The famous reply that Jesus gave - "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's" avoided the trap. but his words were distorted later by false accusers at his trial who claimed "...we found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king" (Luke 23:2). Their goal was to convince the Roman authorities that Jesus was a threat- and that only loyal approach to the issue was to have him executed. This was accomplished by cornering Pontius Pilate- "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against (literally, "opposeth") Caesar." Thus the Jews successfully maneuvered the situation so as to bring Jesus into an apparent conflict with the authority of Rome. Thus, under the direction of Pilate, and at the instigation of the Jews, Rome executed Jesus by crucifixion.
Let there be no mistake- Pilate acted in order to preserve Rome's power and authority. Caesar claimed divine status and- following the example of Babylonian monarchs- he was also "High Priest." Religion was a tool that helped to keep the people in subjection- a state church we may call it, helping to govern the empire via religion.
But the New Testament identifies Jesus Christ as the king of the Jews and as the Son of God. That was the claim of Caesar also, so the grounds were set for dispute. In the epistle to the Hebrews Jesus is also referred several times as being "high priest." For example, in Hebrews 8:1 it is written, "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens..." So the Christian could not in conscience acknowledge the religious claims of the Roman Emperor.
These claims of the Roman emperors did not change immediately when the empire became Christian however. Constantine was himself still "Pontifex Maximus." The title was dropped in A.D. 379, but was later claimed by the popes of ecclesiastical Rome- a coin of Pope John-Paul II today still bears the "superscription" PONT MAX- yet he is certainly not a high priest "in the heavens!" So the Roman element (iron) is still there today in ecclesiastical Rome- and the essential opposition between authorities continues, just as Bible prophecy has indicated. It is that opposition- the question of authority -which will finally bring the history of the world to its climax.
Whose image?
Luke 20:21-26
The word translated here as "penny" is the Greek Denarion (Latin, denarius). This coin is well known among collectors today and is pictured opposite. The "image" is that of Tiberius Caesar (A.D. 14-37), with his mother Livia shown as the goddess 'Pax' on the reverse side. The "superscription" reads: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS which may be translated as "Tiberius Caesar son of the divine Augustus Caesar." It was an interesting encounter- the religious leaders of the Jewish nation asking whether it was "lawful" (i.e according to the law of Moses) to pay tribute money to the professed son of the Roman god! These were the very same people who would later declare "We have no king but Caesar." (c/p John 19:15). On the reverse side of this coin the superscription is PONTIF MAXIM, that is High Priest, or chief priest! It was a direct challenge to everything that the Jews themselves professed.
