“Jesus said to them.
‘Give to the emperor Caesar
The things
That are the emperor Caesar’s.
Give to God
The things
That are God’s.’”
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τὰ Καίσαρος ἀπόδοτε Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ.
There is something similar in Matthew, chapter 22:21, and in Luke, chapter 20:25, almost word for word. Mark said that Jesus responded to them (ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς) by telling them to give to the Roman emperor Caesar the things that belonged to the emperor (Τὰ Καίσαρος ἀπόδοτε Καίσαρι). At the same time, they should give to God the things that belong to God (καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ). Jesus appeared to accept the Roman rule and its taxing policies, as he also had a milder view of their tax collectors. With this ambiguous answer, Jesus avoided offending Jewish nationalists and the Roman Empire party and its officials. Thus, the Roman and Jewish parties were both satisfied and unsatisfied at the same time. If everything belonged to God, do not pay this tax. If everything belonged to the Roman empire, pay the tax. The choice was theirs. He was not going to tell them what to do. This statement of Jesus has become the basic Christian understanding of the relationships between religious church organizations and state civic organizations.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 