20 And having watched [him], they sent out suborned persons, pretending to be just men, that they might take hold of him in [his] language, so that they might deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
21 And they asked him saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest no [man's] person, but teachest with truth the way of God:
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
23 But perceiving their deceit he said to them, Why do ye tempt me?
24 Shew me a denarius. Whose image and superscription has it? And answering they said, Caesar's.
25 And he said to them, Pay therefore what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Luke 20
Commentary on Luke 20 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 20
In this chapter we have,
All which passages we had before in Matthew and Mark, and therefore need not enlarge upon them here, unless on those particulars which we had not there.
Luk 20:1-8
In this passage of story nothing is added here to what we had in the other evangelists; but only in the first verse, where we are told,
Luk 20:9-19
Christ spoke this parable against those who were resolved not to own his authority, though the evidence of it was ever so full and convincing; and it comes very seasonably to show that by questioning his authority they forfeited their own. Their disowning the lord of their vineyard was a defeasance of their lease of the vineyard, and giving up of all their title.
Luk 20:20-26
We have here Christ's evading a snare which his enemies laid for him, by proposing a question to him about tribute. We had this passage before, both in Matthew and Mark. Here is,
Luk 20:27-38
This discourse with the Sadducees we had before, just as it is here, only that the description Christ gives of the future state is somewhat more full and large here. Observe here,
Luk 20:39-47
The scribes were students in the law, and expositors of it to the people, men in reputation for wisdom and honour, but the generality of them were enemies to Christ and his gospel. Now here we have some of them attending him, and four things we have in these verses concerning them, which we had before:-
Christ reads them their doom in a few words: These shall receive a more abundant judgment, a double damnation, both for their abuse of the poor widows, whose houses they devoured, and for their abuse of religion, and particularly of prayer, which they had made use of as a pretence for the more plausible and effectual carrying on of their worldly and wicked projects; for dissembled piety is double iniquity.