The Image of God - Part 1

In the fall, I took on a challenge to read through the gospels starting with the book of Mark.  To be honest, Mark has usually been my least favorite of the gospels.  It's so short, fast-paced, and seemingly inelegant (to me, at least).  I prefer John for its poetic language or Luke for its detail.  However, when I reread the book of Mark a few years ago, I started to see this gospel in a different light.  Mark reveals Jesus through His actions, and we have to decide who He is – the Son of God, like the Roman centurion claims in Mark 15, or just a man?  

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Mark 12:13-17

Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.  When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?  Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me?  Bring me a denarius to look at.”  They brought a coin.  “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  And they were utterly amazed at him.

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In chapters 11-12 in the gospel of Mark, Mark records a series of questions posed to Jesus.  Most of the questions are due to the Jewish leaders trying to trap Jesus in His own words, but Jesus calls them out on their hypocrisy.  They do not care about His answers because they are not sincerely looking for the truth.  The leaders question his authority (Mark 11:27-12:12), they question their responsibility (Mark 12:13-17), they ask about eternity (Mark 12:18-27), and they question the priority of the law (Mark 12:28-34).  Then Jesus turns the tables and questions them about the identity of the Messiah (Mark 12:35-37) (Wiersbe 122-124).  

We are looking at the question of responsibility in Mark 12:13-17.  Two groups of leaders have come to ask Jesus about their responsibility to pay taxes to Caesar.  The trap is that depending on how Jesus answers, He either aligns Himself with the usurping family of Herod (who supported Rome) or with Rome itself; neither situation would recommend Jesus to the people (Wiersbe 123).  But, of course, Jesus knows this and avoids the trap altogether by returning the people's focus to where it should be – glorifying God.  

The coins used to pay taxes had the image of Caesar printed on them.  The image on the coins indicates Caesar had the authority to create the coins and provide services through his rule.  By using the coins, the people acknowledged His rule and accepted the services and benefits that rule provided.  Jesus acknowledges Caesar's place in their world by saying, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's…" (Mark 12:17).  

Yet Jesus does not stop there because He reminds the people “to [give] to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).  They would have understood that this referred to God’s declaration back in Genesis 1:

            “So God created man in his own image;

            he created him in the image of God;

            he created them male and female.”  (1:27)

Jesus reminds the people of God's place in their lives.  Yes, Caesar is a human ruler in their world, but God is their Creator and owed their worship.  God has authority over their lives as Creator, and they have the responsibility of worshipping Him in return.  This could put them at odds with Rome since Caesar expected the people to worship him as a god.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary says it this way:

“Indeed the emperor must receive his due, but not more than that; he must not receive the divine honor and worship he claimed.  Those are due only to God.  People are ‘God’s coinage’ because they bear His image (cf. Gen. 1:27) and they owe Him what belongs to Him, their allegiance.”  (162)

God is our primary authority, and His tax is our worship.

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I invite you to journey with me as I explore four passages in the book of Mark.  You can find the accompanying Reading & Study Guide under the Study Guide tab or linked here.  

Previous Posts:

The Audacity of Jesus, Mark 2:1-12

The Unexpected Jesus, Mark 2:18-22

The Divinity of Jesus, Mark 6:38-52