Spent for God
This passage remains one of my all time favorites. I love it because Jesus took a simple thing like a coin and crushed his enemies who were trying to trap him.
It is just beautiful in its power and simplicity. It is pure Jesus.
Interesting Things about Coins.
Coins represent a specific value or denomination. The issuer of the coin determines the type of metal to be used and the value that is to be associated to the coin. Often the issuing body also inscribes the coin with the image of the crown or state or king.
This image represents the true owner of the coin and also the authority under which it was issued. The coin is circulated under authority of the governing power and can be used in exchange for things of value. This is basically our monetary system.
The metal used is drawn from the earth and it is considered precious since it is in limited supply and takes great effort to be drawn from the ground and then refined and cast into coins. Taxes are a demand from the state to pay for services rendered such as roads, police or army required to maintain safety as well as other daily requirements for good governance in a society.
Jesus was required to pay his share in taxes too. There were temple taxes and temporal taxes to be paid. What is amazing is the way in which Jesus addressed these issues by using one small coin.
Jesus gives us great insight on how we are to approach todays subject. Actually He gives this advice over and over and puts it into almost every conversation he has with us through the New Testament that concerns money. We just have to have our eyes open to see it.
Jesus asks his questioner whose image is on the coin? The answer is why Caesar of course! Its a no brainer and what was supposed to have been a trap set for Jesus by the religious ruling class becomes a humiliating defeat and a lesson in authority and righteousness.
Church, as we prepare for Easter we need to reflect, review and re-examine our lives in the light and life of Jesus Christ. Today let us do this by looking at a simple coin and learning a lesson from Jesus.
The coin that Jesus refers to is not only a physical representation of payment but it is also a metaphor for what God expects from us in terms of payment for the life we enjoy.
Just as there is an authority that issues the coin Jesus talks about. There is an authority that issues our lives. We bare the image of God since we are made in His image.
Genesis 1:27
So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
We are the property of God since He made us from the soil of His earth.
7 Then the LORD God formed a man [c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
We received the eternal breath of God that is why we have eternal life.
We are designed by God to represent a specific value or denomination. A one ounce silver dollar has a certain purpose; a one ounce gold dollar has another purpose. They both have value but one can achieve more than the other. We are the currency of God. He can spend us as He sees fit.
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
We are precious to God and that is demonstrated by the effort He has gone to design, forge, and mold us into the image we bare today. If we allow the life of Christ to speak to us then God can continue to mold and form our lives into something truly precious and valuable in His eyes.
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
It is our Fathers will that we be found valuable, worthy, useful and identified with His work. Our goal is to live a Christian life in such a manner as to bring Glory and Honor To God in the way that Jesus demonstrated to us.
Think for a moment how many times Jesus refers to parables about coins or value or earning interest etc. etc.
Matthew 13:44
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
Matthew 18:21
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Borrowed money.
Matthew 25:14
The Parable of the Bags of Gold
Luke 15:8
The Parable of the Lost Coin
Luke 19:11
The Parable of the Ten Minnas.
And there are many more examples.
Time and time again it is Jesus who is driving home the point that we are precious to our God and Father and that we are to be a reflection of His value, His image and His authority in this fallen world.
Revelation 3:18
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Well I think I have made my case for the fact that you are precious to God, hand made by God and purposed by God to be found valuable for God.
Now how have you spent yourself as Gods currency?
Have you spent a little or a lot of yourself as a Christian?
Have you tried to be like Jesus and in fact come to a place in life where you are entirely spent for God?
I realize there are days when we all feel entirely spent but Im talking specifically about being spent for God.
What if You gave all you have to Gods will for your life?
What if you made a self sacrificing effort to empty yourself for God?
What if you tried to surrender your very life for God just as Jesus has?
Are you willing to be rejected by society because of what you believe?
Are you willing to step away from what is normal into what is eternal in terms of work?
Will you allow yourself to know discomfort, public ridicule, religious attack, humiliation, and false accusation for the purpose of God?
In short will you allow God to spend you as He sees fit even if it means you may come to know some of the experiences of Jesus?
Well thats what our God is calling us to.
I might ask you what are you going to do with your tax return this year? Will you save it or invest it or spend it on a vacation?
I might also ask you what are you going to do with the life Jesus has returned to you. The new life you enjoy in Christ. How will you spend it?
If you invest your life in Christ you will earn a kind of interest only God can pay in eternal returns.
What you invest in Christ can reap a windfall for the kingdom of heaven. Your single life can and will touch hundreds even thousands over your life time. Spend it touching others for Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
