Imago

Question: What does God desire from us?

INTRO

Our passage today in Matthew Chapter 22 will help shed light on this by examining Jesus words during a confrontation with the religious leaders and their disciples.

The context

Jesus has been preaching in the temple and been harassed by the religious leaders

Jesus has told several parables indicating that God has called the Jewish people to redemption and that Messiah has come, but those who think they know God and His law best have refused to listen and enter into the New Kingdom he is ushering in.

The religious leaders try three times to trap Jesus in His words after hearing him teach.

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 22:15–22 “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.”

NOTES

What are the things that are God’s? That which bears His Image and Inscription!

Genesis 1:26–28

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Here we see clearly that God expressly puts His image on mankind, and even gives them express instructions, an inscription for their everyday life!

1. We are created as image bearers

There has been a long history of thought on what being made in the image of God means - theologians use the Latin phrase Imago Dei to sum up the doctrinal teachings that are connected to this, such as the sanctity of human life (including life in the womb) and the fallen nature of man from being originally perfectly sinless as God is. Another name for an image bearer is an idol, a physical thing that embodies a sacred presence.

Idols are more than symbols - they are the physical body housing the spirit of a deity

Genesis 31:30 - Laban accuses Jacob of “stealing his gods”, not knowing Rachel had taken the idols and hid them.

Exodus 32 - Aaron proclaims to Israel that the Golden Calf “are your gods”

1 Samuel 5 - When the Ark of the covenant is captured and placed in the temple of Dagon, the idol falls over “bowing” to the Ark. When the Philistines set it back upright, it again falls over and it’s head and arms break off, the people become terrified that their god has been defeated by Israel’s God, after they had a military victory

Today our culture uses the word “idol” to describe a person who embodies the things our culture worships

Wealth (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Dave Ramsey, Shark Tank, pro sports players)

Fame (Hollywood Celebrities, Influencers, Musicians/Performers)

Power (Various CEOs, political figures)

An Idol’s purpose is worship and relationship

Idols are placed on stages or altars. We as mankind were placed on the stage of Earth as physical beings who pointed to the Creator

Idols form relationships with the people in their presence

2. We cannot fulfill our function due to sin

Romans 3 - Paul explains that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, and that no amount of effort on our part can change this

We cannot do enough good works because all our works are tainted

We cannot listen to enough sermons because knowledge of good and evil does not create moral goodness

Sin made us dead, spiritually and one day physically.

Dead objects cannot do anything to change their state or position - an outside force must act on them.

God does not inhabit dead things. (Matthew 22:32, Ezekiel 37, John 11:1-44)

Sin ruined us as image bearers

We are broken and unfit for use

We are desecrated as objects meant to glorify God (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, Matthew 24:15)

3. The Gospel restores our Holiness as Image Bearers

Jesus is the final and ultimate fulfillment the Image of God

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 22

22:19 On one side of the silver denarius was a profile of Tiberius Caesar, with the Latin inscription “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus” around the coin’s perimeter. On the opposite side was a picture of the Roman goddess of peace, Pax, with the Latin inscription “High Priest.”

He is King - able to administer justice and protect His people

He is Divine - the full embodiment of God in human form

He is High Priest - able to consecrate our profaned image and restore us to our sacred purpose, and bring peace to us with God

CONCLUSION

God desires for us to fulfill our purpose in creation - serving as objects which all creation can see on display and point to Him as worthy of all honor, glory, and power forever, amen.

CHALLENGE - Seek to glorify the Creator and point everyone to him in everything you do.