Luke 20:24

24 "Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

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 He detected their trickery and said to them,

24 "Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

25 And He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

26 And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.

Footnotes

• [a] The denarius was a day's wages
• [b] Lit "image"