Commentary - Matthew 22:15-22

Bird's-eye view

In this famous encounter, we see the Lord Jesus Christ navigating a masterfully laid political and theological trap. His enemies, the Pharisees and the Herodians, form an unholy alliance, uniting two groups who were normally at each other's throats. Their goal was to force Jesus into a public statement that would either alienate Him from the Jewish populace, who chafed under Roman rule, or mark Him as a seditionist in the eyes of the Roman authorities. The question they pose, "Is it lawful to give a tax to Caesar?", was designed to be a perfect dilemma with no escape.

But Jesus, with divine wisdom, not only evades their trap but completely reframes the entire debate. By asking for a denarius and pointing to Caesar's image on it, He establishes a foundational principle of Christian political theology. He affirms the legitimacy of the civil magistrate in its proper sphere while simultaneously declaring the absolute and all-encompassing claims of God. The memorable phrase, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's," is not a declaration of two equal kingdoms, but rather an assertion of God's total sovereignty over all things, including Caesar. Caesar has a legitimate, delegated authority over the things that bear his image, but God has ultimate authority over all things, especially those things that bear His image, namely, man himself.

Outline

Context In Matthew

This episode occurs during the final week of Jesus' earthly ministry, in the temple courts in Jerusalem. It is part of a series of confrontations where various factions of the Jewish leadership attempt to discredit Him before the people. In the preceding section (Matthew 21), Jesus has triumphantly entered Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and told parables of judgment against the chief priests and elders. Now, in chapter 22, the opposition intensifies. This question about taxes is the first of three hostile questions designed to ensnare Him, followed by the Sadducees' question about the resurrection and a lawyer's question about the greatest commandment. Jesus answers each one with such wisdom that He silences His opponents, demonstrating His authority as the true King and Teacher of Israel. This entire sequence sets the stage for Jesus' own denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and His prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25).

Key Issues

Caesar's Coin and God's Image

The brilliance of Jesus' response lies in how He uses their own premises against them. The Roman denarius was more than just currency; it was a piece of imperial propaganda. It bore the image of the emperor, Tiberius, and an inscription that typically declared him to be "son of the divine Augustus" and high priest. For a pious Jew, to even carry such a coin was a concession to a pagan, idolatrous system. When Jesus asks for the coin and they produce one, they have already, in a sense, answered their own question. By using Caesar's money, they acknowledge that they are participants in his economic system. They are already rendering to Caesar.

But Jesus takes it a step further. The logic is, "If it has Caesar's image, give it to Caesar." This affirms a limited sphere of civil authority. The state has a right to tax and to manage the affairs of its realm. But the unspoken and far more potent question is this: "What has God's image on it?" The answer, which every Jew would have known from the first chapter of Genesis, is man himself. You bear the imago dei. Therefore, you belong wholly to God. Caesar can claim your pocket change, but God claims you, your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength. This is not a division of life into a "sacred" sphere and a "secular" sphere. It is an assertion that God is sovereign over all spheres, and that Caesar's authority is a limited, delegated authority that exists under God's ultimate ownership of everything.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him in what He said.

The conflict is escalating. Having been publicly humiliated by Jesus' parables, the Pharisees now move from open debate to surreptitious conspiracy. Their goal is no longer to win an argument but to "trap Him in what He said." The Greek word for trap, pagideuo, means to ensnare, like an animal in a snare. This reveals their malicious intent. They are not seekers of truth; they are hunters, and Jesus is their prey. Their aim is to get Him to say something that can be used as legal grounds for an accusation, either to the Romans or to the Sanhedrin.

16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.

The craftiness of the plot is seen in the delegation they send. They send their own disciples, likely younger men not as well known as the leading Pharisees, to create a sense of earnest inquiry. And they send them with the Herodians. This is a remarkable detail. The Pharisees were nationalists who resented Roman rule and the Herodian dynasty that propped it up. The Herodians were a political party of secularized Jews who supported the rule of Herod and, by extension, his Roman overlords. These two groups were natural enemies. Their alliance here shows the depth of their shared animosity toward Jesus. He was a great enough threat to make mortal enemies join forces.

Their opening statement is a masterpiece of hypocritical flattery. Every word they say about Jesus is true. He is truthful. He does teach the way of God in truth. He does not defer to men or show partiality. They are describing Him perfectly. But they do not believe a word of it, and they are using the truth as bait for their trap. This is a high form of wickedness, to use the truth you hate in order to destroy the one who embodies it.

17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a tax to Caesar, or not?”

Here is the sharp point of the spear. The tax in question was the kensos, a poll tax levied by Rome on all individuals in the provinces. It was a deeply hated tax, not just for the financial burden, but because it was a tangible symbol of their subjugation to a pagan empire. To pay it was to acknowledge Caesar's lordship. The trap was perfectly set. If Jesus said, "Yes, it is lawful," He would be discredited before the patriotic crowds as a Roman sympathizer, a traitor to the Jewish people. If He said, "No, it is not lawful," the Herodians in the group would have immediate grounds to report Him to Pontius Pilate as a revolutionary, an insurrectionist stirring up rebellion against Rome.

18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?

Jesus refuses to play their game. He immediately rips the mask off their faces. He knows their "wickedness," their malicious intent. He is not fooled by their syrupy flattery. He addresses them for what they are: "hypocrites." A hypocrite is an actor, someone playing a part. They were pretending to be sincere inquirers, but He sees the murderous hatred in their hearts. His question, "Why are you testing Me?" is not a request for information but a public exposure of their plot. He is turning the tables, putting them on trial before He even answers their question.

19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius.

This is a brilliant move. He forces them to become props in His object lesson. By asking them for the coin, He demonstrates that they are the ones who possess it and use it. They are already implicated in the very system they are pretending to question. The fact that they can readily produce a denarius, a Roman coin with its blasphemous imagery and inscriptions, shows that they have already made their practical peace with Roman rule. They are carrying Caesar's image in their pockets.

20 And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Jesus directs their attention to the two key features of the coin: the "likeness" (eikon, or image) and the inscription. Ancient coinage was a declaration of sovereignty. The ruler's image on a coin signified that the territory where it circulated belonged to him. The inscription reinforced this claim, often with divine titles. Jesus is forcing them to state the obvious, to acknowledge the de facto reality of Caesar's rule in their daily economic lives.

21 They said to Him, “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.”

Their one-word answer, "Caesar's," springs the trap on themselves. Jesus' conclusion then follows with irrefutable logic. The word "render" (apodote) means to give back what is due, to pay a debt or obligation. Since the coin belongs to Caesar, bears his image, and is part of his system, then give it back to him when he demands it in taxes. This part of the answer satisfied the Herodians and gave the Romans no grounds for accusation.

But the second half of the statement is the theological thunderclap: "and to God the things that are God's." If the principle is that you render to someone that which bears their image, then what bears God's image? Man does. You do. So give yourselves to God. Your money may belong to Caesar, but your life, your allegiance, your worship, your children, everything that constitutes your being as one made in God's image, belongs to God. This was a radical rebuke to the Pharisees, who were meticulously rendering their mint and cumin to God but were withholding their own hearts. It establishes that Caesar's claim is limited and derivative, while God's claim is absolute and total.

22 And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away.

Their reaction is telling. They "marveled." They were astonished, dumbfounded by the wisdom of His answer. He had not only escaped their trap but had done so in a way that was unanswerable, profound, and deeply convicting. They had come as hunters, but they left as defeated men. They had no reply. Their conspiracy was shattered, and their only option was to retreat in silence, their wicked plot exposed and their intellectual pride completely deflated.

Application

This passage is of perennial importance for Christians as we navigate our dual citizenship. We are citizens of an earthly nation, and we are citizens of the heavenly kingdom. Jesus teaches us that these two citizenships are not inherently contradictory. We have obligations to the civil magistrate. We are to pay our taxes, obey just laws, and honor the offices of authority, because that authority is established by God (Romans 13:1). Caesar is God's deacon, whether he knows it or not.

However, our ultimate allegiance is always to God. The state's authority is limited. It has a claim on our coins, but not on our conscience. It can command our civic duty, but not our worship. The central political-theological error of the modern age is the state's attempt to erase the second half of Jesus' command. The secular state wants to claim not only the things that are Caesar's, but the things that are God's as well. It wants to educate our children in its own image, to redefine marriage, to regulate the church, and to be the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong.

When Caesar stamps his image on things that bear God's image, like human life, the family, and the church, he oversteps his authority, and our duty is to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Our task is to wisely and courageously live out the implications of bearing God's image. This means rendering to Caesar his due, taxes, honor, and obedience in his proper sphere. But it also means joyfully and absolutely rendering our whole selves, our families, and our worship to God, who alone is Lord.