Render Unto Caesar
“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” Matthew 22:20 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus asks, 'Whose picture and name are on this coin?'
It seems like a simple question, but Jesus is setting up one of the most brilliant answers ever given.
Jesus asks a question everyone can answer, but the implications run deep.
They look at the coin. The answer is obvious. But Jesus is about to give those obvious facts a meaning no one expected.
Jesus asks whose image (eikōn) and inscription (epigraphē) are on the coin — the denarius bore the image of Tiberius Caesar with an inscription claiming his divinity.
The word eikōn ('image') resonates with Genesis 1:27, where humans bear God's image — setting up a profound theological contrast between Caesar's image on coins and God's image on people.
Jesus poses a question whose answer contains the key to His response.
Jesus draws attention to the coin's image and inscription, preparing to make a distinction that transcends the political trap entirely.
18But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
19Show Me the coin used for the tax.”
20“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”
21“Caesar’s,” they answered.
22And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.
Read all of Matthew 22 — A wedding banquet, a trick question about taxes, and the greatest commandment — Jesus outmaneuvers every trap set for him.
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