Luke 20:24

24 “Show Me a denarius. [a] Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

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 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,
24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.
25 So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. A denarius was customarily a day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.
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