TAXES IN THE TEMPLE COURTS

LUKE 20:20–26

Jesus never shied away from the tough questions of life, but some questions were purposely asked to discredit Jesus’s reputation and get him into trouble with the Roman authorities. We will see that the question on taxes was carefully worded and posed to Jesus in the Temple courts for such reasons.

This question grew from the frustration of the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders who had been derailed in their attempts to sidetrack the teaching of Jesus in the Temple. When they demanded that Jesus tell them who had authorized his teaching and actions, they found themselves the object of a parable that showcased their continual blindness to the Scriptures illuminating Jesus as the Messiah (Ps. 118:22; Luke 20:2, 9–19). This called for a change in tactics. Rather than confront Jesus directly, these corrupt religious leaders solicited the help of spies who pretended to deliver an honest question but whose intentions were to entrap Jesus into saying something that would put him at odds with the Roman governor (Luke 20:20).

Consequently, while Jesus was speaking to the crowds, these spies approached with their carefully worded question: “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Luke 20:21). The Jews paid a variety of taxes to an oppressive Roman government that sought to enrich itself at the expense of the people of the land they occupied.10 Some twenty years earlier a man named Judas of Galilee characterized this taxation as “slavery” and led a popular revolt against Rome.11 Although the revolt gained a strong following, it died with Judas of Galilee, who was executed for his efforts (Acts 5:37). The spies, therefore, attempted to trap Jesus into associating with Judas’s position of decrying the corrupt Roman tax system.

Temple model. The Antonia Fortress (top right) was used by the Roman garrison to keep military control over the Temple.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Reproduction of the City of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple. (See full credit on page 4.)

Temple model—view looking south from the Antonia Fortress toward the Temple.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Reproduction of the City of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple. (See full credit on page 4.)

It is important to notice not just what this question offered but where it was proposed. Jesus was in the Temple courts (Luke 20:1), which meant he was never far from the ears of a Roman soldier. Herod the Great had renovated the Antonia Fortress, which resided on the northwest corner of the Temple complex12 and was the barracks for a cohort of Roman soldiers who could quickly descend into the Temple courts if any disruption arose there. Because it was Passover, the eyes and ears of the Roman soldiers were likely even closer than the Antonia. During the high festival of Passover, the Roman governors characteristically ordered the Roman soldiers to leave the Antonia and take up positions behind the columns that circled the perimeter of the Temple complex.13

Struthian Pools. The Roman military controlled the water for Temple use, which came from Struthian Pools located within the compound of the Antonia Fortress.

The spies sent by the Temple leadership presumed that Jesus would seize this opportunity to deliver a statement that would result in a wildly popular appeal. But in doing so, he would have potentially instigated a revolt against Rome. Instead Jesus offered an answer that astonished the spies and averted a conflict with Rome. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Luke 20:25).

The back of a Roman tribute penny, minted under the reign of Tiberius.
© Dr. James C. Martin. The Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem. Photographed by permission.