Luke 20:21-26 21So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and you do not show partiality, but in truth teach the way of God. 22Is it permitted for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23But seeing through their trickery, he said to them, 24“Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” And they said, “Caesar’s.” 25He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26And they were not able to catch him in his word in the presence of the people, and marveling at his answer they became silent.
The spies sent by the Jewish religious leaders tried to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes. Many people have questions about taxes. No one likes to pay them today, and the ancient people were no different. The group of spies started with flattery. Verse 21 is a true statement. Jesus taught the truth and orthodox doctrine. His opponents could find nothing wrong with his teaching. They had to look for other ways to trap him. As God Incarnate, Jesus showed no partiality (Acts 10:34). He treated everyone fairly and did not pick sides. His integrity was unquestioned.
With this flattery, it is surprising that the spies then try to trap Jesus in a political statement. If they could not get him in trouble in religious ways, maybe they could get him in trouble with the Romans. Their question is quite simple but is loaded with political assumptions. The tribute (phorton) was a form of tax Jews paid to Rome. Should Jews who worship God alone and give their tithes and offerings to the temple also pay a tax to Caesar? Jews despised paying taxes to the Romans and the Emperor Tiberius. Tax collectors were at the bottom of the social and honor scale.
Jesus saw right through their duplicity and that they were trying to trap him. They must have thought a long time about their question because no matter how Jesus answered it, he would be in trouble with someone. Jesus’ response was ingenious and turned the tables and trapped the spies in their own game. The Roman denarius coin had the image of Caesar on it. It was also the coin used to pay the poll tax. Since the coin had Caesar’s image, it belonged to him. People are made in the image of God and belong to God. It is more important to give ourselves to God. Money is important for life but not the most important thing. It is only a tool to be used in service of God. Taxes may seem high in some places, but our purpose in life is to give ourselves to God and do God’s will. Giving oneself to God is far more important than giving money to the government, even if we do not agree with all that the government does. We can seek to change the laws through voting, but God has allowed governments to serve the purpose of keeping the peace (Romans 13:1–5 and 1 Peter 2:13–14). The spies could not find any fault in Jesus’ logic or illustration.
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