He Perceived Their Craftiness | Luke 20:19-26 | John Giarrizzo

Luke sets this encounter in Passion Week, when the temple authorities are desperate to get Jesus arrested and killed. The leaders cannot lay hands on Him openly because they fear the people, so they send spies who pretend to be sincere. Their words are smoother than butter, but war is in their hearts. Pharisees and Herodians, who otherwise have little love for one another, come together because hatred for Christ makes strange allies.

The question about tribute to Caesar is meant to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place. The tax carries the odor of bondage and the stench of servitude for a people living under pagan Roman rule. A “no” would make Jesus look like a revolutionary worthy of Rome’s punishment; a “yes” would seem to deny the Messiah’s promised deliverance of Israel. Jesus, however, perceives their craftiness immediately and refuses to be caught in their net.

The denarius exposes the hypocrisy of the trap. The coin bears Caesar’s image and inscription, even declaring him to be the son of the divine Augustus. The opponents possess and use the very currency of the empire they despise, revealing that they have already acknowledged Caesar’s economic rule. Jesus therefore tells them to give back to Caesar what bears Caesar’s image.

Jesus then turns the whole matter toward its true climax: “Give to God the things that are God’s.” The issue is not finally Roman taxes, political arrangements, or clever distinctions between sacred and secular. God owns the earth and its fullness, and His claim reaches far beyond a coin. Caesar himself belongs to God, as does every kingdom, every ruler, every resource, and every person made in God’s image.

Christians may rightly pay taxes, pray for rulers, obey lawful authority, and take part in public life. Civil obedience remains subordinate to the higher and all-embracing obligation to give God what is His. The Christian is the Lord’s denarius, bearing God’s image and, as His elect, bearing His name.

Christ Himself has first rendered to God what is God’s. His perfect obedience, suffering, and atoning death satisfied the righteous demands of God’s holy law and offended justice. His body was given to God on the cross for sinners. God therefore calls those still in sin to look to Christ in faith and repentance, and calls those in Christ to render everything back to God: worship, bodies, children, time, work, money, opportunities, and every blessing entrusted for a season.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Flattery often hides a deadly net. The spies speak with pious words, but their praise is hollow and calculated. Smooth speech can cover wicked projects, just as the devil can appear as an angel of light. Christ’s people must not confuse religious language with sincere devotion. [14:26]
• 2. Christ cannot be trapped by men. Jesus sees through craftiness before the trap is fully sprung. Human wisdom, political maneuvering, and religious hypocrisy cannot outsmart the omniscient Son of God. The wisdom of the world becomes folly when it stands against Him. [19:55]
• 3. Give Caesar his limited due. Taxes, honor, prayer for rulers, lawful obedience, and faithful civic participation belong within Christian obedience. Civil government has real authority, but it never possesses ultimate authority. Caesar receives what is his only under God’s sovereign rule. [30:19]
• 4. Give God everything bearing His image. The denarius belongs to Caesar because it bears Caesar’s image, but human beings belong to God because they bear God’s image. Bodies, time, children, money, and work are not private possessions but sacred trusts. God will call every life to account for what was done with His gifts. [37:19]
• 5. Christ rendered Himself for sinners. Jesus offered His body to God as the atoning sacrifice for sin. His obedience fulfilled what guilty sinners could never render on their own. Faith and repentance bring sinners out of sin and into Christ, where forgiveness is found.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:19] - Religion and Politics Collide
• [07:39] - Setting the Trap
• [10:09] - Enemies United Against Christ
• [13:24] - Flattery and the Tax Question
• [16:35] - Caesar’s Tribute and Israel’s Dilemma
• [19:38] - Jesus Sees Through Their Craftiness
• [21:06] - The Denarius and Caesar’s Image
• [24:47] - Give to Caesar and to God
• [26:54] - The Greater Question: What Belongs to God?
• [30:03] - Paying Taxes, Praying, and Civil Obedience
• [35:05] - God Rules Both Kingdoms
• [37:19] - The Christian as God’s Denarius
• [38:47] - Christ Offered Himself for Sinners
• [40:17] - Rendering Everything Back to God

Bible Reading

Luke 20:20-26
“So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, 'Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?' But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 'Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?' They said, 'Caesar's.' He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer, they became silent.” [07:59]

Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” [37:19]

Psalm 24:1
“The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” [28:22]

Observation questions

1. What do the spies hope to accomplish by pretending to be sincere and by praising Jesus before asking their question? [13:24]
2. Why would the question about paying tribute to Caesar place Jesus in a difficult position with both the Roman authorities and the Jewish people? [16:35]
3. What does Jesus ask the spies to examine on the denarius, and how do they answer Him? [21:06]
4. How do the spies respond after Jesus answers their question, and what does their silence show about their attempt to trap Him? [28:47]

Interpretation questions

1. Why is flattery such a fitting tool for the spies’ plan? What makes religious-sounding words especially dangerous when they are used to hide sinful motives? [14:46]
2. Jesus does not deny that Caesar has a real, though limited, claim. How does His answer establish both the legitimacy and the limits of civil authority? [35:35]
3. Since people bear God’s image, what does it mean that they belong to God more deeply than a coin belongs to Caesar? [37:19]
4. Why is Christ’s sacrifice necessary before sinners can rightly offer their lives to God? [38:47]

Application questions

1. Flattery can hide a net. Are there situations where praise, religious language, or apparent agreement has made it difficult to discern someone’s true motives? How can believers grow in wise and charitable discernment without becoming suspicious of everyone? [14:58]
2. Paying taxes, honoring lawful authority, and praying for leaders are acts of obedience to God. Which of these is most difficult for you right now, and what would faithful obedience look like in a practical way this week? [30:28]
3. Christians should pray for rulers, including leaders they may strongly disagree with. How regularly do you pray for national, state, and local leaders? What specific requests could shape your prayers beyond frustration or criticism? [32:45]
4. There are times when obedience to God must come before obedience to human authority. How can a believer recognize the difference between a genuine matter of conscience and merely disliking a law or policy? [33:42]
5. Your body, time, work, money, children, and opportunities belong to God as gifts entrusted for a season. Which of these areas is easiest to treat as “mine,” and what is one concrete way you could offer it back to God? [40:17]
6. Christ gave Himself to God as the atoning sacrifice for sinners. Have you personally turned from your sin and trusted in Christ for forgiveness? If you have, how does His grace change the way you want to live as one who bears God’s image? [39:22]