Image-bearing Authoring

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?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 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. Mark 12:14-17

I’m a huge Peter Kreeft fan. If you haven’t read his books, I encourage you to go pick up a handful. I recommend starting with some of his fictional Socratic dialogues (e.g., "Socrates Meets Jesus”, “Socrates Meets Rousseau”, etc.). My favorite of these conversations is The Best Things in Life, another conversation between Socrates and various people on the fictional campus of “Desperate State University.” In this book, Kreeft says that Jesus was the greatest question-asker ever, and in other books, Kreeft says that Socrates was a close second. I appreciate Kreeft’s insights that Jesus doesn’t just ask good questions; he asks the perfect questions that prei to the core of what the listener needed to hear. When we read Jesus’s conversations with various people, we watch Him ask “zingers” that back His listeners into a corner (e.g. asking the Samaritan woman to go call her husband).

In some of the gospel episodes, Jesus’s uncanny question-asking enables him to circumvent the attempts of those set upon entrapping Him. Mark 12:14-17 certainly presents another amazing example of just that – the Pharisees and Herodians thought they could ask the perfect question that Jesus couldn’t possibly answer. The Pharisees and Herodians didn’t agree on much, apart from their disdain for Jesus. The Pharisees were deeply religious and nationalistic. The Herodians were Hellenists who favored assimilation into the Roman empire and way of life. Naturally, the Pharisees frosted at the notion of paying taxes to a pagan nation. The Herodians fully supported it. So, when they approached Jesus, they fully expected that one of the groups would be more pleased with Jesus’s answer and the other upset. Of course, whoever Jesus agreed with still wouldn’t like Him because they were threatened by Him.

Of course, Jesus saw right through their trap, and His question (and ensuing lesson) was sure to have dumbfounded them. Mark’s account suggests that it wasn’t just the Pharisees and Herodians who were amazed by His evasion, but everyone else was too. And, the gospel writers all recount that audiences were constantly amazed by his questions, and that He taught as one who had authority.

Jesus also knew the answer to His question, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” His question sets up the lesson that He wants to teach. Unsurprisingly, His response to “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” answers their question in a way they could never fathom. It evades the trap and actually provides a remarkable guidance for what it looks like to submit to God and to the authorities under which we live.

But, His question also goes far beyond merely priming them to witness His evasive tactics. He’s also directing the Pharisees and Herodians to concede something about themselves. Certainly, He’s calling attention to the relationship between the image on a denarius and Caesar’s authority. But, He’s also making a point about the relationship between the image on a human and Jesus’s own authority. From the outset of Creation, we learn that God made people in His image: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” (Genesis 1:26). And, the Old Testament is full of statements that God has written his law and covenant on His people’s hearts. Likeness and inscription.

This is the lesson many of us overlook in this passage, and I’m thankful to my friend Chris Smith to remind me of this reality. In the same way that Jesus says a denarius is Caesar’s because it bears his likeness and inscription, He’s also saying that the listeners who seek to entrap Him are also Jesus’s because they bear His likeness and inscription.

Often, when we talk about being created in God’s image, our conversation focusses on the dignity and worth that this guarantees for all humans. A denarius could have been made out of insignificant metal, but it had value because of Caesar’s image on it. Humans are formed essentially out of dust (Gen. 2:7) and I’ve read that actual chemical composition of a human is worth about $585. But, that’s not what gives us value. Because we are created in the image and likeness of the Infinite One, all people have infinite value. This is a fundamental belief of a Christian worldview that can never be negotiated.

But this foundational truth also needs to be proclaimed so we remember that we are God’s; He has authority over us; we are not our own. Some may read this and see it as a counterbalance to our profound dignity – as though we need to hold our supreme value in moderation, balanced against the notion that we are not our own. However, being under God’s authority – being His rather than our own – doesn’t diminish our value in the least. Knowing who I am (an image bearer) and whose I am (bought by my loving Father) is the only comfort we will ever have in life and death, as the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us.

In a world that seeks to convince us that we need to be “free,” to “tell our own truth,” to “go our own way,” or to “find ourselves,“ we are pushed to see God’s authority negatively. But, I’m convinced that this fascination with personal independence is at the heart of massive increases in what seems to be ubiquitous stress, anxiety, and loneliness. But what is most likely to bring peace and wholeness is a recognition of our profound value, but not because we have seized it for ourselves. That path only leads to despondency, for we can never do enough.

But we are not our own; we bear the likeness and inscription of God. This is one of greatest truths we can pass on to the next generation. It’s counter-culture, but it is only way they will ever be free. Sounds like a bit of a paradox, but a life of faith is also a life of mysterious and wonderful paradox. But, in these paradoxes we meet our great God and see Him for who He is. He’s beyond us, but He’s also for us. This beautiful truth reminds me of a wonderful hymn written by George Matheson in 1890, in which He says,

“Make me a captive, Lord,
And then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword
And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life's alarms
When by myself I stand;
Imprison me within thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand.”

May we all live our days in light of bearing the likeness and inscription of the One who gave of Himself to give us life to the full.