Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 22:21

"They say unto him, Caesar`s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar`s; and unto God the things that are God`s." — Matthew 22:21 (ASV)

Render therefore unto Caesar — As far as the immediate question was concerned, this was an answer in the affirmative. It recognized the principle that accepting the emperor’s coinage was an admission of his de facto sovereignty. But the words that followed raised the discussion to a higher level, implicitly asserting that this admission did not interfere with the people's true spiritual freedom or their religious duties.

They could still “render to God the things that were His”—that is:

1. the tithes, tribute, and offerings which belonged to the polity and worship that were the appointed witnesses of His sovereignty; and
2. the faith, love, and obedience which were due to Him from every Israelite.

The principle these words contain was obviously wider in its range than the specific occasion to which it was applied. In all questions of real or apparent collision between secular authority and spiritual freedom, the former claims obedience as a de facto ordinance of God, up to the limit where it encroaches on the rights of conscience and prevents people from worshipping and serving Him.

Loyal obedience in things that are indifferent on the part of the subject, and generous tolerance on the part of the state (such as the Roman empire exercised toward the religion of Israel at this time), were the two correlative elements upon which social order and freedom depended. Questions might arise, as they have in all ages of the Church, about whether the limit has or has not been crossed in this or that instance. For these situations, the principle does not—and in the nature of things could not—provide a direct answer.

What it does prescribe is that all such questions should be approached with an attitude that seeks to reconcile the two obligations, not one that exaggerates and perpetuates their antagonism. Least of all does it sanction identifying the claims of any particular form of ecclesiastical polity with “the things that are God’s.”