Mark 12:13 - Meaning and Application

When Christ’s enemies, who were eager to kill him, could not trap him with his own words, they tried to catch him with questions. Here they tempted him, or rather tried to, with a question about whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. We have the same account in (Matthew 22:15).

The men they used were the Pharisees and the Herodians, two groups that usually opposed each other, yet joined together against Christ (Mark 12:13). The Pharisees strongly defended Jewish freedom. If Jesus said it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, they would stir up the people against him, and the Herodians would quietly help them. The Herodians strongly supported Roman rule. If Jesus said it was wrong to pay tribute to Caesar, they would stir up the governor against him, and even the Pharisees would join them, though it went against their own views. It is nothing new for people who disagree about many things to unite in opposing Christ.

Their excuse was that they wanted him to settle a serious question of conscience at a very important moment. They also acted as if they had a high opinion of his wisdom in answering it (Mark 12:14). They praised him heavily. They called him Master and admitted that he was a true teacher of God’s way, one who taught what was right and did so truthfully. They said he would not be swayed by praise or threats, and that he was not afraid of offending either the suspicious ruler or the suspicious crowd. They claimed he was always fair and always told the truth.

If they really meant what they said about Christ, then their later persecution of him was sin against clear knowledge. They knew him, and still they crucified him. In any case, people’s own words often stand as evidence against them, and here they were judged out of their own mouths. They knew that he taught God’s way truthfully, yet they rejected God’s counsel against themselves. A hypocrite’s profession and pretended respect will one day be brought forward as proof against him, and he will stand condemned by his own words. But if they did not believe what they said, then they were lying to God and flattering him with their lips.

The question they asked was, “Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?” They acted as if they truly wanted to know their duty. They seemed like a nation seeking justice from God, but in fact they only wanted to hear what Jesus would say so they could accuse him, whichever side he took. Nothing is more likely to trap ministers than pulling them into disputes about civil rights and the exact limits between ruler and subject. Such matters should be settled, but it is not fitting that ministers should be the ones to do it.

They seemed to leave the decision to Christ, and he was fit to decide it, since by him kings rule and rulers make just laws. They asked the question in a fair-sounding way, “Should we pay, or should we not pay?” They acted as though they were ready to accept his answer. “If you say we must pay tribute, we will do it, even if it makes us poor. If you say we must not, we will not pay, even if it makes us look like traitors.” Some people have seemed eager for such an answer before, like those proud men in (Jeremiah 42:20).

Christ answered the question and escaped their trap by pointing them back to what their own nation had already accepted, which left them no room to argue about it (Mark 12:15-17). He knew their hypocrisy and the hatred in their hearts, even while their mouths spoke kindly to him. Nothing can be hidden from the Lord Jesus, even if hypocrisy is carefully covered. He sees what is underneath the outward show.

He knew they were trying to trap him, so he arranged the matter in a way that trapped them instead. He forced them, by their own words, to accept what they were unwilling to accept, namely, that they should pay their taxes honestly and quietly. At the same time, he defended himself against their objections. He made them admit that the money they used in the country was Roman money, bearing the emperor’s image on one side and his name on the other. If that was so, then Caesar could claim their money for public use, because he had charge of the government and its expenses. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Money circulates under his authority, so it must return to him. What belongs to him, and how far his right extends, should be judged by the form of the government and the settled rights of ruler and subject.

But Caesar could not claim their consciences, and he did not try to. He was not changing their religion. “Pay your tribute, then, without complaining or arguing, but make sure you render to God the things that are God’s.” Christ may also have had in mind the parable he had just spoken, where he condemned them for not giving the owner of the vineyard his due (Mark 12:2). Many people are careful to give men what they owe, yet give God none of the honor due to his name. Our hearts and best affections belong to him just as much as rent belongs to a landlord or tribute to a ruler.

All who heard Jesus were amazed at how wise and skillful his answer was, and how completely he avoided the trap. But I doubt any of them were moved, as they should have been, to give themselves and their worship to God. Many will praise the cleverness of a sermon and still refuse to obey its message.