Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Shew me the tribute money,.... Not any money, or any sort of coin that was current among them; but that in which the tribute was usually paid, which was Roman money: and they brought unto him a penny; not as, being what was the usual sum that was paid for tribute at one time, but as a sample of what sort of money it was...
Verse 17. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar? Tribute was the tax paid to the Roman government. Caesar. The Roman emperor. The name Caesar, after the time of Julius Caesar, became common to all the emperors, as Pharaoh was the common name of all the kings of Egypt.
Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (5) The Christians must obey their magistrates, even though they are wicked and extortioners, but only in as much as is in agreement with the commandments of God, and only in as much as his honour is not diminished.