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LUKE 20:25 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Luke 20:24Luke 20:26
“And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which be Cesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.”
He said to them, then give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's — give back to Caesar what is Caesar's: the coin bears Caesar's image and inscription — it belongs to the sphere of Caesar's claims. Give to God what is God's: what bears God's image belongs to God — the human being, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). The answer is neither compliant (pay your taxes, Rome is fine) nor revolutionary (refuse Roman authority) but both together: the political and divine spheres both have claims, and the higher claim of God does not eliminate the legitimate sphere of civic authority.

Church Fathers on Luke 20:25

It became indeed the rulers of the Jews, perceiving that the parable was spoken of them, to depart from evil, having been thus as it were warned concerning the future. But little mindful of this, they rather gather a fresh occasion for their crimes. The commandment of the Law restrained them not, which says, The innocent and righteous men you shall not slay, but the fear of the people checked their wicked purpose. For they set the fear of man before the reverence of God. The…

Cyril of Alexandria · 5th century

And so by seeking to slay Him, they proved the truth of what He had said in the parable. For He Himself is the Heir, whose unjust death He said was to be punished They are the wicked husbandmen who sought to kill the Son of God. This also is daily committed in the Church when any one, only in name a brother, is ashamed or afraid, because of the many good men with whom he lives, to break into that unity of the Church’s faith and peace which he abhors. And because the chief…

Bede · 8th century

They laid snares for our Lord, but got their own feet entangled in them. Listen to their cunning, And they asked Him, saying, Master, we know that you say and teach rightly.

Theophylact · 11th century
Read all 15 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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