Luke 20:24

24 "Show me a coin. Now, this engraving, who does it look like and what does it say?"

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 Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
23 He knew they were laying for him and said,
24 "Show me a coin. Now, this engraving, who does it look like and what does it say?"
25 "Caesar," they said. Jesus said, "Then give Caesar what is his and give God what is his."
26 Try as they might, they couldn't trap him into saying anything incriminating. His answer caught them off guard and left them speechless.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.