Luke 20:23

Luk 20:23 . πανουργίαν , craft, cunning, as in 2Co 4:2 , which possibly the evangelist had in his eye. Each synoptist has his own word here ( πονηρίαν Mt., ὑπόκρισιν Mk.) as if trying to describe the indescribable.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Craftiness is a certain diligence and witness to do evil, gotten by much use and great practice in matters.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(23) Their craftiness.—The Greek noun does not appear in the other Gospels, but is used four times by St. Paul, as in 2Co_4:2; Eph_4:14.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. Why tempt ye mey &c.] Our Lord saw at once that it was a cunning test-question meant only to entrap Him. Not for a moment did these fawning spies deceive him though

“Neither man nor angel can discern

Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks

Invisible, except to God alone.”

These Pharisees were illustrating the truth that “no form of self-deceit is more hateful than that which veils spite and falsehood under the guise of frankness, and behind the profession of religion.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they could not take hold of his words before the people,.... Which was what they wanted; that if he had dropped any seditious and treasonable expressions against the government, they might be witnesses against him; or if he had not vindicated the liberties of the people, and the rights of the Jewish nation, these might be exasperated against him, and leave him:

and they marvelled at his answer; which was so formed, as to give them no handle against him either way:

and held their peace; they were silenced, and had nothing to say to him, nor against him, but left him, and went their way.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The answer of Jesus:

v. 23. But He perceived their craftiness and said unto them, Why tempt ye Me?

v. 24. Show Me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.

v. 25. And He said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.

v. 26. And they could not take hold of His words before the people; and they marveled at His answer, and held their peace.

Jesus, the omniscient Son of God, noticed their craft, their sly cunning, even before they started to make their request. And He is not wanting in the frankness which they have just praised in telling them what He thought of them. He plainly told them that He knew their thoughts in trying to tempt Him. He then asked for a denarius, the coin in which the imperial tax was usually paid (value, about 17 cents). Then He demanded information as to the picture and the inscription stamped upon the coin. Note: Instead of explaining to them at once what He told them afterwards, He made them give the information, making it appear that they had led Him to the conclusion, in order to confound them and win the people. Since the coin bore the emperor’s picture, it presented irrefutable evidence that the emperor was the ruler of the land, for the coins of a strange country are not legal tender in the homeland. And so the conclusion of Jesus seemed the only one that was justified under the circumstances, to give the things of Caesar to Caesar and the things of God to God. That is what God demands. The people of God, the Christians, will, above all, give due honor and obedience to God. In matters which pertain to God, the Word of God, Christian worship, faith, and conscience, they are obedient only to God, and reject all interference of men. But in temporal things, in matters which concern this world only, such as money, goods, life, Christians are obedient to the government of the country in which they are living. The State is not to interfere in the matters of the Church, and the Church is not to meddle in the business and affairs of the State. This answer of Jesus, while it satisfied the people, completely baffled the questioners. They could find no point at which they might take hold of, and attack, the Lord. At the same time, they could not repress a grudging, reluctant admiration for the clear distinction made by the Lord, and so they quietly withdrew.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But Jesus understood their craftiness

"But Jesus understood how tricky they were" or "But Jesus saw that they were trying to trap him." The word "their" refers to the spies.

a denarius

This is a Roman silver coin worth a day's wages. (See: Biblical Money)

Whose image and name is on it?

Jesus uses a question to respond to those who were trying to trick him. (See: Rhetorical Question)

image and name

"picture and name"

translationWords

Caesar

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

23. κατανοήσας … πανουργίαν . Mt. has γνοὺς … πονηρίαν, Mk. εἰδὼς … ὑπόκρισιν. See on 12:27 for Lk.’s fondness for κατανοέω. In N.T., as in class. Grk., πανουργία always has a bad meaning (1Co 3:19; 2Co 4:2, 2Co 4:11:3; Eph 4:14). In LXX it may mean “versatility, skill” (Pro 1:4, Pro 8:5).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Perceived. See on considerest, Mt 7:3.

Craftiness [πανουργιαν] . From pan, every, and ergon, deed. Readiness for every and any deed. Hence unscrupulousness, and so, generally, knavery.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.