Luke 20 24

Luke 20:24 kjv

Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.

Luke 20:24 nkjv

Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's."

Luke 20:24 niv

"Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" "Caesar's," they replied.

Luke 20:24 esv

"Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

Luke 20:24 nlt

"Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" "Caesar's," they replied.

Luke 20 verses

Luke 20 24 Meaning

Luke 20:24 is a pivotal moment where Jesus cleverly evades a political trap set by the religious authorities, demonstrating His divine wisdom. He requests a common Roman coin, a denarius, and then asks whose image and inscription are on it. The immediate reply, "Caesar's," directly leads to His profound statement about rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This verse establishes the factual basis for Jesus's teaching on the dual obligations of believers to both civil government and God. It highlights the authorities' complicity in using Roman currency, thus implicitly acknowledging Roman rule, even while they sought to undermine Jesus by exploiting the tension surrounding Roman taxation.

Luke 20 24 Context

Luke chapter 20 begins with the chief priests, scribes, and elders challenging Jesus's authority after He had purged the temple. Following a parable demonstrating the religious leaders' rejection of God's authority (the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers), they seek to ensnare Jesus with a difficult question. The specific question leading to verse 24 concerns paying tribute to Caesar. This was a highly volatile political and religious issue in Judea, under Roman occupation. Jews were divided: some zealously opposed paying taxes to a pagan ruler whose coinage bore a graven image and blasphemous divine claims; others, like the Herodians (allied with King Herod, who favored Rome), supported it. By asking this, they hoped to force Jesus to either side with Rome (alienating the Jewish populace) or defy Rome (leading to His arrest for sedition). Jesus, recognizing their malice and hypocrisy, turns the tables on them with His request for the denarius.

Luke 20 24 Word analysis

• Δείξατέ μοι (Deixaté moi): "Show me." This imperative phrase immediately shifts the burden onto the questioners. Jesus does not ask "Do we pay tribute?" directly, but rather, by asking for the coin, He forces His accusers to produce the evidence of their own entanglement with Roman authority and its symbols. This highlights their hypocrisy; they condemn payment but readily carry the very coin for everyday commerce.
• δηνάριον (denarion): "a denarius." This was a common Roman silver coin, equivalent to a day's wage for a laborer. Crucially, it was the coin specifically required for the annual imperial head tax levied on adult males. It typically bore the image (Latin: imago) and inscription of the reigning emperor. For Emperor Tiberius (ruling during Jesus's ministry), the inscription often read "TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS" (Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus), asserting his divine lineage, which was highly offensive to pious Jews.
• τίνος (tinos): "Whose?" This interrogative pronoun immediately focuses on ownership or origin, setting up the critical distinction between Caesar and God.
• εἰκὼν (eikōn): "image," "likeness," "figure." In this context, it refers to the engraved portrait of Emperor Tiberius on the coin. The concept of "image" is profoundly significant in biblical theology, particularly referring to humanity being created in God's eikōn (Gen 1:26-27). This subtly contrasts the temporal image of a human ruler with the eternal image of God stamped upon every human being.
• καὶ (kai): "and." Connects "image" and "inscription," indicating both visual and textual elements on the coin were relevant.
• ἐπιγραφή (epigraphē): "inscription," "written legend." This refers to the text accompanying the image, which contained the emperor's name, titles, and sometimes his claimed divine parentage. This inscription carried not just political authority but also deeply offensive blasphemous claims from a Jewish perspective, making the coin's use a religious compromise for many.
• Καίσαρος (Kaisaros): "Caesar's." This refers to Emperor Tiberius. "Caesar" was both a family name and, by this time, a title adopted by Roman emperors. Their reply is simple and factual, yet it becomes the very lever Jesus uses to challenge their perspective. Their admission acknowledges Caesar's temporal authority as represented by the coinage in circulation, which they themselves possessed and used.

Luke 20 24 Bonus section

• Irony and Hypocrisy: The religious leaders who tried to trap Jesus were themselves carrying and using the very coins they implicitly claimed violated God's law regarding idolatry. Jesus's request exposed their hypocrisy and practical acknowledgement of Caesar's temporal authority.
• Teaching through objects: Jesus often used common, everyday objects (like coins, seeds, bread, vineyards) to convey profound spiritual truths, making His lessons accessible and memorable.
• Divine vs. Human Image: The subtle interplay between the eikōn (image) of Caesar on the coin and the biblical truth that humanity is made in God's eikōn adds layers of meaning to Jesus's subsequent statement. While coins bear Caesar's image and thus belong to Caesar, humans bear God's image and therefore belong to God. This deeper understanding underscores humanity's ultimate allegiance and purpose.

Luke 20 24 Commentary

Luke 20:24 is not merely an astute dodging of a trap but a profound theological statement. By asking for the coin and identifying "Caesar's" image and inscription, Jesus forces the religious leaders to confront their own complicity in the Roman system they publicly condemned (regarding taxes) yet privately embraced (by using Roman currency). His simple question about the coin’s attributes served to acknowledge the undeniable reality of Roman dominion over Judea and its economy.

The image on the coin symbolized the emperor's ownership and authority. For pious Jews, this was fraught with religious implications, given the commandment against graven images and the emperor's claims of divinity. Jesus, in this simple act, exposed their trap, not by debating the tax itself, but by bringing to light the symbol of the authority under which they operated and from which they drew practical benefits. The immediate answer, "Caesar's," became the premise for Jesus's revolutionary teaching: "Then render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Luke 20:25). This wisdom distinguishes the spheres of temporal and spiritual allegiance, acknowledging legitimate civil authority while prioritizing one's ultimate obligation to God, especially concerning the "image" we bear – not of Caesar, but of God Himself. It subtly implies that just as the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image, humanity, bearing God's image, ultimately belongs to God.