The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(A)

^20 (B)So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

²¹ Then they asked Him, saying, ^(C)“Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ^[a]“Why do you test Me? ²⁴ Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵ And He said to them, ^(D)“Render^[b] therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

Persecutions Are Coming^(A)

^16 (B)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^(C)Therefore be wise as serpents and ^(D)harmless^[a] as doves.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(A)

^15 (B)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶ And they sent to Him their disciples with the ^(C)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not ^[a]regard the person of men. ¹⁷ Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus ^[b]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, ^(D)“Render^[c] therefore to Caesar the things that are ^(E)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are ^(F)God’s.” ²² When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(A)

^13 (B)Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and ^[a]care about no one; for You do not ^[b]regard the person of men, but teach the ^(C)way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their ^(D)hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶ So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, ^[c]“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to ^(E)God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

Living Before the World

¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts ^(A)which war against the soul, ^12 (B)having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(C)they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Submission to Government^(D)

^13 (E)Therefore submit yourselves to every ^[a]ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ^16 (F)as free, yet not ^(G)using liberty as a cloak for ^[b]vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear ^(H)God. Honor the king.

Submission to Masters^(I)

^18 (J)Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹ For this is ^(K)commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰ For ^(L)what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹ For ^(M)to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for ^[c]us, ^(N)leaving ^[d]us an example, that you should follow His steps:

^23 (P)who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but ^(Q)committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ^24 (R)who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, ^(S)that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—^(T)by whose ^[e]stripes you were healed. ²⁵ For ^(U)you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned ^(V)to the Shepherd and ^[f]Overseer of your souls.

Submit to Government

13 Let every soul be ^(A)subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists ^(B)the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will ^[a]bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? ^(C)Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore ^(D)you must be subject, not only because of wrath ^(E)but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ^7 (F)Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Love Your Neighbor^(G)

⁸ Owe no one anything except to love one another, for ^(H)he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(I)“You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” ^[b]“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ^(J)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore ^(K)love is the fulfillment of the law.