It bore a graven image of a false god (remember the Second Commandment?) on both sides. We have to remember that the “tribute money” was an idolatrous coin. Nor was He just using the coin as a visual prop in His teaching. He wasn’t giving counsel to believers for living under godless government - they weren’t looking for wisdom. Nor do we do the passage justice if we say Jesus simply gave these evil hypocrites sound Biblical teaching on the relationship between civil and religious responsibilities. They wouldn’t have gone away silenced if He said something they could use…. If that were the case, they could still have denounced Him to the people, since He was indeed saying to pay the tribute. Some err, however, in interpreting this passage as if Jesus simply gave a clever answer to wriggle out of their trap. He would either be arrested or the people would rise against Him. Either they could denounce Him to the Romans as a rebel for encouraging non-payment, or they could denounce Him to the people as a supporter of Rome, if He said to pay the unpopular tax. The men who came to Jesus with this question thought they were putting Him in a bind, that whatever He answered they would have Him in trouble. ![]() It is almost certain that the coin claimed divinity for the emperor, probably the current emperor, and that this is the reason Jesus drew attention to the inscription. But the image was identified as “Caesar,” and Tiberius had been Caesar for many years, so it is likely that the coin was, indeed, a Tiberius denarius, as pictured above. One Augustus denarius (calling Augustus “divine”) was also still common. Note: There are other theories as to the coin brought to Jesus. Jesus drew their attention to the inscription, as well as the image, before He answered their question. The worship of the emperors as gods was not as fully developed as it would be later, but the inscription claimed divinity for both Augustus and his adopted son. “Augustus was divine, and now I his son am Augustus.” Not a son genetically, he claimed to be a son in divinity. The primarily religious title “Augustus” meant “majestic.” Tiberius was a step-son and (later) an adopted son of the (so-called) divine Caesar Augustus, but this coin claimed the “divine” role / title “Augustus” had passed down to Tiberius. The inscription called Tiberius the son of a god, Augustus, and also “Augustus” himself. The inscription is “TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS,” an abbreviation of “TIBERIVS CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTI FILIVS AVGVSTVS” - “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus.” The coin honours Caesar’s authority as a conqueror.īy asking, “Whose is this image?” the Lord Jesus drew their attention to this image and forced them to acknowledge it as Caesar’s. The conquering commander would wear a laurel wreath. The Romans held a “triumph” to celebrate military victories, a parade to display the captives and spoils of war and honour the victors. The head is Tiberius Caesar with a laurel wreath. “PONTIF MAXIM” on the coin claimed imperial authority over worship. By the time of Tiberius, the emperor was the high priest. The inscription “PONTIF MAXIM” is a shortened version of “Pontifex Maximus,” the high priest of the idolatrous Roman state religion (ironically, the popes now informally use this title). Given the religious inscription, it might be Livia portrayed as a goddess - flattery is not a modern invention, after all. The seated woman may be Livia (wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius), Justitia (goddess of justice), or Pax (goddess of peace). The Reverse of the CoinĪlthough our Lord apparently focused on the front, the back also is interesting. ![]() He had reigned for almost twenty years, so many denarii in circulation would have been his, and the coin they brought to Jesus probably looked exactly like this. They show Tiberius Caesar, the emperor when Christ was crucified. I don’t know if this picture is the coin in room 68, but the Tiberius denarii are all similar ( details). The Greek word for “penny” is denarius, a Roman coin. 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?ġ9 Shew me the tribute money.
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