Mark 12 Render Unto God

Mar 12:14  And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
15)  Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it.
16)  And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17)  And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marvelled greatly at him.

I'm sure many of you have read or heard this passage before; probably in the context of paying taxes. That is a valid lesson from the passage, but, as is usual with God's word, there is more. I want to point out something relating to "image and superscription" in verse 16.


Jesus asks whose image and superscription are on the coin He has been given, and He is told that they are Caesar's. Then in verse 17 He says, in effect, that the image and the writing on the coin indicate that it belongs to Caesar. (Did you ever think that the money in your pocket belongs to the ruler or government of your country? I suppose not, most people think it belongs to them...)

Going back to our passage, we read that Jesus also says that there are things which belong to God. What could that possibly mean?

The Bible will interpret itself, and the Holy Spirit will teach us correct understanding, so let's find out who or what carries God's image and writing, since that is what shows ownership here.

Gen 1:26  And 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 cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27)  And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Ah-ha! MAN (male and female) was created in God's image! But what about writing? The coin had Caesar's image and writing...

In the Old Testament, God's words were written on stone, and there is no OT verse in which God says He has written anything on man. But in the New Testament we learn that the Gentiles, who were not given the written law, had something written on them:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15)  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;

This is sometimes called natural law. What it means is that everyone, in every culture, has a knowledge of right and wrong: God's law written on their hearts.

So, going back to the passage in Mark, what are we to give to God? That which is made in His image and bears His writing. Our bodies are made in His image, and our hearts have His law written on them. We are His, and we are to give ourselves to Him.

Hebrews 6:4-6 Impossible

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Someone I care about put faith in Jesus once. I was present at the baptism. After a few years walking  as a follower of Christ, however, they fulfilled Christ's prophecy, which He spoke to his disciples in Matthew 26:31b (NIV). He said, "...you will all fall away..." When we spoke about it, I was told that return was impossible, because it said so in "my" Bible. I know the Scripture referenced was Hebrews 6:4-6 (above).

Maybe you have had a similar experience. Maybe you think your loved one is forever lost, and are heartbroken because of it. I understand, and I say take hope! God is in charge. He started the work in the one you love, and He is responsible to finish it.

So what does this mean in Hebrews 6? It plainly says it is impossible to bring one who has fallen away to repentance. But we need to find out to whom it is impossible, to man or to God. To understand this, we need to look more deeply into God's Word.

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Here in Matthew 19, Jesus Himself says that it is impossible for a rich man to save himself, but He affirms that with God all things are possible. This is repeated in Mar 10:27 "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." and Luke 18:27  "And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Also, in Luke 1, after Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and the power of God, he ends by saying, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

So in Hebrews, it must mean that it is impossible for man to renew such a one to repentance. With God, all things are possible.

There is one more thing we need to know, and that is what is possible for us:

Mark 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.


This means it is possible for us to intercede with God for our loved ones when we have faith and believe in Jesus, God's Son. This father confessed both his belief and his unbelief, and asked for help, and Jesus healed his son. He will do the same for you and for me, because He rewards those who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6b)

So take heart and intercede with God for those you love, then get out of the way and let Him work!

Luke 5:17-26 Who is He?

Luk 5:17  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23  Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25  And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

This is a familiar story; it is also related in Matthew 9:2-8 and Mark 2:1-12. What I see here is this: in verse 20, Jesus forgives the sick man his sins. In verse 21, the Pharisees, who knew the scripture, accused him in their hearts of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. In verse 24, because He knew what they were thinking, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the man's infirmity, as well.
The logical progression is this:

• Jesus forgave sins
• Only God can forgive sins
• Jesus healed miraculously
• Only God performs miracles (this is understood but not explicit in this text)
  
• Therefore, Jesus is God

They were all amazed, filled with fear, and gave glory to God. So should we all.