With
one straightforward counter-question, Jesus skillfully points
out that the claims of God and Caesar are mutually exclusive. If
one's faith is in God, then God is owed everything; Caesar's claims
are necessarily illegitimate, and he is therefore owed nothing. If, on the
other hand, one's faith is in Caesar, God's claims are illegitimate,
and Caesar is owed, at the very least, the coin which bears his
image. Jeff Barr.
