Then went the Pharisees and held a council how they might ensnare him in speaking.
This plot comes right after the Lord had told a parable of clear grace. What follows is not an argument but a plan: why would religious leaders answer grace with a trap?
Grace did not soften these men. It hardened them.
The Lord had spoken a parable of clear grace at the beginning of this chapter. Even so, the opposition of the Pharisees only smolders more strongly against Him. They plot together to entangle Him in His speaking, but succeed only in entangling themselves.
They had wanted to seize Him outright and could not. So the attack shifted ground — from religion to politics.
The Pharisees now took solemn counsel, and laid their plans for ensnaring the Lord. They had just found that the crowd left them no hope of getting Him into their power simply as a Jew. So they look for a charge against Him as a subject of Caesar, to hand Him over to the power and authority of the Romans.
The men sent to Him came from rival parties. Their hatred of Christ was stronger than their hatred of each other.
The three great factions — Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees — combine in this. Ritualists, worldly men and rationalists make common cause to defeat the Lord. Though so different in nature, they unite in this one thing: the rejection of the Lord. It is no better in our day. Three times the Devil tempted the Lord, and three times the leaders of the people tempt Him. No doubt the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees were only the instruments of that evil being.
Another writer finds the trap in that pairing. The two groups would close on Him "as between the opposite blades of shears" (F. W. Grant).
"Entangle" is the language of trapping. They had prepared a question about paying tax to Caesar. Either answer would destroy Him.
First the Pharisees and the Herodians — those who favoured the authority of the Romans, and those who were opposed to it — seek to entangle Jesus in His talk. So it seemed that Christ must either become an object of suspicion to the authorities, or give up His claim to be the Messiah and so the Deliverer. Who had caused this dilemma? It was the fruit of their own sins. The Lord shows them that they had themselves accepted the yoke. The money bore the mark of it: let them give it then to those to whom it belonged, and let them also — which they were not doing — give to God the things that are God's.
Another writer draws out what they had missed: "They should have known why they had to pay tax to Caesar: as a nation, they had not given to God what was due to Him" (An Outline of Sound Words).
The trap did not look like a trap. One writer turns that method on the reader.
Deceit lurked behind the innocent-looking question of the religious Pharisees when they asked, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" We know this, because we read that they were seeking to entangle Him in His talk. With the flesh in us it is all too possible to try to entangle one another with smooth speech and innocent-looking questions. We can even attack one another in secret through the very words we address to God in public prayer.
Every trap failed. The failure says something about the One they tested.
When He was here, men sat in scorn and sought to entangle Him in His talk. All the contradiction of sinners against Himself, all their objections, never drew one careless word from His lips. They attacked Him on every hand — Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians. On the contrary, He met them all, and His wisdom shone out in silencing them with one simple question: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?"
- Counsel. The plot was their answer to a parable of grace: grace refused, then opposition organised.
- Coalition. Parties that despised each other joined hands. Hatred of Christ united men nothing else could unite.
- Craft. They came with smooth speech and an innocent-looking question. That is the ordinary shape of a snare, then and now.
- Cause. Their own sin created the dilemma they set. Roman coins in their pockets showed they had not given God His due.
- Collapse. They meant to entangle Him and entangled themselves; not one careless word ever left His lips.
And they send out to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one, for thou regardest not men's person;
A run of parables has just exposed the Pharisees, and their answer is a plot with a compliment on its lips and a trap behind it. Every word they say about Jesus is true — so how can people speak so well of Him and still want to destroy Him?
The two groups who came to Jesus had almost nothing in common except their target. The Herodians took their name from Herod:
The name comes from Herod. It refers to those who joined him and his successors in bringing Greek and Roman manners and immorality in among the Jews. In their doubts they sided with the Sadducees, but they strongly opposed the Pharisees. That makes it all the more striking that they joined the Pharisees in trying to trap the Lord in what He said.
Their usual hostility is what makes this teamwork revealing:
An ominous alliance! Usually the Pharisees and Herodians were bitterly hostile to each other. The Pharisees were the great defenders of religious forms. The Herodians belonged more to the ruler's court. They used every means to advance their interests in the world, just as the others did to secure a religious reputation. But when it comes to Christ, the most opposed can unite against Him or His truth.
The Pharisees do not come in person. They send their pupils, and the arrangement itself gives them away:
The Pharisees, who are the leaders all through, lead the attack now. But the cleverness of the attack confesses their fear. They send their disciples instead of showing themselves in the open. With them they send their opponents the Herodians, whom no one would expect to be in league with them. Between the two of them they would catch Him as between the opposite blades of a pair of shears. They do not even bring an argument, only a matter for Him to decide. On that they can count on His complete and fearless truthfulness. He teaches the way of God in truth, and He is not swayed by appearances.
Everything in their opening speech is correct. That is what makes it remarkable:
With such cunning and flattery they approached Him. For once they spoke the truth when they declared, "You are true and teach the way of God in truth." But He knew them; He read their thoughts and their sinister purpose.
Their own words leave them without excuse, and one writer presses the obvious question back on them:
Yet they bear witness that He is true, that He was not swayed by anyone's standing, and that He taught the way of God in truth. (Why did they not then submit to His teaching?) Of course their subtle wickedness meant these words only as flattery. They hoped this would sway His answer to their question, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?"
A true statement can come from a speaker who does not mean a word of it:
They think they can use on the Lord the tactics that often work so well with other people. So by flattery and falsehood they try to trap Him. They say, "You are true and do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances, but teach the way of God truthfully." This was true in fact, but it was not the true expression of their evil hearts.
The compliment set Him up for a question with only two answers, and both would cost Him. But they had built that dilemma themselves:
On their part it was pure wickedness, showing a total lack of conscience. Their own sin had brought them under the Roman yoke. That position was indeed contrary to what should have belonged to the people of God on earth. So on the face of it Christ had only two options. He must either become an object of suspicion to the authorities, or give up His claim to be the Messiah and therefore the Deliverer. Who had created this dilemma? It was the fruit of their own sins.
- Alliance. Herodians and Pharisees were natural opponents. Hatred of Christ made them partners. Opposition to Him can unite people who agree on nothing else.
- Cowardice. The Pharisees sent their disciples instead of coming themselves. The design of the plot confesses their fear.
- Accuracy. Every word of their compliment was correct: He is true, He teaches the way of God in truth, He is not swayed by anyone's standing.
- Hypocrisy. True in fact, false as an expression of their hearts. Flattery is not belief; saying the right thing about Jesus is not the same as submitting to Him.
- Self-indictment. Their own testimony condemns them. If they knew He taught the way of God truly, why not obey Him? And the trap they set rested on Roman rule their own sins had brought on them.
tell us therefore what thou thinkest Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, Why tempt ye me, hypocrites?
The Pharisees and the Herodians agreed on almost nothing, yet both wanted Jesus trapped, so they sent Him a flattering question about taxes. Before He touched the question, He named the men — and that naming is the whole force of this verse.
They built the question so that either answer would ruin Him. Behind it lay a proud nation under Roman rule.
What an alliance! The Pharisees stood for strict Judaism and the law. The Herodians were the political opportunists of that day, and the Pharisees hated them thoroughly. Yet the two join in flattering Jesus, to trap Him with the question of the Jews' rights against the Gentile ruler. Would He, the Messiah, contradict the hopes and high privileges of Israel as a nation? If not, how could He escape the charge of treason against Caesar? There was devilish craft there. But divine wisdom brings in the just balance of truth about God and about human authority, and the difficulty vanishes. It was the rebellion of the Jews against the Lord that led Him to put them under their pagan rulers. Were they humbled by it, and seeking the resources of God's grace? No — they were proud and boastful. Their rival parties were at that very time uniting in deadly opposition to God, plotting against their own Messiah — who was God's Messiah too.
What they said about Him was true. They used the truth as bait.
They think the tactics that often work so well with other people will work with the Lord too. So by flattery and falsehood they try to trap Him. They say, "We know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone's opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances." What they said was true in fact. But it was not the true expression of their evil hearts.
He was "aware of their malice." One writer draws out how the Lord habitually dealt with people who came to Him with questions.
I notice in Scripture that our Lord does not usually answer questions. He answers the man who asks them. He knew what men were. He knew in what hearts and minds the questions started. His answer spoke to the state of the questioner, not just to the question. So it was in this instance. These men — He calls them hypocrites — now stood before the Searcher of hearts. No one could hide from His eyes. "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13). He knows our hearts better than we know them, and He knows what prompts questions better than the questioner himself does.
His counter-question turns the trap back on the men who set it.
The Lord exposes their hypocrisy with His question, "Why put Me to the test?" They seek to catch Him in His words, and they fall into their own trap. That makes their low condition plain — in fact before men, and morally before God.
The contrast with the men in front of Him is not only in knowledge. It is in character. And it comes close to home.
However hard wicked men pressed Him, no question He asked, no answer He gave, no word that fell from His lips was ever marred by any trace of deceit. With us, at times, malice and envy can lurk behind words that are "smooth as butter" and "softer than oil." With Him no evil motive was ever hidden under fair speech. Deceit lurked behind the innocent-looking question of the religious Pharisees: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" For we read that they were seeking to "entangle Him in His words" (Matt. 22:15-18). With the flesh in us it is all too possible to seek to entangle one another with smooth speech and innocent looking questions.
Their question was about money and government. The Lord's reply reached much further.
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 they ought to have given God what belonged to Him. Instead of putting themselves at God's disposal, they stood in opposition to Him and to His Son.
- The trap — Two parties who despised each other united against Christ. They framed a question on taxes: a yes would deny Israel's hopes, a no would mean treason against Rome.
- The bait — Their opening compliments about Him were true. But they were not the true expression of their hearts. They used truth as a lure.
- The knowledge — He answers the questioner, not just the question. They stood before the Searcher of hearts, who knows what prompts a question better than the asker does.
- The exposure — "Why put me to the test?" springs their own trap on them. It shows what they really are — in fact before men, and morally before God.
- The claim — His word went straight to their conscience. They bore God's image and owed themselves to Him, yet stood opposed to Him and to His Son.
Shew me the money of the tribute. And they presented to him a denarius.
Two parties who normally hated each other joined forces to trap Jesus with a question about tribute. He did not argue — He asked for the coin, and the coin answered them before He said anything more.
The men asking were not honest enquirers.
What a sad picture this part of the Gospel gives us. Here we read of the Pharisees joining with the Herodians — churchmen and politicians. They detested each other. Yet in their open hatred of our Lord Jesus Christ they found ground on which they could move together.
Their aim was to force Him into one of two ruinous answers.
They thought they had the Lord caught either way. If He had said, You ought not to pay tribute to Caesar, they would have charged Him with rebellion. If He had just said, Yes, you ought to pay tribute, they would have announced that He was not a loyal Son of David.
He did not pull a coin from His own purse. He had none. (Older translations call the coin a "penny"; the ESV calls it a denarius.)
The Lord was "poor, yet making many rich" — "having nothing, yet possessing everything." ... He would feed thousands in desert places, and yet be hungry Himself, waiting for His disciples to come back with food from a nearby village. That is "having nothing, yet possessing everything." He was poor, in need and exposed. Even so, nothing in the least bit mean is ever seen in His condition. He never begs, though He has not a penny; for when He wanted to see one — not to use it for Himself — He had to ask to be shown it.
Once the denarius was in view, its stamp settled the ownership.
He asks to be shown the tribute money. And they brought Him a penny. He says: "Whose is this image and superscription?" 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 on the coin.
The word "image" here means representation — the coin stood for the ruler whose face it bore.
It may not have been well made, and so not much of a likeness. It may also have been badly battered, as money often is. Even so, it would still be the image of Caesar: it represented him, and no one else.
Producing the coin was itself an admission.
The piece of money they produced proved their subjection to the Gentiles. It was their sin that had put them there. They writhed under their masters; but under foreign masters they were, and it was because of their sin. The Lord confronts them with the undeniable witness of their subjection to the Romans. He also brings a graver charge, one they had entirely overlooked — the claims of God, as well as of Caesar.
But if the coin marked Israel's shame, did Rome have any right to be there?
The Lord was not going to treat Caesar as one who had seized power he had no right to. He was the rod of God's anger in the land of Israel. Whether Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, or Romans, none of them were usurpers. So when the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land, He saw in it Israel's shame, not a power Caesar had seized. Do you treat the authorities God has ordained as men who have stolen their power? No. But do not confuse the rights of Caesar and the rights of God. If the two collide, say with Peter, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge."
If a stamped face decides who owns a coin, the same test falls on the people who hold it.
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 abundantly on the saints today.
This claim reaches every person. Being religious or not does not change it.
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 belong to God, yet you claim yourself. You have no right to yourself, for you bear His image and superscription.
- Trap. Two enemies joined against Christ. Their question was meant to leave Him no safe answer.
- Poverty. He had no coin of His own. He had to ask for one, though everything was His.
- Proof. The stamp on the coin answered their question — Caesar's image, Caesar's property.
- Shame. The foreign coin in their hands showed why they were under Rome at all: their own sin.
- Claim. The same test fell on them. They bore God's image, so they owed God Himself — and every person still does.
And he says to them, Whose [is] this image and superscription?
Enemies came to trap the Lord with a question about taxes. He answered by asking them to name the face on a coin. That one question settled who owned the coin, who owned the nation, and who owns every person alive.
The men who set the trap were rival parties with nothing in common but their target.
After this come the various classes of Jews — the Pharisees first of all, and, strange partners! the Herodians. Normally they were, as people say, natural enemies. The Pharisees were the high religious party. The Herodians were the opposite: the low worldly party of the court. The first were strong supporters of tradition and righteousness according to the law. The second flattered whatever powers were in place, for whatever they could get on earth. Such allies now joined hypocritically against the Lord.
The trap had two jaws, and either one would have closed on Him.
They thought that they had the Lord on the horns of a dilemma. If He had said, You ought not to pay tribute to Caesar, they would have charged Him with rebellion. If He had said, Yes, you ought to pay tribute, they would have announced that He was not a loyal Son of David. His astonishing reply answered not only the question, but also the men who asked it.
The ESV reads "likeness and inscription"; older translations read "image and superscription." The two words carry different ideas, and one writer separates them.
What are we to understand by the words "image" and "likeness"? … Put briefly, "image" represents; "likeness" resembles. An image is not necessarily like the thing or person it is meant to represent. The coin that was shown to the Lord Jesus in Matthew 22:20 may not have carried a "likeness" of Caesar, but it certainly carried an "image" of him.
He did not argue. He asked for the coin.
He asks to be shown the tribute money. And they brought to Him a penny. He says: "Whose is this image and inscription?" 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.
Notice who had to produce the coin — not the Lord.
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 anyone ever had in the world; but He never spent the smallest coin of it on Himself.
That a Roman coin was circulating at all told a story the questioners did not want told.
The piece of money they produced proved their subjection to the Gentiles. It was their sin which had put them there. They squirmed under their masters. Yet under foreign masters they remained, and it was because of their sin.
Yet the Lord did not treat the emperor as an illegal occupier.
So, when the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land, He saw in it Israel's shame, not Caesar's seizing of power.
If a stamped face settles who owns a coin, the same test reaches the men holding it.
But that is not all. He lets them know they are to render to God the things that are God's. If the coin bore the image of Caesar, and therefore was his, on whom was the image of God stamped? It was stamped at the beginning upon man, and despite the fall it has not been completely erased. The image and inscription of God are still visible.
The claim reaches the person who wants nothing to do with religion.
Everyone here belongs to God. Perhaps you say you are not a Christian — you make no profession of religion. That matters not, you are His creature, you are in existence to serve Him… You are God's and you claim yourself. You have no right to yourself, for you bear His image and inscription.
Two claims stand side by side, and they must not blur.
Do you treat the powers that are ordained of God as illegal rulers? No — but do not confuse the rights of Caesar and the rights of God. If there is a clash 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."
- Stamp. A face pressed into metal settles ownership. Their answer was already on the coin they carried.
- Represent. "Image" means representation, not resemblance. The coin did not have to look like Caesar to be his.
- Shame. Roman money in the land proved that Gentiles ruled them. Their own sin had put them there.
- Claim. The same test reaches the questioners. God stamped His image on man, the fall did not erase it, and so man himself belongs to God.
- Order. Pay the governing power what it is owed, since God ordained it. But never confuse Caesar's rights with God's — when the two clash, God comes first.
They say to him, Caesar's. Then he says to them, Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.
The question about the tribute money was a trap. Whichever way Jesus answered, His enemies expected a charge against Him. His reply not only escaped the snare but turned the question back on the men who asked it.
Two groups who were bitter enemies joined forces here. Their positions were opposite, but their aim was the same:
The Pharisees held firmly to Jewish self-rule. They were the people of Jehovah, and they were not to be under Gentile rule. The Herodians, on the other hand, attached themselves to Herod's ruling family. That family stood for the imperial power of Rome, which had placed him there as a lesser king. They thought that if Jesus accepted Roman authority, He would lose His standing as Messiah in the eyes of the people. The Messiah was the one who would free them from that yoke. If He rejected that authority, they could denounce Him to the civil power. It mattered little to them that they were inconsistent, if only they could get rid of God and His truth. The bitterest enemies become friends to get rid of Christ.
Jesus asked for the coin used to pay the tax. Its image settled the first half of the question, and exposed something the questioners had not thought about:
The piece of money they produced proved their subjection to the Gentiles. It was their sin which had put them there. They squirmed under their masters. But they were still under foreign masters, and the reason was their sin. The Lord confronts them with the undeniable evidence that they are under the Romans. He also brings a graver charge, one they had completely overlooked — the claims of God, as well as of Caesar.
Their place under Gentile rule had a cause and an end point, and they were failing both halves of the command:
God had put the Jews under the Gentiles because of their sins. They should recognize His hand in it and submit to this yoke, until God freed them from it according to His promise. In the meantime they should render to God the things that are God's. They were doing neither the one nor the other. Rebels against God in all their ways, they were constantly rising up against the Romans.
The emperor of that day was no model of virtue, yet his tax still had to be paid. One writer explains why, and shows the apostles later holding to both halves of the saying:
The civil power has rights, and they should be respected. 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), the tax was still due to him. But God has His rights over men. These too must be respected and obeyed. "We must obey God rather than men," said Peter on a memorable occasion. He was upholding the duty of rendering to God the things that were God's. "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed," wrote Paul. 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.
Rome held its place by God's appointment, not by theft. Yet the two claims must never merge into one:
The Lord was not going to treat Caesar as an unlawful ruler... So when the Lord saw Caesar's coin passing through the land, He saw Israel's shame in it, not unlawful rule by Caesar... That had been a golden rule ever since their captivity — the rule for people who had come back from exile — and it is our rule too. Do you treat the powers God has appointed as unlawful rulers? No; but do not confuse the rights of Caesar with the rights of God. If the two collide, say with Peter: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge."
The same logic runs a second time, and this time it lands on the person holding the coin:
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 carried 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 makes no difference; you are His creature, and you exist to serve Him... If you are still in your sins you are not rendering to God that which 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 superscription.
The saying was not a one-off escape from a clever question. It set a standard that outlives Rome:
Jesus had stated a great principle of action that applies to all of us as long as we are under the jurisdiction of any kind of Caesar. We must render to Caesar all his rights; but the things that are God's are far higher and wider than all that is his.
- Trap — Bitter enemies joined forces. Either answer, yes or no, would put Him in the wrong — with Rome, or with the people.
- Coin — The money in their own hands proved they were under Rome. Their sin had put them there, and God's promise would one day end it.
- Caesar — Even a bad ruler holds real rights. He is God's minister, so the tax had to be paid.
- God — A stamped image marks ownership. Man bears God's image, so he owes God himself; to hold that back is robbery.
- Order — The two claims never merge. Give Caesar his due, give God His, and where the two collide, obey God.
And when they heard [him], they wondered, and left him, and went away.
The men who came to Jesus with the coin question had built a trap with two jaws. They walked away without springing either one. Their wonder never turned into faith. That is the question this verse leaves with the reader: what do you do with amazement at Christ?
Two groups who despised each other joined forces here. Each carried its own failure toward Rome. One writer explains how they framed a single question to ruin Him either way:
One party accommodated itself to Caesar and made nothing of unfaithfulness to God. The other was in constant rebellion against the empire. Instead of bowing to the yoke as humbled under God's hand for their sins, they insisted on rights as God's people which they had really forfeited. They were hypocrites with Him, not bowing to the yoke He had laid on their necks for their sins. These two groups come together so that Jesus might be found at fault either way. No deliverer from the Roman yoke if He accepted the tribute easily; accused before the governor if He forbade it. The Lord puts everything in its place. He asks whose authority this tribute money represents: "Caesar's," they reply. Give to Caesar what is his, He says, and to God what is God's — the true secret of their position. They marveled, and left Him.
The Lord asked for the coin and let the metal answer for itself. The head stamped on it settled where the coin belonged. That same logic then turns back on the men asking:
These marks showed that the coin belonged to Caesar's realm, and quite rightly should be rendered to him. What an astonishing answer to their crafty question! The rest of His answer was a serious challenge to the consciences of those who had asked it. He added, "and to God the things that are God's." If such marks proved the coin 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 abundantly on the saints today.
A Roman coin in Jewish hands had a history behind it. One writer reads it as the sign of a debt unpaid to God, which changes what the nation's real remedy had to be:
The Gentile yoke had come, as their father Jacob had long ago prophesied... Israel had accepted fellowship with the Gentile, and Caesar's coin was only the sign of this. Gentile in heart and in way, God had reckoned her where she belonged... Let them give Caesar his own; but let them give God His own also. When they really do this, there will be no question at all to settle about Caesar. Not by self-assertion, but only by repentance, can deliverance come for them.
The saying settles more than a first-century tax dispute. The answer struck their consciences, and it leaves a rule for anyone living under a government. The smaller claim never crowds out the larger:
This great answer not only amazed them but also so struck their consciences that they went away. Jesus had stated a great principle of action. It applies to all of us as long as we live under the authority of any kind of Caesar. We must render to Caesar all his rights, but the things that are God's are far higher and wider than all that is his.
Commentators differ on what happened inside these men. One sees a conscience pierced even as their feet carried them off:
He designed once more to convict their consciences. He would prove to them, as a nation or political body, that they were now lost. There was no life in them, and they were ready to be dissolved. The arrow appears to be sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies, for "they marveled. And they left Him and went away."
Another writer sees only the common reaction to anything beyond us, and warns how little it proves:
It is man's way to marvel at things he can neither understand nor imitate. But such an emotion does not touch either the heart or the conscience. This is recorded several times of the unthinking crowd. It was true of the Pharisees and Herodians too, when they received the Lord's wise answers to their cunning questions.
- Trap — Two hostile parties allied against Christ. Their one question had two jaws: deny the tax and face Rome, allow it and forfeit any claim to be Israel's deliverer.
- Coin — The image on the money answered their question for them. What carries an owner's likeness goes back to its owner.
- Image — By that same rule, the human race carries God's own mark by creation, and believers more fully by redemption. God's claim is the higher one.
- Repentance — Roman coin in their land was the sign of their own unfaithfulness. The way out was never rebellion, but giving God His due again.
- Marvel — They wondered and walked away. Amazement at Christ that never bends the will leaves a person exactly where it found them.