What sign can you do?

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John 6:30-35 If I wasn't in the same boat as these sinners following Jesus I would probably be laughing right in their face. I often wonder how Jesus kept from rolling on the grass laughing at what some people do. Today we hear the crowd ask Him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?..." Is this not the same crowd who in verse 2 we are told - "followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick ."? Are these not the same people who in verse 14 " when they saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."? Yet still they seek a sign. However, they are not seeking a sign so that they might believe, they are wanting to be fed. Jesus worked a "sign" with the loaves and the fishes and now they want Him to do it again. Wisely, Jesus is using their bellies to get to their hearts; He is using earthly things to move them,
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We are Coined in His Image and Likeness

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Matthew 22:15-21, Mark 12:13-17
 
As a teenager I loved to tinker with cars. I wasn't very good at it but I liked to change my own oil and mess around trying to fix what was broke (even if I was the one who broke it!). My parents bought me a large tool set to use on the cars and other things I liked to take apart and put back together. 

The first thing I did with that set was take it out in the garage, sit down, and etch my name on every piece. This was quite a task when you consider all of the sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Of course it wasn't enough just to make my mark. I had to "sign" many of them. Literally, I etched a signature in many of the pieces. I couldn't simply put J.H. on the tools since my dad had the same initials and we know how fathers often steal their son's tools...or maybe it's the other way around! Anyway, I put my mark on those items to show that they were mine, they belonged to me, they were my possessions. 

In today's Gospel we find Jesus in a tricky situation yet He is still able to teach us a very important lesson about how God has marked what belongs to Him. 

It is near the time of Passover so the city of Jerusalem is crowded. We can imagine that the occupying force, Rome, has stepped up law enforcement as a standard measure. In the past day or two Jesus has ridden into the city on the back of colt to shouts of "Hosanna". He has overturned tables and made a whip to clean out the Temple. So, when He is confronted by the Pharisees and Herodians we can be sure a crowd is gathering including the Roman soldiers. 

Here Jesus is confronted with a difficult question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" If He answers "yes" then the people will turn against Him as these men would like. If He answers "no" He will probably be arrested immediately for speaking against the current ruler. I would bet that the Roman guards were looking for a reason to get this man off the street and keep the peace. 

 Jesus asks for a coin and looks at what is stamped upon it. He asks, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" The reply is, "Caesar's" and He tells them to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. 

The question is this - what belongs to God? We can say everything belongs to God and be correct but the question is much deeper? How did we know that the coin belonged to Caesar? It was stamped with his "likeness and inscription" or his "likeness and name" or we can say that it is made in the "image and likeness" of Caesar. 

If this tells us that the coin belongs to Caesar we should look for the stamp of God upon that which belongs to God. Yes, it is you and I who belong to God. We are stamped or made in His image and likeness. We carry in our very bodies the image and name of God. We have been "coined" by God. 

We may very well feel like an old, dirty, scarred, and faded coin and often this is the result of sin. There is no need for despair because Christ Himself said that He makes all thing new and that, like the woman, He will search everywhere until He finds that lost coin. 

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar-put no stock in this world and its goods. Be ready to part with anything of this world. Give to God your very self. He has placed His very stamp upon you. 

Lord, help me to live only for You so that others may see Your image and likeness in me.


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