Mark 12:14

14 And [when they] came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people} but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"

Mark 12:14 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:14

And when they were come
Unto Jesus in the temple:

they said unto him, master;
they saluted him in like manner, as they did their doctors and Rabbins, calling him "Rabbi", though they were not his disciples; but one part of them were the disciples of the Pharisees, and the other had Herod for their master;

we know that thou art true;
an honest, sincere, and upright man,

and carest for no man, for thou regardest not the person of men;
no, not Caesar himself;

but teachest the way of God in truth;
instructest men in the word, will, and worship of God, with all integrity and faithfulness; answer therefore this question,

is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?
The Syriac and Persic versions read, "head money"; and so it is read in Beza's most ancient copy; a tax that was levied on the heads of families; or on every particular head in a family; (See Gill on Matthew 22:16), (See Gill on Matthew 22:17).

Mark 12:14 In-Context

12 And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him [and] went away.

13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement.

14 And [when they] came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people} but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"

15 But [because he] knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at [it]!"

16 So they brought [one]. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?" And they said to him, "Caesar's."

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("came") which is understood as temporal
• [b]. Literally "it is not a care to you concerning anyone"
• [c]. Literally "because you do not look at the face of men"