The Pharisees wanted to entangle Jesus in His talk (as He had done so often to them, e.g., Matt. 21:23-27) and what better way to do this than to ask a question about politics and religion (Matt. 22:15)? Their question centered on Caesar: “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not” (Matthew 22:17)? If Jesus answered “Yes,” then the Jews would turn away from Him but if He answered “No,” then He would draw the ire of the Roman authorities (cf. John 19:12). Caesar was not to be challenged.

Caesar was the title of the Roman Emperor (just as Pharaoh was the title of the Egyptian ruler). Initially, that title was the name of the Roman general who defied the Roman senate and ultimately gained political and military control of Rome. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar and he effectively managed to guide the Roman Republic to an end and inaugurate the Roman Empire.1 His military conquests not only brought under Rome’s control more territory than ever before but also brought him personal glory. He would claim, or imply, in his public orations, that he was descended from the gods and eventually an imperial cult grew up in which the emperor was worshiped as divine.

So when the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, they thought they were really forcing Jesus to either blaspheme Jehovah by implicitly affirming the deity of Caesar and thus break the law of Moses (Ex. 20:1-3) or else bring down the wrath of Rome upon His head for treason. But in Jesus’ answer, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s,” Jesus not only answered propitiously, but also showed by implication that Caesar was not God!

When Jesus was born (4 B.C.), Caesar Augustus (27 B.C -14 A.D) was emperor of Rome (Luke 2:1). Augustus’ birth name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus. He was Julius Caesar’s grandnephew but was adopted by him and succeeded him as emperor of Rome. It was Augustus’ decree that “all the world should be taxed” that brought into fulfillment the prophecy of Micah (5:2) concerning the location of the birth of Christ (Matt. 2:4-6).

Tiberius Claudius Nero succeeded Augustus as emperor of Rome. Tiberius was adopted by Augustus just as Augustus was adopted by Caesar. Tiberius’ father had been a fleet commander for Julius Caesar and was forced to give up his wife to Augustus. When Tiberius’s father died, he went to live with his mother and the emperor Augustus. He was trained in the ways of the state and distinguished himself in many ways. Though Augustus never really liked him, he was the least offensive choice to succeed Augustus as Emperor.

His reign was mild at first but he is reported to have become cruel and obscene. It was during his fifteenth year that the “word of God came unto John” (Luke 3:1). This is the only place he is mentioned by name in the New Testament but he is the emperor that is under consideration when the Pharisees attempt to ensnare Jesus with the question of paying tribute to Caesar.

The fourth emperor, Caligula, is not mentioned in the New Testament. It was in the days of the fifth emperor, Claudius, that Agabus prophesied of the famine that was to come (Acts 11:28). Suetonius independently records that there was “a scarcity of grain because of long-continued droughts” (Suetonius, The Life of Claudius, 18). In Acts 18:2, Luke records that Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome. Suetonius also mentions that “since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome” (Suetonius, The Life of Claudius, 25). This “Chrestus” is very likely a reference to Christ.

The sixth emperor was the notorious Nero. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus but upon his adoption by Claudius he became Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. He is especially noted for his wickedness. He was accused by contemporary historians of having started the A.D. 64 conflagration which resulted in destroying much of Rome in order to make way for his building projects. However, he quickly blamed the fire on Christians. He was the first emperor to persecute Christians and while his persecution was not as wide spread as Domitians, it was more vicious.

Tacitus recorded Nero’s persecutions of Christians: “Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed” (Tacitus, Annals, 15:44). He was truly the beast of Revelation (Rev. 13:18; 17:9,10).

It was in the days of these Julio-Claudian kings that the God of heaven set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44). The gates of hell would not and will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). Christ now reigns, sitting on the throne of that kingdom (Acts 2:29,30), which is an everlasting kingdom (Luke 1:31-33). While we render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, we ought to obey God rather then men (Acts 5:29). We should know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to womsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Dan. 4:17).

 

Eric L. Padgett

 

1. Modern scholars usually begin the list of Roman emperors with Augustus. However, the position here is that Julius was the first emperor for at least these reasons: 1) Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, refers to him as such. He wrote that it was Julius “who first of all changed the popular government, and transferred it to himself” (Antiquities 19:1: 11). Second, Josephus numbers the emperors with Augustus as number two, Tiberius as three, etc. (Antiquities 18:2:2). Josephus lived during this period of time and would know how Julius and Augustus were perceived. 2. Suetonius, a contemporary Roman historian, also begins his enumeration of emperors with “the Divine Julius.” 3. Dio Cassius lists Julius as the first. 4. Moses Stuart observes “At most, only an occasional beginning of the count with Augustus can be shown, in classic authors. The almost universal usage is against it” (p. 277, link).