Caesar the things that are Caesar's: and unto God the things that are

God's' (Matt. 22:17 -21).

Tribute money.-- The didrachmon or double drachm was originally

paid by the Jews as a tribute to the temple, and Josephus tells us that

after the destruction of Jerusalem, Vespasian diverted this temple

tribute to the Capitol.  This word didrachmon is used in Matthew 17:24.

In verse 25 where the Lord asked the question 'of whom do the kings of

the earth take custom or tribute?' the word there translated 'tribute'

is the Latin census.  It is this word that is used of Caesar's penny.

A Latin tribute paid by Israel to a Roman Emperor!  Further, in the

Lord's estimation, a man's duty was twofold: (1) to God, (2) to Caesar.

Could any words more clearly establish the sovereignty of the Roman

Emperor in worldly matters?  When Luke records the question 'Is it

lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar?' he uses the Greek word

phoros, a burden, a tax, which word is repeated by Paul in Romans 13:6

when he speaks of 'the powers that be' that are ordained of God, as we

see they were at the appointment of Nebuchadnezzar by God as the head

of gold.

All the world.-- Here the Greek 'world' is oikoumene, 'the

habitable world'.  About two hundred years before this, Polybius, a

Greek historian born 203 b.c., wrote a universal history in forty

books, in which he says Romaioi en oligo chrono pasan huph heatous

epoiesan ten oikoumenen.  'The Romans in a short time subdued the Whole

Inhabited World'.  Now this word oikoumene is employed in the LXX

version in the chapter which speaks of the Babylonian empire (Isa.

13:11).  When Satan would tempt the Lord, he showed Him 'all the

kingdoms of the world (oikoumene)' (Luke 4:5), and this to be an

effective bait, must have been universal sovereignty -- yet it was co -

extensive with the Roman Empire.  When at last the Saviour ascends His

throne 'the kingdoms of the world' will become the kingdom of the Lord.

Here are several items each of which speak of sovereign power, and

taken together constitute the witness of the Scriptures to the fact that Rome

was a world power.  But this is not all.  Luke dates the ministry of John the

Baptist in the following terms:

'Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius

Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee

...' (Luke 3:1).

Pontius Pilate.-- The memory of this Roman Governor has been

rendered practically immortal by his inclusion in the creed.  'Suffered

under Pontius Pilate' takes its place in that confession which opens

with the words 'I believe in God the Father Almighty'.  Nebuchadnezzar,

Belshazzar, Darius, Cyrus, Caesar Augustus, Pontius Pilate.  Who shall

say that Belshazzar is of account in this line of rulers, but Caesar

and Pilate are not?

Herod.-- In the Gospel of Matthew, Herod is called 'king' (Matt.

2:1), for Matthew writes from the standpoint of the Jew.  Luke however

looks at Herod from the standpoint of the times, and calls him

'tetrarch'.  This word indicates a ruler or a king who has a

subordinate position to a higher authority -- and that higher authority

was Rome.  If Nebuchadnezzar was 'king of kings' so also was Caesar,

for he appointed 'kings' too.