Mark 12:15 Commentary and Bible Study

What follows is quite marvellous: simple but wonderful. He asked them to bring a coin. Our King James Version calls it a penny; it is a denarius, a Roman silver coin. There are many of them preserved and in existence, and you can see them in museums today. On one side was the bust or face of the Cesar of the time, and on the other side was a full figure which also represented Cesar, but he was dressed as a high priest and a Latin inscription said: ‘The high priest’. This was the silver coin with which you would pay the Roman poll-tax; every male over sixteen years of age had to pay it. That silver coin was worth a day’s wages. In today's money people say it would be worth about £90. It was a lot of money. But the people hated it for two reasons. Firstly because they hated paying money to the Romans; secondly because it was blasphemous. Caesar was on it dressed as a priest. All Jewish nationalism and Jewish sensitivities were infuriated by this. Of course, he knew what was on the coin. This is a tremendous lesson for the crowd. There are so many people watching and listening. They can scarcely see this small coin, but nevertheless, this has a tremendous impact. ‘Why tempt ye me?’ He doesn’t wait for an answer to that. He is really only indicating to them that he knows they are playing the hypocrite.