Luke 20:19

And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be religious, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they say, Caesar's. And he said unto them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. Parallels: Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17.

The purpose of the leaders was clearly stated by Luke in this paragraph. They planned to trip Jesus up with a dilemma. If Jesus said it was unlawful to give tribute to Caesar, he might have lost much of his popular following; and if the Pharisees could have turned the vast multitudes away from Christ, they could have killed him without causing the uproar they feared. On the other hand, if he said that it was not lawful to give tribute to Caesar, they were planning to prefer charges before the Roman governor against him as a seditionist, that is, a man rebelling against lawful authority and forbidding the people to pay taxes.

The hypocrisy of the leaders is seen in the spies and their flattering approach to Jesus, but his omniscience is seen in the perfect understanding of his questioners and their wicked devices.

Kings and rulers in all ages, as well as all governments, held that the coinage of the realm was the property of the issuing authority. This is still true today in the United States of America. Thus Christ's reaction to this trick question was: (1) to establish that Caesar's coinage was in circulation, which he did by inquiring for a coin; (2) then to point out that it could not be wrong to "give back" to Caesar that which was already his! The powerful thrust of this is implicit in two words that surfaced in the confrontation. The Pharisees spoke of "paying" tribute; Jesus spoke of "giving back" what already belonged to the central authority! (3) Next, he took a step forward from this and demanded that those hypocrites also "give back" to God what was his, namely the temple which they had usurped and made a den of robbers, and themselves, created in God's image, they should "give back" to God. The ages have not diminished the glory of this astounding answer.

IV. One is a little surprised at the Sadducees appearing in this cabal against the Lord; and the desperation of the Pharisees' case is evident in their including those old enemies of theirs in the contest. This was due to the fact that the Sadducees were the stronger political party, holding most of the high offices, including that of high priest; and these were in fact, the principal architects in the plot to kill Jesus. At any rate, they tried their luck against the Lord of Life.