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Luke 20:20-22
New Catholic Bible
Luke 20:20-22
New Catholic Bible
20 God or Caesar.[a] So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honorable men. They intended to trap Jesus in something he might say so that they could hand him over to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 They posed this question to him: “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right. Moreover, you show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it lawful or not for us to pay taxes to Caesar?”
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- Luke 20:20 The tribute was a tax collected by the Roman occupiers. To justify its payment meant collaborating with the enemy of the people; to disallow its payment meant labeling oneself as rebellious in the eyes of the Romans. The snare seems to be inescapable, but Jesus foils the plan by loudly proclaiming the absolute primacy of God (see Lk 12:31). See also note on Mt 22:15-22.
