The Importance Of The Imago Dei in a Culture Infatuated With Image, Icons, and Idols

If your eyesight is poor, you may not know that I am not Matthew.

And for that, I apologize, but I am not sorry.

My name is Drew Arrington, and unlike Matthew and Jeff who preceded me last Sunday, I am not a PCA teaching elder.

But rest assured, I am an ordained minister in a sister denomination called the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

My wife and I, well, skipped a little bit.

I am currently serving, however, as a chaplain in the United States Army like Jeff.

Let's see.

Yes, my wife Allison and I, along with our three daughters, moved here last spring from Clarksville, Tennessee.

And if you ask them, they will tell you that is the absolute best place to live in America.

Most of it has to do with a lot of really great friends and a school that they adored.

But our family greatly appreciates the fellowship and appreciation that you have extended to us as the CMPC family.

And my wife and daughters are all in the process of joining this wonderful church.

So thank you for that welcome.

Well, that's enough about me.

After all, you didn't come here to learn about who I am and my family, but you came here to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

So with that in mind, let's shift a little bit and start looking at today's passage.

So Matthew has been leading us through an exposition of the Gospel of Mark.

And it's my great honor to pick up that study following a break for Advent and Christmas.

And this week, we find ourselves in the 12th chapter of the Gospel, where we consider a passage that contains a deep truth of significant importance for those of us that are being transformed into the image of Christ.

Well, the events of Mark chapter 12, 13 through 17 occur in the middle of Passion or Holy Week, which is that week leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

The week began on Sunday with Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, not on a majestic war horse, but on a lowly, borrowed donkey.

On Monday, he cursed a deceptive fig tree and cleared the temple of profiteers, placing obstacles in the path of those who came to praise God.

On Tuesday, leading up to our passage, Jesus' disciples saw the withered fig tree in the morning light as they were entering back into Jerusalem.

They would then go to the temple where Jesus would critique the religious leaders using the parable of the evil vineyard tenants.

Today's passage records an exchange between Jesus and some of those same religious leaders later that afternoon before he and the disciples would head out to the Mount of Olives for the Olivet Discourse.

So I alluded to a deep truth embedded in this exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day.

However, as I was studying, I realized that that deep truth is often missed, not just by common readers of Scripture, but also by many commentators.

And in many ways, there missing this deep truth is like the white witch's inability to understand the deep magic in C.S. Lewis' beloved classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Thinking she understands the deep magic, Jadus exuberantly accepts Aslan's offer to trade his life for the life of Edmund the traitor.

She does so because she expects that with the Grand Lion out of the way, she can secure her reign as the undisputed sovereign of Narnia.

Unfortunately for the white witch, her faulty understanding leads to her tragic end.

And it is my hope that by God's grace and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that will not be our end this morning.

Instead, that we may avoid the twin traps of viewing this passage as an encouragement for the separation of church and state,

or the endorsement of obedience to the fulfillment of the civil magistrate, both of which are great concepts, but both of which miss the deeper and more important truth in this exchange.

Rather, it's my prayer that we may lay hold of that deep truth that we and a culture infatuated with image, icons, and idols desperately need.

But before we go any further, let us pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Please join me.

Almighty God, creator of our world and all that is in it,

you did not choose to remain silent and distant, but instead inspired men of old to record and encapsulate your word for us within the pages of scripture.

Just as your Holy Spirit has preserved your divine proclamations,

we ask this morning that he press that saving and preserving salve deep into our hearts and minds,

that we may be comforted and conformed to the image of Christ our Lord Jesus Christ.

Grant us this, we ask, according to your faithfulness,

for the glory of our Savior and the good of his bride, the church.

Amen.

Well, if you've not already turned in your Bibles,

do so now or open your worship guide or direct your digital device to the word of God recorded in Mark chapter 12,

Mark 12:13–17

verses 13 through 17.

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk.

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.

Well, in this short passage,

which, by the way, is recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels,

we see the discernment and disarming wisdom of Jesus

in response to the plotting of desperate and deceitful men.

As such, Christ's response here is an example and an encouragement for his church

as we live in and engage a culture infatuated with image icons and idols.

But before we examine the discernment of Christ's response

and the disarming wisdom of Jesus,

we need to take a moment and look at the plot of these desperate and deceitful men

in the first two verses that we read.

See, this is a plot.

It is a deceitful and desperate plot

by the religious leaders

to entrap Jesus,

to catch Jesus,

to snare Jesus

in his words.

They're setting up

these

highly impossible situations,

trying to present him with

yes or no answers

in order

to trap him

in what he says

because so far

they've not been able to trap him

in what he's done.

We see that this is a plot

born of desperation

and we see hints of that desperation

in the awkward alliance

here between the Pharisees

and the Herodians.

These are

two groups of

religious leaders

on opposite ends

in first century Jerusalem.

you have the Pharisees

who find,

who established their position

and find pride

in the idol

of self-righteousness,

being strict

adherence

to the law

of God

as interpreted

by man

and having

tons and tons

of additional requirements

placed upon themselves

and the people.

Then on the other side,

you have the Herodians

who weren't so much

religious in nature

but political,

looking towards

the icon of Herod

for security

and stability.

So why

would these two

disparate groups

join together

in desperation

to find

some fault

with Jesus?

Image.

their image

as being

the leaders

was threatened

by the presence

and the proclamations

of Jesus Christ.

We saw that

the last time

Matthew

delivered a sermon

from Mark

about the

wicked

tenants

of the vineyard.

And those leaders

left understanding

that Christ

was upsetting

the status quo.

He was tarnishing

their image

as the leaders

in first century

Jerusalem

and Israel.

But that desperation

born of the awkward

alliance

was also united

in deceitfulness.

We see here

the flattery

in the early parts

of verse 14.

And there are some

commentators

who have suggested

that this wasn't

flattery.

this was just

the normal way

that people

would exchange

with a leader.

And I could

almost buy that

except for the fact

that Luke

in the parallel passage

says that these men

pretended

to be sincere.

They pretended

to be sincere

when in fact

they were flattering

him

and bringing

to him

a false concern.

they weren't

really concerned

about whether

or not

they should

pay taxes

to Caesar.

In fact

honestly

they came

from different

positions

on the issue.

The Herodians

would say

yep absolutely

because it's

going to strengthen

the Herod family

and be politically

expeditious

for us to do so.

And the Pharisees

even though

they would have

not liked

to pay the tax

would have paid

the tax

because it meant

stability

and they could

remain in power.

So they had

different positions

but they had

the same

practical practice

that they would

pay the tax

but they came

to Jesus

and said

should we pay

this or should

we not?

But you know

this is not a story

this story

of desperate

men

deceitfully

engaging

others

is not

isolated

to first

century

Jerusalem.

It's a tale

older than

the deep

magic

of C.S.

Lewis

in fact

if we understand

scripture right

it's perhaps

even older

than the creation

of the earth

itself

as we understand

that Satan

in an act

of desperation

deceived

other angels

into rebelling

against God

because he felt

that his image

was more important

than that

of God.

We see

this deceit

and this

desperation

in the life

of Abraham

not once

but twice

when he fails

to recognize

Sarah

as his wife

but instead

says no

no no no

let's keep

the image

that we're

not married

because it'll

be safer

for me.

we see

this deceit

and this

desperation

and in

the life

of Jacob

who deceives

both his

brother

and his

father

in order

to secure

the position

that God

had promised

him

and then

suffers

that same

deceit

and desperation

at the hands

of Laban

when he seeks

one of his

daughter's hand

in marriage.

and we

could go

on and

on about

the desperation

and the deceit

exhibited

by the kings

of Israel

and Judah

including

King David

who was a

man after

God's own

heart.

History books

are littered

with men

and women

who are

desperate

and in

their desperation

deceive

others.

In 1920

a guy

by the name

of Charles

schemed

about

$15 million

over a period

of eight months.

He really

did steal

as Jeff

pointed out

last week

he really

did steal

your grandma's

inheritance

and life

fortune.

He was

so successful

that that's

now known

as a Ponzi

scheme

after his

last name

and people

today

have engaged

in Ponzi

schemes

that benefit

their own

lavish

lifestyle.

We think

of the

Elizabeth Holmes

the Sam

Bankman

Freeds

people

practicing

deceit

to desperately

gain

something that

they feel

is theirs.

Jeff

pointed out

last week

we have

also the

Harvey Weinsteins

in the world

today

that use

their power

to deceive

in order

to gratify

their own

desires.

Let us

not forget

the breaking

news of

the George

Santoses

who use

in their

desperation

use deceit

as a way

of grasping

power and

influence.

but it's

not just

the history

that we

read

it's not

just the

headlines

it's our

lives

it's our

encounters

with desperate

and deceitful

people

people that

violate our

trust

abuse the

authority that

God has

given them

maybe it's

the people

that maliciously

misrepresent

what we

believe

or who

flagrantly

flaunt

our

cherished

values.

Well before

we get too

personal and

too far down

that rabbit

hole

let's get

back to

the text

into verse

15

where we

encounter

the discernment

of Christ's

response.

See here

Jesus Christ

instead of

becoming angry

he lovingly

responds

to desperate

and deceitful

men.

And how?

How is he

able to

lovingly

respond?

Well first

he is

extremely

socially

aware.

He understands

what's going

on.

It says

in our

text today

he says

he knows

knowing their

hypocrisy

knowing that

they were

coming to

trip him

up.

Matthew

says

knowing

their

malice

Luke

says

knowing

their

craftiness

Jesus

was

extremely

perceptive

and understood

the social

happenings

around him

and what

the society

was going

through

and he

was not

caught

off guard.

He was

able

to lovingly

respond

to these

men.

But also

too

Christ

has

a very

penetrating

perception.

He is

able to

peer

through

the

actions

the

actions

that

may

have

seemed

sincere

but

weren't

sincere.

He was

able to

look

straight

into the

heart

of each

and every

one of

the men

that were

present

there

questioning

him

and trying

to trap

him.

We also

see that

Jesus

challenges

his

conspirators

and he

does this

out of

love not

only for

the

conspirators

but also

love for

the

observers.

You see

Jesus

could have

very easily

just dismissed

that and

said okay

show me

the

narrators

but no

he said

why do

you test

me?

He pointed

out to

those desperate

men hey

I know

what's going

on here

and it

wasn't

just

out of

love for

them that

he pointed

out their

deceitfulness

it was for

the love

of those

nearby.

He said

you know

what this

is not

normal you

are not

doing this

out of a

great concern

for yourselves

or for the

people you're

doing this

to entrap

me why?

In doing

that he

demonstrated

love for

the onlookers

because they

then were

cued in

that this

is not

the way

you should

treat

people

and other

and not

way that

you should

engage

in deceit.

And then

we see

a deflating

delay

and this

is a

deflating

delay

through a

very simple

request.

He said

hey

bring me

a denarius.

That may

seem like

a

not a

great point

in this

passage

but the

denarius

was a

Roman coin.

It was a

Roman coin

that represented

about a

day's

worth

of work

and they

were in

the temple

and you

may not

know but

in the

temple you

don't use

a Roman

coin.

You pay

your tithes,

you pay

your offerings,

you buy

other offerings

with the

shekel,

not the

denarius.

So with

the worth

of the

denarius,

there's

very likelihood

that would

not be

present in

the temple

and then

Jesus would

have time

not only to

think but

others would

have time

and the

situation

would begin

to dissipate.

So after

some time

we'll get

to the

point where

the denarius

return or

comes to

the temple

but in the

meantime

we could

take time

and talk

about Christ's

response here

and how

he lovingly

responded

in a

situation

where we're

tempted

oftentimes

to not.

We could

spend the

rest of the

sermon

talking about

that but

we're not

because we

are after a

deeper truth

and I will

entrust you to

take a look at

that this

afternoon

on the

Lord's Day

and consider

how your

exchanges with

others might

be shaped

by Christ's

example.

But instead

we are going

to look at

how at

the text

we're going

to look at

the disarming

wisdom of

Christ in

these last

two verses.

Now I don't

know if you

caught it but

a couple of

months ago

the former

vice president

Mike Pence

gave an

interview with

David Muir

and if you

watched that

I think the

most fantastic

question and

response was

recorded in

that interview

and David

Muir

asks a

question he

says

now Mr.

Vice President

this is a

very simple

question to

answer yes or

no should

Donald Trump

be president

again?

and Mike

Pence

demonstrating

great awareness

and discernment

doesn't miss a

beat and he

says David

that's for the

American people

to decide.

And you see

what he did

he avoided

the yes

no and he

found a

third answer

that deflated

the situation

and that's what

we see Jesus

doing here.

he doesn't

bite on the

yes no

answer.

He doesn't

bite on

answering in a

way that would

entrap himself

that would anger

half the population

and elate the

other half or

vice versa.

Instead

using his

divine

discernment

he is able

to avoid

that entrapment

and to offer

a third way.

So we see

the tension

mounting as the

denarius

arrives there

in the temple

and you can

almost see

the Herodians

and Pharisees

coming out

and say we

got it

we got it

here

waiting to hear

Jesus answer

and finally say

ha ha

we gotcha.

but then

Jesus very

quickly

gains the

upper hand

through a

very simple

question

that I've

alluded to

already

he says

whose

inscription

is on

this?

Whose

image

and inscription

are on

this coin?

and they

say

ah

well

Caesars

you got

to think

that at

that point

the Pharisees

and the

Herodians

were probably

thinking

oh no

this is

not going

the way

we were

thinking

it was

going to

go

and then

we see

in verse

17

two

very rapid

momentum

shifts

right

you see

Jesus

saying

oh

okay

well then

why don't

you give

to Caesar

that which

belongs to

Caesar

and you can

hear him

saying

oh yeah

we got

him

we got

him

and then

he says

and give

to God

that which

belongs

to God

and then

they say

ah

we don't

have him

in fact

the word

there is

they were

amazed

at him

and they

weren't

amazed

at him

because

they said

wow

this guy

is really

wise

and what

great

truth

and man

we could

talk about

this forever

on the

next

Sabbath

meeting

no

that word

amazement

is more

like

perplexed

man

how did

he get

out of

that one

again

we had

this

crafted

tight

there was

no way

out

or it

was a

sense of

frustration

ah

we've

already

tried

this

once

before

and it

didn't

work

it's

not

working

now

we have

to go

back

to the

drawing

boards

we gotta

find a

better

question

a more

tighter

question

one that

he can't

weasel

his way

out of

if you've

been paying

attention

maybe you're

like that

this morning

you're like

wait a

minute

where's

this deep

truth

you've

been

talking

about

you haven't

mentioned

anything

about it

well it

is here

in Christ's

response

when you

ask the

Pharisees

and the

Herodians

he says

hey

whose image

is on

the coin

they say

Caesar's

and he

says okay

well give

to Caesar

the things

that bear

his image

if I can

take the

liberty

and give

to God

the things

that bear

his image

and what

do we

know

well

and that

may be

missed

in today's

society

but it

would not

have been

missed by

those religious

leaders

they would

have seen

immediately

the direct

connection

between

Caesar's

image on

the coin

and man's

image

or God's

image

and man

going all

the way

back to

Genesis 1

that we

read this

morning

and that

the

authors

of our

confession

of faith

also

alluded

to

so what

I would

like to

do

as we

conclude

our look

at this

passage

is to

end

with a

brief

exploration

of how

the deep

truth

of the

imago

Dei

the image

of God

on man

significantly

impacts our

view of

self

others

in our

cultural

engagements

so in

your

bulletin

you have

the

commentary

quote

or commentary

on Genesis

by John

Calvin

a quote

there

where he

highlights

how the

imago Dei

shapes our

understanding

of ourselves

and this

is what

he wrote

men are

indeed

unworthy

of God's

care

if

respect

be had

only

to

themselves

but

since

they

bear

the

image

of

God

engraven

on

them

he

deems

himself

violated

in

their

person

thus

although

they

have

nothing

of their

own

by which

they

obtain

the

favor

of

God

he

looks

upon

his

own

gifts

in

them

and

is

thereby

excited

to

love

and

to

care

for

them

what

an

amazing

quote

about

the

importance

of

the

image

of

God

embossed

on

each

and

every

one

of

you

that

it

is

and

through

this

quote

we

understand

that

while

God

while

created

in

God's

image

we

ourselves

aren't

gods

it's

not

that

we're

gods

that

God

loves

us

it's

because

his

image

his

goodness

his

likeness

is

in

us

and

that

is

what

draws

him

to

us

that

is

what

he

finds

loving

you

know

unfortunately

we've

got a

lot of

modern

thinkers

and

influencers

today

like

Oprah

and

Deepak

that

want to

say

that

we

are

gods

you

know

we

just

have

to

find

our

inner

God

and

it's

not

that

it's

the

image

of

God

that

Calvin

highlights

Calvin

also

highlights

an

important

observation

that

Jeff

helped

us

see

last

week

that

we

all

need

the

shepherd

the

shepherd

Jesus

Christ

to

rescue

us

the

question

is

but

why

should

God

rescue

such

a

rebellious

and

wandering

people

because

he's

attracted

to

his

image

in

us

that

image

that

is

imprinted

on

every

individual

human

being

when

we

understand

that

that

it's

nothing

within

us

but

it's

only

God's

image

that

he

bestowed

upon

us

that

should

lead

us

to

a

great

sense

of

humility

as

we

engage

the

world

around

us

well

secondly

the

image

of

God

imprinted

on

all

human

beings

is

the

basis

of

human

dignity

and

value

now

there's

a lot

of

questions

today

about

where

do

we

find

what

what

makes

us

different

why

are

we

so

valuable

and

the

writing

from

R.C.

Sproul

in

We Are

Not

Germs

is

very

helpful

he

says

the

creator

who

possesses

infinite

value

and

worth

has

stamped

us

with

a

value

and

dignity

that

is

derivative

of

his

own

value

and

dignity

lose

that

idea

and

you

have

lost

any

transcendent

foundational

reason

to

treat

human

beings

any

differently

than

you

treat

a

dog

a

dolphin

or

even

a

weed

notice

that

human

beings

are

valuable

because

they

possess

not

because

they

possess

autonomy

over

their

bodies

not

because

they

are

in

control

of

their

own

life

not

because

of

their

ability

to

live

independent

of

the

womb

not

because

they

can

live

independent

of

parents

or

independent

of

family

or

independent

of

medical

care

and

assistance

it

is

not

our

personhood

that

gives

us

value

rather

although

faded

and marred

by

sin

it

is

the

derivative

value

and

dignity

of

God

stamped

on

all

of

us

that

elevates

us

above

every

other

aspect

of

creation

we

give

up

on

that

and

there

is

no

distinction

there

is

no

reason

why

we

should

treat

any

human

being

differently

than we

treat

a

dog

or a

dolphin

or a

weed

finally

it is

the

image

of

God

the

imago

Dei

that

drives

our

engagements

with a

culture

infatuated

with image

icons

and idols

and we

may be

tempted

to

deride

ignore

or

discount

modern

day

Pharisees

modern

day

Herodians

modern

day

tax

collectors

or

even

the

Johns

in our

life

but

understanding

that the

imago

Dei

is

universally

born

by all

human

beings

challenges

that

let's

say that

again

we are

tempted

to

discount

people

because

of their

sin

because

of their

appearance

because

of their

preferences

because

of their

beliefs

because

of the

way

they

look

because

they

didn't

brush

their

hair

the way

that we

think

they should

brush

their hair

but

if we

understand

the

imago

Dei

the fact

that it

is

not

Caesar's

image

impressed

on a

coin

but God's

image

and the

derivative

value

of his

dignity

and worth

that is

stamped

on each

and every

human

being

not just

those of

us

in the

pews

in the

chairs

this

morning

because

we know

that God

is at work

in our

hearts

and has

transformed

our

hearts

but even

those that

are outside

of our

confession

those that

are outside

of the

community

of faith

they

too

have

the

image

of God

stamped

on them

that is

what

John

Stott

communicates

in the

quote

I believe

it's on

the back

of your

bulletin

says

that man

is in the

image of

God

means that

man as a

whole person

both physically

and spiritually

is in some

sense

like his

maker

just what

the nature

of that

likeness is

we are not

told

but we are

told what

really matters

even as

sinners

we bear

God's

image

well if

that's

true

then we

the

rescued

lambs

who are

being

remade

into the

image of

Christ

have a

responsibility

to cherish

the imago

Dei that

remains

even in

the most

vile of

sinners

even in

the Harvey

Weinsteins

even in

the Elizabeth

Holmes

Sam

Benkman

Freeds

even in

the George

Santoses

even in

the homeless

person that

you pass

at various

intersections

even in

the lives

of those