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Give to Caesar What Is Caesar’s and to God What Is God’s (Luke 20:19-26)
The Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus with this question: “Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Luke 20:22; see also Matthew 12:13-17). If Jesus said they should pay the tax, it looked like He supported Rome, but if he said they should not pay the tax, He would be considered a traitor to Rome and arrested. He responded, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what Is God's” (Luke 23:25). Just as the coins with Caesar’s image belong to Caesar, people with God’s image belong to God.
https://youtu.be/hBa0C7r0pUw
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what Is God's; coins with Caesar’s image belong to him, and people with God’s image belong to Him.
Table of contentsShould Christians Use American Currency?The Pharisees and Herodians Tried to Trap JesusBitterness Unites PeopleThe Pharisees' and Herodians' HypocrisyWhy the Jews Hated the Poll TaxChristians Give to Caesar What Is Caesar's Because We Have Earthly CitizenshipPaul (and Peter) Taught that We Should Submit to GovernmentWe Can Have Clear Consciences When We Give to Caesar What Is Caesar'sPaul Affirmed We Should Give to Caesar What Is Caesar'sChristians Give to God What Is God's Because We Have Heavenly CitizenshipGiving to Caesar What Is Caesar's Is not Disloyal to GodWhat It Means to Give to God What Is God'sFootnotes
Our one-dollar bills contain many images. Some are easy to understand, such as the picture of George Washington or the capital B for the Federal Reserve Bank. Other images are more challenging to understand. For example, the Department of the Treasury's seal shows balancing scales. You can probably guess they don’t represent a balanced budget. Instead, they are supposed to represent justice. But I think some might argue that’s not an accurate representation either. Under the scales are thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen colonies. A key, signifying official authority, is under the thirteen stars.
On the back of the bill, there is an eagle with the following:
A shield in front of it with thirteen bars
Thirteen stars above the shield
One talon with a branch with thirteen leaves on it
The other talon holds thirteen arrows
There are three Latin phrases:
Above the pyramid reads “annuit cœptis,” which means “God has favored our undertaking.”
Under the pyramid is “novus ordo seclorum,” which means “a new order of the ages.”
The eagle's banner reads “e pluribus unum,” which appears on most U.S. coins and means “out of many, one.”
There is also the pyramid, and the more I studied it, the more obvious it became that there are many opinions about it. Here are a few:
The missing top of the pyramid is a sign that the country wasn’t finished yet
The Western face of the pyramid is in a shadow while the front is lit, indicating the nation hadn’t explored the west yet
An eye above the pyramid looks like its top because it is in a triangle. Instead, the all-seeing eye encased in a triangle is an ancient symbol of divinity.
Some believe the pyramid and the eye are cultic images reflecting the influence of Free Masonry on our early government because Benjamin Franklin, who helped design the seal with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, claimed to be a Mason.
To some, the eye above the pyramid is evidence of plans for a new world order. The Freemasons plan to take over themselves or work with European bankers and the Illuminati.
Should Christians Use American Currency?
As Christians who don’t want anything to do with Freemasonry because of its unbiblical teachings, should we refuse to use dollar bills? If we use currency that has unbiblical, or even worse, occultic imagery, are we being disloyal to God and perhaps even sinning?
I have good news: we don’t have to worry about using our currency. The currency in Jesus’s day was downright blasphemous, but not only did Jesus NOT discourage people from using it, He even told them what to do with it, and it wasn’t throwing it away. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up and quickly review the parable of the vineyard owner in verses 9-18 because the following verses flow from it.
In this parable, God the Father is the vineyard owner, and the vineyard represents Israel. The owner sends servants, representing Old Testament prophets, to the tenants, representing the religious leaders. The tenants beat the servants and threw them out of the vineyard. Finally, the owner sends his “beloved son.” Look at verse fourteen to see what the tenants do to him:
Luke 20:14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15a And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
The tenants didn’t even talk about murdering the servants, but they murdered the son. They represent the religious leaders who murdered Jesus, so it’s a fitting prophecy.
Luke 20:15b What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
The vineyard owner, or God the Father, is going to destroy the tenants or religious leaders for murdering His Son. Look how the people respond in verse 16:
Luke 20:16b When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
They are not arguing with Jesus. Instead, they are horrified. That’s why in some Bibles, “Surely not” is translated as:
“God forbid!” in the NIV
“May it never happen!” in the NASB
“May it never be!” in the Amplified
Now, here’s something important for this morning’s verses: the “they” in verse 16 who heard what Jesus said are not the religious leaders. Instead, they are people in the temple. Look at verse 1 to see the context for Jesus preaching this:
Luke 20:1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up
So, consider this: Passover is only a few days away, which means millions of Jews are in Jerusalem and around the temple…which also means lots of Jews just heard Jesus prophesy that God was going to destroy the religious leaders. And any Jews who didn’t hear Jesus preach this will hear it from everyone who’s talking about it.
The Pharisees and Herodians Tried to Trap Jesus
As you can imagine, the religious leaders are not happy with Jesus, and this brings us to the first verse of this morning’s passage:
Luke 20:19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
The religious leaders could have heeded Jesus’s warning, humbled themselves, and repented when they learned God was going to destroy them. Instead, they want to have Jesus arrested. But they can’t because they’re afraid of the people. So, they devised another plan: discredit Him so people don’t listen to what He said. If Jesus looks terrible, the religious leaders won’t look bad. Look how they go about this:
Luke 20:20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
Before we dig into this verse, I want to draw your attention to a theme throughout the gospel: how badly the religious leaders wanted to accuse Jesus of something. The fact that they worked that hard and couldn’t find anything tells you how blamelessly Jesus lived. And, as you know, if you are familiar with His trials, they finally reached the point that the only way to find Him guilty of anything was to bring false witness against Him. To give you an idea, look three chapters to the right at Luke 23:2. Jesus is on trial before Pilate:
Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
This is the opposite of what Jesus taught in these verses, but it shows you what they had to do to accuse Him of anything.
Bitterness Unites People
Initially, this looks like one more example of the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus. We have watched them do this many times before, including earlier in this chapter: in verses 1 through 8, they questioned His authority. But this situation is different from the others. Verse 19 says the scribes and chief priests wanted to arrest Jesus, but verse 20 says they “sent spies.” It was the spies who questioned Jesus.
The parallel accounts, particularly Matthew 22:16 and Mark 12:13, show that the Pharisees and the Herodians worked together to send the spies. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is because these groups hated each other. If we lived in Jesus’s day, we would be shocked to learn that they joined forces.
The Herodians supported the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty. In contrast, the Pharisees hated Roman rule and the Herodians’ influence. Warren Wiersbe wrote, "These two groups were usually fighting each other, but now they had a common enemy, and this brought them together."28
The gospel unites people, but so does bitterness. Think of the saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” People might hate each other, but if they hate someone else, they are often happy to unite over their hatred. I have watched this in the church. People don’t get along. They leave the church. Then, they unite over their mutual bitterness toward the church:
Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled
Why does it say that bitterness causes trouble and defiles many? When people are bitter, they love to find others who share their offense and join in their attacks. This defiles many because they share their bitterness with others who become bitter or defiled.
Social media has made this worse.
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By Scott LaPierre
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The Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus with this question: “Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Luke 20:22; see also Matthew 12:13-17). If Jesus said they should pay the tax, it looked like He supported Rome, but if he said they should not pay the tax, He would be considered a traitor to Rome and arrested. He responded, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what Is God's” (Luke 23:25). Just as the coins with Caesar’s image belong to Caesar, people with God’s image belong to God.
https://youtu.be/hBa0C7r0pUw
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what Is God's; coins with Caesar’s image belong to him, and people with God’s image belong to Him.
Table of contentsShould Christians Use American Currency?The Pharisees and Herodians Tried to Trap JesusBitterness Unites PeopleThe Pharisees' and Herodians' HypocrisyWhy the Jews Hated the Poll TaxChristians Give to Caesar What Is Caesar's Because We Have Earthly CitizenshipPaul (and Peter) Taught that We Should Submit to GovernmentWe Can Have Clear Consciences When We Give to Caesar What Is Caesar'sPaul Affirmed We Should Give to Caesar What Is Caesar'sChristians Give to God What Is God's Because We Have Heavenly CitizenshipGiving to Caesar What Is Caesar's Is not Disloyal to GodWhat It Means to Give to God What Is God'sFootnotes
Our one-dollar bills contain many images. Some are easy to understand, such as the picture of George Washington or the capital B for the Federal Reserve Bank. Other images are more challenging to understand. For example, the Department of the Treasury's seal shows balancing scales. You can probably guess they don’t represent a balanced budget. Instead, they are supposed to represent justice. But I think some might argue that’s not an accurate representation either. Under the scales are thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen colonies. A key, signifying official authority, is under the thirteen stars.
On the back of the bill, there is an eagle with the following:
A shield in front of it with thirteen bars
Thirteen stars above the shield
One talon with a branch with thirteen leaves on it
The other talon holds thirteen arrows
There are three Latin phrases:
Above the pyramid reads “annuit cœptis,” which means “God has favored our undertaking.”
Under the pyramid is “novus ordo seclorum,” which means “a new order of the ages.”
The eagle's banner reads “e pluribus unum,” which appears on most U.S. coins and means “out of many, one.”
There is also the pyramid, and the more I studied it, the more obvious it became that there are many opinions about it. Here are a few:
The missing top of the pyramid is a sign that the country wasn’t finished yet
The Western face of the pyramid is in a shadow while the front is lit, indicating the nation hadn’t explored the west yet
An eye above the pyramid looks like its top because it is in a triangle. Instead, the all-seeing eye encased in a triangle is an ancient symbol of divinity.
Some believe the pyramid and the eye are cultic images reflecting the influence of Free Masonry on our early government because Benjamin Franklin, who helped design the seal with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, claimed to be a Mason.
To some, the eye above the pyramid is evidence of plans for a new world order. The Freemasons plan to take over themselves or work with European bankers and the Illuminati.
Should Christians Use American Currency?
As Christians who don’t want anything to do with Freemasonry because of its unbiblical teachings, should we refuse to use dollar bills? If we use currency that has unbiblical, or even worse, occultic imagery, are we being disloyal to God and perhaps even sinning?
I have good news: we don’t have to worry about using our currency. The currency in Jesus’s day was downright blasphemous, but not only did Jesus NOT discourage people from using it, He even told them what to do with it, and it wasn’t throwing it away. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up and quickly review the parable of the vineyard owner in verses 9-18 because the following verses flow from it.
In this parable, God the Father is the vineyard owner, and the vineyard represents Israel. The owner sends servants, representing Old Testament prophets, to the tenants, representing the religious leaders. The tenants beat the servants and threw them out of the vineyard. Finally, the owner sends his “beloved son.” Look at verse fourteen to see what the tenants do to him:
Luke 20:14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15a And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
The tenants didn’t even talk about murdering the servants, but they murdered the son. They represent the religious leaders who murdered Jesus, so it’s a fitting prophecy.
Luke 20:15b What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
The vineyard owner, or God the Father, is going to destroy the tenants or religious leaders for murdering His Son. Look how the people respond in verse 16:
Luke 20:16b When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
They are not arguing with Jesus. Instead, they are horrified. That’s why in some Bibles, “Surely not” is translated as:
“God forbid!” in the NIV
“May it never happen!” in the NASB
“May it never be!” in the Amplified
Now, here’s something important for this morning’s verses: the “they” in verse 16 who heard what Jesus said are not the religious leaders. Instead, they are people in the temple. Look at verse 1 to see the context for Jesus preaching this:
Luke 20:1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up
So, consider this: Passover is only a few days away, which means millions of Jews are in Jerusalem and around the temple…which also means lots of Jews just heard Jesus prophesy that God was going to destroy the religious leaders. And any Jews who didn’t hear Jesus preach this will hear it from everyone who’s talking about it.
The Pharisees and Herodians Tried to Trap Jesus
As you can imagine, the religious leaders are not happy with Jesus, and this brings us to the first verse of this morning’s passage:
Luke 20:19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
The religious leaders could have heeded Jesus’s warning, humbled themselves, and repented when they learned God was going to destroy them. Instead, they want to have Jesus arrested. But they can’t because they’re afraid of the people. So, they devised another plan: discredit Him so people don’t listen to what He said. If Jesus looks terrible, the religious leaders won’t look bad. Look how they go about this:
Luke 20:20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
Before we dig into this verse, I want to draw your attention to a theme throughout the gospel: how badly the religious leaders wanted to accuse Jesus of something. The fact that they worked that hard and couldn’t find anything tells you how blamelessly Jesus lived. And, as you know, if you are familiar with His trials, they finally reached the point that the only way to find Him guilty of anything was to bring false witness against Him. To give you an idea, look three chapters to the right at Luke 23:2. Jesus is on trial before Pilate:
Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
This is the opposite of what Jesus taught in these verses, but it shows you what they had to do to accuse Him of anything.
Bitterness Unites People
Initially, this looks like one more example of the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus. We have watched them do this many times before, including earlier in this chapter: in verses 1 through 8, they questioned His authority. But this situation is different from the others. Verse 19 says the scribes and chief priests wanted to arrest Jesus, but verse 20 says they “sent spies.” It was the spies who questioned Jesus.
The parallel accounts, particularly Matthew 22:16 and Mark 12:13, show that the Pharisees and the Herodians worked together to send the spies. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is because these groups hated each other. If we lived in Jesus’s day, we would be shocked to learn that they joined forces.
The Herodians supported the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty. In contrast, the Pharisees hated Roman rule and the Herodians’ influence. Warren Wiersbe wrote, "These two groups were usually fighting each other, but now they had a common enemy, and this brought them together."28
The gospel unites people, but so does bitterness. Think of the saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” People might hate each other, but if they hate someone else, they are often happy to unite over their hatred. I have watched this in the church. People don’t get along. They leave the church. Then, they unite over their mutual bitterness toward the church:
Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled
Why does it say that bitterness causes trouble and defiles many? When people are bitter, they love to find others who share their offense and join in their attacks. This defiles many because they share their bitterness with others who become bitter or defiled.
Social media has made this worse.