Luke 20:24

24 "Show me a denarius! Whose name and picture does it have?" "The Emperor's," they replied.

Luke 20:24 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:24

Show me a penny
A Roman denarius, value seven pence halfpenny of our money. The Persic version adds, "they showed it, he asked of them"; and the Ethiopic version, "and they brought it, and he said unto them", as follows;

whose image and superscription hath it?
for the penny had an head upon it, with something written, as the name of the emperor, whose image it was, his titles, the date of the coin, or some motto on it:

they answered and said, Caesar's;
very likely Tiberius Caesar's, who was at that time emperor of Rome; (See Gill on Matthew 22:20) and (See Gill on Matthew 22:21).

Luke 20:24 In-Context

22 Does Torah permit us to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?"
23 But he, spotting their craftiness, said to them,
24 "Show me a denarius! Whose name and picture does it have?" "The Emperor's," they replied.
25 "Then," he said to them, "give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give God what belongs to God!"
26 They were unable to trap him by anything he said publicly; indeed, amazed at his answer, they fell silent.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.