They sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words. When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”
They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him.
Some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring. The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”
One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he, and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” No one dared ask him any question after that.
Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” ’
Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly.
In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts: those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 18, 28, 35, 36, 38 The Gospel joineth the authority of the Magistrate with…
The Gospel joineth the authority of the Magistrate with the service of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is…
7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
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9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
Ver. 13. To catch him in his words] As hunters catch the beast in a toil, αγρευσωσι, as fowlers catch the bird in a snare, as St Matthew’s word here signifies (παγιδευσωσι).
" Fistula dulce canit, voluerem dum decipit auceps."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13, 19, 28, 35, 38 See Poole on "Mat 22:15", and following verses to…
See Poole on "Mat 22:15", and following verses to Mat 22:22. The Sadducees most probably derived their name from one Sadoc, scholar to Antigonus Sochaeus. It is said that the occasion of their heresy was their master’s teaching them, that they must not serve God as servants for rewards. Upon which they builded their notion, that there is no resurrection, no rewards nor punishments in another life. They denied the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body, and angels, and spirits, Act 23:8; attributed all to free will, denying fate and destiny; they rejected traditions, and owned no Scriptures but the five books of Moses. They seemed to be a kind of rational divines, that would own and believe nothing but what they could fathom by their reason, or was obvious to their sense; and their doctrine was excellently suited to men’s lusts, who desire not to be troubled with any thoughts of a world to come. Nothing more shows the degeneracy and debauchery of human nature than this, that to gratify their sensual appetites more freely in the things of this life, they will be content to think of annihilation, (which nature not debauched abhors), and of quitting all hopes of eternal life and happiness, that they may have a principle to warrant their living like beasts. They come to our Saviour, thinking to flout him and his hearers out of the doctrine of the resurrection, as having insuperable difficulties to clog it. But he that takes the wise in their own craftiness, shows these wise men, that all their wisdom was but folly, and their argument wholly proceeded ex ignoratione elenchi, from their not understanding the thing they would philosophize about.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38 Observe here, A grand design to entangle our blessed…
Observe here, A grand design to entangle our blessed Saviour in his discourse.
Where note, 1. The persons employed to put the ensnaring question to Christ, namely, the Pharisees and Herodians. The Pharisees were against paying tribute to Caesar, looking upon themselves as a free people, and the emperor as an usurper; but the Herodians were for it. Herod being made by the Roman emperor king over the Jews, he was very zealous for having the Jews pay tribute to Caesar; and such of the Jews as sided with him, particularly his courtiers and favourites, were called Herodians.
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Note, 2. The policy and wicked craft here used, in employing these two contrary parties to put this question to our Saviour concerning tribute, thereby laying him under a necessity, as they hoped, to offend one side, let him answer how he would; if, to please the Pharisees, he denied paying tribute to Caesar, then he is accused of sedition; if, to gratify the Herodians, he voted for paying tribute to Caesar, then he is looked upon as an enemy to the liberty of his country, and exposed to popular odium. Thus has it all along been the practice of Satan and his instruments, to draw the ministers of God into dislike, either with the magistrates or with the people, that they may fall under the censure of the one, or the displeasure of the other.
Observe, 3. With what wisdom and caution our Lord answers them; he calls for the Roman penny, answering to sevenpence halfpenny of our money, two of which they paid by way of tribute, as poll money for every head to the emperor. Christ asks them, Whose image or superscription this their coin bore? They answer, Caesar’s. Render then, says he, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. As if our Lord had said, "Your admitting of the Roman coin among you, is an evidence that you are under subjection to the emperor, because the coining and imposing of money is an act of sovereign authority; therefore you have owned Caesar’s authority over you, by accepting of his coin amongst you; give unto him his just dues, and render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s."
Learn hence, 1. That our Saviour was no enemy to magistracy and civil government; there was no truer paymaster of the king’s dues, than he that was King of kings; he preached it, and he practised it, Mat 17:27.
2. Where a kingdom is in subjection to a temporal prince, whether his right be by descent, election, or by conquest, the subjects ought, from a principle of conscience, to pay tribute to him.
3. That as Christ is no enemy to the civil rights of princes, and his religion exempts none from paying their civil dues; so princes should be as careful not to rob him of his divine honour, as he is not to rob them of their civil rights; as Christ requires all his followers to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, so should princes oblige all their subjects to render unto God the things that are God’s.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35 When the enemies of Christ, who thirsted for his…
When the enemies of Christ, who thirsted for his blood, could not find occasion against him from what he said against them, they tried to ensnare him by putting questions to him. Here we have him tempted, or attempted rather, with a question about the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar. We had this narrative, Mat 22:15.
I. The persons they employed were the Pharisees and the Herodians, men that in this matter were contrary to one another, and yet concurred against Christ, Mar 12:13. The Pharisees were great sticklers for the liberty of the Jews, and, if he should say, It is lawful to give tribute to Caesar, they would incense the common people against him, and the Herodians would, underhand, assist them in it. The Herodians were great sticklers for the Roman power, and, if he should discountenance the paying of tribute to Caesar, they would incense the governor against hum, yea, and the Pharisees, against their own principles, would join with them in it. It is no new thing for those that are at variance in other things, to join in a confederacy against Christ.
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II. The pretence they made was, that they desired him to resolve them a case of conscience, which was of great importance in the present juncture; and they take on them to have a high opinion of his ability to resolve it, Mar 12:14. They complimented him at a high rate, called him Master, owned him for a Teacher of the way of God, a Teacher of it in truth, one who taught what was good, and upon principles of truth, who would not be brought by smiles or frowns to depart a step from the rules of equity and goodness; "Thou carest for no man, nor regardest the person of men, thou art not afraid of offending either the jealous prince on one hand, or the jealous people on the other; thou art right, and always in the right, and dost in a right manner declare good and evil, truth and falsehood." If they spoke as they thought concerning Christ, when they said, We know that thou art right, their persecuting him, and putting him to death, as a deceiver, was sin against knowledge; they knew him, and yet crucified him. However, a man's testimony shall be taken most strongly against himself, and out of their own mouths are they judged; they knew that he taught the way of God in truth, and yet rejected the counsel of God against themselves. The professions and pretences of hypocrites will be produced in evidence against them, and they will be self-condemned. But if they did not know or believe it, they lied unto God with their mouth, and flattered him with their tongue.
III. The question they put was, Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? They would be thought desirous to know their duty. As a nation that did righteousness, they ask of God the ordinances of justice, when really they desired nothing but to know what he would say, in hopes that, which side soever he took of the question, they might take occasion from it to accuse him. Nothing is more likely to ensnare ministers, than bringing them to meddle with controversies about civil rights, and to settle land-marks between the prince and the subject, which it is fit should be done, while it is not at all fit that they should have the doing of it. They seemed to refer the determining of this matter to Christ; and he indeed was fit to determine it, for by him kings reign, and princes decree justice; they put the question fairly, Shall we give, or shall we not give? They seemed resolved to stand to his award; "If thou sayest that we must pay tribute, we will do it, thou we be made beggars by it. If thou sayest that we must not, we will not, though we be made traitors for it." Many seemed desirous to do it; as those proud men, Jer 42:20.
IV. Christ determined the question, and evaded the snare, by referring them to their national concessions already made, by which they were precluded from disputing this matter, Mar 12:15-17. He knew their hypocrisy, the malice that was in their hearts against him, while with their mouth they showed all this love. Hypocrisy, though ever so artfully managed, cannot be concealed from the Lord Jesus. He sees the potsherd that is covered with the silver dross. He knew they intended to ensnare him, and therefore contrived the matter so as to ensnare them, and to oblige them by their own words to do what they were unwilling to do, which was, to pay their taxes honestly and quietly, and yet at the same time to screen himself against their exceptions. He made them acknowledge that the current money of their nation was Roman money, had the emperor's image on one side, and his superscription on the reverse; and if so, 1. Caesar might command their money for the public benefit, because he had the custody and conduct of the state, wherein he ought to have his charges borne; Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. The circulation of the money is from him as the fountain, and therefore it must return to him. As far as it is his, so far it must be rendered to him; and how far it is his, and may be commanded by him, is to be judged by the constitution of the government, according as it is, and hath settled the prerogative of the prince and the property of the subject. 2. Caesar might not command their consciences, nor did he pretend to it; he offered not to make any alteration in their religion. "Pay your tribute, therefore, without murmuring or disputing, but be sure to render to God the things that are God's." Perhaps he referred to the parable he had just now put forth, in which he had condemned them for not rendering the fruits to the Lord of the vineyard, Mar 12:2. Many that seem careful to give to men their due, are in no care to give God the glory due to his name; whereas our hearts and best affections are as much due to him as ever rent was to a landlord, or tribute to a prince. All that heard Christ, marvelled at the discretion of his answer, and how ingenuously he avoided the snare; but I doubt none were brought by it, as they ought to be, to render to God themselves and their devotions. Many will commend the wit of a sermon, that will not be commanded by the divine laws of a sermon.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–40 Shall we give, or not give?.... They not only…
Shall we give, or not give?.... They not only ask whether it was lawful, but whether also it was advisable to do it, that they might not only accuse him of his principles, but charge him with persuading, or dissuading in this case. These words are left out in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions:
but he knowing their hypocrisy; expressed in their flattering titles and characters of him, and which lay hid in their secret designs against him; which being thoroughly known to him,
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said unto them, why tempt ye me: bring me a penny, that I may see it; what it is, that is required for tribute; See Gill on Mat 22:18, Mat 22:19.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38 Matt. xxii, 15; Luke xx, 20.
Matt. xxii, 15; Luke xx, 20.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 18, 23, 27, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38 Verse 13. And they send unto him] See this,…
Verse 13. And they send unto him] See this, and to Mr 12:17, largely explained on Mt 22:15-22.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 38 Mar 12:13-17. They send unto him certain of the…
Mar 12:13-17. They send unto him certain of the Pharisees, &c. — See notes on Mat 22:15-22. They marvelled at him — At the wisdom of his answer.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38, 40 See the notes at Mat 22:15-22.
See the notes at Mat 22:15-22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 17, 26, 29, 33, 34, 35, 37 The disciples of the Pharisees said this in order…
The disciples of the Pharisees said this in order to induce our Saviour to answer them, "that they were not to pay tribute to Cæsar, being the people of God; an answer they confidently anticipated, and which the Herodians hearing, might immediately apprehend him, and thus remove the odium from themselves to Herod. (Ven. Bede)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38 3. The Cunning Attach of the Pharisees and Herodians,…
3. The Cunning Attach of the Pharisees and Herodians, and their Defeat Mar_12:13-17.
(Parallels: Mat_22:15-22; Luk_20:20-24.)
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13And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14And when they were come, 5 they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not? 15Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cesar’s. 17And Jesus answering, said unto them, Render to Cesar the things that are Cesar’s, 6 and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Comp. the parallels in Matthew and Luke.—The turning-point here is the ironical acknowledgment of Jesus’ Messianic dignity on the part of the Jewish rulers, after that they, in their attempt to overcome Jesus by the assertion of their authority in the presence of the people, had been covered with shame. It forms, consequently, the second section of our Lord’s strife in the temple on the Tuesday of the Passion Week. In this history of the temptation, the object of which was to entangle the Lord, two chief attacks are specialized by Mark: the attack made by the Pharisees in connection with the Herodians, or the history of the tribute-penny; and the attack of the Sadducees. In the latter, however, the question of the scribes leaves no longer an impression of malicious temptation, but draws the transactions to a close with an example of the triumph of Christ over many minds among the scribes and Pharisees. It is, nevertheless, the same history, written more from the bright side, while Matthew pictures it from the darker side. This individual was better than his party who had despatched him to tempt Christ: he made no concealment of the effect which the wisdom of Christ made upon him. This history is allowed by Luke to pass unnoticed. The cunning shown in the temptation now under consideration, is distinctly emphasized by each of the three Evangelists, Matthew and Mark giving the additional fact of the union between the Pharisees and Herodians to effect their ends. Matthew states that those who were sent were disciples of the Pharisees, and consequently young persons; from Luke it appears they were worldlings, who could only feign scruples of conscience. At the outset, the lively addition characterizes Mark, “Shall we give, or shall we not give?” The rest of the narrative is quickly sketched, and remarkably graphic. In the conclusion he is shorter than Matthew and Luke.
Mar_12:13. And they send unto Him.—Those mentioned in the preceding section, the Sanhedrim, are intended. But Matthew represents with propriety the Pharisees as the most active in the transaction.—To catch Him.—’Αγρεύειν refers primarily to the chase.
Mar_12:15. Shall we give?—Important application of the question to their conduct. They appear, moreover, anxious to place the negation in His mouth.
Mar_12:17. The things that are Cæsar’s.—The order of the words in Mark is peculiar; the construction is more cautious, and yet more lively.—And they marvelled at Him.—The young aristocratic portion of the population of the capital had not, in its pride, expected such a blow from the Galilæan Rabbi. Matthew informs us that they felt themselves overcome: in Mark this is implied.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. See Matthew.
2. The feigned alliance of hostile parties against Christ, a measure of the greatness of their hatred to Christ. Mark has already (Mar_3:6) recorded the decision of the alliance. Compare the friendship of Pilate and Herod, as recorded in Luke.
3. Students and young nobles are often caught in the dangerous currents of their day. They are often, through their warm, generous feelings, misled and deceived.
4. Christ remains unmoved by the excitement; and what was confused, becomes, by a reference to manifest right, disentangled.
5. The word of Christ undermined further, the alliance between the two allied hostile parties. The Pharisees were not willing to give to the Emperor what belonged to him; the Herodians gave not to God what was God’s, not even in appearance.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See the notes on Matthew.—Perfect rest and calmness is the perfect action and quickness of the spirit.—The spiritual presence of Christ fills the present with the might of eternity.—How a stream of light from Christ can become a piercing lightning-flash.—Hypocrisy, the original sin of an impure patriotism and feeling of false freedom.—The majesty with which Christ investigates the rights of Cæsar: 1. The free examination; 2. the just recognition; 3. the holy reservation.—Christ and the young nobility of Jerusalem: 1. How little they knew; 2. how royally He revealed Himself to them.—Students and earnest youths often the unconscious and deceived tools of impure endeavors.—Divine simplicity and integrity always triumphant over human and devilish cunning.—Speak the truth without seeking to please or to injure any one.—Amazement may form, particularly with youthful and deceived minds, the beginning of wisdom.
Starke:—Nova Bibl. Tub.:—The meanest kind of persecutors betake themselves to the secular authority.—Truth must frequently find that hypocritical professors unite with worldlings against her.—Hedinger:—Every station has its rights. Fear God. Honor the king: 1Pe_2:17.—Canstein:—The Pharisees flattered the Lord to destroy Him: He, however, put them to shame to bring them to salvation.—Braune:—Those who, from their knowledge, should have been the friends of truth, are the first in enmity against the King of truth. (Pharisees and Herodians.) No one should allow himself to be employed to vex others: this is especially the duty of young persons towards noble, venerable men.—They thought He had within Him the spark of vanity, and that He would destroy Himself in His zeal for God’s honor and His own personal dignity, which they presented in combination. So do men strive to entangle one another by praise.—See Braune’s extract from Claudius’ Asmus, p. 316.
Schleiermacher:—It were a different case if ye had never received the money, if ye had perilled blood and life for independence; but if ye have suffered the halter to be bound round your neck, and have not made any opposition, then bear the yoke.—Ye are giving your approval to the external regulations under which ye are living, as is sufficiently evident from your use of the money.—(God, what is God’s.) He would remind them that they had other wealth, and were in undisturbed possession of the same.—They should distinguish between the tributary condition and the spiritual—Gossner:—Out of hypocrisy they state the truth, in order to overthrow the truth.
Footnotes:
[5]Mar_12:14.—Lachmann, Tischendorf, after B., C., L., Δ., read καὶ οἱ ἐλθόντες instead of οἱ δὲ ἐλθόντες.
[6]Mar_12:17.—Lachmann, after A., D., reads ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι; Tischendorf and Meyer, after B., C., L., Syriac, read τὰ Καίσαρος ἀπόδοτε Καίσαρι.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 25, 26 THE HERODIANS ATTACK JESUS, Mar_12:13-17.
THE HERODIANS ATTACK JESUS, Mar_12:13-17.
(See notes on Mat_22:15-22.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 13–17. The Question of the Tribute Money
13–17. The Question of the Tribute Money
13. And they send] Having failed themselves, the Jewish authorities resolved to send some of the Pharisees in company with the Herodians, to try to force Him to commit Himself by the answers He might give to their treacherous questions. A series of distinct attacks was now made upon our Lord, (a) The Pharisees took the lead with theirs, which was, indeed, the most cunningly devised; (b) the Sadducees followed; and then (c) came the Scribes of the Pharisees’ party.
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the Herodians] See note on ch. Mar_3:6. As before, so now, the Jewish royalists united themselves with the ultra-orthodox Pharisaic party. The Herodians came in person. The Pharisees sent some of their younger scholars (Mat_22:16) to approach Him with the pretended simplicity of a guileless spirit, and a desire to solve a perplexing question (Luk_20:20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40 (13) They send unto him.—In Matthew the Pharisees are…
(13) They send unto him.—In Matthew the Pharisees are said to have “taken counsel,” or “held a council,” and then to have sent their disciples. Here the act appears more definitely as the result of a coalition of the two parties named. On the narrative as a whole, see Notes on Mat_20:15-22.
To catch.—Better, to entrap.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40 Vers. 13, 14. St. Matthew (Mat_22:15) tells us that…
Vers. 13, 14. St. Matthew (Mat_22:15) tells us that "the Pharisees took counsel how they might ensnare him (opwv autoswsin) in his talk;" namely, by proposing to him captious and insidious questions, which, in whatever way he might answer them, might expose him to danger. On this occasion they enlisted the Heredians to join them in their attack upon him. These Herodians were a sect of the Jews who supported the house of Herod, and were in favor of giving tribute to the Roman Caesar. They were so called at first from Herod the Great, who was a great supporter of Caesar. Tertullian, St. Jerome, and others say that these Herodiaus thought that Herod was the promised Messiah, because they saw that in him the scepter had departed from Judah. (Gen_49:10) Herod encouraged these flatterers, and so put to death the infants at Bethlehem, that he might thus get rid of Christ, lest any other than himself might be regarded as Christ. They said at it was on this account that he rebuilt the temple with so much magnificence. The Pharisees took, of course, altogether the other side, and stood forward as the supporters of the Law of Moses and of their national freedom. So, in order that they might ensnare him, they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, and in the most artful manner proposed to him, apparently in good faith, a question which answer it how he might, would, as they hoped, throw him upon the horns of a dilemma. If he said that tribute ought to be given to Caesar, he would expose himself to the malice of the Jewish people, who prided themselves upon their freedom. If, on the other hand, he said that tribute ought not to be given to Caesar, he would incur the wrath of Caesar and of the Roman power.
Vers. 13-17. Caesar"s due.
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There could not have been a more decisive proof of the duplicity and hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders than that furnished by this incident. It is certain that they were opposed to the Roman sway, that they nursed in their hearts hopes of Jewish independence, that they would have eagerly welcomed such a Messiah as they looked for one who should deliver them from the yoke of foreign bondage. Yet, in their malignity, they were ready to denounce Jesus to the Roman governor should he express an opinion adverse to the paying of tribute, just as they were ready to deliver him up to the fury of the populace should he formally approve and sanction the rights of the empire over the Jewish people. Thus
I A JUST BUT INSINCERE COMPLIMENT VEILS A MALIGNANT DESIGN. It is an astounding instance of duplicity, this method of approaching the Lord Jesus. These Pharisees and Herodians make admissions which they would never have made except as the means to an evil end. They address the Master with the acknowledgment that he is "true in this a striking contrast to themselves; that he is impartial, caring not for any one, nor regarding the person of men; that he taught the way of God. This was not empty, complimentary language; it was just. Whether in their hearts they believed it to be so, we cannot say; but Christ"s enemies were often unintentional witnesses, both to his virtues and to his Divine authority and mission. Their only aim was to conciliate him, so that, in an unguarded moment, he might, with natural frankness, commit himself to some judgment which they might use to his harm.
II A CRAFTY ALTERNATIVE, AN INSIDIOUS SNARE, IS WISELY ELUDED. "IS it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" A categorical answer either way would have been immediately and effectively used to his injury; he could not, after so answering, both stand well with his countrymen and remain free from the imputation of disloyalty to the then supreme power of Rome. The alternative was fairly evaded, and the snare was escaped, by the method in which Jesus dealt with the question propounded. There was something picturesque and impressive to the popular mind in his asking for the denarius, and pointing to the emperor"s image and superscription. There was manifest reasonableness in yielding to Caesar what was so obviously his own; yet it was pointed out that this might be loyally done without detriment to the higher obligations of religion.
III A PRINCIPLE OF ACTION IN THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF HUMAN LIFE IS ONCE FOR ALL ASSERTED.
1. We have here a recognition that civil government is of Divine authority. It does not follow from this that every government deserves approval, or even that under no circumstances is it lawful to resist constituted authority. But our Lord teaches, and his apostles teach, as a general principle, that civil governors are to be obeyed, that "the powers that be are ordained of God.
2. An implication that there is a province into which civil governors may not intrude, that there are obligations which take precedence even of the duties we owe to the earthly sovereign. There are claims which the Divine Lord himself prefers, and which he regards as supreme. The apostles clearly grasped this principle, and put it into practice when the rulers interfered with their discharge of what they held to be their religious duties. When a conflict occurs between the allegiance due to the civil ruler and that due to the supreme King, our Lord"s words warrant the preference of the Divine to the human law. In times of persecution especially, the principle of our Lord"s words has often guided the wavering and sustained the feeble. "Whether it be right to obey God rather than man, judge ye!" We may say that the modern privilege of religious liberty has grown out of this incident in our Lord"s ministry, these words from our Lord"s lips. And to the same source we may attribute the growing tendency on the part of secular powers to withdraw from the province of religion, and to allow free scope to the action of conscience and full liberty for the profession and for the rites of religion. There is a province into which no earthly authority may intrude, and where the Creator reigns supreme and alone.
Vers. 13-17. The politics of Christianity.
Christ, in his visits to the temple, met with the various representatives of religious, ecclesiastical, and political opinion in Palestine. He is the center and touchstone of all. Their very attacks and dishonest questions were so many confessions of his moral and intellectual supremacy. To Christ do the different schools of thought and life amongst men still come, and the problems they raise can never be satisfactorily settled until he solves them.
I A TRAP LAID FOR CHRIST.
1. By whom? Ultimately and originally by the Pharisees, the leaders of ultra-Judaism and advocates of a restored theocracy and national independence. But that this view, having its root at first in profound spirituality of aim and motive, had been subsidized by baser considerations, is only too evident. Their hatred for Christ on the present occasion led them to throw away all scruples they might have felt, and to assume a disingenuous position of inquiry. But they could do this the more effectively in concert with others, with whom, although somewhat disagreeing on the solution to be accepted of the theory of national independence, they yet agreed upon the general question itself. The Herodians were a recent party, attached to the fortunes and politics of the Herods, and accepting their rule as a satisfactory compromise of the difficulty arising from the theocratic views of the Jews and the actual supremacy of the Roman empire. They are supposed to have originated with the Pharisees, with whom they still retained general relations, and with whom they for the most part co-operated. Menahem the Essene, who was a Pharisee, being captivated, it is said, by the predicted ascendency of the house of Herod, attached himself to Herod the Great, and brought over many of his co-religionists. They believed that in the monarchy of Herod the national aspirations of the Jews were reasonably met, and at the same time the demands of Rome, whose creature he was. They were as a party, as might be expected, less scrupulous than the original Pharisees. The latter imagined, as many like them have done since, that by suborning others to do a dishonorable action they avoided the disgrace of it themselves.
2. In what did the snare consist? In an attempt to get Christ to commit himself to the tenets of one or other of the political parties of the day. This was not with the view of strengthening the influence of either, but simply to compromise him, according to his answer, either with the Roman government on the one hand, or with the national party of Judaism on the other.
3. How was it halted? With flattery: yet flattery which unwillingly witnessed to the "openness" and uprightness of Christ"s character, his Divine impartiality, his fearless truthfulness.
II THE TRAP EVADED. The simplicity of Christ, upon which they had calculated for the success of their scheme, was the very cause of its failure. "Wise as serpents, but harmless as doves," is a principle which has its root in the nature of the Divine life. The inquiry is answered:
1. By an appeal to matter of fact. "Show me a penny," etc. The existence of such a coin (the denarius, which was the standard silver coin of the Romans, value about eight pence or nine pence), with its "image and superscription," proved beyond question the subject condition of Palestine. The actual situation being, therefore, what it was, and, so far as they could do anything, irreversible, it was not right for them to ignore it. If the privileges attending it were freely made use of, the duties involved should also be discharged.
2. By enunciating a dealer and wider principle than they recognized. As things were, the practice of their own religion was freely permitted to the Jews, toleration being a principle of imperial policy. There was, therefore, no really spiritual difficulty involved. The political nostrums of Pharisee and Herodian alike were, therefore, party cries and nothing more. They were thus convicted of unreality, of hypocrisy, or acting a part. It was not religion they cared for, but their own personal or party ends. Yet at the same time, for such as then or at any future time might have their religious scruples affected by political conditions, Christ laid down a general principle of action. When human government is not opposed to Divine, submission may be conscientiously made to both. Only where they differ is there any room for doubt; but even such a doubt will be satisfactorily dealt with by beginning from the Divine side of obligation. This principle, which stands good for all times, is essentially a spiritual one. Under all circumstances, therefore, the duty of the Christian, or conscientious religionist, is shown to be fundamentally a moral one. Actually existent authority imposes obligations which have to be recognized in the spirit of submission and piety, when not conflicting with Divine prerogatives. Christianity has only indirectly a bearing on politics; its direct and immediate concern is with morals. M.
Vers. 13-17. The tribute money.
Unable to take him with their wicked hands, because they dared not, they send selected men from the Pharisees and the Herodians. They have instructions to lay a trap with a view "to catch him in talk." "In vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird." But these blind catchers thought him to be blind also. In specious words they ply him with a question relating to an oppressive tax. "If he held that payment should be refused, he would compromise himself with the Romans; if he sanctioned it, he would embitter himself both with the Herodians and the ultra-national party," But he who "knew what was in man" knew their hypocrisy, and in a word, and doubtless with a look, exposed it. "Why tempt ye me?" Then with the coin before their eyes, which was at once the symbol of their unfaithfulness to God and their subjection to man, he threw back upon them the onus of answering themselves in their own conscience and by their own deeds. Ah! "in the net which they hid is their own foot taken." But Jesus does not only evade the dilemma on which they had cast him; nor does he merely utter a word of condemnation to them who had failed to "render unto God the things that are God"s," and who would be only too glad to escape rendering "to Caesar the things that" were "Caesar"s." But he, in high wisdom, teaches the great truth for all time, that fidelity to the demands of God and fidelity to the constituted powers of earth need not clash. The loyalty of the subject and the obedience of the saint are on the same plane. So a just distribution is made of things pertaining to Caesar and of things pertaining to God, and yet the true unity of the service rendered to both is declared; and, moreover, as God is above all, the duty to him includes the duty to Caesar. For our learning we may see
I THAT CHRIST BEARS HIS TESTIMONY TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE CLAIMS OF EARTHLY AUTHORITY. The Christian need be under no apprehension of following this principle out to its extremest limits. For if the earthly government be oppressive and unjust, he knows full well that the King of kings has his own methods of deposing; for he believes that "he putteth down one and setteth up another." He has learned to submit even to oppression for conscience" sake. But these questions respect the extreme, the occasional, the exceptional conditions of political life. Fidelity to the constituted head of authority would, according to Christian principles, secure the divinely appointed Head.
II CHRIST UTTERS HIS EVER-REITERATED DEMAND FOR FIDELITY TO THE INALIENABLE CLAIMS OF GOD. "Render unto God the things that are God"s." Is anything not God"s? If in truth all is first rendered to him in an honest consecration to his will, then may that which he ordains for the neighbor be given to the neighbor; that which is for the poor to the poor; or that for the family, or for self even, so given; and therefore that which is for "the king, as supreme," to the king may be rendered.
III LET THE MAN" HIMSELF, WHO TRULY IS GOD"S, BE RENDERED UNTO GOD. One has beautifully taught thus: "That which bears Caesar"s image is, as belonging to Caesar, to be given to him; but that which has God"s image belongs to God." Had Israel been faithful to "render" themselves "to God" they would not in those late days have been given up to the Romans, as in earlier days fidelity to God would have kept back the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The great principle to guide nations and individuals alike is truly to be the Lord"s. Then, when he is the God of the nation, all other service and all other obligations fall into their proper order and degree of importance. And he who serves his God in humility will serve his king in fidelity. He who is obedient to the Lord"s claims will know how to render the claims of masters, and lords, and rulers, and sovereigns. Not more truly is the Law one," Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor," than is "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar"s, and to God the things that are God"s. G.
Vers. 13-17. The dialectic of Jesus.
I DISHONEST SUBTLETY MATCHED BY CLEARSIGHTED WISDOM. We must be, if possible, "wise as serpents," but, above all, honest in purpose. It is the false tongue that stammers, and the fox-like cunning that entraps itself.
II VERBAL TRUTH MAY CONCEAL HEART FALSEHOOD. They spoke most truly to Jesus about himself, and yet most untruly. So of all words designed to flatter and deceive. There may be a divorce between the tongue and the heart.
III CONDENSED ARGUMENT. In the use he made of the coin, Jesus suggested a whole train of argument. The coin with its image was a symbol of earthly rule. The kingdom of Jesus is ideal, and independent of the forms of this world. (Joh_18:36) The loyalty of the Christian to the kingdom which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, teaches him how to act in relation to worldly governments. But Christianity is not to be confounded with politics. "No earthly governments can prevent the spiritual service of God. That should not be rendered to them which is due to God only" (Godwin). J.
Vers. 13-17. Parallel passages: Mat_22:15-22 Luk_20:20-36. Question of the tribute money.
I A SNARE LAID. This tribute money (khnsov) was the poll or capitation tax payable to the Roman Government, from the time Judaea became subject to the Roman power. Judas of Galilee headed a revolt against this tax, but perished with his followers. If our Lord allowed the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar, it would have compromised him with the Jewish nationalists, who would not have been slow to charge him with contempt of the Law of Moses for the words of Deu_17:15, "Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee," were explained by them as forbidding the payment of tribute to a foreign power. If he acknowledged the unlawfulness of such payment, he came into direct collision with the Roman authorities. In the one case, he offended the Judaean patriots and his own Galilean followers; in the other, he incensed the Herodian royalists who acquiesced in Roman rule. On the one side, it was treachery to national and patriotic aspirations and Messianic prospects; on the other, it was treason against the Roman Caesar and Pilate his governor. Such was the snare laid for him; such was the trap they set in order to catch him. Thus they thought to entangle him, rather, ensnare (pagideuswsin) him, in his talk, as a fowler ensnares a bird.
II THE SUBTLETY WITH WHICH THE SNARE IS LAID.
1. They put the question in such a categorical form as seemed to them to necessitate a simple "yea" or "nay; "thus, "Is it lawful to give tribute, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?" The double question is to emphasize their earnestness, and to invite a prompt reply, affirmative or negative; though the first question may refer to the lawfulness of the payment, and the second to its expediency or advisability.
2. The motive which actuated them to interrogate our Lord so peremptorily was most sinister and insidious. The evangelists, viewing their conduct from different standpoints, characterize it differently. This difference, which we discover by comparing the parallel passages, is most instructive. Their conduct in propounding this ensnaring interrogatory was wickedness according to the first evangelist; it was craftiness (panourgian), according to the third; while, according to the second, it was hypocrisy (upokrisin). Their question had a close connection with and combined all these three elements; it was conceived in wickedness, cradled in craftiness, and cloaked by hypocrisy. Thus the interrogators acted as spies, or "liers in wait" (egkayetouv), as St. Luke calls them, while they feigned themselves just men. Our Lord tore off their mask, exposing them in their true colors, and addressing them in their real character, when, according to St. Matthew, he says, "Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
3. The object they had in view was to embroil the Savior with the royalists, and so compass his destruction. For this purpose it is plain they desired a negative answer, as appears suggested by the words, "Thou regardest not the person of men," implying such fearlessness as would enable him to reject foreign authority as inconsistent with acknowledging God as their King. Their ulterior object, as stated by St. Luke, was "that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the power and to the authority of the governor;" in other words, to deliver him to the Roman power, rule, or magistracy (arch), and to the lawful authority or jurisdiction (exousia) of Pilate, the Roman procurator.
4. Necessity brings together strange companions. The Pharisees were as mean as they were unprincipled, and as untruthful as they were unprincipled and mean. They proved their want of principle by the unnatural coalition which they formed with the Herodians the patriots so called who opposed foreign dominion with the elastic politicians who owned the Roman power; the foes with the friends of Caesar; sticklers for the Law with the supporters of an authority deemed inimical to the Law. Their meanness was manifest in the fulsome flattery with which they addressed our Lord; while in their base untruthfulness they pretended to approach him with a quasi-case of conscience, though in reality they were carrying out the counsel for his destruction.
III THE SAVIOUR"S REPLY. Had he replied in the affirmative, he would have forfeited his popularity; had he answered in the negative, he would have forfeited his life. The latter was the consummation wished for by the members of this unholy alliance of superstition with political expediency. To give vividness to the transaction, our Lord ordered the production of a Roman penny, or denarius, a small silver coin of the value of seven pence halfpenny, or eight pence halfpenny at most. On that coin was an image, the head of the then reigning sovereign, Tiberius, while round it ran the usual superscription or inscription, consisting of the name and titles of the emperor. Our Lord, as if in surprise, asks, half in irony and half in indignation, what all this meant, and whose it was? Their unavoidable answer was, "Caesar"s;" and this very answer broke the snare, and the bird escaped out of the net of the fowler. Then said our Lord Give back ( apodote) to Caesar what belongs to him; pay back to Caesar what you acknowledge to be his. The coinage proves the king, the currency affords evidence of his property; while, on the other hand, you render to God the things that are his.
IV IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE. This principle, so important and far-reaching, though plain enough in its general bearing, has been differently understood. Some have regarded the two parts of the answer as entirely distinct, as though belonging to different spheres, or placed on different planes, and so incapable of clashing or even coming in contact; as though he said, "Pay your taxes, and perform your religious duties, but keep the two things apart." More usually they are understood as two separate departments of human duty, coexisting and compatible; or as standing to each other in the relation of the part to the whole. According to the second of these three views, the payment of civil dues and the observance of religious duties stand side by side together, and as equally obligatory: that is, render to Caesar, as civil ruler, the obedience that belongs to him, and to God, as spiritual Sovereign, the homage of the soul stamped with the Divine image, and therefore his due; or, in a more literal and narrow sense, according to some, pay the civil taxes to the government of Caesar, and the didrachma, or temple-tribute, for the support of the sanctuary and service of God. We understand it in the larger sense of obedience to our earthly sovereign and duty to our heavenly King, as co-ordinate and coexistent, perfectly compatible but not competitive; or, according to the third view, the former may be regarded as part of the latter. This great principle, properly understood and acted on, would have prevented many an unseemly collision of Church and State, and many a sinful encroachment of one on the domain of the other. It would have prevented the papal power from trampling the crown of kings in the dust, as in the reign of John, and it would have prevented, on the other hand, the persecution of the Church by the State, as in the days of the Puritans. Our Lord intimated by his reply, that so long as the Jews were allowed to worship God according to his own appointment, and enjoyed the protection of the Roman power therein, they were under obligations to contribute to the taxes that supported that power. But these obligations to civil government were not to suspend, or set aside, or in any way interfere with the higher and holier obligations which they owed to God. Duty to God must be the regulating principle of duty to civil rulers; the latter is then part of, or rather part and parcel with, the former. Thus our Lord clearly indicated the respective provinces of civil rulers and of religious teachers the relative positions of secular authority and spiritual power. Thus he solved the problem of two kings and two kingdoms in one realm; thus he taught obedience to civil governors in temporal things, while in spiritual their duty to God was paramount. No doubt many nice points may present themselves, and many delicate questions may arise in practically carrying out the principle stated; but we are not without light from other parts of Scripture to guide us in the application of this principle, even in cases of greatest difficulty. J.J.G.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 17, 18, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 38 Catch Him in His words.
Mar_12:13-14
Catch Him in His words.
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Eastern spies
The course pursued by the enemies of our Lord does not seem strange to anyone who knows anything of the surveillance which a Hindoo uris establishes over anyone whose sayings or doings it may be of importance for him to know. For instance, Major T-, the agent for the Viceroy at the court of the Nawab Moorshedabad, complains that his house is as full of spies as it is of servants, nearly all of whom, he suspects, are in the pay of the Nawab. One servant, who pretended not to know a word of English, was discovered at length to know it well, and great was the majors disgust at the discovery; for this man was in attendance at the table, where of course he would have ample opportunities of hearing his masters opinions expressed in all the confidence of social intercourse. One of the punkah bearers, too, was found to be a quite well-to-do man. His position was a most menial one, yet its duties took him within sight and hearing of his master many times in the day. It was suspected that the Nawab was making it worth his while to submit to the drudgery of so mean a post. (A Missionarys Notes.)
We know that Thou art true.-
Concerned only to do right
What I must do, says Emerson, is all that concerns me, and not what people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what us your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the worlds opinion; it is easy in solitude to look after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
Moral fearlessness
In Scotland, Knox arose, of whom the Regent Morton said, Here lies one who never feared the face of man; who said himself that he had locked in the faces of many angry men. When he was working in chains on the galleys in France, they brought him an image of the Virgin, and bade him worship the mother of God. Mother of God, he exclaimed, it is a pented bredd (or hoard), and he flung it into the river to sink or swim. Who are you? said Mary Queen of Scots to him, that presume to school the nobles and sovereign of this realm? Madam, he answers, a subject born within the same. Have you hope? they ask him on his death bed, when he can no longer speak; and lifting his hand he pointed upwards with his finger, and so, pointing to heaven, he died.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35 CHAPTER 12:13-17 (Mar_12:13-17)
CHAPTER 12:13-17 (Mar_12:13-17)
THE TRIBUTE MONEY
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"And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch Him in talk. And when they were come, they say unto Him, Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest not for any one: for Thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye Me? bring Me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto Him, Caesar's. And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at Him." Mar_12:13-17 (R.V.)
THE contrast is very striking between this incident and the last. Instead of a challenge, Jesus is respectfully consulted; and instead of a formal concourse of the authorities of His religion, He is Himself the authority to Whom a few perplexed people profess to submit their difficulty. Nevertheless, it is a new and subtle effort of the enmity of His defeated foes. They have sent to Him certain Pharisees who will excite the popular indignation if He yields anything to the foreigner, and Herodians who will, if He refused, bring upon Him the colder and deadlier vengeance of Rome. They flatter, in order to stimulate, that fearless utterance which must often have seemed to them so rash: "We know that Thou art true, and carest not for any one, for Thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God." And they appeal to a higher motive by representing the case to be one of practical and personal urgency. "Shall we give, or shall we not give?"
Never was it more necessary to join the wisdom of the serpent to the innocence of the dove, for it would seem that He must needs answer directly, and that no direct answer can fail to have the gravest consequences. But in their eagerness to secure this menacing position, they have left one weak point in the attack. They have made the question altogether a practical one. The abstract doctrine of the right to drive out a foreign power, of the limits of authority and freedom, they have not raised. It is simply a question of the hour, Shall we give or shall we not give?
And Jesus baffled them by treating it as such. There was no longer a national coinage, except only of the half shekel for the temple tax. When He asked them for a smaller coin, they produced a Roman penny stamped with the effigy of Caesar. Thus they confessed the use of the Roman currency. Now since they accepted the advantages of subjugation, they ought also to endure its burdens: since they traded as Roman subjects, they ought to pay the Roman tribute. Not He had preached submission, but they had avowed it; and any consequent unpopularity would fall not upon Him but them. They had answered their own question. And Jesus laid down the broad and simple rule, "Render (pay back) unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at Him." No wonder they marveled, for it would be hard to find in all the records of philosophy so ready and practical a device to baffle such cunning intriguers, such keenness in One Whose life was so far removed from the schools of worldly wisdom, joined with so firm a grasp on principle, in an utterance so brief, yet going down so far to the roots of action.
Now the words of Jesus are words for all time; even when He deals with a question of the hour, He treats it from the point of view of eternal fitness and duty; and this command to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's has become the charter of the state against all usurpations of tyrannous ecclesiastics. A sphere is recognized in which obedience to the law is a duty to God. But it is absurd to pretend that Christ taught blind and servile obedience to all tyrants in all circumstances, for this would often make it impossible to obey the second injunction, and to render unto God the things which are God's, -- a clause which asserts in turn the right of conscience and the Church against all secular encroachments. The point to observe is, that the decision of Jesus is simply an inference, a deduction. St. Matthew has inserted the word "therefore," and it is certainly implied: render unto Caesar the things which you confess to be his own, which bear his image upon their face.
Can we suppose that no such inference gives point to the second clause? It would then become, like too many of our pious sayings, a mere supplement, inappropriate, however excellent, a make weight, and a platitude. No example of such irrelevance can be found in the story of our Lord. When, finding the likeness of Caesar on the coin, He said, Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's, He at least suggested that the reason for both precepts ran parallel, and the image of the higher and heavenlier Monarch could be found on what He claims of us. And it is so. He claims all we have and all we are. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof:" and "I have made thee, thou art Mine." And for us and ours alike the argument holds good. All the visible universe bears deeply stamped into its substance His image and superscription. The grandeur of mountains and stars, the fairness of violet and harebell, are alike revelations of the Creator. The heavens declare His glory: the firmament showeth His handiwork: the earth is full of His riches: all the discoveries which expand our mastery over nature and disease, over time and space, are proofs of His wisdom and goodness, Who laid the amazing plan which we grow wise by tracing out. Find a corner on which contrivance and benevolence have not stamped the royal image, and we may doubt whether that bleak spot owes Him tribute. But no desert is so blighted, no solitude so forlorn.
And we should render unto God the things which are God's, seeing His likeness in His world. "For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things which are made, even His everlasting power and divinity."
And if most of all He demands the love, the heart of man, here also He can ask, "Whose image and superscription is this?" For in the image of God made He man. It is sometimes urged that this image was quite effaced when Adam fell. But it was not to protect the unfallen that the edict was spoken "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man." He was not an unfallen man of whom St. Paul said that he "ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God;" neither were they unfallen, of whom St. James said, "We curse men which are made after the likeness of God" (Gen_9:6; 1Co_11:7; Jam_3:9). Common men, for whom the assassin lurks, who need instruction how to behave in church, and whom others scorn and curse, these bear upon them an awful likeness; and even when they refuse tribute to their king, He can ask them, Whose is this image?
We see it in the intellect, ever demanding new worlds to conquer, overwhelming us with its victories over time and space. "In apprehension how like a God." Alas for us! if we forget that the Spirit of knowledge and wisdom is no other than the Spirit of the Lord God.
We see this likeness far more in our moral nature. It is true that sin has spoiled and wasted this, yet there survives in man's heart, as nowhere else in our world, a strange sympathy with the holiness and love of God. No other of His attributes has the same power to thrill us. Tell me that He lit the stars and can quench them with a word, and I reverence, perhaps I fear Him; yet such power is outside and beyond my sphere; it fails to touch me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Even the rarer human gifts, the power of a Czar, the wisdom of Bacon, are thus beyond me, I am unkindled, they do not find me out. But speak of holiness, even the stainless holiness of God, undefiled through all eternity, and you shake the foundations of my being. And why does the reflection that God is pure humble me more than the knowledge that God is omnipotent? Because it is my spiritual nature which is most conscious of the Divine image, blurred and defaced indeed, but not obliterated yet. Because while I listen I am dimly conscious of my birthright, my destiny, that I was born to resemble this, and all is lost if I come short of it. Because every child and every sinner feels that it is more possible for him to be like his God than like Newton, or Shakespeare, or Napoleon. Because the work of grace is to call in the worn and degraded coinage of humanity, and, as the mint restamps and reissues the pieces which have grown thin and worn, so to renew us after the image of Him that created us.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38 13–17. They send certain of the Pharisees and of…
13–17. They send certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians. For notes on the effort to entrap Jesus on the matter of tribute to Cæsar, see Matt. 22:15–22. Compare Luke 20:20–26.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38 Mar_12:13. To catch Him in His words.—The chief priests…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mar_12:13. To catch Him in His words.—The chief priests and scribes and elders having signally failed in their last attempt (chap. Mar_11:27-33), now send a band of Pharisees and Herodians, in the hope that they may be able to entangle and ensnare Him in an argument.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mar_12:13-17
(PARALLELS: Mat_22:15-22; Luk_20:19-26.)
Question as to tribute money.—One part of the business of a teacher of Divine truth is to be ready to resolve doubtful cases submitted to him relating to duty and conscience. Especially a teacher professing to come with a message straight from God to men would be regarded as a kind of living oracle, at whose mouth any one who had a question to propose might seek a solution of it. There are, however, two conditions which such a teacher might reasonably demand from those who came to consult him: first, that he should not be appealed to in mere private matters and personal differences, which might be settled by the proper tribunals (Luk_12:13-14); and, secondly, that there should be, on the part of the questioner, a sincere desire to know what is right that he may choose it, and to learn the will of God that he may do it. It was in this latter qualification that the inquirers we are at present concerned with were deficient.
I. A foul plot.—“The chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders” (Mar_11:27), being afraid, after their signal defeat, to enter the lists with Jesus any more, now “send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and Herodians, to catch Him in His words.”
1. They doubtless thought this a very clever move, and congratulated one another upon the secrecy with which their arrangements had been made. But somebody had gained admittance into their counsel who was not of it. Let the plotters of mischief and those who take counsel together against the innocent know this assuredly: that there is nothing hidden from the Lord; that when every precaution has been taken, and every possibility of human treachery guarded against, “a bird of the air shall carry the voice,” etc. (Ecc_10:20).
2. Christ’s enemies were constantly holding secret meetings to devise His ruin. It required many a midnight conclave, many a sitting with closed doors, to hatch the foul plot which ended in His death. But now all those things which were spoken in the ear in closets are proclaimed upon the housetops.
3. The object of the present plot was “to catch Him in His words.” They could not have employed a more likely device. Nothing is easier than to entrap a person of a frank, unsuspicious, straightforward character into saying something which may artfully be turned to his prejudice. God’s saints in all ages have been persecuted in this way (Psa_65:5; Psalms 6; Isa_29:21).
II. An insidious compliment.—
1. “A man that flattereth his neighbour,” etc. (Pro_29:5). So these hypocrites, designing to entrap Christ, try to put Him off His guard by a compliment to His character.
2. With many persons this ruse would have succeeded. There is a class of men who pride themselves on speaking the truth, regardless of consequences; whence it often happens that to the fear of being thought capable of fear they sacrifice that very truth which they profess to prize so highly.
3. To attempt to entangle Christ by so poor an artifice only shewed how far they were from knowing Him. He was certainly all that they said: He did “teach the way of God in truth”; He did “care for no man”; He did “regard not the person of men.” But no more did He regard the opinions of men, or care for establishing such a character of Himself amongst men. And as for those who offered Him this incense, He knew that they “did but flatter Him with their lips, and dissemble in their double heart.”
III. A captious question.—
1. To understand the entangling nature of this question, we must remember the ambiguous condition of the Jews, as a nation, at this time. It was not independence, because they were under the military authority of a Roman governor; nor was it a state of absolute bondage, since they were allowed to retain their own laws and customs, and to exercise a certain judicial power through their high priest and Sanhedrin. It was, in fact, a condition of real subjection, with just such concessions as might soothe the wounded vanity of a fierce and high-spirited race. Observe how sensitive they were to any allusion to their lost liberties (Joh_8:33). Now the most galling thing of all, and that which reminded them most painfully of their real condition, was the tribute. Cæsar could afford to leave them a shew of liberty, but not to forego his taxes. The Jews, on their part, looked upon the payment of custom or tribute to a foreign power as an act of treason against Jehovah. They did pay it, but under protest—because they could not help themselves.
2. The question now proposed to Christ by His enemies was one which, they judged, must receive from Him either an affirmative or a negative answer. If He should decide in the affirmative, He would be placing Himself in opposition to the almost universal feeling of the Jewish nation. It would be considered not only an unpatriotic but even a blasphemous decision, and as such would be fatal to His influence with the people. If, on the contrary, He should pronounce against the lawfulness of paying tribute, He could be handed over to the magistrate on a charge of sedition.
IV. An ignominious defeat.—
1. “He, knowing their hypocrisy”—pretending to entertain conscientious scruples which they did not feel, and, while professing to seek advice, having no other object but to turn Christ’s answer against Himself, whatever it might be—instead of giving a direct reply, desires to see the tribute money. And they bring him a denarius—a silver coin bearing on its face the head of Tiberius Cæsar, the reigning emperor, with his name and title.
2. This proceeding of Christ’s was well calculated to excite curiosity, and to keep His hearers in suspense. We can fancy we see the little circle of spectators drawing closer together, looking now upon the questioners, now upon the piece of money, now upon the lips of Him who was expected to break the silence. And He does so in the memorable words, “Render to Cæsar,” etc.
3. Christ does not give a direct answer to the question asked. The question was, “Is it lawful?” not, Is it necessary? or, Is it expedient? but, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not?” This question could only be answered by shewing that there is nothing in such a payment inconsistent with the law of God, or with that allegiance which, as the people of God, they owed to a greater King than Cæsar. Christ neither shews this nor even asserts it. And why? Because that would have been to do the very thing they wanted, and to fall into the trap they had laid for Him. To a captious question He returns an evasive answer. They sought a handle against Him, and He gives them something they cannot lay hold of. His reply is so framed as neither to injure Him with the people nor to compromise Him with the magistrate.
4. Still the question remains—” Is it lawful,” etc. To which a sufficient, though not a direct, answer may be gathered from Christ’s action and words. For it is a general maxim that the money current in any country determines the power to which allegiance is due. When the Jews deluded themselves with the idea that they still preserved their independence as a nation, this Roman coin bore witness against them. When they boasted of being the people of God, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” they ought to have remembered that by God, the same God whom they acknowledged for their King, did other kings reign, and princes decree justice. “He changeth the times,” etc. (Dan_2:21). At one time He had brought foreign princes against this very people to oppress them in their own land; at another He had caused them to be carried away captive to a land that was not theirs. And He had forewarned them of a time when “the sceptre” should finally “depart from Judah,” etc. (Gen_49:10). That time was now come. This very image and superscription, to those who read it aright, plainly declared so. While they were arguing and disputing whether it was lawful to pay or not, Cæsar’s collectors were gathering in his taxes. This was a state of things which could not be mistaken. None but the wilfully blind could fail to see that to resist the power was, in this case, to resist the ordinance of God.
5. But, lest this rule of “rendering to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s,” should appear to countenance the smallest violation of the sacred rights of conscience, we must remember that it is not the whole of Christ’s answer. He goes on to give a second rule which guards and limits the first; or rather, the two together must be considered as a single rule, and so applied to every case of conduct. God has His rights, as well as Cæsar. There need not be any opposition or interference between the two; and there was none here. Should it be otherwise, should the things of Cæsar in any case be contrary to the things of God, no man can doubt which of these must give way.
6. Note, in conclusion, the comparative urgency with which these respective claims are enforced upon us. Cæsar is pressing and peremptory: God is gentle and persuasive. Cæsar listens to no appeal: God is pitiful and easy to be entreated. It is Cæsar’s policy to put down resistance and disobedience at once, by the immediate punishment of the offender: it is God’s principle to forbear and suffer long, “not willing that any should perish,” etc. Such being the respective dispositions of these two powers, it needs little knowledge of human nature to tell which of them is more likely to obtain his due. As we look around, we observe that human laws, strictly enforced, are generally obeyed; while the most flagrant violations of the law of God, the most wanton denials of His claims, go unpunished, if not unregarded. Such being the case, it is surely incumbent on all who would see the things of Cæsar rendered to Cæsar, and unto God the things that are God’s, to throw all their weight into the lighter scale. Cæsar needs no advocate; he will take care to get his own: but God depends, for the enforcement of His claims, upon the zeal and earnestness of those who advocate them.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mar_12:14. Testimony of adversaries to Christ.—That a man may speak freely the truth, he must have knowledge, zeal, boldness—all which Christ’s adversaries ascribe to Him here.
1. Knowledge of the truth, in that He was a “master and taught the way of God.”
2. Zeal and love to the truth, in that He was “true, teaching truly.”
3. Boldness, in that He “respected not the person of any.”—Dean Boys.
The commendable parts of a good pastor.—
1. He must be for his learning a “master”—able to teach, apt to teach, a guide to the blind, a light to them that are in darkness.
2. He must be “true”; which some apply to pureness of life, but others think the words “and teachest truly the way of life” expound the clause “Thou art true.”
3. He must not utter his own dream, or the vision of his own heart, but “teach the way of God” (1Pe_4:11).
4. He must have certainty of doctrine, teaching the truth aright (Jer_23:28; Rom_12:6).
5. He must be stout in delivering God’s ambassage (Eze_2:6).—Ibid. Suspicious blandishments.—The old word is, “Full of courtesy, full of craft.” When ye see too glittering pretences in unapproved persons, suspect the inside (Psa_28:3; Amo_7:12-13; 2Co_1:12).—Bishop Hall.
Mar_12:15. Hypocrisy exposed.—Christ, as God, seeing their hypocritical humour, and understanding their treacherous intent, accommodates His answer to the foul malice of their mind, not to the fair words of their mouth, objecting against them four faults especially.
1. Folly. “Why?” For if I am (as you say) “true,” then I am God, because every man is a liar, and only God true, yea truth itself; and if I be the Son of God, I can easily make your wisdom foolishness.
2. Treachery. “Why tempt ye?”
3. Ingratitude. “Why tempt ye Me, who teach unto you the way of God truly, desiring often to gather your children together?” etc.
4. Dissimulation. “Ye hypocrites.” Having thus in a trice confounded them, He proceeds in the next clause to confute them, even by their own words and deeds, as the soldiers of Timotheus were wounded with the points of their own swords (2Ma_12:22).—Dean Boys.
Mar_12:16-17. Coinage a token of authority.—It has been ingeniously and not irrationally suggested that our Lord’s sanction of the payment of tribute money to Cæsar may afford a hint to Christians of the point at which they may conscientiously yield obedience to a fresh civil authority. If that authority is so recognised that its coin is admitted as the medium of exchange, its tenure may fairly be considered as a fait accompli.
The King’s image on the heart.—The heart of the believer should be a golden coin, so graven with loyalty and love to the Heavenly King that there ought to be no hesitation in answering the question, “Whose image and superscription is it? “
Church and State.—Consider the respective rights of Church and State in property, and the duty of men who may at the same time be members of the Church and subjects of the State to regard the rights and vested interests of both. In discriminating between those mutual well-defined rights and vested interests in property, the question of our Lord comes in, helping us in the knowledge and performance of our twofold duty, in our twofold capacity as members of the Church and subjects of the State.
1. Whose is this image and superscription, we ask on the one hand, of all temporal things which belong unto Cæsar? The answer is Cæsar’s image and superscription. Then our duty is to render such things unto Cæsar.
2. Whose is this image and superscription, we inquire on the other hand, borne upon the Church’s possessions? The answer is God’s. His sacred superscription is upon them. To God they were consecrated. Their use was given to His Church and her ministers and members, not for general purposes, but for God’s honour, glory, worship, and for the spiritual and ecclesiastical uses of all subjects of the kingdom, who will use them on the lines laid down in her terms of communion exclusively for and consistently with these purposes.
Religion no enemy to government.—Among all the stratagems of the devil, tending to the undermining of religion and the subversion of the souls of men, though there cannot be any more unreasonable, yet there was never any more unhappily successful, than the creating and fomenting an opinion in the world that religion is an enemy to government, and the bringing sincerity and zeal in religion into jealousy and disgrace with the civil powers (Luk_23:2; Act_17:6; Act_23:4-5).—Bishop Seth Ward.
Loyalty of early Christians to the emperor.—We pray for the safety of the emperors to the eternal God, the true, the living God, whom emperors themselves would desire to be propitious to them, “above all others, who are called gods.” We, looking up to heaven with outstretched hands, because they are harmless, with naked heads, because we are not ashamed (1Co_6:7), without a prompter, because we pray from the heart, constantly pray for all emperors, that they may have a long life, a secure empire, a safe palace, strong armies, a faithful senate, a well-moralised people, a quiet state of the world—whatever Cæsar would wish for himself in his public and private capacity (Jer_29:7; Dan_6:21; 1Ti_2:2; 1Pe_2:13-17).—Tertullian.
Mar_12:17. “They marvelled.”—His remark concerning the superscription and image on the coin, as connecting the tribute with civil authority, and the opposition which He makes between such demands and the things belonging to God, intimate a new character in the Messiah’s theocracy, in which the ecclesiastical should no more interfere with the civil rule, or the obedience of the subject to the human magistrate be inconsistent with the obedience of the believer to God. Cæsar’s dominion was to be one, Christ’s another. Jesus was a king, but not of this world.—S. Hinds.
Innocence the best protection against craft.—Craft is ever one of the arts of the wayward; they who believe in it find it needful to employ it. At first sight it seems as if the children of truth and simplicity must be at the mercy of the unscrupulous. What happens here should reassure us. If we are true-hearted and transparent, no craft will avail against us.—R. Glover.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 12
Mar_12:16. God’s image stamped on man.—We can often tell what a thing is for by noticing its make. The instructed eye of an anatomist will, from a bone, divine the sphere in which the creature to whom it belonged was intended to live. Just as plainly as gills or lungs, fins or wings, or legs and arms declare the element in which the creature that possesses them is intended to move, so plainly stamped upon all our natures is this, that God is our Lord, since we are made in a true sense in His image, and that only in Him can we find rest. If you take a coin, and compare it with the die from which it has been struck, you will find that wherever in the die there is a relief, in the coin there is a sunken place, and conversely. So there are not only resemblances in man to the Divine nature which bear upon them the manifest marks of his destiny, but there are correspondences, wants, on our side, being met by gifts upon His; hollow emptiness in us being filled, when we are brought into contact with Him, by the abundance of His outstanding supplies and gifts.—A. Maclaren, D.D.
The defacement of God’s image in man.—You sometimes get into your hands money on which there has been stamped, by mischief, or for some selfish purpose, the name of some one else than the king’s or queen’s which surrounds the head upon it. And in like manner our nature has gone through the stamping-press again, and another likeness has been deeply imprinted upon it. The image of God, which every man has, is in some senses and aspects ineffaceable by any course of conduct of theirs. But in another aspect it is not like the permanent similitude stamped upon the solid metal of the penny, but like the reflexion, rather, that falls upon some polished plate, or that is cast upon the white sheet from a lantern. If the polished plate be rusty and stained, the image is faint and indistinct; if it be turned away from the light, the image passes. And that is what some of you are doing. By living to yourselves, by living day in and day out without ever remembering God, by yielding to passions, lusts, ambitions, low desires, and the like, you are doing your very best to scratch out the likeness which still lingers in your nature.—Ibid.
Mar_12:17. Religion and business.—Have you, a Christian, two sources of happiness—God and the world? Then you are wrong, for to you God ought to be in all the world that you appropriate, and all the world God’s. Do you use the adjectives “spiritual” and “secular” in describing your enjoyments? Is prayer spiritual, that is the Great Spirit’s gift, while an evening in a picture-gallery is secular, that is man’s gift? Why, God gives the latter as truly as the former. If you are living on the high plane of your privilege, you see God in all things that you are permitted to build into your life. Have you spiritual needs, as for instance help in resisting temptation, and secular needs, such as help in sickness? There is only One Helper everywhere. You watch against temptation—and pray; you call the physician in sickness—and ought also to pray. Are you able to manage the mortgage alone, but unable, as you think, to save your soul? In fact you, without God, are as powerless in the one case as the other; you cannot cross your office threshold without Him, nor sign a draft. There are not two worlds here below to the Christian, one God’s realm and the other man’s. He is all in all. Colloquially it is harmless, but in the secret heart it is wicked to distinguish to oneself between spiritual and temporal possessions. Your faith and love are God’s, and so your house, your gold. Men say business is business and religion is religion. No. Business is religion and religion is business.—E. J. Haynes.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38, 40 Mat 22:15-22, Mar 12:13-17; Luk 20:20-26. “And lying in…
TRIBUTE TO CAESAR
Mat 22:15-22, Mar 12:13-17; Luk 20:20-26. “And lying in wait for Him, they sent sharpers, hypocritically claiming to be righteous, that they may catch His word, in order to deliver Him up to the tribunal and authority of the governor. And they asked Him, saying, Teacher, we know that Thou dost speak and teach correctly, and that Thou dost not receive the face, but teachest the Word of God in truth: is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? And He, knowing their rascality, said to them, Why do you tempt Me? Show Me the denarion. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they responding, said, That of Caesar. And He said to them, Therefore render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s. And they were not able to capture His word before the people. And being astonished at His answer, they kept silent.” We have given you Luke’s narrative, who simply states that sharpers — i.e., critical tricksters — waited on Him in this adroit interview, hoping to perplex Him, and get some clew at Him, deduced from His phraseology of and Mark state that these critics were Pharisees and Herodiana — the former the most loyal and enthusiastic Jewish party, and the latter consisting of a political faction favorable to Roman rule. Though diametrically opposed either to other, in this instance, as ever and anon hitherto, they united their forces against Jesus. How common it’s for the belligerent sects to make peace among themselves and unite their forces against holiness! They felt sure of success in this united hypocritical assault on Jesus, as the Pharisees represented the Jewish interest and the Herodians the Roman. In case that He had decided in favor of paying tribute to Caesar, the Pharisees aimed to prefer treasonable charges against Him, and arraign Hint before the Sanhedrin for disloyalty to the Theoeratic Government. On the contrary, if He answered the question in the negative, the Herodians were ready to have Him arrested and brought before Pilate to answer charges of treason against the Roman Empire. Now, you see how easily and conveniently He foils them both by simply asking them to show Him the denarion, a Roman coin, worth fifteen cents, and used to pay regular poll-tax, as well as the revenue to the Roman Government. Now, asking “Whose image and superscription is on this coin?” they respond, “Caesar’s.” Then He simply says, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” As the Jews claimed to be under the Divine government, while they were also subject to Roman rule, this answer covered all the ground in both cases, at the same time showing up absolute equity in behalf of each, so that no exception could be taken. Consequently the sharpers were all dumfounded.
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Mat 22:22. “And hearing, they were astonished, and leaving Him they went away.” We see most indubitable manifestations of His Divinity thus cropping out on all occasions. Here, He is besieged by the most intellectual and cultured men of Church and State, criticizing every utterance, and doing their best to lasso Him, and all are signally foiled, defeated, and dumfounded. No other man ever trod the globe whose ordinary utterances, day by day, were utterly invulnerable.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v34
Mark
NOT FAR AND NOT IN
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Mar 12:34.
‘A bruised reed He will not break, and the smoking flax He will not quench.’
Here is Christ’s recognition of the low beginnings of goodness and faith.
This is a special case of a man who appears to have fully discerned the spirituality and inwardness of law, and to have felt that the one bond between God and man was love. He needed only to have followed out the former thought to have been smitten by the conviction of his own sinfulness, and to have reflected on the latter to have discovered that he needed some one who could certify and commend God’s love to him, and thereby to kindle his to God. Christ recognises such beginnings and encourages him to persevere: but warns him against the danger of supposing himself in the kingdom, and against the prolongation of what is only good as a transition state.
This Scribe is an interesting study as being one who recognised the Law in its spiritual meaning, in opposition to forms and ceremonies. His intellectual convictions needed to be led on from recognition of the spirituality of the Law to recognition of his own failures. ‘By law is the knowledge of sin.’ His intellectual convictions needed to pass over into and influence his heart and life. He recognised true piety, and was earnestly striving after it, but entrance into the kingdom is by faith in the Saviour, who is ‘the Way.’ So Jesus’ praise of him is but measured. For in him there was separation between knowing and doing.
I. Who are near?
Christ’s kingdom is near us all, whether we are heathen, infidel, profligate or not.
Here is a distinct recognition of two things-{a} Degrees of approximation; {b} decisive separation between those who are, and those who are not, within the kingdom.
This Scribe was near, and yet not in, the kingdom, because, like so many in all ages, he had an intellectual hold of principles which he had never followed out to their intellectual issues, nor ever enthroned as, in their practical issues, the guides of his life. How constantly we find characters of similar incompleteness among ourselves! How many of us have true thoughts concerning God’s law and what it requires, which ought, in all reason, to have brought us to the consciousness of our own sin, and are yet untouched by one pang of penitence! How many of us have lying in our heads, like disused furniture in a lumber-room, what we suppose to be beliefs of ours, which only need to be followed out to their necessary results to refurnish with a new equipment the whole of our religious thinking! How few of us do really take pains to bring our beliefs into clear sunlight, and to follow them wherever they lead us! There is no commoner fault, and no greater foe, than the hazy, lazy half-belief, of which its owner neither knows the grounds nor perceives the intellectual or the practical issues.
There are multitudes who have, or have had, convictions of which the only rational outcome is practical surrender to Jesus Christ by faith and love. Such persons abound in Christian congregations and in Christian homes. They are on the verge of ‘the great surrender,’ but they do not go beyond the verge, and so they perpetrate ‘the great refusal.’ And to all such the word of our text should sound as a warning note, which has also hope in its bone. ‘Not far from’ is still ‘outside.’
II. Why they are only near.
The reason is not because of anything apart from themselves. The Christian gospel offers immediate entrance into the Kingdom, and all the gifts which its King can bestow, to all and every one who will. So that the sole cause of any man’s non-entrance lies with himself.
We have spoken of failure to follow out truths partially grasped, and that constitutes a reason which affects the intellect mainly, and plays its part in keeping men out of the Kingdom.
But there are other, perhaps more common, reasons, which intervene to prevent convictions being followed out into their properly consequent acts.
The two most familiar and fatal of these are:-
{a} Procrastination.
{b} Lingering love of the world.
III. Such men cannot continue near.
The state is necessarily transitional. It must pass over into-{a} Either going on and into the Kingdom, or {b} going further away from it.
Christ warns here, and would stimulate to action, for-{a} Convictions not acted on die; {b} truths not followed out fade; {c} impressions resisted are harder to be made again; {d} obstacles increase with time; {e} the habit of lingering becomes strengthened.
IV. Unless you are in, you are finally shut out.
‘City of refuge.’ It was of no avail to have been near. ‘Strive to enter in.’
Appeal to all such as are in this transition stage.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 28, 35, 38 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CIX. A. Asking…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CIX. A. Asking About Tribute].
CIX. JEWISH RULERS SEEK TO ENSNARE JESUS. (Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.) Subdivision A. PHARISEES AND HERODIANS ASK ABOUT TRIBUTE. aMATT. XXII. 15-22; bMARK XII. 13-17; cLUKE XX. 20-26.
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a15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk. c20 And they watched him, and sent forth bsend unto him atheir disciples, bcertain of the Pharisees and of awith bthe Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. [Perceiving that Jesus, when on his guard, was too wise for them, the Pharisees thought it best to speak their cunning through the mouths of their young disciples, whose youth and apparent desire to know the truth would, according to their calculation, take Jesus off his guard. Having no ancient statement giving us the tenets or principles of the Herodians, we are left to judge them solely by their name, which shows that they were partisans of Herod Antipas. Whether they were out-and-out supporters of the Roman government, or whether they clung to Herod as one whose intervening sovereignty saved them from the worse fate of being directly under a Roman procurator (as Judæa and Samaria then were), would not, as some suppose, affect their views as to the payment of tribute. If they accepted Herod merely for policy's sake, policy would also compel them to favor the tribute, for Antipas, being appointed [597] by Rome, would have to favor the tribute, and could count none as his adherents who opposed it.] cspies, who feigned themselves to righteous [sincere seekers after truth], that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. [Pontius Pilate was the governor. We are not surprised at the destruction of Jerusalem when we see the religious teachers of the nation employing their young disciples in such a work as this. To play detective and entrap a rogue in his speech and thus become a man-hunter is debasing enough; but to seek thus to entrap a righteous man is simply diabolical.] b14 And when they were come, they say unto him, csaying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, bwe know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, cand acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God: ain truth [The meaning of their preface is this: "We see that neither fear nor respect for the Pharisees or the rulers prevents you from speaking the plain, disagreeable truth; and we are persuaded that your courage and love of truth will lead you to speak the same way in political matters, and that you will not be deterred therefrom by any fear or reverence for Cæsar." Fearless loyalty to truth is indeed one of the noblest attributes of man. But instead of honoring this most admirable quality in Jesus, these hardened reprobates were endeavoring to employ it as an instrument for his destruction], 17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? c22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? b15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? [The Jews were required to pay annually a large sum of money to the Roman government as an acknowledgment of their subjection. About twenty years before this Judas of Galilee had stirred up the people to resist this tribute, and the mass of the Jews was bitterly opposed to it. To decide in favor of this tribute was therefore to alienate the affection and confidence of the throng in the temple who stood listening to him--an end most desirable to the Pharisees. If, [598] on the other hand, Jesus said that the tribute should not be paid, the Herodians were present to hear it, and would be witnesses sanctioned by Herod, and therefore such as Pilate would be compelled to respect. What but divine wisdom could escape from so cunningly devised a dilemma!] a18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, ccraftiness, bknowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, aand said Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? [Thus, before answering, Jesus exposes the meanness and hypocrisy in their question, thereby emphasizing the important fact that he did not dodge, but answered it.] 19 Show me the tribute money. c24 Show me a denarius. bbring me a denarius, that I may see it. [Religious dues and tributes had been paid in shekels or old Jewish coin, but the tribute to Rome was paid in Roman coin of which the denarius was a sample.] aAnd they brought unto him a denarius. [See Rom_13:1, Rom_13:7.] c26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: a22 And when they heard it, they marvelled, bgreatly at him. cat his answer, and held their peace. aand left him, and went away. [They were amazed to find how far his wisdom transcended that of the teachers in whom they had such supreme confidence.]
[FFG 597-600]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv18, 24, 25, 26, 34, 35, 36 (See Scofield "Mat 3:7"). Also, Mr12: 22,23
Sadducees
(See Scofield "Mat 3:7"). Also, Mr12: 22,23
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv13, 18, 24, 28, 32, 35, 38 Various Questions Proposed to Jesus.
Various Questions Proposed to Jesus.
The question of tribute:
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v. 13. And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch Him in His words.
v. 14. And when they were come, they say unto Him, Master, we know that Thou art true and carest for no man; for Thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
v. 15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye Me? Bring Me a penny that I may see it.
v. 16. And they brought it. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto Him, Caesar’s.
v. 17. And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him.
Having been worsted in the first encounter, the Jewish chiefs lost no time in planning a second attack. They sent to Him, without delay, some keen-minded Pharisees, whose training in sophistical reasoning made them especially valuable at this time, and a few members of the clique of Herodians, whose hopes for the house of Herod made them strong enemies of the Messianic mission of Christ. See Mat 22:16. Here ecclesiastical and political ambition was represented, joined in opposition to Christ. They had been instructed and drilled in the part they were to play with great care. With smug hypocrisy and obsequious flattery they come to Jesus. They literally wanted to catch Him with their question, or with His reply. They present their trap with honeyed bait: We know that Thou art truthful, not afraid to say the truth at any time, also that no man’s person would deter Thee from saying what Thou believest to be right. But now the wolf shows his fangs: Is it right, is it the lawful thing, should it be done at all times, that census-tribute be paid to the Emperor: or, more urgently: Shall we pay it or not? But their snare was too visible, to the omniscient Christ, above all. They hoped His answer would, in either event, prove His undoing. Should He answer in the negative, the government officials could be informed to that effect; should He answer in the positive, the people, that hated the Roman yoke, could easily be turned against Him. But the Lord read the hypocrisy on their faces, in their words, in their hearts, and told them plainly that He knew their intention. Still He does not deny them an answer. Fetch Me a denarius, He tells them, that I may see. In order to make them feel the disgrace of their action, He acts as though He must make a special study of this grave matter. "The most common Roman silver coin was the denarius, rendered in the Authorized Version ’penny’ and in the Revised Version ’shilling. ’ Its weight varied at different times. In the time of Christ it weighed about 61, 3 grains Troy, and was worth 16 ⅔ cents of American money.. As the ministry of Christ occurred in the reign of Tiberius, the tribute money shown to Christ was probably a denarius of Tiberius. " When they had brought the coin and had given the information that the image and the inscription was that of Caesar, His conclusion and answer were brief: The things of Caesar render to Caesar, and those of God to God. This rule applies at all times and is invaluable in maintaining the proper distinction between Church and State. God’s people, the believers of all times, will, above all, give due honor, render due obedience, to God. In things which concern God, the service of God, faith, and conscience, we are obedient to God alone and permit no man to interfere. But in worldly, civil matters, where money, possessions, body, life are concerned. the Christians will cheerfully obey the government. With these words the Lord has incidentally laid down the distinction which is to be observed between the kingdom of God and the authority of the State, He has here forbidden the State to interfere in Church matters, and the Church to meddle with the business of the government.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 28, 32, 35, 38 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
In an effort to trap Jesus, some of the Pharisees and Herodians, and then the Sadducees, come to Jesus with questions.
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Then they sent
"Then the Jewish leaders sent"
the Herodians
This was the name of an informal political party that supported Herod Antipas.
to trap him
Here the author describes tricking Jesus as "trapping him." AT: "to trick him" (See: Metaphor)
When they came, they said
Here "they" refers to those sent from among the Pharisees and the Herodians.
you care for no one's opinion
This means that Jesus is not concerned. The negation can modify the verb instead. AT: "you do not care about people's opinions" or "you are not concerned with earning people's favor" (See: Litotes)
Jesus knew their hypocrisy
They were acting hypocritically. This can be explained more clearly. AT: "Jesus knew that they did not really want to know what God wanted them to do" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Why do you test me?
Jesus rebukes the Jewish leaders because they were trying to trick him. This can be written as a statement. AT: "I know you are trying to make me say something wrong so you can accuse me." (See: Rhetorical Question)
denarius
This coin was worth a day's wages. (See: Biblical Money)
translationWords
Pharisee
Herod Antipas
snare
word
teacher
partial
lawful
Caesar
hypocrite
test
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 28, 29, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40 12:13-17 Having failed in questioning Jesus’ authority, Jesus’ enemies…
12:13-17 Having failed in questioning Jesus’ authority, Jesus’ enemies tried to alienate his audience. Readers are aware from the beginning that the flattery of the Pharisees and supporters of Herod (see 3:6) was insincere; they wanted only to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. The question is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? had been carefully thought out by Jesus’ opponents. It presented Jesus with a dilemma. To say yes would alienate the people, for they despised the Romans and hated paying them taxes. To say no would make him a revolutionary and force an immediate confrontation with the Roman authorities, resulting in his arrest.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.