Matthew 22
15Then the Pharisees having gone, took counsel how they might ensnare him in words, 16and they send to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we have known that thou art true, and the way of God in truth thou dost teach, and thou art not caring for any one, for thou dost not look to the face of men; 17tell us, therefore, what dost thou think? is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?’ 18And Jesus having known their wickedness, said, ‘Why me do ye tempt, hypocrites? 19show me the tribute-coin?’ and they brought to him a denary; 20and he saith to them, ‘Whose [is] this image and the inscription?’ 21they say to him, ‘Caesar’s;’ then saith he to them, ‘Render therefore the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;’ 22and having heard they wondered, and having left him they went away.
pertinent to the op and keeping that other topic (the fasces etal) in view. apologies to dr e for my vagueness. i'd love to spill the beans all at once but then it wouldn't come out right. I think you and Grizzly misidentify the cause of the systems you each alluded to / described
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 22:21 f. “There He catches them in their own trap,” Luther. The pointing to the image and inscription furnishes the questioners with ocular demonstration of the actual existence and practical recognition of Caesar’s sway, and from these Jesus infers not merely the lawfulness, but the duty of paying to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (namely, the money, which shows, by the stamp it bears, the legitimacy of the existing rule);
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 22:21. ἀπόδοτε, the ordinary word for paying dues (Meyer), yet there is point in Chrysostom’s remark: οὐ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο δοῦναι, ἀλλʼ ἀποδοῦναι· καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς εἰκόνος, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς δείκνυται (H. lxx.). The image and inscription showed that giving (Matthew 22:17) tribute to Caesar was only giving back to him his own.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21. Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s] The Jewish doctors laid down the principle that “He is king whose coin passes current.” St Paul expands this principle, which underlies our Lord’s answer (Romans 13:1 foll. Cp. also 1 Peter 2:13-17). Render = “pay back as due.”
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 21. - Caesar's. They are constrained to answer that the coin bears the effigy of the Roman emperor. Render (ἀπόδοτε, give back, as a due) therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's (τὰ Καίσαρος). Rabbinism ruled that the right of coinage appertained to the ruler of a state, and was a proof of de facto government, which it was unlawful to resist. The current coin, which they used in their daily transactions, showed that the Jews were no longer independent, but set under and acquiescing in a foreign domination. Being subjects of Caesar, it was their duty to submit to his demands, and to pay the taxes which he had a right to levy. This was an answer to the insidious question propounded. Christ does not take either side in the controversy; he makes no question of the mutual rights of conquered and conquerors; he utters no aspiration for the recovery of independence; he uses facts as they are, and points to habitual practice as a sufficient solution of the difficulty. No reply could be wiser or simpler. Herein he gives a lesson for all time. No plea of religion can hold good against obedience to lawful authority. "Render to all their dues," says St. Paul (Romans 13:7): "tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." The things that are God's; τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. The things of God arc ourselves - our life, powers, faculties, means; to use these in God's service is our duty and our privilege.
