A sermon preached by at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on September 20, 2026.
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent (Luke 20:19–26).[1]
In the preceding passage, Jesus told a parable about a vineyard leased to rebellious tenants who violently rejected the owner’s sent servants and who ultimately murdered the owner’s son. It’s a tragic parable, telling the story of Israel’s rebellion, the rejection of God’s messengers, and now the planned rejection and death of God’s Son. And the parable concludes with a prophetic word from Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (20:17). Which raises the question: Who are these builders who reject the very stone God has chosen to be the cornerstone?
Our passage today answers this question, at least in part: “The scribes and the chief priests . . . perceived that [Jesus] had told this parable against them” (20:19). Notice, they are not confused about what Jesus has said. They understand that he is speaking about them. But like the tenants in the parable, rather than pausing to consider the charge, its truth, or its consequences, they continue in their determined pursuit of destroying Jesus. Luke tells us that they wanted to lay hands on him “at that very hour, but “they feared the people” (20:19).
This is not the first time Luke has told us about the weight of public opinion upon Israel’s leaders. At the end of the last chapter, Luke tells us, when Jesus was teaching daily in the temple, “The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words” (19:47-48). And when Jesus asked them if John’s baptism was “from heaven or from man?” they refused to answer honestly because they feared the response of the people (20:3-8). So, if they are to destroy Jesus, they would have to do so by deception.
“So,” Luke tells us, “they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor” (20:20). Constrained by their fear of the people, they now seek to entrap Jesus by turning his own words against him and placing him at odds with Roman authority. Their trap comes, as J.C. Ryle puts it, in the form of “a question eminently calculated to entangle anyone who attempted to answer it”: “Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (20:22). The “tribute to Caesar” was the despised poll tax paid annually to Rome, a tangible reminder that Israel lived under Roman rule.
The question is carefully designed to place Jesus in what appears to be an impossible position. If he answers it is not lawful to pay the Roman tax, then he may be accused of sedition against Rome. If he answers it is lawful, they hope to discredit him among the people who resented Roman rule. Either way Jesus answers, they assume he loses.
But Jesus will not accept the terms of their question. They want to know whether something belongs to Caesar. Jesus will force them, and us, to consider what belongs to God.
But before we come to Jesus’ answer, notice first the hypocrisy revealed in the question itself.
The Hypocrisy God Sees (19-23)
Luke tells us that the scribes and chief priests “watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere.” They were not listening to Jesus in order to learn from him but hoping to “catch him in something he said” (20:20). Notice how carefully they disguise their true intent. They approach Jesus with flattery: You “speak and teach rightly.” You “show no partiality.” You “truly teach the way of God.” (20:21) And everything they say about Jesus is true. They confess the truth about Jesus with their mouths while plotting against him in their hearts. They speak with dishonest intentions. Let us then take note: it is possible to say true things about Jesus without truly believing in him and submitting to him.
But none of this is hidden from Christ. Luke tells us that Jesus “perceived their craftiness” (20:23). They may deceive the crowds, but they cannot deceive the Lord. Their words say, “Teacher,” but they have no intention of being taught. They appear sincere, but Christ sees the heart beneath the appearance.
And this should serve as a caution for us all. It is quite easy to recognize hypocrisy in people who opposed Jesus two thousand years ago. It is much harder to recognize the same divided heart in ourselves. We may confess the Creed, know our Catechism, and believe the Confession. We may study the Bible faithfully, pray consistently, worship regularly, and serve the church diligently. And all of these are good things. But none of them, by themselves, guarantee an undivided heart before Christ.
We too may say true things about Jesus while quietly reserving some portion of life from his rule. We may acknowledge his authority in our doctrine while resisting it in our desires. We may confess him publicly while protecting some private ambition, habit, resentment, or allegiance from his claim. But the Christ who perceived their craftiness perceives ours as well. We may deceive one another. We cannot deceive the Lord. Let us then seek to live our lives Coram Deo, before the face of God.
Interestingly, Jesus does not refuse to answer their dishonest question. Their motives are false, but the question itself raises a legitimate issue: What does the servant of God owe to earthly authority? And so, despite the hypocrisy of the questioners, Jesus answers their question.
The Authority God Ordains (24-25)
How does Jesus respond to their hypocrisy? He says, “Show me a denarius,” the Roman coin used to pay the tax. Apparently, they have one and produce it. Jesus asks, “Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They answer, “Caesar’s” (20:24). And with the denarius before them, Jesus gives one of the most memorable answers in Scripture: “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (20:25).
Jesus’ answer is brilliant in brevity, but he does more than escape their trap. He acknowledges that Caesar has a legitimate claim. The coin bears Caesar’s likeness and inscription, circulates under Caesar’s government, and is used to pay Caesar’s tax. Jesus says, in effect, give back what is properly due: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
But the first half of Jesus’ answer cannot be understood apart from the second. We render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s because Caesar himself stands under the authority of God. The apostle Paul explains this in Romans 13: “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom. 13:1a). Civil authority, then, is not autonomous authority. It is delegated authority. Caesar has authority because God has granted it.
To be clear, the government under which Jesus lived was not Christian, democratic, constitutional, or particularly gentle. Yet, Jesus says there are things Caesar is legitimately owed. Our submission to lawful authority does not depend upon our admiration for the authority but God’s ordination of it. We pay taxes, obey lawful commands, show proper honor, and pray for those in authority, not because civil government is ultimate but because God is. In this sense, even our submission to Caesar is finally an act of submission to God.
Yet, the same statement that legitimizes Caesar’s authority also limits it. Caesar is under God; he is not instead of God. Civil authority is real, but it is not absolute. The state may rightly require what God has authorized it to require. But when human authority demands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, it has exceeded the bounds of its authority.
Ordinarily, then, Christians, should be conspicuously respectful and law-abiding citizens. We should not be known for contempt toward lawful authority. Nor should we treat political authority as though it were ultimate. Caesar must be given what is Caesar’s. But Caesar must never be given what belongs to God.
And this brings us to the greater claim in Jesus’ answer. The question before him was whether Caesar had any legitimate claim upon them. Jesus says that he does. But then he turns their attention to the claim that is greater, prior, and comprehensive.
The Allegiance God Demands (25-26)
It is the second half of verse 25 that carries us to the heart of Jesus’ answer: “and to God the things that are God’s.” The denarius bears Caesar’s image, but you and I bear God’s. At creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). While Caesar may lay claim to his coin, God lays claim to his imager-bearers.
Now consider Jesus’ answer in light of this. If we are to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s,” what belongs to God? You do. I do. We do.
And this truth changes the way we understand everything else. Even the things we render to Caesar are rendered under the sovereign lordship of God. This is why the thirteenth chapter of Romans begins not with Caesar but God. And this is why the Christian life cannot finally be divided into neat categories of sacred and secular. All of your life and my life belongs to God.
God does not merely claim our Sunday, our worship, our tithe, or our religious convictions. We belong to him: Our minds and bodies, our marriages and families, our work and possessions, our citizenship and ambitions, our time and our future. To borrow from Isaac Watts, he “demands my soul, my life, my all.”[2]
But here is the tragedy of sin: though we bear God’s image, we have not rendered to God what belongs to him. The image of God in us has been marred by sin. We were made to live under God’s rule and to exercise dominion for his glory. Instead, in Adam, we became rebels against God whose image we bear. But the Fall is not the end of the story. We bear God’s image by creation, and in Christ, we have also been purchased by redemption. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. [3]
While Israel’s leaders refuse to give God what belongs to God, Christ gave himself up for us. He rendered the perfect obedience we have failed to render. And then he gave himself up for hypocrites, rebels, and sinners like you and me. The One who demands our allegiance is the One who gave himself for our redemption.
Luke tells us that when Jesus had answered them, “they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent” (20:26). They came hoping to trap Jesus with his words. Instead, his words exposed them. They came hoping to silence him. Instead, he silenced them. And yet, their silence is not faith. They marvel at his answer, but they do not submit to him. Which reminds us that it is possible to be impressed by Jesus without belonging to Jesus. It is possible to admire his wisdom while resisting his lordship.
But this need not be our response. We may hear his words and bow before the truth they reveal. Caesar may have his coin, but God claims the man. The image of Caesar may be stamped upon a denarius. The image of God is stamped upon you.
So, render to Caesar what God has ordained that Caesar receive. But never render to Caesar what belongs only to God. And above all, render to God what belongs to God. For, you are his by creation, and through faith in Christ, you are his by redemption. The things that belong to God are not some things but all things. And they include you.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
(Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] Isaac Watts, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” https://hymnary.org/text/when_i_survey_the_wondrous_
cross_watts.
[3] 1 Cor. 6:19-20
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