perceiving their deceit he said to them, Why do ye tempt me?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Shew me a denarius. Whose image and superscription has it? And answering they said, Caesar's.
His enemies bring Jesus a question with no safe answer: should God's people pay tax to Rome? He does not argue — He asks for a coin and points to the face stamped on it.
The men who asked about tribute were not confused about tax law. They had built a snare out of the very thing that shamed them.
The question of tribute to Caesar was very subtle. They used the effect of their own wickedness to tempt the Lord. In principle the Jews should not have been subject to the Gentiles. And besides, the Messiah had come, the Deliverer of Israel. If He said, Obey the Gentiles, where was His delivering power? If He said, Rebel, they would have had an excuse to hand Him over to Pilate... But the Lord answered with divine wisdom. He put them exactly in the place where their sin had put them.
The coin He asked for was everyday money.
A common Roman coin. It was the labourer's wages for a day... It was the chief Roman silver coin.
He did not produce one from His own pocket.
The Lord had no purse. When He wanted to preach on a penny, He had to ask to be shown one. The Lord had the wealthiest purse that anyone ever had in the world; but He never used any of it for Himself.
They named the owner themselves. That closed the case.
He asks to be shown the tribute money. ... They say it is Caesar's. Why then ask if he should have it? Every man has a certain right to his own. The answer to their question was stamped upon the coin.
The coin in their pockets proved who ruled them. One writer names the reason Rome had that power.
The inscription on the penny was a witness to their subjection to Caesar. His reply was that they must render to Caesar his rights, and yield to God the rights that were His. Caesar had gained the rights of conquest over them because they had not rendered to God the things that were His.
Because that subjection came from God's hand, Jesus does not treat the emperor as a thief who seized power. But Caesar's rights have a limit.
The Lord was not going to treat Caesar as a usurper. He was the rod of God's anger in the land of Israel... So when the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land, He saw in it Israel's shame, not Caesar's usurpation... That was a golden rule ever since their captivity — the rule of returned captives, and so it is our rule. Do you treat the authorities God has appointed as usurpers? No — but do not confuse the rights of Caesar and the rights of God. If there is a collision between them, say with Peter, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge."
The question about the coin turns back on the questioners. If a stamped likeness settles ownership, then every person has an owner too.
Man is God's, for he bears His image. And the Lord says: "Render to God the things that are God's." If these men had given God what belongs to God, they would not have had Caesar's image on their money. Everyone here belongs to God... You are God's, and you claim yourself. You have no right to yourself, for you bear His image and inscription.
Another writer describes the coin itself, then turns it into a test.
The head of the emperor was stamped in the middle of the coin, and the inscription ran round the edge. These marks showed that the coin belonged to Caesar's realm, and it was right that it should be rendered to him... If such marks on the coin were definite proof that it belonged to Caesar, we do well to ask — what and where are the marks of what belongs to God? They are on the whole human race by creation, and — by redemption — more fully upon the saints today.
- Trap — either answer would ruin Him. Telling them to rebel would hand Him over to Pilate. Telling them to obey Rome would deny His power as Deliverer.
- Stamp — He does not debate; He asks for a coin, and the answer was already stamped on it. Whatever bears the mark belongs to the one whose mark it is.
- Poverty — He had to ask to be shown a penny. The One with the richest purse in the world never used any of it for Himself.
- Shame — Caesar's face on their coins proved they were under Rome. Rome ruled them because they had not given God His due. Caesar was God's rod, not a usurper.
- Image — the coin carried Caesar's likeness; you carry God's. So give yourself to God — and when the two claims collide, God's claim comes first.
And he said to them, Pay therefore what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.
His enemies asked about tax to Caesar, hoping any answer would ruin Him. His reply turned on a coin, and it raised a far bigger question: Caesar's image marks what is Caesar's, so what carries God's image?
Their own sin had put the Jews under Roman rule. They used that very fact to bait Him.
The question of tribute to Caesar was very subtle. They used the effect of their own wickedness to tempt the Lord. In principle the Jews ought not to have been subject to the Gentiles. And besides, the Messiah had come, the Deliverer of Israel. If He said, Obey the Gentiles, where was His delivering power? If He said, Rebel, they would have had an excuse to hand Him over to Pilate. Because of Israel's sin, God has broken down the keystone of nations and given power to the Gentiles. But the Lord answered with divine wisdom. He put them exactly in the place where their sin had put them.
The coin itself answered the question. Roman money circulating in Israel was proof of who ruled them — and of how they had come under that rule.
The Lord's question, "Why put me to the test?" showed that He was fully aware of their craft. His request for the penny reveals His own poverty. The inscription on the penny was a witness to their subjection to Caesar. His reply then was that they must render to Caesar his rights, and yield to God the rights that were His. Caesar had gained the rights of conquest over them because they had not rendered to God the things that were His.
The Caesar of that moment was a bad man. That did not cancel his rights, and it does not cancel any government's today.
What wisdom the Lord showed here! The civil power has rights, and people should respect them. The Caesar on the throne then was anything but a pattern of goodness. Yet he was God's minister (Romans 13:4), so they had to pay him taxes. But God has His rights over men, and people should respect and submit to them too. On a memorable occasion Peter said, "We must obey God rather than men." He was upholding the duty of rendering to God the things that are God's. Paul wrote, "Taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed." He was upholding in turn the principle of rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. The Lord thus settled the question for that time, and for all later ages as well.
Anyone can see whose face is on a coin. The Lord's second clause asks the harder question — where is God's image stamped?
Man is God's, for he bears His image. And the Lord says: "Render to God the things that are God's." If these men had rendered to God the things that were God's, they would not have had Caesar's image on their money. Everyone here belongs to God. Perhaps you say you are not a Christian — you make no profession of religion. That does not matter; you are His creature, you exist to serve Him... You are God's and you claim yourself. You have no right to yourself, for you bear His image and inscription.
Since the two claims are distinct, they can clash. When they do, the higher claim wins — but the response is not rebellion.
For Christian responsibility, the form of government makes no real difference. It may be a dictatorship or a constitutional state; it may be aristocratic or republican... The principle or rule, as regards mankind and the earth, remains untouched... The only limit is this: the Christian owes absolute subjection to God. So when obeying a human government would mean disobeying God, of course he must obey God rather than man. To resist the powers is to resist God's ordinance. Sometimes a Christian may not obey a human command, because it would break God's will. Then his path is suffering, not resistance.
Paying is where this stops being theory. One writer also answers the question many people ask next: what does the government do with the money?
We are not put in the world to make governments or to change them. We are here to seek the interests of our Lord. At the same time we give all proper honour and subjection to governments, whatever they may be. The instructions apply to such matters as taxes and revenue... We are to pay all that is due in local taxes, customs duties, and income tax. What the authorities may do with our money once they get it is their matter, not ours. In the mercy of God we are relieved of that heavy responsibility.
- Trap. Either answer would condemn Him — a rebel against Rome, or no Deliverer for Israel.
- Coin. Caesar's money in their pockets proved whose rule they were under, and why: they had not rendered to God first.
- Claim. A bad ruler still has rights. We owe taxes and honour even to a bad government.
- Image. The coin bore Caesar's image; you bear God's. That is what He asks you to render — yourself.
- Collision. When the two claims clash, obey God rather than man. Then accept suffering, not resistance.
And they were not able to take hold of him in [his] expressions before the people, and, wondering at his answer, they were silent.
Two hostile groups joined forces to trap Jesus with one question about Caesar's coin. His reply left them nothing to use: the plot collapsed in public, and men who came to argue went quiet.
The plot had two sides: the men who set it up and the men they used. One writer weighs what the scheme showed about them.
The moral depravity of everyone involved is very marked here, both in those who set it up and those they used. Simplicity of purpose detects and exposes the crafty. Jesus sacrifices no duty. Let Caesar have what is his, and God His own. The world-pleasers and the zealots were equally defeated. They set one duty against another, and did neither properly, because each was seeking self.
The Lord did not argue. He asked for a coin and let them say whose image was on it.
His answer reduced them to helplessness. He made them admit their servitude to Caesar by an appeal to their own coinage. Their lips, not His, pronounced it to be Caesar's image. Then He gave the answer to their question. In the light of their own admission it was perfectly obvious. But He also used it to introduce the far weightier matter of God's claims upon them.
Foreign coins circulating in the land were evidence of a nation under someone else's rule. Commentators read that fact as the result of Israel's own failure, not of Roman theft.
The inscription on the coin was a witness to their subjection to Caesar. His reply, then, was that they must give Caesar his rights, and give God the rights that were His. They had not rendered to God the things that were His. That is why Caesar had gained the rights of conquest over them. Once pointed out, all this was so undeniable that these crafty questioners fell silent.
Another writer puts it more sharply. God's own hand had placed Rome over Israel.
The Lord was not going to treat Caesar as an illegal ruler. He was the rod of God's anger in the land of Israel. Whether Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, or Romans, they were no usurpers. So the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land. In it He saw Israel's shame, not a seizure of power by Caesar.
His answer was not a clever escape for one afternoon. It laid down two sets of claims that stand together — and it says what to do if they clash.
The civil power has rights, and they should be respected. In this case the Caesar on the throne was anything but a model of goodness. Yet he was God's minister (Rom. 13:4), so tribute had to be paid to him. But God has His rights over men. These should be respected too, and submitted to. "We must obey God rather than men," said Peter on a memorable occasion... The Lord settled the question for that time, and for every age since. God has claims on His people, and so does the properly established civil power. Both are to be respected and practically acknowledged.
Caesar's image on the coin decided who owned the coin. One writer applies the same logic to the other half of the Lord's answer: what carries God's image belongs to God.
Man is God's, for he bears His image. And the Lord says: "Render to God the things that are God's." Suppose these men had rendered to God the things that were God's. Then they would not have had the image of Caesar on their money. Everyone here belongs to God... If you are still in your sins you are not rendering to God what is God's. You are robbing Him. You are God's and you claim yourself. You have no right to yourself, for you bear His image and inscription.
Their silence was not surrender. They admired the reply and stayed as they were.
Seeing the wisdom of the Lord's reply, they marvelled, but sad to say, they had no conscience toward God or man.
Luke notes that they failed in front of the crowd. That failure reached beyond the day itself.
Here the attempt to get something against Him for His condemnation ended... Neither before the Jewish council nor before the Roman court could they bring a just charge against the Lord.
- Trap — Two opposed groups joined to force a ruinous answer. One sentence defeated both.
- Coin — Their own admission about the image did the work; He never had to accuse them.
- Shame — Roman money in the land showed they were under foreign rule. Their failure toward God caused it, not Caesar's injustice.
- Rule — The state has real rights and God has higher ones. Honour both, and when they clash, obey God.
- Silence — Caesar's image marked the coin as his; God's image marks you as His. Admiring Christ without giving Him yourself leaves a man quiet but unchanged.