Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 12:16
And they brought [it.] And he saith unto them, Whose [is] this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.
16. Whose is this image ] “The little silver coin, bearing on its surface the head encircled with a wreath of laurel, and bound round with the sacred fillet the well-known features, the most beautiful and the most wicked, even in outward expression, of all the Roman Emperors, with the superscription running round, in the stately language of imperial Rome, Tiberius Csar, Divi Augusti filius Augustus, Imperator.” The image of the Emperor would be regarded by the stricter Jews as idolatrous, and to spare their feelings, the Romans had allowed a special coinage to be struck for Juda, without any likeness upon it, and only the name of the Emperor, and such Jewish emblems as palms, lilies, grapes, and censers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
16. And they brought it. And hesaith unto them, Whose is this imagestamped upon the coin.
and superscription?thewords encircling it on the obverse side.
And they said unto him,Csar’s.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they brought it,…. The penny, which was a Roman one, and worth seven pence halfpenny of our money:
and he saith unto them, whose is this image, and superscription; for it had the head of an emperor upon it, very likely the image of the then reigning emperor Tiberius, and a superscription on it, expressing his name, and perhaps a motto along with it:
and they said unto him, Caesar’s; one of the Roman emperors, Augustus, or Tiberius; most probably the latter;
[See comments on Mt 22:20],
[See comments on Mt 22:21].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Image and superscription. See on Mt 22:20.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And they brought it.” (hoi de enegkan) “And they brought it to Him,” furnished Him a penny.
2) “And He saith unto them,” (kai legei autois) “And He inquired to them,” asked them directly, to receive a specific acknowledgment of its authentic seal, what government it represented, who issued or authorized it.
3) “Whose is this image and superscription?” (tinos he eikon aute kai he epigraphe) “Whose icon-likeness is this and whose superscription?” Whose imprint or seal is on this penny or denarius? As if He did not know, yet to get a public commitment from them.
4) “And they said unto Him, Caesar’s.” (hoi de eipan auto Kaisaros) “Then they affirmed to Him, It is that of Caesar.” Luk 20:24.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(16) Superscription.Better, inscription, as in Mat. 22:20.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And they brought it. And he says to them, “Whose is this image and superscription?”. And they said to him, “Caesar’s”. And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and render to God what is God’s.”
As we have noted earlier, a sovereign’s issued currency was seen as belonging to that sovereign. And to possess such currency was to admit obligation to the monarch. Thus, He said, those who possessed such currency should give it back to Caesar, for it belonged to him and by their possession of it they were showing that they were his subjects. And that it did belong to him was shown by the fact that his head was stamped on it, and the writing on it was with his authorisation and further evidenced it as his. So let them give it back to him.
The reply was brilliant. The crowds would recognise that as a prophet of God He did not carry such currency, but that these His opponents did. And they would wholeheartedly agree with Him that such currency should be despised and rejected, and not carried. Indeed God did not want it, and men who did carry it merely demonstrated that they were Caesar’s men, not God’s. Thus the Pharisees and courtiers of Herod stood condemned by their own question, while Jesus was exonerated and vindicated in front of the crowd.
Meanwhile Jesus had in their view correctly stated that all things apart from what was stamped as Caesar’s, and was thus idolatrous, was God’s. There was here a quite clear declaration of God’s superiority to Caesar. In all things that mattered men must look directly to God. Caesar’s rule was limited. He had rightly judged.
Yet the crowds would have had to acknowledge, if they were honest, that sometimes they did have to handle the hated coinage, when they paid their poll tax. Thus by their very act of doing so they were acknowledging Caesar’s right to it. They would also have to acknowledge, when they thought about it, that even much of the other coinage they used was issued in Caesar’s name, so that when it came to money they held it under Caesar’s authority, and while they did so they therefore owed a duty to him. The alternative was to have nothing to do with anything Roman and face the consequences. His answer allowed them to do compromise.
There is, of course, the seed here of the later view that the powers that be are ordained of God and should be respected accordingly. But that was not really what Jesus was saying here. Nor was He splitting the world into two, part of which belonged to the state and part to God. He was rather emphasising that all things are God’s, except things of which He disapproves, and must therefore be used accordingly
This would certainly include paying one’s dues. And for those who used Caesar’s coinage that would include paying their taxes. They could not take the benefits and reject the responsibilities. So He did countenance obedient response to the state where it was not against God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 12:16. Superscription? Inscription. Doddridge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
16 And they brought it . And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.
Ver. 16. See Trapp on “ Mat 22:20 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
image, &c. See note on Mat 22:20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
image: Mat 22:19-22, Luk 20:24-26, 2Ti 2:19, Rev 3:12
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
GOD AND CAESAR
Whose is this image and superscription? Render to Csar the things that are Csars, and to God the things that are Gods.
Mar 12:16-17
These words contain a peculiarly characteristic example of our Saviours mode of teaching, and a profound evangelical principle, applicable to all religious study and instruction. The question was put to Him, not sincerely, but to catch Him in His words; and therefore, in one sense, the answer was no answer at all. He took them in their own craftiness. He dealt with them, as God always deals with insincere inquirers, with one-sided and unfair search after truthHe silenced, without instructing them.
I. By a wider application of our Lords words we are taught
(a) Render to those old heathen, of whom we read, the praise and honour which is really theirs, according to their good works.
(b) Render their due to all whom we condemn, or who condemn us, in the thousand varieties of opinion which intersect the nations and churches of Christendom.
(c) Render to Csar the things that are Csars. The words surely may be extended to mean that we are to render to fact, to truth, to reason, those things which, by a sort of imperial sway, they require at our hands; to render to art, to nature, to science the conclusions which they have fairly won; bearing, as they do, that image and superscription of Himself, which God hath planted on their front, and which none can see and doubt.
(d) Render to prudence, to wisdom, to common sense their due by religious obedience. How many of our controversies need these, more than anything else, for their remedy! Common sense is more than a mere worldly virtue: it is a Christian, nay (with all reverence be it spoken), it is a truly Christlike grace. Mark how He practised it on this occasionHe Who, amidst His other names, is called Wisdom, the eternal Wisdom of God.
Dean Stanley.
Illustration
The Csar of those days was the Emperor Tiberius, a monster of wickedness in human nature, a corrupt worlds more corrupt sovereign, of whom Milton has written in the truth of history:
This Emperor hath no son, and now is old,
Old, and lascivious; and from Rome retired
To Capre, an island small but strong,
On the Campanian coast, with purpose there
His horrid lusts in private to enjoy;
Committing to a wicked favourite
All public cares, and yet of him suspicious;
Hated of all, and hating.
Such was the worlds Csar when Christ spake among the Jews, Render to Csar the things that are Csars. How truly does this word show us what our Lord afterwards declared before Csars officer, My kingdom is not of this world.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE WORLD AND CHRIST
I. Let the world have its own.Let him who is ostensibly at the head of this world have his due, for even an unjust government must be obeyed so long as it is a government. The powers that be are ordained of God (Cf. Rom 13:1-2), and to resist the power is to resist the ordinance of God. Here is that great principle of justice which enforces upon each one of us his duty towards man. This principle covers all the commandments with respect to our neighbour. No debt is to be unpaid except, indeed, that one which St. Paul mentions as to be ever in payment, and which consequently is never paid outthe debt of lovethat is, mans debt to God paid over to his fellow-man.
II. Let Christ have His own.Shall we bring the worlds sins, the worlds hypocrisies, the worlds vices before the Saviour? Shall we offer unto our loving God the unholy offering of a false worship, a mere lip service? These belong to the world, and let the world have them. They are not yours; you have no right to them; for you are Christians, Christs people, Christs loved ones. Give unto Him His own.
(a) Give unto Him a full obedience, an obedience which will keep all His sayings.
(b) Give unto Him a larger faith, a faith which believes Him as much in His ordinances as in His words.
(c) Give unto Him a dutiful submission, a submission which, childlike, saith always, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.
Render unto Christ, and through Christ unto God, your spirits, souls, and bodies.
Illustration
Sibelius quotes a passage from Augustine on the Psalms, which is worth reading as an illustration of the subject now before us. Julian was an unbelieving emperor. He was an apostate, a wicked man, and an idolater. And yet Christian men served as soldiers under this unbelieving emperor. When the cause of Christ was concerned they acknowledged no commander but Him that was in heaven. When the emperor wished them to worship idols or burn incense to them, they preferred honouring God before him. But when he said, Draw out in order of battle: march against that nation, they obeyed him. They drew a distinction between their eternal Master and their temporal master; and yet were submissive to their temporal master for their eternal Masters sake.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6
The coins of about all countries have the image of some important person on them, and also some saying or motto is inscribed thereon. Jesus took the critics by surprise by asking to whom the coin belonged. They answered correctly that it was the property of Caesar. Incidentally, this very coin was the kind that was used in paying the tribute to Caesar’s government.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.
[Whose is this image? Caesar’s.] I. This was a Caesar’s penny, denarius Caesareanus. For zuz; among the Jews, was also a penny; as we shewed elsewhere; but we scarce believe it was of the same form and inscription: “A certain heathen sent to R. Judah the prince a Caesarean penny; and that on a certain festival day of the heathens. Resh Lachish sat before him. R. Judah said, What shall I do? If I receive it, I shall consent (to their festival ): if I receive it not, enmity will rise against me. Resh Lachish answered, Take the penny, and while he looks upon you cast it into the well,” etc.
II. It was a silver penny, not a gold one. Pence, absolutely put, are to be understood silver pence. Where the Gloss is, “Pence, absolutely put, are silver, until it is explained that they are gold.”
But now a gold penny was worth five-and-twenty silver pence. “When turtle-doves and young pigeons were sold at Jerusalem sometime for a gold penny, Rabban Simeon Ben Gamaliel said, By this Temple, I will not rest this night, unless they are sold for a silver penny.” Where the Gloss, “A gold penny is worth five-and-twenty silver pence.”
III. It was a Roman penny; not a Jerusalem; for this distinction they sometimes use. The Gloss being witness, are Jerusalem zuzees. But more frequently money of Tzur, and money of Jerusalem. Money of Tzur one may well render Tyrian money. But hear the Aruch, where he had been treating of money of Tzur; at length he brings in this passage: “R. Eliezer saith, Wheresoever in the Scripture Tzur is written full, the Scripture speaks of the city Tyre; but where it is written defectively [without Vau] it speaks of Rome.” Be it Tyrian or Roman money, this held among the masters: “Wheresoever any thing is said of the silver money of Jerusalem; it is the eighth part of the Tyrian money.”
Hence I should resolve that riddle at which the Glosser himself sticks, if I may have leave to conjecture in a Jewish affair, after a doubting Jew. In the tract now cited there is a discourse concerning Jerusalem Cozbian moneys. A riddle truly. Ben Cozbi, indeed, coined moneys when he made an insurrection against the Romans. But whence is this called Jerusalem money; when, in the days of Ben Cozbi, Jerusalem lay buried in its own rubbish? If I may be the resolver, it was so called, because it was of the same weight and value with the Jerusalem money; and not with that of Tyre.
“The Jerusalem money (say they) is the eighth part of the Tyrian.” Here again some words of the masters entangle me in a riddle. The Aruch saith, “A penny and zuz are the same.” And elsewhere, “They call pence, in the Gemaristic language, Zuzim”; which we observed at Mar 6:37. ‘Zuz ‘ was Jerusalem money: how, then, was it the same with a penny, which was Tyrian money, when it was the eighth part only? And these words spoken by Rambam do add a scruple over and above; a penny contains six zuzim. If he had said eight zuzim; it had been without scruple. But what shall we say now?
The former knot you may thus untie: that zuz; among the Jews, is called also a penny; a Jewish penny, indeed, but different from the Roman: as the Scots have their shilling; but much different from our English. But the second knot let him try to untie that is at leisure.
IV. This money was signed with the image of Caesar; but of the Jerusalem money, thus the Jews write, whom you may believe when you please: “What is the Jerusalem money? David and Solomon were stamped on one side; and on the reverse, Jerusalem the holy city.” But the Glosser inquires whether it were lawful to stamp the image of David and Solomon upon money, which he scarcely thinks. He concludes therefore that their names were only inscribed, not their effigies.
“Upon Abraham’s money were stamped, on one side, an old man and an old woman; on the other, a young man and a young maid. On Joshua’s money, on one side, an ox; on the other, a monoceros. On David’s money, on one side, a staff and a scrip; on the other, a tower. On Mardochai’s money, on one side, sackcloth and ashes; on the other, a crown.” Let the truth of this be upon the credit of the authors.