What does Luke 20:24 mean?
Jesus is defusing a trap set by His enemies. The Pharisees and chief priests are upset about a parable Jesus has recently given. His gist was that these religious leaders were going to kill God's Son—Jesus—and God was going to destroy them and give their authority to someone else. Adding insult to injury, Jesus made this declaration to a crowd of the very people the religious leaders think should be listening to them. In response, the leaders have planted some of their own disciples to join the mass of people listening to Jesus' teaching. They're looking for an opportunity to get Jesus to say something that will get Him arrested (Luke 20:9–20; Matthew 22:15–16).The set-up is subtle. The planted spy first gushes about Jesus' integrity and wisdom. Then he asks a question that seems like an opening to a harmless philosophical debate: should the Jews pay the Roman census tax (Luke 20:21–22)? This is the Passover when Jewish men need to pay half a shekel for the temple tax. How is it right that they should have to pay Caesar?
Jesus knows what's going on. The underlying question isn't about taxes; it's about whether Jews must respect Caesar's authority. If Jesus simply tells them they need to pay the tax, He will appear to approve Rome's occupation of the Promised Land, rejecting the idea that Israel should be free. If He simply says Jews should not pay the tax, He's calling on Jews to break Roman law. Either way, He's speaking in front of a crowd of witnesses.
Jesus asks for a coin. Ideally, Jews of that era would only do business with shekels. Roman coins, like the denarius, were imprinted with the faces of royalty, far too like a graven image for Jewish tastes. But the coin is presented immediately, showing that members of the crowd do use Roman coins. They need these for daily trade. They also use Roman roads and enjoy the Pax Romana—the relative peace in the Roman Empire that makes trade and travel possible. It is because they use Roman coins that the money changers were on the Temple Mount; Jewish people didn't even carry the half shekels they needed to pay the temple tax.
Jesus says, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Luke 20:25). He's telling them they owe Caesar. They owe the local secular government for what it does making it possible to carry such coins. But He also says the people must give "to God the things that are God's" (Luke 20:25). They enjoy the privileges of living in the Roman Empire, but they are also responsible for worshiping and obeying God.
Part of Jesus' response is a challenge. Do the people really do this? Or do they merely come to Jerusalem for the Passover when they must, but live like pagan Romans the rest of the year?
