10.30.22 - Mark 12: Coins of the Realm (Kenny Camacho)

SCRIPTURE: Mark 12

“If we are bearers of God’s image, if our value comes from Him, if our future is secure in Him, and if we are called to recognize the image of God not just in our religious friends but in everyone (including Caesar!), then we have a task that is one and the same with who we are: we love as God loves. We trade with the ‘coins of God’s realm,’ honoring the eternal value of other people. People right now are putting their trust in the Church to be the hands of God in the world, trusting us to see them rightly and fully, trusting us to care for them in their need and their grief…are we giving our whole selves towards valuing who and what they really are?”


REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Take some time to reflect on the series so far: what stands out to you in our study of Mark’s gospel? What kind of a king is Mark revealing Jesus to be? Where might you find hope or wonder in this?

  2. Kenny said that there is more to a text like Mark 12 than just an opportunity to cheer for Jesus as he outsmarts the authorities who are questioning him. Why is it important to look for more in a text like this one?

  3. There are three “imperial coin” passages this week. The first is the most literal: Jesus tells the Herodians to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s.” What is the connection between these two statements? What is Jesus reminding everyone about when it comes to “what is God’s”?

  4. The second passage builds on the first when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6 about the “greatest commandment(s).” How does the call to love God with all of our strength, hearts, minds, and souls echo the call to “[give] to God what is God’s”? How does the call to love our neighbors flow from this connection?

  5. The third passage sees a poor widow giving her “imperial coins” to the Temple treasury. What does this act reveal about her faith? Who is she trusting to support her?

  6. How can we, as a church, be challenged by Jesus’s reminder that everyone bears God’s image?

  7. How can you, as an individual, be challenged by this?


Kenny Camacho