Great Wealth in 2 Copper Coins
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Introduction
Introduction
What is true wealth, and how is it measured? What is of greatest value, and how will you be able to tell where you are placing your emphasis in terms of that which is truly of value. Do you possess true wealth that will endure into eternity? These are the kinds of questions that need to be addressed through this passage before us this morning.
Keep in mind that Jesus is still in the temple, at the time of the Passover. This was a time of great jubilation and excitement. The Jewish people would travel far to go up to Jerusalem for this great gathering that would take place for the observance of the Passover Meal, the sacrificing of the Passover Lamb. It was a time of remembering God’s goodness. It was a time of sacrifice of animals. It was a time for giving monetary gifts to the temple. That is what was happening around this time. Men, women and children were gathered in their number.
But this particular Passover gathering was also the time where there was great tension. The hatred towards Jesus was at an all-time high. If anything, that had been escalated by the religious leaders’ failure to trap Jesus in a number of questions that they had posed to him. To add further injury to their pride, Jesus had posed a question of his own about David calling his descendant Lord. And they were silenced.
Tension was running high!!
It’s this situation of great tension that Jesus uses to teach on the spiritual depravity of the religious leaders, and the comparative spiritual wealth of someone who was really frowned upon and disdained in society. One of the important truths that flows out of this text is that God’s standard of measurement is often far different from man’s. In the words of 1 Samuel 16:7
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV84)
7 ...The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
That is precisely what we find being brought to the fore through these two encounters that Luke places back-to-back in his Gospel.
As we look at this text, we need to be applying this to ourselves, and asking asking ourselves as Christians, “What does God think about my heart.” When he looks into my heart, what does He see. It’s not about what the world around me sees, or what the people at church see, or what my colleagues at work see. Rather, it is about what God sees.
With that in mind, notice firstly…
1. A Heart for the Praise of Man (20:45-47)
1. A Heart for the Praise of Man (20:45-47)
Following this round of questioning, Jesus begins to address his disciples. He begins with a warning to them.
1.1. The Warning (vv.45-46a)
1.1. The Warning (vv.45-46a)
In verses 45-46 we read…
Luke 20:45–46 (NIV84)
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law....
Notice the important information that is pointed out here. Firstly, all the people were listening. And there was a throng, a great crowd of Passover observers, that were in the temple courts, and had been listening to Jesus and the religious leaders in their engagements and questions. I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was the center of attention in this moment, whatever the motivations were for people listening to him.
But we also see that Jesus particularly addresses his disciples at this point. I’m not going to argue here for who these disciples were that are referred to - if it was limited to the twelve, or to a wider group of disciples. But the fact is there is a distinction made by Luke. Jesus was giving a warning to His true followers, but in the presence of a wider audience. I would suggest that this wider audience included Scribes, Pharisees and other religious leaders.
What’s really important to see here is that Jesus warns his disciples against the Scribes. He sounds a clear warning against them. He tells them to beware of the Scribes!! I believe that this would more broadly apply to all of the religious leaders that were committing sins very similar to those of the Scribes.
What were those sins? The rest of verse 46 gives the reason for the warning…
1.2. The Sins (v.46b)
1.2. The Sins (v.46b)
Luke 20:46 (NIV84)
46 “...They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
Jesus outlines a number of examples of the things that these religious leaders enjoyed doing as part of their lives, with all of them telling the story of a particular heart reality.
Flowing Robes...
“They like to walk around in flowing robes....”
These robes that were worn by the Scribes were designed to be flashy and prominent. They were designed with the express purpose of showing to those around the Scribes that they were important. Notice the words of Matthew 23:5…
5 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
As the Scribes would walk around, they would be sure to walk in a manner to demonstrate to the ordinary people that they were important and worthy of respect. But excessively so!!
Greetings in the marketplaces
Next, we read that they “…love to be greeted in the marketplaces...”
Now, this obviously doesn’t speak about your usual friendly greetings that everyone would do as a common courtesy.
7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
The greetings that Jesus refers to here were a greeting of respect when the people in the marketplace recognized their status as Rabbi. They wanted the honor from the people. They wanted to be esteemed by the people, and one of the ways that they could receive this was as they walked through the market-place with their robes, and the people all greeted them with an honorific greeting.
They were receiving these greetings of honor, and in doing so were being puffed up in their own minds. They loved the attention and the adulation.
Now, we must understand that they would have simply believed that they’d earned this respect and honor through their hard work, and their diligent study of God’s Word.
But their hearts were deceived. They were loving the attention they received, and more concerned about receiving this attention than with giving glory to God, and showing love and mercy to the people.
Important seats in the synagogues
Further to this, “they love to...have the most important seats in the synagogues...”
In the synagogues of that day, there would be seats in front of the raised synagogue platform on which stood the prayer leader or the person reading the Scriptures.
These seats were placed close by to this platform, and would face the gathered assembly. Being seated in these seats, they would be in closest proximity to the person leading the Scripture reading or prayer. And they would be seated watching the attendees, and having the gathered assembly see them there.
Simply being taken to such a seat would convey a sense of honor and importance.
Now, we need to understand that they had this love for that position. It was a place of honor, and their hearts loved it. They loved the people watching them.
Places of honor at banquets
A similar thing was true of them as they would attend banquets. Jesus explains that they "love...the places of honor at banquets.”
We’ve already seen Jesus addressing this in a practical sense in Luke 14:7-8
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
The fact was that these Scribes and religious leaders sought out honor and praise from others. When a banquet was arranged, they would want to get to the important seats. This was their goal.
They wanted to be seen as those who are important, notable. Their hearts were filled with pride in this sense.
As we look to verse 47, we find two further things that marked the lives of the Scribes.
They Devour Widows Houses
At the beginning of verse 47 we read that “They devour widows’ houses...”
There are no specifics given in terms of how they would do this. There are a few possibilities in terms of what Jesus was referring to here.
Firstly, it’s very possible that they would act as executors of the estates of these widows. Recall back in Luke 12:13
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
It was often the function of the religious leaders to assist in dividing up the estate, acting as executors. While doing so, they would cheat these widows out of their possessions. They would improperly use their position in order to influence and gain a personal advantage.
Another possibility is that they simply had funds that belonged to the widows under their control to some extent, and that they would then ask the widows to contribute more than could reasonably have been expected of them.
Or perhaps there was some extent of material support offered by the widows, but the religious leaders took advantage of them.
Whatever the case was, the fact is that these religious leaders were extorting money from widows, and they didn’t give much thought or concern to what they were doing.
Now, in a sense, this demonstrates the extent of the pride of the Scribes. Widows were among the most vulnerable of society. They typically didn’t work, and the only possessions and income they had was that provided by their husbands to them while they were still alive. With their husbands now no longer providing, they had very little hope.
God himself had a deep care for such widows…
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
Not only this, but religious leaders ought to have been caring for the needs of the widows.
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
The care of widows in their distress was a critical care point for the early church.
Acts 6 tells us that the early church was heavily involved in caring for widows - and there were a good number of them.
These Scribes were certainly not concerned for the well-being of widows. Instead, they took advantage of them.
This just shows the self-centered nature of their lives.
Flashy, Lengthy Prayers
Finally in verse 47, we read, “...and for a show make lengthy prayers.”
The next concern of Jesus is selfish pride that was evidenced through lengthy public prayers.
These scribes would find a place bustling with people, and would stand and pray these lengthy prayers in order to demonstrate to the society around them just how great they were.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
This was the manner of the Scribes. Their prayers were not humble engagements with God, acts of dependence upon Him. Rather, they were specifically used in order to promote themselves and their image in the face of those watching them. Their goal was to get the people watching to trust in them as spiritual leaders. It was all self-serving!!
It’s clear through these 6 different acts of the Scribes that their hearts were exceedingly selfish. They were driven by pride, and hearts that sought their own praise and glory rather than the genuine praise of God.
They certainly wouldn’t have been of the opinion that they were acting in this way, but to Jesus watching them, the truth was clear. One cannot hide the truth from God.
The sad reality is that they would be justly condemned as a consequence of their pride.
1.3. The Condemnation
1.3. The Condemnation
Note what is said by Jesus at the end of verse 47…
...Such men will be punished most severely.”
Another translation renders this as “These will receive greater condemnation.”
Given their knowledge of God’s word and His ways, and given their place of influence as those who were supposed to be religious leaders, their condemnation would be “even greater.”
Philip Ryken comments here:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Greater Condemnation
It will go badly enough for people who did not want anything to do with God at all, but it will be even worse for people who pretended to be spiritual and worst of all for the spiritual leaders who should have known better. This is a basic principle of divine justice: “Increased responsibility means increased accountability.” The more we know about God, the more he expects us to follow him in the truth, and the more he will condemn us for living a lie.
In James 3:1 we read…
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
God is going to hold us to account based on the extent of his revelation to us, the extent of our knowledge, and the manner in which we live our lives in response to that knowledge.
Before we move on in our study, I would like to draw some practical points of application for what we find in these verses here.
Points of Application
The first point of application that I’d like to make is that we need to be very careful of the motivations behind our own actions.
We need to honestly ask ourselves if we are seeking to serve others, or if our motivation is personal gain or recognition.
As I’ve already said, there is no doubt that the Scribes believed that they were the greatest servants of the people of that day. They would have perceived themselves as humble servants. But the reality was far removed from their own self-deceived perception. We need to ask God to show us our own hearts, and the reason behind what we are doing.
We also need to be careful to avoid the temptation to compare ourselves to others or seek status and respect based on external things such as wealth, power, or position.
The hearts of these Scribes, their motivation in life, was driven by a desire to win the approval of man. And much of what they did was a consequence of this desire to be seen favorably in the eyes of others; to be honoured in the sight of men. It was a danger to them, and it is a danger to us today. It is easy to do what we do motivated by pride. We need to guard our hearts in this respect.
Then, we need to consider the warning of Jesus that was given here to His disciples. He warned them to beware of the Scribes.
They had an obligation to be wary of and cautious of these religious leaders. They were to be cautious of those who use their position or influence to manipulate or deceive others for their own benefit. The same is true today.
There are a good number of teachers out in the world that seek their own advancement, who work for their own personal gain, at the expense of the people they ought to be serving. The modern-day church is filled with examples of this, and it’s sad to see how many are led astray by such false teachers.
As responsible Christians, it is responsibility to seek out teachers that leaders that are marked by true wisdom from God, and demonstrate humility in their leadership. We are to have leaders who are more concerned with the people they serve than their own advancement and reputation.
We need to see this warning. Teachers that act in this way, that exploit people, that work for their own advancement and to be seen by others are dangerous. Jesus warned against them.
Then, finally in terms of practical application at this point, we also need to keep in mind that true success is not determined by status or reputation, but rather by living a life that is pleasing to God and in accordance with His will.
This is a sobering reminder, because many who claim to be followers of Christ will be turned away from Him at the time of judgment. We need to be asking ourselves the question about our own hearts, rather than merely what we do.
True success is found through a life of humility, and a life of serving those around us, rather than seeking recognition or accolades, or appreciation, or applause from others.
There is much for us to learn from this statement from Jesus about the Scribes.
What is driving you?
Secondly, from our passage, we must see…
2. A Heart for the Service of God
2. A Heart for the Service of God
It’s as Jesus is teaching his disciples and warning them about the Scribes, that he turns his eyes from his listeners, and sees the various people coming to the place of the offering baskets and placing their gifts in the offering.
As He sees this happening, he draws a stark contrast between the different kinds of people who were putting their offerings into the basket. And this contrast very much ties in with what He’s just said about the Scribes.
Firstly, he sees...
2.1. The Offerings of the Rich (v.1)
2.1. The Offerings of the Rich (v.1)
1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.
Now, keep in mind that this was a time when people would bring extensive offerings to Jerusalem during the time of the Passover Feast.
In one sense, there was nothing wrong with the rich bringing their gifts and offerings and placing them in the offering baskets. It was right and fitting to perform this act of giving.
1 Timothy 6:17 says much about God’s gift of abundance
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Most importantly from that verse, we must keep in mind that It is God who richly provides. In other words, everything that we have, everything that the wealthy have, comes from God. It is a gift from God.
1 Timothy 6:17 also teaches us that everything that God provides has been given for our enjoyment. That doesn’t mean that have been given what we have purely for selfish ends or self-satisfaction. But certainly there is a sense in which what we have may legitimately be enjoyed.
But while this is all true, an emphasis should be placed on the fact that God is the great provider. Sadly, much of the giving that was being carried out in the temple courts was out of pride. In this sense, the people were following the example of the Scribes. They would put into the money baskets as a means of boasting about how much they would give.
The sound of the coins falling into the other money would be prolonged with these wealthy people giving their money. And they would love the clinging of the coins, and probably hope that many were watching just how generous they were.
Once again, the real issue here was not with the giving, but rather with the motivation for giving. They had hearts to give only so that they could receive the praises of man. They wanted people to know that they had given much.
Furthermore, as we shall see, their given was done so out of an abundance. In other words, their giving, although it was a lot in absolute terms, was not all that much when considering all the possessions that they had.
The sad reality is that their heart motivation was wrong. They were not doing this out of a generous and willing spirit, and they were certainly not doing it for the glory of God and the exaltation of His name.
That wasn’t their motivation.
That leads us to consider…
2.2. The Offering of the Poor (v.2)
2.2. The Offering of the Poor (v.2)
As we look further in our text, we read in verse 2 of a very different person also putting an offering in at the temple.
2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
As Jesus continues to look on, he sees the very opposite of these wealthy people putting in their offerings. He sees a widow. This is a real-life example of a person that Jesus had just included when He gave His warning to the disciples. A widow, the kind of person that the Scribes exploit.
Here was an example of such a woman - one who was left destitute and essentially had next to nothing in her possession!!
As Jesus observes this lady, she is putting two “very small copper coins.”
The size, and the material, demonstrate that this was a very meager amount, even in terms of that day.
In other words, this lady had put in just about nothing. Even in that day, the value of her offering was extremely small. If there was a building fund on the go, this would hardly have covered the costs of anything in that building project.
I want us to pause here, and to just put ourselves briefly into the situation. We know the account. We know the words of Jesus. But put that out of your mind for a moment, and place yourself there.
Or, let’s do it here, at EBC.
There is an offering box at the back… and thankfully we don’t have people putting into the box as a show. But assume you were standing at the back of the church, and you saw an old lady coming in and putting in two 5 cent coins. The smallest coins in use in South Africa.
Honestly, would you not have the thought in your mind… what’s the point?! It’s 10 cents. It’s hardly going to have an impact. This is the kind of money that if you see it lying on the street, you might even wonder if it’s worthwhile taking the time to bend down and pick it up. Even in your personal budget, it’s really not going to get you very far.
If you had to observe this, the natural response is going to be a sense of questioning… You’re certainly not going to look at this widow and think of her as generous, or as a great giver or contributor to the church!!
We need to keep that in our minds as we think about Jesus’ response.
But the fact was, that she was putting her offering in the bag.
We see His response in verse 3-4...
3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.
Jesus begins His observations on this event by addressing what has happened with the words, “I tell you the truth...” “Truly, truly...” is how it is sometimes translated.
This very response is one which commands attention. It is a call for people to listen attentively to the teaching that is about to be given.
He then tells the crowds that this poor widow has given more than all the others. It doesn’t mean here that she put in more than anyone else. Rather, the way that this is phrased in the text means that she gave more than all the other people putting in combined.
Jesus is saying here, if you combined all that everyone gave that we’ve been watching… all the wealthy people with their large contributions, and you put them all together… this widow has given more!!
Now, very evidently Jesus was not speaking about absolute value. In terms of actual value in currency, this widow had given next to nothing compared to the others who had given out of their abundance.
Nonetheless, Jesus was able to make this remark because of the heart behind the giving, and given her circumstances, the generosity with which she gave.
Notice the words of Jesus as He continues…
4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
The first half of that verse is quite clear and obvious. The rich people who had much, gave out of their wealth. And as we’ve said, there is nothing wrong with giving when you have an abundance.
But the fact is that they had an abundance, perhaps even an over-abundance, and so for them to give and to put into the offering was something very easy. It didn’t cost them much at all in terms of the bigger scheme of things. They wouldn’t really have even felt it.
But think about it in terms of what the widow gave. Jesus says here that she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on.
Firstly, Jesus says that this widow was poverty-stricken. She had nothing to begin with. She could barely afford to keep herself alive. She didn’t even really know where her next meal was coming from. But her heart was for the contribution to the work of God.
Give some thought to this. There is much we can learn through this simple scenario.
She put in the money that she would have used to buy her food with… when she didn’t have food or money. Her pantry were not stocked up. Her fridge was utterly empty. But her heart was for the worship and service of God.
Note that she didn’t give one copper coin, and keep one for herself in order to buy her next meal. She didn’t give 50%, but rather gave 100%.
We must also recognize that what the widow gave was done in the face of societal pressure and expectations. In the time and culture in which the story takes place, widows were often marginalized and considered to be of low status. Despite this, the widow in the story chose to make a generous contribution.
Further to this, we must recognize that her contribution was an expression of deep trust and faith in God. She gave all that she had, even though she had no guarantee that she would be able to meet her own needs in the future. This act of generosity required her to trust that God would provide for her. Jesus didn’t condemn her as foolish for her actions, but rather commended her.
We must also see that the widow's contribution was striking because it demonstrated a willingness to put others before herself. By giving all that she had, she showed a willingness to prioritize the needs of others over her own. She was contributing to the work of the Lord. She was even contributing towards the provisions for the Scribes.
In essence, what this widow did required extreme selflessness and humility.
Observations and Applications…
In light of this account of the widow, and the response of Jesus, I would like to bring some points of application.
The first point of application is an encouragement to those who have comparatively little. The trap is to think that if I have little, and if I contribute little, that it’s some kind of indictment against me, or people will think ill of me. May this encounter, and the words of Jesus, be a great encouragement to you. God sees the motivation, and He sees all of the factors that would lead you to contribute whatever small amount you do. The eternal reward is great.
The title of my sermon is, “Great Wealth in 2 Copper Coins...” The real value of giving is determined by God, and has eternal value. And the eternal value of this widow’s contribution is significant.
But taking this further, I want to challenge us to pray that the Lord would transform our hearts (where needed) to live as the widow did. To have an attitude like that of the widow.
The reason I say that I want to “challenge us to pray” in this way, is because I don’t want to just emphasize the giving part. I want to focus on a heart. In other words, the starting place must be a genuine desire and willingness to act, and only then to act. It doesn’t help to do this when our motivations are still not right. Or if we’re doing what we do purely out of selfishness.
With that in mind, here are some exhortations / encouragements to us:
Firstly, we should pray that God would grant us truly generous hearts, and that this would lead us to be exceedingly generous with our resources, even when it is difficult or inconvenient. The widow's example shows us that it is possible to give generously, even when we have very little.
Secondly, we should pray that God would give us hearts that are eager to prioritize the needs of others over our own. The widow's selflessness in giving all that she had should inspire us to consider the needs of others before our own.
Thirdly, let us pray that God would grant us the faith to truly trust in Him for our daily provisions. The widow's act of generosity required a significant level of faith and trust in God's provision. We should pray that God would grant us this trust in Him to provide our every need.
Fourth, let us pray that God would grant us the kind of humility and selflessness that was evident in the widows life. The humility of the widow is seen in her even being there and putting such a small value in the offering basket. Her humility was seen in her being willing to offer her last to the work of God. Let us pray that God grants us hearts such as this.
In closing, let me ask you, where do your affections lie?
Where do your priorities lie?
What is of weight to you? Is the work of God, the love of the saints, the contributions towards their needs, of great priority to you?
Are you seeking the praise of man? To look good in the eyes of people?
Or do your actions - your generosity; your selflessness etc. - reveal a heart that puts God first, and demonstrates a deep trust in and commitment to Him?
Let me close with the words of 1 Timothy 6:17-19, and encourage each one of us to apply the words to our own lives.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
May we earnestly pray for God’s grace to put this into practice in our own lives!