The Pharisees ask Jesus about taxes
15 After the Pharisees heard this, they met together. They decided what they could do to make Jesus say something wrong. Then they would have a reason to take hold of him. 16 So they sent their own disciples to Jesus. They also sent people who were friends of King Herod. They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that you only say true things. You teach us what God wants us to do. It does not matter to you what other people think. If someone is important, you do not change your answers to make them happy. 17 So tell us your answer to this question: Should we pay our taxes to the Roman ruler, Caesar? Is it right to give that money to him, or not?’
22:17Caesar was the most important Roman ruler. He lived in Rome, their capital city. In Jesus' time, the Romans ruled over many other countries.
18 Jesus knew that these men wanted to do a wicked thing. So he said to them, ‘You are asking that question to cause trouble for me. You are not being honest! 19 Now, show me the coin that you use for the tax.’
So they brought a coin to him. 20 Then Jesus asked them, ‘Whose picture is on this coin? Whose name is on it?’
21 They replied, ‘It is Caesar's picture and Caesar's name.’
Jesus said to them, ‘So you should give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. And give to God the things that belong to God.’
22 When they heard Jesus' answer, they were very surprised. So they left him and they went away.
