Image Idolatry
Notes
Transcript
Mark 12:13-17
We come to our second challenge in the temple that is made towards Jesus. This is the 3rd day in Jerusalem during Jesus’s last week. The first day, he enters Jerusalem on a donkey and the people declare “Hosana, Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David”. On the second day, he curses the fig tree and then goes to the temple and drives out the money changers and declares that the temple has been misused. On the 3rd day, they find the dead fig tree and Jesus uses it to teach the disciples about faith and forgiveness. The authority of Jesus is challenged by the chief priests and scribes. And, as we saw last week, Jesus taught about the wicked tenants who killed the vineyard owners son and the chief priests and scribes knew that he was comparing them to the tenants.
Now we come to a more popular text that is often used to describe taxes. But it is really about image idolatry.
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
Pray
Our journey through Mark has been a wonderful one. We have seen in scripture the accounts of many wonderful miracles, clear teaching from Jesus, and the reaction of those around Jesus. With his words and his actions, Jesus has made it clear who he serves. The only way that he could be stopped, at least the ones who had power would think this, was to deceive him. To trick him.
Trickery is nothing new. It has been the guise of Satan from the beginning. When we go back to Genesis 3, this was the ploy that he used to get Eve to eat the fruit and then get Adam to. He made Eve question the command of God by asking her, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’”. He took what God said, twisted it, and added to it so that he was able to get Eve to question. Deceit and trickery.
When we go further in scripture, we see it continue. In Genesis 27, Jacob impersonated his brother Esau to his father. Isaac, his father was nearly blind. So he put on his brothers clothes so that he could make his father think that he was his brother. In doing so, his father blessed him instead of Esau. Deceit and trickery.
The Pharisees and Herodians use these same tactics to try to get Jesus to say things that would implicate him. As we go through our text today though, we are going to look at it through the point that Jesus is going to make.
Main Point: The worth that we give something determines the things that we worship
Main Point: The worth that we give something determines the things that we worship
No sub points today. Just one point. Our worship is primary. And everyone worships something. This is the point Jesus is making to those in front of him in our passage today. Lets take it and break it down.
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
Who is they? This would be the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. After Jesus called them out on being the wicked tenants in the parable that he told, they want to try to trap him. So they sent Pharisees and Herodians. This is not a new partnership between them. In fact, if you go all the way back to chapter 3, we see it there. Mark 3:6 “6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”
So now, we have the chief priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, and Herodians all conspiring together to get rid of Jesus. This would outnumber the 12 dedicated followers that Jesus had. This would be a powerful force to be working against you. But this was an unusual partnership. See, the Pharisees would be like the Republicans of today and the Herodians would have been like the Democrats. It would take a great deal of threat against them for them to partner up and work together. They can’t agree on anything, except that they didn’t like Jesus.
14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
Flattery. They think that flattery will help to lower Jesus’s walls to where they could trap him. The bible talks about flattery. My favorite verse on flattery is Proverbs 26:28 “28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” And they try really hard. This would be like my kid coming up to me and telling me, “dad, have I told you lately how much I love you?” My red flags would start popping up. I know there is something that you want. And they are trying hard.
They call him teacher. He knows that they do not respect him as a teacher. They tell him that they know that he is true, though they do not believe it. They praise him because he does not care what others think about him, the first true opinion that they have of him. They know that this is true and they have been recipients of this. They tell him that he is not swayed by appearances, and he is not. And finally they commend him that he truly teaches the way of God.
All of these things are true, but this is not how they view Jesus. They say these things in an attempt to catch him off guard. I think it is best for us to really dive into why they are trying to trap him. Yes, it is because he is truly teaching the word of God, but there are other factors in it too.
In 7 A.D., there was a man named Judas of Galilee(not the Judas with Jesus) that led an insurrection. Augustus had brought Judea under Roman rule. With Roman rule came Roman taxes. This means that the Jewish people would be paying taxes to a Gentile ruler. On a deeper level, this means that the Jewish people would no longer be under the rule of God but under the rule of Rome. So Judas of Galilee organized a revolt.
They were trying to prevent this from happening again. The people respected Jesus and his teaching. They would gather to hear what he had to say. The ones who were in power were in fear that what happened with Judas of Galilee would happen again with Jesus. They knew that if they could catch him in saying something against his teaching or against Rome, then they could finally take care of him. So they try to trap him.
The question they pose to him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or not?”
The Pharisees and Herodians see that there is only 2 answers to this question. If Jesus says that it is lawful to pay Caesar the taxes, he will be viewed by the Jewish people as a traitor. They did not want to be under the rule of Rome, so therefore if you supported taxes, that meant you supported Rome and that would make you a traitor.
On the other hand, if Jesus were to say that it is not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then that would mean that he would be viewed as an insurrectionist and trying to insight rebellion against Rome. This would give them grounds to arrest him and turn the people against him that way. They think that they have them.
I have seen a few debates in my time. There have been some famous ones over the years. And there are times when one side will find this little opening and then they have what I like to call a “gotcha” moment. Their opponent has no rebuttal and they are not able to take the debate any further. This gotcha moment makes it clear who the winner is.
I am sure that the Pharisees and Herodians were viewed as very educated and intelligent men. They held a lot of respect from many people because of their knowledge and their teaching. But in the moment, they thought that they could debate the creator of the universe. I feel like I could decently debate some people. I may could even win some. I feel like my 12 year old has prepared me for debating because that seems to be a common pastime in our house. But these men bit off more than they could chew.
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
They said all of these nice things to Jesus’s face thinking they could draw him in that way. But Jesus knows better. He knows that they are hypocrites. A hypocrite is someone who puts on a false appearance. He is pointing out their hypocrisy because of what they had said to him. All of the compliments that they had given him. He knew their hearts and he knew that their words did not reflect their hearts.
I became a believe 16 years ago. Ever since then, I have heard people complain about churches and the people in them and there is always this word that gets thrown around to describe people in church. Hypocrites. I used to tell people who said they didn’t go to church because it was full of hypocrites that they were more than welcome to come because there was always room for one more. But the older I have gotten and the more I have grown in following Jesus, I just don’t like that answer.
Why are Christians viewed as hypocrites? I understand that Christians are not perfect, but there is a difference in someone being imperfect and someone being a hypocrite. There is this belief that people can profess Christ without changing who they are. And churches have accepted this as normal. So we have brought into membership in churches people who display no repentance and change. And now, the world looks into the church and sees the churches message and the churches people and they understand that these two things do no jive. So they call it hypocrisy. And rightfully so.
I am calling all of you to not be hypocrites. I am not saying that you are, but I want, and God wants people to look at the people of our church and all churches and know that the people who are part of that, are different. People are watching you. They know that you come to church and they watch what you say and do when you are away from here. But more than that, God sees who you really are. More than your friends and neighbors, God knows your thoughts, words, and actions. And trust me, I am no better than any of you. This is something that I have to fight against all of the time. To not be like the Pharisees.
Back to this exchange, Jesus asks for a coin to look at. This is important here. Jesus has to ask for one because he does not have one. But he knew that they would have one. Also, another important piece of information is that they are in the temple. Don’t forget that part.
16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
This coin is the key to the point that Jesus is making here. See, on one side of the coin was the image of Tiberius Caesar with the inscription “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus”. On the opposite side of the coin was the image of Tiberius’s mother, Livia, with the inscription “Pontifex Maximus” which means High Priest. So this coin, which they brought into the temple, had on one side a man claiming to be a god and on the other a woman claiming to be priest. The Jews found this to be blasphemous.
God gives power to people at times. And we are even instructed to obey them. Romans 13:1 “1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” God’s word tells us that he has put those in authority. We have the president we have because of God just like we had the last president because of God. Caesar is in power because God put him there. But, his power is limited.
This coin is viewed as an idol to the Jews. They are under the rule of an authority that they do not want. This authority claims to be a god himself. And the Pharisees have brought in this coin into the temple. An idol brought into God’s temple by those who are in power. I have tried to think of what we could correlate this to today but I just could not think of it. Some may think that wearing Trump stuff into church would be the equivalent to that. Trump doesn’t claim to be a god. I think in our time, we would have to go to other countries like Russia or Korea to come close to something like this.
But Jesus doesn’t deny that Caesar has some authority at least. Instead, he ascribes to him his earthly authority but at the same time points out the idolatry that is going on.
17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars. One of the commentaries I read on this passage said that Jesus is in effect telling them, “Let Caesar have his idols”. Give to Caesar the thing that has Caesars image on it. That is what he is entitled to. But he doesn’t just leave it hanging there.
And to God the things that are God’s. So if the coin is the thing that bears Caesar’s image, what is that thing that bears God’s image? You are. See, this is why we are talking about idolatry. If Caesar is owed the thing that bears his image, then God is owed the thing that bears his image. And that is us. All of us, our whole selves. That is what is owed to God.
Our whole lives are about worship. We are always worshiping something. Sometimes it is ourselves, it might be other people that we worship, we could even be like the Pharisees at times and worship our government leaders. But for the Christian, God should be the focus of our worship. Why? Because we recognize that we are created in his image. And we owe to the creator our whole selves as image bearers.
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus. That we are made in the image of God. That is the very first thing that we must recognize. (gospel presentation)
We may owe something to political leadership(taxes), but we owe everything to God. Let us not get confused that we are reconciled to God by what we offer him. This would be a works based salvation. We are not saved by what we offer but what has been done for us. Jesus in our place. Our sin placed on Jesus hanging on the cross. His righteousness placed on us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This is the great exchange where we receive what we are not owed while Christ received what we deserve.
These religious leaders are standing in the presence of the incarnation of God. They are questioning, trying to trap him. While they should be falling on their faces before him and begging him for the forgiveness that he offers. Jesus is going to take what he is teaching them even further in a few verses when he teaches them the Great Commandment(love God with everything that you have). But in the moment, Jesus leaves them marveling at him and his answer.
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
This seems to be a theme. Teaching people and leaving them astonished and marveling at him. But this does not make them followers of him or even respecters of him. I read this week that “marveling is amazement that falls short of faith”. They are in awe of what he said in the moment but it does not make a lasting impact on them.
How often do we see this in people today? They hear something, even God’s word. They marvel at it and even show interest. But there is no lasting change. Modern day Pharisees. Living hypocritical lives, hearing the word of God, and not letting it change them.
Application-
What this all comes down to is worship. Not a style of music that we sing in church. A lifestyle that is dedicated to God. Worship happens. What we worship is what we need to focus on.
My charge for you, through God’s word this morning, make sure that your worship is right worship. What is at the top of the list in life for you. Work, family, politics, sports. These are all things that are easily put at the top of what we worship. But these things should not even be in the same sphere.
Worship the God that has created us in his image. All of us are image bearers. Our worship should be everything that we have and we give it to God. All or nothing.
In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes set sail for Mexico. He had 11 ships, 13 horses, 110 sailors, and over 500 soldiers with him. For him, there was no plan b. The crew was exhausted by the time they made it to Mexico. He knew that the men needed no other option. Forward was the only option Cortes had, so he made an order that would give his men no other option. He ordered them to burn the ships. He knew that if the ships were still there, the option for retreat would still be there. There was no plan b. Conquer or die.
We need to have no plan b for our worship. God is the only one who is worthy of our worship. Get rid of everything else that can get in the way. Lay it all down at the feet of Jesus.
I don’t have anything groundbreaking here. I can’t give you a list of 5 ways to help you do this. All I can do is point you to God’s word and tell you that idol worship will not bring you to God. I can only tell you to give everything to God and worship him wholeheartedly. So that is our charge today. Worship God. Render to God the things that are God’s. And that is our whole life because we bear his image.
