"Caesar is Caesar's, and God is a God": the meaning of phraseology and its history

Probably, every time in my life I heard the statement: "Caesar is Caesar's, and God belongs to God." However, not everyone understands the significance of this phraseology. Especially few people know the history of the emergence of this winged phrase.

What does it mean "to God - to God, to Caesar - to Caesar"

Although there are numerous variations of this statement, in the original source it reads: "Give Caesar's things to Caesar, and God's to God". The essence of phraseology is transmitted with the help of another, no less famous idiom: "To each his own." Sometimes the meaning of this phraseology is interpreted as everyone should get what he deserves (which he is supposed to).

Caesar - who is this?

Before you learn about the history of the emergence of this phraseology, it is worthwhile to clarify who was called Caesar and why someone had to give him something.

As you know, the first Roman emperor was the great military leader and thinker Julius Caesar. After it, the Roman Empire was never able to return to the republic. After Julius Caesar it was always ruled by the emperors. Since they all revered the first bearer of this title, they first added the name of the great Guy Julius - "Caesar" - to the list of their names.

A few years later the word "Caesar" from the name of his own turned into a common name - a synonym for "emperor". Since then, in Rome, every ruler was called Caesar.

From the Latin language spoken in the Roman Empire, the word "Caesar" migrated to others. However, the Latin word "caesar" in different countries was read in different ways, because the letter "c" sounded like [k] for some, but for others as [c], and "s" could be read as [c] or as [ S]. Thanks to this, in other languages the word "Caesar" was pronounced "Caesar", in particular in Slavonic, although both variants were used. By the way, over the years, "Caesar" turned into a "king" - so began to call the rulers, as in the Roman Empire.

Who said: "To God - to God, to Caesar is to Caesar"?

Having understood, Caesar - who it is, it is necessary to clarify the author of the famous phrase. It belongs to Jesus Christ - one of the most famous personalities in the history of mankind.

History of the emergence of phraseology

As you know, at the time when Jesus lived, his homeland was already conquered by the Romans and turned into one of the provinces. And although the invaders managed the Israel people quite well, respecting their culture and religion, the descendants of Abraham dreamed of freeing themselves. Therefore, periodically there were conspiracies and insurrections. But the Roman authorities managed to suppress them. Despite this, the hatred of the occupiers among the people was strong. The Pharisees knew about this - one of the strongest religious organizations of the Jews, which enjoyed reverence among the people and often had great power.

At a time when Jesus was actively preaching and performing miracles, in a short time He gained immense power over the people, and the Pharisees began to envy Him. Therefore, some of their representatives sought a way to discredit the "competitor" in the eyes of society.

To this end, Jesus set various pitfalls and asked tricky questions. One of them concerned the tax: whether it is necessary to pay it to Caesar. Asking such a question, one of the Pharisees hoped to catch Christ at his word. After all, if He becomes on the side of the people and answers "No, do not pay", the Pharisees will be able to declare Him a rebel and give them to the Romans. If Jesus agrees that you still have to pay taxes to the hated Romans, the people will turn away from Him.

But, as indicated in the Bible, Christ was able to read minds and see people's intentions. Seeing the true purpose of the tricky question, He asked to give Him a coin. And he asked the person who asked the question, whose profile is depicted on it.

The perplexed Pharisee replied that Caesar (Caesar). Jesus said to him in reply: "Give Caesar a Caesar's, and God a God."
The meaning of phraseology in this case meant that it was necessary to give everyone what they should. Caesar is coins with his face, which he introduced in the conquered country, and to God - praise and obedience.

Where and under what circumstances is this phrase mentioned for the first time?

Quite a lot is said about the idiom "Caesar's Caesar's, and God's - God." The meaning of phraseology, its author and the history of appearance are now known to us. It is worth to clarify exactly where this phrase is mentioned. Of course, in the Holy Scripture. Here about the life of Christ, as well as His deeds tell the whole four Gospels. In them, the disciples in their own words tried to describe what they remembered about Teacher. In three of the four Gospels, an almost identical story about the appearance of the idiom "Give to Caesar is Caesar's and to God is God's." The meaning of phraseology in these sources is also the same.

The exception is the fourth Gospel of the Apostle John, where there is no mention of such an event.

Among the theologians there is a version explaining almost identical descriptions of the same event by different people in different places. It is believed that in the time of Christ there was a small book where the main theses of Jesus' sermons were written down, but later it was lost. When writing the Gospels, the disciples used quotations from this book, where, perhaps, there was the famous phrase "Give Caesar's things to Caesar, and God's to God." However, this theory is subject to sharp criticism, since it is unlikely that a book of such importance could be simply lost.

Already almost twenty centuries have passed since Christ spoke the famous phrase: "Give to Caesar - Caesar's, and to God - God." The value of phraseology during these years has remained unchanged, as it happens with truly wise words.