Luke 20:24
"Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" "Caesar's," they answered.
Show Me a denarius
In this phrase, Jesus begins His response to the Pharisees and Herodians who are attempting to trap Him with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. The "denarius" was a Roman coin, equivalent to a day's wage for a laborer, and it bore the image of the emperor. By asking for a denarius, Jesus is drawing attention to the physical representation of Roman authority and the economic system in place. The use of the denarius highlights the pervasive influence of Roman rule in Judea and sets the stage for Jesus' profound teaching on the relationship between earthly and divine obligations.

Whose image and inscription are on it?
Here, Jesus asks a question that seems simple but is loaded with deeper meaning. The "image" refers to the likeness of Caesar, which was a common practice for rulers to assert their authority and divine status. The "inscription" would typically declare the emperor's titles and divine claims. In the context of Jewish law, which forbade graven images, the presence of Caesar's image on the coin would have been a stark reminder of the tension between Roman occupation and Jewish religious identity. Jesus' question forces His listeners to confront the reality of their political and spiritual situation.

Caesar's, they answered
The response of the Pharisees and Herodians acknowledges the obvious fact that the coin belongs to Caesar. This admission is crucial because it sets up Jesus' teaching on the proper relationship between civic duty and spiritual devotion. By recognizing Caesar's image and inscription, they inadvertently affirm the legitimacy of Roman authority over temporal matters, which Jesus will use to illustrate a greater spiritual truth.

So give to Caesar what is Caesar's
Jesus' statement here is both practical and profound. The phrase "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" suggests a recognition of the legitimacy of secular authority in its proper sphere. The Greek word for "give" (ἀπόδοτε, apodote) implies a sense of obligation or duty. Jesus acknowledges that there are certain responsibilities that come with living under a government, such as paying taxes. However, His statement also implies that these obligations are limited to what belongs to the earthly realm.

and to God what is God's
This concluding phrase elevates the discussion to a higher plane. While the coin bears Caesar's image, humanity bears the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, the ultimate allegiance of every person is to God, who is the Creator and Sustainer of all. The Greek word for "God" (Θεῷ, Theō) emphasizes the divine nature and authority of God over all creation. Jesus is teaching that while we have duties to earthly authorities, our primary devotion and worship belong to God alone. This statement challenges His listeners to consider what it means to live as citizens of God's kingdom while navigating the complexities of earthly governance.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
- The central figure in this passage, Jesus is teaching in the temple courts and is being questioned by the religious leaders.

2. Pharisees and Herodians
- These groups are attempting to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, hoping to discredit Him.

3. Denarius
- A Roman coin used during the time of Jesus, bearing the image and inscription of the emperor, Caesar.

4. Caesar
- The title used for the Roman emperor, representing the political authority of the time.

5. Temple Courts
- The setting of this encounter, a place of teaching and religious discussion in Jerusalem.
Teaching Points
Authority and Allegiance
Jesus' response highlights the distinction between earthly and divine authority. Christians are called to respect and submit to governmental authorities while maintaining ultimate allegiance to God.

Image and Identity
The denarius bears Caesar's image, but humans bear God's image. This distinction calls believers to reflect on their identity and purpose as God's image-bearers in the world.

Wisdom in Response
Jesus demonstrates wisdom in His response, avoiding the trap set by the Pharisees and Herodians. Believers are encouraged to seek divine wisdom in navigating complex situations.

Dual Citizenship
Christians live as citizens of both earthly nations and the Kingdom of God. This dual citizenship requires discernment in balancing responsibilities to both.

Stewardship of Resources
The question of taxes also raises issues of stewardship. Believers are called to manage their resources in a way that honors God and fulfills civic responsibilities.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' response to the question about the denarius demonstrate His understanding of authority and allegiance?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of being made in God's image to our daily lives and interactions with others?

3. How can we seek and apply godly wisdom when faced with challenging questions or situations in our own lives?

4. What are some practical ways we can balance our responsibilities as citizens of our country and the Kingdom of God?

5. How does the concept of stewardship influence our approach to finances and resources, both personally and within the church community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 22:15-22 and Mark 12:13-17
These parallel accounts provide additional context and details about the interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders.

Romans 13:1-7
This passage discusses the Christian's relationship to governing authorities, emphasizing submission to authority as ordained by God.

Genesis 1:26-27
The concept of image is significant here, as humans are made in the image of God, contrasting with the image of Caesar on the coin.
Whose Image and Superscription?Alexander MaclarenLuke 20:24
The Sacred and the SecularW. Clarkson Luke 20:19-26
Caesar's Due and God's DueS. Hieron.Luke 20:20-26
Christ was Watched, and So are WeH. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.Luke 20:20-26
Cowards are Like CatsDallas, "Natural History of the Animal Kingdom."Luke 20:20-26
Duty DiscriminatedW. Baxendale.Luke 20:20-26
Man is God's PropertyGrimm.Luke 20:20-26
No Division of AllegianceCanon Duckworth.Luke 20:20-26
Religion and PoliticsF. W. Robertson.Luke 20:20-26
Secular and Religious Duties not in ConflictAnon.Luke 20:20-26
The Divine Image in the SoulBishop Ehrler.Luke 20:20-26
The Medal Made UsefulLuke 20:20-26
Christ Supreme in DebateR.M. Edgar Luke 20:20-40
People
David, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, John
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Answering, Bear, Caesar, Caesar's, Cesar's, Coin, Denarius, Denary, Image, Inscription, Likeness, Penny, Portrait, Shew, Shilling, Superscription
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 20:3-26

     7552   Pharisees, attitudes to Christ

Luke 20:20-25

     5257   civil authorities

Luke 20:20-26

     5260   coinage
     5577   taxation

Luke 20:22-24

     5415   money, uses of

Luke 20:22-25

     2057   Christ, obedience
     5542   society, positive

Luke 20:22-26

     2054   Christ, mind of

Luke 20:23-26

     2081   Christ, wisdom

Luke 20:24-25

     5352   inscriptions
     8770   idolatry, in NT

Luke 20:24-26

     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching

Library
Whose Image and Superscription?
'Whose image and superscription hath it?'--Luke xx. 24. It is no unusual thing for antagonists to join forces in order to crush a third person obnoxious to both. So in this incident we have an unnatural alliance of the two parties in Jewish politics who were at daggers drawn. The representatives of the narrow conservative Judaism, which loathed a foreign yoke, in the person of the Pharisees and Scribes, and the Herodians, the partisans of a foreigner and a usurper, lay their heads together to propose
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Tenants who Wanted to be Owners
'Then began He to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The God of the Living.
He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.--ST LUKE xx. 38. It is a recurring cause of perplexity in our Lord's teaching, that he is too simple for us; that while we are questioning with ourselves about the design of Solomon's earring upon some gold-plated door of the temple, he is speaking about the foundations of Mount Zion, yea, of the earth itself, upon which it stands. If the reader of the Gospel supposes that our Lord was here using a verbal argument with the Sadducees,
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

The Resurrection of the Sleeping Saints.
"And the dead in Christ shall rise first." This is the second blessed event which shall occur at the Redeemer's return--the sleeping saints will be awakened and raised. This brings us to a branch of our subject upon which there is much ignorance and confusion in Christendom generally. The idea which popularly obtains is that of a general resurrection at the end of time. So deeply rooted is this belief and so widely is it held that to declare there will be two resurrections--one of saints and another
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

The Morality of the Gospel.
Is stating the morality of the Gospel as an argument of its truth, I am willing to admit two points; first, that the teaching of morality was not the primary design of the mission; secondly, that morality, neither in the Gospel, nor in any other book, can be a subject, properly speaking, of discovery. If I were to describe in a very few words the scope of Christianity as a revelation, [49] I should say that it was to influence the conduct of human life, by establishing the proof of a future state
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

In Reply to the Questions as to his Authority, Jesus Gives the Third Great Group of Parables.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) Subdivision A. Introduction ^A Matt. XXI. 23-27; ^B Mark XI. 27-33; ^C Luke XX. 1-8. ^c 1 And it came to pass, on one of the days, ^b they [Jesus and the disciples] come again to Jerusalem: ^a 23 And when he was come into the temple, ^b and as he was walking in the temple [The large outer court of the temple, known as the court of the Gentiles, was thronged during the feasts, and was no doubt the part selected by Jesus and his apostles when
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In Reply to the Questions as to his Authority, Jesus Gives the Third Great Group of Parables.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) Subdivision C. Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. ^A Matt. XXI. 33-46; ^B Mark XII. 1-12; ^C Luke XX. 9-19. ^b 1 And he began to speak unto them ^c the people [not the rulers] ^b in parables. { ^c this parable:} ^a 33 Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder [this party represents God], who planted a vineyard [this represents the Hebrew nationality], and set a hedge about it, and digged a ^b pit for the ^a winepress in it
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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. ^A Matt. XXII. 15-22; ^B Mark XII. 13-17; ^C Luke XX. 20-26. ^a 15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk. ^c 20 And they watched him, and sent forth { ^b send unto him} ^a their disciples, ^b certain of the Pharisees and of { ^a with} ^b the Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. [Perceiving that Jesus, when on his guard, was too wise for them,
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Third Day in Passion-Week - the Events of that Day - the Question of Christ's Authority - the Question of Tribute to Cæsar - The
THE record of this third day is so crowded, the actors introduced on the scene are so many, the occurrences so varied, and the transitions so rapid, that it is even more than usually difficult to arrange all in chronological order. Nor need we wonder at this, when we remember that this was, so to speak, Christ's last working-day - the last, of His public Mission to Israel, so far as its active part was concerned; the last day in the Temple; the last, of teaching and warning to Pharisees and Sadducees;
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Third Day in Passion-Week - the Last Controversies and Discourses - the Sadducees and the Resurrection - the Scribe and the Great Commandment - Question
THE last day in the Temple was not to pass without other temptations' than that of the Priests when they questioned His authority, or of the Pharisees when they cunningly sought to entangle Him in His speech. Indeed, Christ had on this occasion taken a different position; He had claimed supreme authority, and thus challenged the leaders of Israel. For this reason, and because at the last we expect assaults from all His enemies, we are prepared for the controversies of that day. We remember that,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Fac-Similes
OF ANCIENT NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS, TO ILLUSTRATE CHAPTER XXVI., PAGE 380. Most of the following specimens of ancient manuscripts are taken from Scrivener's Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. No. (1) is from Tischendorf s Novum Testamentum Graece ex Sinaitico Codice; Nos. (2) and (11) from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible; and No. (5) from Horne's Introduction, Vol. IV. No. (1). PLATE I. SINAI CODEX, Century IV. Heb. 12:27-29. Notice the occasional use of very small letters. In
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Third Day in Pasion-Week - the Last Series of Parables: to the Pharisees and to the People - on the Way to Jerusalem: the Parable
(ST. Matt. xix. 30, xx. 16; St. Matt. xxi. 28-32; St. Mark xii. 1-12; St. Luke xx. 9-19; St. Matt. xxii. 1-14.) ALTHOUGH it may not be possible to mark their exact succession, it will be convenient here to group together the last series of Parables. Most, if not all of them, were spoken on that third day in Passion week: the first four to a more general audience; the last three (to be treated in another chapter) to the disciples, when, on the evening of that third day, on the Mount of Olives, [5286]
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Wherefore I Cannot Indeed Say, of Females who have Fallen Away from a Better...
14. Wherefore I cannot indeed say, of females who have fallen away from a better purpose, in case they shall have married, that they are adulteries, not marriages; but I plainly would not hesitate to say, that departures and fallings away from a holier chastity, which is vowed unto the Lord, are worse than adulteries. For if, what may no way be doubted, it pertains unto an offense against Christ, when a member of Him keepeth not faith to her husband; how much graver offense is it against Him, when
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Difficulties and Objections
"Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal?" (Ezek. 18:25). A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages. The author deemed it better to reserve these for a separate consideration rather than deal with them as he went along, requiring as that would have done the
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Synopsis. --Account to be Made of the Law of Atrophy through Disuse. --The virgin Birth and the Corporeal Resurrection of Jesus
VII SYNOPSIS.--Account to be made of the law of atrophy through disuse.--The virgin birth and the corporeal resurrection of Jesus, the two miracles now insisted on as the irreducible minimum, affected by this law.--The vital truths of the incarnation and immortality independent of these miracles.--These truths now placed on higher ground in a truer conception of the supernatural.--The true supernatural is the spiritual, not the miraculous.--Scepticism bred from the contrary view.--The miracle narratives,
James Morris Whiton—Miracles and Supernatural Religion

Of the Practice of Piety in Holy Feasting.
Holy feasting is a solemn thanksgiving, appointed by authority, to be rendered to God on some special day, for some extraordinary blessings or deliverances received. Such among the Jews was the feast of the Passover (Exod. xii. 15), to remember to praise God for their deliverance out of Egypt's bondage; or the feast of Purim (Esth. ix. 19, 21), to give thanks for their deliverance from Haman's conspiracy. Such amongst us is the fifth of November, to praise God for the deliverance of the king and
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Jesus Attends the First Passover of his Ministry.
(Jerusalem, April 9, a.d. 27.) Subdivision A. Jesus Cleanses the Temple. ^D John II. 13-25. ^d 13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand [We get our information as to the length of our Lord's ministry from John's Gospel. He groups his narrative around six Jewish festivals: 1, He here mentions the first passover; 2, another feast, which we take to have been also a passover (v. 1); 3, another passover (vi. 4); 4, the feast of tabernacles (vii. 2); 5, dedication (x. 22); 6, passover (xi. 55). This
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Cix. Jewish Rulers Seek to Ensnare Jesus.
(Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) Subdivision B. Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection. ^A Matt. XXII. 23-33; ^B Mark XII. 18-27; ^C Luke XX. 27-39. ^a 23 On that day there came { ^b come} unto him ^c certain of the the Sadducees, they that { ^b who} say there is no resurrection [As to the Sadducees, see p. 71. We may regard their attitude toward Christ as expressed by their leader Caiaphas, see p. 528]; and they asked him, saying, 19 Teacher, Moses wrote unto us [See Deut. xxv. 5,
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The King on his Throne.
"Crown Him with many crowns, The King upon His Throne." When the time came for our Blessed Lord to return into Heaven again, He ascended in the presence of His Apostles, whilst in the act of blessing them; "and a cloud received Him out of their sight" (Acts i. 9). And, we are told, they "returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (S. Luke xxiv. 52), not sorrowing as before at His being taken from them. And when we consider what His Ascension implied, we can see that they had good reason for their joy.
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

The Barren Fig-Tree;
OR, THE DOOM AND DOWNFALL OF THE FRUITLESS PROFESSOR: SHOWING, THAT THE DAY OF GRACE MAY BE PAST WITH HIM LONG BEFORE HIS LIFE IS ENDED; THE SIGNS ALSO BY WHICH SUCH MISERABLE MORTALS MAY BE KNOWN. BY JOHN BUNYAN 'Who being dead, yet speaketh.'--Hebrews 11:4 London: Printed for J. Robinson, at the Golden Lion, in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1688. This Title has a broad Black Border. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This solemn, searching, awful treatise, was published by Bunyan in 1682; but does not appear
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

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