What does it mean to render to Caesar what is Caesar's (Matthew 22:21)?

from the old testament

• God is the ultimate authority over all governments, and they are only in power because He has placed them there for His purposes (e.g., Daniel 2:21). While God does not condone everything governments do, if what they command and require is not sinful, then they are to be obeyed.

from the new testament

• Matthew 22:21 is Jesus’ wise answer to the Pharisees’ trap. The section opens with, “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances’” (Matthew 22:15–16). From this, we learn that their question is not genuine. They want to get Jesus to say something that will discredit Him in front of the people.
• Specifically, the type of tax referenced in Matthew 22:17 was called the poll-tax (see NASB’s translation). In first-century Rome, there were three types of taxes: temple taxes, general taxes like sales tax, and the poll tax. The poll tax was a tax that Rome levied on all non-Roman citizens living in the nation. Because the Jews were not Roman citizens, they had to pay this tax. This seemingly unfair tax angered many, making it a controversial topic. By asking Jesus whether they should pay it, they were setting Him up to anger at least some people, regardless of how He answered.
• However, Jesus knew what they were doing. Instead of answering the question directly, He turned it back on them. He said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax” (Matthew 22:18–19).
• When they gave Him the coin, He asked, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20). Jesus knew because a poll-tax had to be paid by a coin with Caesar’s likeness on it. But he wanted them to say it, which they did. He then sprung His own trap on them. He replied, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21b).
• He was effectively saying, “Since Caesar’s face is on it, then it belongs to Caesar. Give it to him!” Jesus was showing that Caesar had authority over them and thus could command what he wished. Paying Caesar was not inherently sinful; it was his right to ask for “his” money back.
• Jesus continued, saying, “and [render] to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21c). While Caesar had authority, God’s authority was greater. While Jesus does not expand the implication there, Paul does in Romans 13.
• There he said, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). All governments have authority to rule and regulate a people because God has given them that authority. He added, “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Romans 13:2). To resist the government, as long as it is not causing one to sin (Acts 5:29), is to resist God!
• Paul thus summarized, “because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:6–7).
• Rendering to Caesar meant, then, that we are to pay what is owed to the government because we are under God’s authority and He has delegated some of that authority to our government.

implications for today

Daniel is a great book to study if you want to understand why even God-hating governments exist. His overarching point is that all governments exist because God causes them to exist. Even the most wicked government in history has been put into power by God for His purposes.

Indeed, when Paul wrote that we are to obey our governments and pay our taxes (Romans 13), he was writing during the reign of Nero, a wicked ruler who viciously persecuted believers, including burning them alive. So, he was not saying that we are to obey and honor our leaders only if they are good, but rather that we submit to them because they have delegated authority from God.

God has given governments considerable leeway in establishing rules, including setting tax rates. As long as obeying the government doesn’t mean disobeying God (He has the greater authority!), then we are to honor and obey them.

Practically, that means paying our taxes, following traffic laws, serving on juries, and the like. As we seek to be good citizens of our particular nation, we are glorifying God by trusting His wisdom in allowing our government to exist!