Rendering Unto Caesar or God?

Yet another oft misunderstood text is, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Lk. 20:25). Most assume that Jesus means there are some things that belong to Caesar, or the government, and other things that belong to God. But that’s not what Jesus means at all.

Jesus Absolute Authority Over All Things

Luke has been making a case for Jesus’ absolute authority over all things. He first does so with The Triumphal entry, as Jesus fulfills prophecy by riding in on a colt for Passover (Lk. 19:28-40). It’s an assertion of His Messiahship.

Jesus then weeps over Jerusalem because they’ve rejected Him and will be judged (Lk. 19:41-44). He’s the Judge.

Luke next gives us an account of Jesus cleansing the temple. Jesus declares His authority as He does so by saying “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (Lk. 19:46). The temple belongs to Him.

At that point the Jewish religious leaders determine to kill Jesus. In Luke 20:2 they confront Him with the key question: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?” Jesus deftly turns their question back on them and tells the parable of the wicked vinedressers (Lk. 20:9-19). The owner of a vineyard sends three groups of servants to procure some fruit from the vineyard, and they’re turned away each time. He then sends His Son, and the vinedressers kill him. Jesus is speaking of the Jewish religious leaders. They turned away the prophets, and they’re going to crucify God’s Son. Jesus is openly declaring Himself to be the Son of God.

Caesar vs. God

They understood Jesus was talking about them and plotted further how they could seize Him and turn Him over to Rome to be executed (Lk. 20:19). It’s at that point they seek to catch Jesus in a trap (Lk. 20:20). He’s in the temple, and they ask Him if it’s lawful to pay taxes to Caesar (Lk. 20:22). Jesus then turns the tables on them, as He did so often. Luke tells us, “But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ‘Why do you test Me? ‘Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?’ They answered and said, ‘Caesar’s. And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.” If Jesus is simply saying some things belong to Caesar, and some things belong to God, why did they marvel at His words?

The Background

Jeffrey Barr points out in AD 6 Rome imposed a census tax on the Jews. Judas the Galilean led a revolt, and the Romans brutally combatted it for decades. Pontius Pilate was a cruel and brutal dictator who was Rome’s chief soldier, magistrate, and tax collector in the region. A few years prior to Luke’s account, Pilate had put up effigies of the Emperor on the fortress Antonia which adjoined the Jewish Temple. There was a near insurrection as Jewish law forbade graven images and their presence in the holy city of Jerusalem. Pilate removed the images and thus avoided a war, but Jerusalem continued to be a hotbed of political and religious fervor.

The Coin

The denarius bore the image of Tiberias Caesar as well as the imperial seal. Barr points out that “it differed from the copper coins issued by the Roman Senate, and it was also the coin with which subjected peoples, in theory, were required to pay the tribute. Tiberius even made it a capital crime to carry any coin stamped with his image into a bathroom or a brothel. In short, the denarius was a tangible representation of the emperor’s power, wealth, deification, and subjugation.” Only soldiers, Roman officials, and Jewish leaders in league with Rome would have used this particular coin. Jesus did not possess this coin.

The Encounter

The ones who confronted Jesus had this coin and produced it immediately. They’re guilty of religious hypocrisy, as they bring a profane item, a pagan coin, into the temple. Further, to do such was to violate the ten commandments as well as the shema of Deut. 6:4-5. The Jews were to make no graven images, and they were to love God alone. Don’t overlook vv. 23-24: ““Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” Jesus turns the tables here by asking them to produce a denarius, which they do. He then asks whose image and inscription it has. Image is a reference to the second commandment, and inscription is a reference to the shema as they were to inscribe it on their doorposts among other places. Of course, the image is Caesar, and the inscription is his. The inscription refers to Caesar as the worshipful Son of God. It pictures him on a throne wearing a priestly robe. Caesar demanded worship and asserted his sovereign authority over all who transacted with the coin.

In the context of Luke, the real question is clear: who is supreme, God or Caesar? Jesus has just claimed to be the Son of God by telling the parable of the wicked vinedressers. Think of the significance of Jesus asking them to produce the coin. He didn’t have to do that to answer their question, but He did. They’re trying to trap Jesus in order to kill Him. The obvious point is the Jewish religious leaders’ assertion of Caesar’s authority over against Jesus’ assertion of His own authority. The question is what is truly Caesar’s and what is truly God’s? The point is that everything belongs to God as the Scriptures assert throughout. He has absolute authority. Luke is saying that the claims of God and Caesar are mutually exclusive.

The Conclusion

Jesus is not saying that some things belong to Caesar, and some things belong to God, so pay taxes. That’s not the point at all. This text is a power encounter. It’s a declaration that Jesus is Lord and Jesus’ confronters understood Jesus to be saying just that. This text is not unlike Joshua’s challenge: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). Jesus’ point is no different. You can choose to serve Caesar if you like. But nothing belongs to Caesar. It all belongs to God. Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.

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