The unholy alliance introduced its question with a flattering preamble. The leaders credited Jesus with being a teacher or rabbi. Moreover they said they believed He spoke the truth and taught God"s will truthfully. If Jesus failed to reply to their question after such an introduction, He would appear to be trying to hide something, perhaps because of pressure He felt. His integrity would be open to question. [source][source][source]
Their question was theological since all such issues involved God"s will in Israel. They wanted to know how Jesus felt about their Roman overlords. Paying the poll or head tax was a kind of litmus test of one"s feelings toward Rome, as one"s attitude toward paying taxes has indicated one"s attitude toward government throughout history. This was a particularly volatile issue in Israel since it was a theocracy. The poll tax was not objectionable because it was large. Really it was quite small. However it was almost universal, covering women between the ages of12,65 and men between14,65. "Caesar," the family name of Julius Caesar, had become a title for Roman rulers by this time. The Roman emperor then was Tiberius. The accusers phrased their question to elicit a yes or no answer from Jesus. They thought that either answer would embroil Him in controversy. [source][source][source]
"The poll tax had been among the taxes imposed on Judea following the imposition of direct Roman rule in A.D6 , not long before, and had been fiercely resented by patriotic Jews, resulting in a serious revolt led by Judas (Josephus, War 2117-18; Ant. 184-10). That revolt was the inspiration for the later Zealot movement which led to the war of independence beginning in A.D66 and so to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of its temple in A.D70." [1][source]