Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 22:15-22

"Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in [his] talk. And they send to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a denarius. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 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. And when they heard it, they marvelled, and left him, and went away." — Matthew 22:15-22 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Just as when someone tries to dam a flowing stream, as soon as one outlet is blocked, it carves out another channel for itself; so the malevolence of the Jews, when foiled in one attempt, sought another course.

Then the Pharisees went to the Herodians. Such was the plan, and such were the planners. They sent their disciples to Him with the Herodians.

Glossa Ordinaria: Since they were unknown to Him, they were more likely to ensnare Him. Through them, they hoped to capture Him—something they were afraid to do themselves because of the crowd.¹

St. Jerome: Recently, under Caesar Augustus, Judea had been made a tributary state subject to the Romans when the census of the whole world was taken. This caused a great division among the people. Some argued that tribute should be paid to the Romans in return for the security and peace their armies maintained for all.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, self-satisfied in their own righteousness, contended that the people of God—who paid tithes, gave first-fruits, and did all the other things written in the Law—should not be subject to human laws.

Augustus had appointed Herod, son of Antipater, a foreigner and a proselyte, as king of the Jews. He was to collect the tribute while remaining subject to Roman rule. The Pharisees, therefore, sent their disciples with the Herodians—that is, with Herod's soldiers, or perhaps those whom the Pharisees mockingly called Herodians because they paid tribute to the Romans and were not devoted to the worship of God.

St. John Chrysostom: They sent their disciples and Herod's soldiers together so that any opinion He gave could be faulted. Yet they would have preferred Him to say something against the Herodians. Since they were afraid to arrest Him themselves because of the crowd, they sought to endanger Him over the issue of His liability to pay tribute.²

Pseudo-Chrysostom: This is the most common tactic of hypocrites: to praise those they intend to ruin. Thus, they broke out in praise of Him, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true. They call Him Teacher so that, deceived by this show of honor and respect, He might in simplicity open His whole heart to them, as if He were trying to win them as disciples.

Glossa Ordinaria: There are three ways a person might fail to teach the truth. First, on the part of the teacher, who may either not know or not love the truth. To guard against this, they say, We know that you are true.³

Second, concerning God, some people set aside all fear of Him and do not honestly speak the truth they know about Him. To rule this out, they say, and you teach the way of God in truth.

Third, concerning our neighbor, sometimes a person withholds the truth out of fear or affection. To rule this out, they say, and you care for no one, for you do not regard the person of man.

St. John Chrysostom: This was a veiled reference to Herod and Caesar.

St. Jerome: This smooth and treacherous inquiry was a challenge for the one answering to fear God rather than Caesar. They immediately ask, Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

If He said that tribute should not be paid, the Herodians would immediately accuse Him of being disloyal to the Emperor.

St. John Chrysostom: They knew that others had previously been executed for this very thing, for plotting a rebellion against the Romans. Therefore, through this line of questioning, they sought to bring Him under the same suspicion.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He gives an answer that does not match the smooth tone of their address but is harsh and suitable for their cruel thoughts, for God answers people's hearts, not their words.

St. Jerome: This is the first sign of excellence in the one answering: He discerns the thoughts of His questioners and calls them tempters, not disciples. A hypocrite is someone who is one thing and pretends to be another.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He, therefore, calls them hypocrites so that, seeing He is a discerner of human hearts, they might not be bold enough to carry out their plan. Observe, then, how the Pharisees spoke politely in order to destroy Him, but Jesus shamed them in order to save them. For God's wrath is more beneficial to humanity than human favor.

St. Jerome: Wisdom always acts wisely, and so the tempters are best refuted by their own words. Therefore, He says, Show me the tribute money. And they brought Him a denarius. This was a coin considered equivalent to ten sesterces, and it bore the image of Caesar.

Let those who think the Savior asks because He is ignorant learn from this passage that this is not so. Jesus certainly must have known whose image was on the coin.

They say to Him, Caesar's. This referred not to Augustus, but to Tiberius, under whom the Lord also suffered. All the Roman Emperors were called Caesar, after Gaius Caesar, who first seized supreme power. Jesus then says, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's—that is, the coin, tribute, or money.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: For if we possess nothing that belongs to Caesar, we are not bound by the condition to render to him the things that are his. But if we rely on what is his, and if we make use of the lawful protection of his power, we cannot complain that it is wrong to be required to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

St. John Chrysostom: But when you hear this command to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, know that it only refers to things that in no way oppose religion. If a requirement does oppose religion, it is no longer Caesar's tribute but the Devil's. Furthermore, so they could not say He was subjecting them to man, He adds, and to God the things that are God's.

St. Jerome: This means rendering tithes, first-fruits, offerings, and sacrifices to God. In the same way, the Lord Himself rendered tribute to Caesar, both for Himself and for Peter, and also rendered to God the things that are God's by doing the will of His Father.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: It is also our duty to render to God the things that are His: namely, our body, soul, and will. For Caesar's coin is the gold on which his image is portrayed, but God's coin is the person on whom the divine image is stamped. Therefore, give your money to Caesar, but preserve a conscience void of offense for God.

Origen of Alexandria: From this passage, we learn by the Savior's example not to be drawn to things that are popular and seem famous, but to incline instead toward things that are spoken with reason. We can also understand this passage morally: we ought to give some things to the body as a tribute to Caesar—that is, its necessities. And those things that are suited to our soul's nature—that is, things that lead to virtue—we ought to offer to God.

Therefore, those who immoderately impose the law of God and command us to have no concern for the body's needs are like the Pharisees, who forbade giving tribute to Caesar. They are the ones forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created (1 Timothy 4:3).

On the other hand, those who allow too much indulgence to the body are like the Herodians. But our Savior desires neither that virtue be weakened by immoderate devotion to the flesh, nor that our fleshly nature be oppressed by relentless efforts toward virtue.

Alternatively, the prince of this world—that is, the Devil—is called Caesar. We cannot render to God the things that are God's unless we have first rendered to this prince all that is his, which means casting off all wickedness.

Furthermore, let us learn from this passage that when dealing with those who tempt us, we should be neither completely silent nor answer too openly. Instead, we should respond with caution to cut off any opportunity from those who seek to find fault in us, and to teach blamelessly the things that can save those who are willing to be saved.

St. Jerome: Those who should have believed merely wondered at His great wisdom, because their craftiness had found no way to ensnare Him. From this it follows, When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him, and went their way, carrying their unbelief and wonder away with them.

1. ord.
2. Hom. lxx
3. non occ.