Matthew 22

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:17

Tell us therefore. Because you are so truthful and impartial, give us your unprejudiced opinion about the following much-disputed question. These people assume to be simple-minded inquirers, who came to Jesus to have a perplexity resolved. St. Luke gives their real character, "They sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words." Is it lawful ( ἐ ì ξεστι ) to give tribute ( κῆνσον , censure ) unto Caesar, or not? The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:18

Wickedness . The malice and hypocrisy which prompted the inquiry. Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? They were hypocrites because they falsely assumed the guise of conscientious men, who had no sinister motive, and desired merely to hear the decision of a much-esteemed Rabbi. Christ's words proved in a moment that he saw through them, understood the meaning of the temptation to which they had subjected him—how they were trying to involve him in a political difficulty, from which they deemed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:19

The tribute money; το Ì νο ì μισμα τοῦ κη ì νσου : the coin of the tribute; that is, the coin in which the tribute was paid. The reply to the question was wholly unexpected. The Pharisaic "disciples" had hoped that Christ would have taken part against the Herodians; but he gives no decision about the matter in dispute, such as they desired. He virtually rebukes their dissimulation, and makes their own action supply the verdict which they demanded. Not seeing the drift of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:20

Image and superscription. The figure and inscription on the denarius. Jesus takes the coin, and points to it as he speaks. It must have borne a likeness of the emperor, and,therefore, as Edersheim remarks, must have been either a foreign one (Roman) or possibly one of the Tetrareh Philip, who on some of his coins introduced the image of Tiberius. The coins struck by the Romans in or for Palestine had, in accommodation to Jewish prejudices, no representation of any personage upon them. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:21

Caesar's . They are constrained to answer that the coin bears the effigy of the Roman emperor. Render ( ἀπο ì δοτε , give back, as a due) therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's ( τα Ì Και ì σαρος ) . Rabbinism ruled that the right of coinage appertained to the ruler of a state, and was a proof of de facto government, which it was unlawful to resist. The current coin, which they used in their daily transactions, showed that the Jews were no longer... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:21

Christ keeping to his province. The coin produced was probably a silver denarius of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and it bore on its face the head of the emperor, and had an inscription running round it, containing his name and titles. To understand how this question was intended to entangle Christ, we must remember that the Mosaic injunction, "Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee" ( Deuteronomy 17:15 ), was made by the rabbis to mean that they must not pay tribute to any foreign... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:22

They marvelled. Well might they marvel. Their carefully laid plot, which had seemed so irresistible, was utterly frustrated. The view of the relations of Church and state set forth by Christ was novel and incomprehensible. Hitherto the two provinces had been considered identical. The emperor, as we see impressed on his coins, was Pontifex Maximus; the Jewish priesthood had a political character, and the civil power was its instrument. In Christ's theory the spheres were distinct and not to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23

The same day; on that day. This is still the Tuesday in the Holy Week. The Sadducees. There is no definite article here in the original. Which say; οἱλε Ì γοντες . Many good manuscripts and some modern editors (Laehmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort) read λε ì γοντες , "saying." The received reading historically describes the Sadducees' opinions; the other makes them come boldly stating their sentiments. Where authorities are pretty evenly balanced, we must... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23

Denial of resurrection as a sign of mental mood. "The Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection." It does not appear how their question helped the entanglement scheme. Possibly the design was to secure a statement that could be declared to oppose Moses' Law. This would discredit him with the people; and it might be made the ground of a formal condemnation by the Sanhedrin, which the temple officials would have to execute, and so Christ would be got rid of. The point before us now... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23-33

Third attack : The Sadducees and the resurrection. ( Mark 12:18-27 ; Luke 20:27-40 .) read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:22

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 22:23-33

Verse of the Day

Daily Devotional

Group of Brands