October 18, 2015

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.^{[a] 17} Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.^{[b] 20} And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²² When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

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Footnotes

Matthew 22:16 Greek for you do not look at people's faces Matthew 22:19 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer

Cross references

Matthew 22:15 : For ver. 15-32, see Mark 12:13-27; Luke 20:20-38 Matthew 22:15 : [Luke 11:54] Matthew 22:16 : Mark 2:18 Matthew 22:16 : Mark 3:6; [Mark 8:15] Matthew 22:16 : [John 3:2] Matthew 22:16 : Acts 18:26; [Acts 13:10] Matthew 22:16 : See Acts 10:34 Matthew 22:17 : ch. 17:25 Matthew 22:17 : Luke 2:1; 3:1 Matthew 22:18 : See John 8:6 Matthew 22:21 : Rom. 13:7 Matthew 22:22 : Mark 12:12

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