LISTEN
New American Standard Bible:
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”
New Living Translation:
“Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
New King James Version:
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
New International Version:
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Amplified Bible:
They said, “[The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”
Context:
The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus in Matthew 22 by asking whether paying taxes to Caesar (the emperor of Rome) was lawful according to God. They thought they had tricked him, but his answer astounded them.
Observations:
Caesar’s image was on the Roman coin. So, Jesus made a distinction between the things bearing Caesar’s image and those bearing God’s image. He said to thus render to the appropriate authority.
Application:
Caesar’s image can be extrapolated out to our world. Not just our currency, but we should render unto this world the things that belong to this world. And that includes paying our taxes.
But, we do not render the things of God to this world – namely, ourselves, since we are made in the very image of God. We render those to him.
