IMAGE COMMUNICATES OWNERSHIP

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:15-21)

I love to read about these exchanges between Jesus and His opponents. They really thought they had Him on this one because Rome was clearly not using their funds to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. They were in fact using their resources to dominate the world, and closer to home, to keep Israel subject to their rule. To say that you should pay taxes to Rome, was to say that you should support a Godless agenda – hmmm, sounds familiar. But, Jesus did not tell the Pharisees to withhold their tax money from their Roman oppressors. He essentially turned the question inside out and told the Pharisees to keep their priorities straight – give to God what belongs to Him, and don’t worry so much about the non-eternal matters. With April 15th just around the corner, I will leave you to prayerfully sort through both your attitude and your conscience where your taxes are concerned. Actually, the tax issue is not at all what I wanted to address out of this passage today.

Instead, I want to point out a subtle truth that is communicated in these verses. Jesus answers the question with a question, as was often His habit. He said, “Show me the money!” (my paraphrase), and then, “Whose image is this?” Everyone there agreed that on the coin was a picture of Caesar. Jesus rightly pointed out that the image that the coin carried identified its rightful owner. Did you get that? Image communicates ownership. The logical argument was that since Caesar’s picture was on the coin, the coin obviously belonged to Caesar. Because the coin belonged to Caesar, only Caesar had the right to say what you could do with it. So give it to Caesar, but be sure that you also give to God what belongs to Him.

I don’t know about you, but that makes me wonder what belongs to God. According to this passage, what belongs to God must carry His image. What is the only thing on this earth that is made in His image and His likeness? You and I. Isn’t that amazing! We are made in God’s image, and according to the logic of what Jesus said in Matthew 22, that means that we belong to Him. God and God alone has a rightful claim on our lives. When Jesus said give to God what belongs to God, He didn’t just mean a portion of your income such as the coin represented. He meant give to God that which carries His image; you – all of you.

The Bible says that we are bought with a price and we are not our own. We belong to Him. Our time, our money, our dreams, our relationships; it all belongs to Him. As we give ourselves to Him afresh each day, we have the priceless privilege of being the image bearers of God in our generation. Wow! What does that say about your worth, your value, and your destiny? You are His and His alone. In His plan for your life you will find the freedom, the meaning, and the satisfaction that your heart seeks. So, render to Caesar what belongs to him, it’s no big deal. But render to God what belongs to Him – that is the biggest deal of all.