Paying Taxes

Earlier, Jesus had been confronted in the temple courts by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people the elders being the Sanhedrin; the Jewish council). That confrontation went much better for Jesus than for them. And they had departed after Jesus told them the parable of the tenants.

The Pharisees continued to watch Jesus closely and they conspired to trap Jesus in His words so they could hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. To do the trapping, the Pharisees sent their disciples, and they also sent the Herodians. The two groups pretended to be sincere while they spied on Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one because You pay no attention to external appearance. So, tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus saw through their duplicity and hypocrisy. He knew their evil intent. Jesus said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.” A denarius was used to pay the tax. The coin’s value was equal to a day’s wage for a laborer.

And they brought Jesus a denarius.

Jesus asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

So, Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

When the Pharisee disciples and Herodians heard this, they were amazed that they were unable to trap Jesus in His words before the people. So, they fell silent, and they went away.

See Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26

Notes: Herodians were members of a Jewish sect that was associated with the Pharisees and that supported Herod the Great and his dynasty.