The Poor Widow: Giving It All
Notes
Transcript
Handout
I invite you to take your copy of God’s word and turn with me to Mark 12:38-44.
Today, we will finish our summer series where we have considered some different women in the Bible.
I want to thank my daughters for patiently asking for this series for a few years now.
Next Sunday, we will be diving back into the book of Romans in line with our Community Groups starting back so that we can dive deeper into study and application of the book of Romans to our lives.
Today, we complete our series on different women in the Bible by considering a woman simply identified as a poor widow.
This account is found in both the gospel of Mark and the gospel of Luke, we will focus in on the Mark passage, but I will make reference to Luke a time or two in order to see the full impact of the event.
Now, while the account of the poor widow only takes up four verses in Mark’s gospel, and four verses in Luke’s gospel, it is set in an extremely important position in both gospels in order to teach us something important about worshipping God and following Jesus.
The account of this poor widow is set as the very last event that Jesus and his disciples observe as part of Jesus’ public ministry.
The event of the poor widow takes place most likely on Wednesday of Jesus’ final week, where he will have been crucified by Friday.
Jesus and his disciples will observe this poor widow, then walk out of the temple never to publicly minister again on this side of the cross and resurrection.
You know, any good story will surely have an impactful ending, one that sticks with you and provides clarity to the meaning of the whole story.
In the same way, the account of the poor widow is an impactful ending to Jesus’ public ministry where we learn once again what following Jesus is all about.
At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus told Simon and Andrew, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
And at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry, we are going to learn through a poor widow what following Jesus is all about.
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
In order to understand the account of the poor widow, we begin in verse 38 where Jesus warns about the scribes, because Jesus is going to contrast the religious experience of the scribes with the religious experience of the poor widow.
In the gospels, the scribes were a group of educated Jews whose purpose was to pass down the laws and traditions of Judaism both through writing and through teaching.
They were closely aligned with the Pharisees as the religious leaders of the Jewish people, yet their most distinguishing mark in the gospels is their opposition to Jesus and his ministry.
By the time we get to our passage today, Mark’s gospel has already mentioned quite a few times that the scribes desired to destroy Jesus, and Jesus himself had told his disciples twice that he would be delivered over to the scribes and Pharisees to be killed.
The whole chapter of Mark 12 leading up to today’s passage has been about the scribes and pharisees challenging Jesus’ authority and seeking to trap Jesus in something he said.
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
And now in our passage today, Jesus warns his disciples to beware of the scribes for the very reason that they do not obey the most important commandment.
They do not have hearts to love God with all they are and to love neighbor as themselves.
Instead, Jesus warns his disciples about the scribes, because the scribes love themselves.
1. Beware Of The Condemnation Of The Falsely Religious
1. Beware Of The Condemnation Of The Falsely Religious
Verse 38 - Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces.
The scribes’ long robes were worn in order to distinguish them as men of wealth, of rank, and of superiority.
Even more so, the robes were also used as prayer cloths showing that their wealth, rank, and superiority all comes from their religious position.
When scribes came into public settings such as the marketplaces, people were to stop what they were doing, rise, and respectfully greet them.
They expected and enjoyed the esteem their position brought them in terms of how others would relate to them.
They loved sitting in the best seats in the synagogue and the seats of honor at feasts.
In other words, they loved the praise and position they received from men.
They saw their religious position as worthy of the praise of men.
Verse 40 - who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers.
The early church historian Josephus writes of religious leaders who would exploit widow women to give them their money and possessions for false religious motives.
Consider the fake religious teachers on TV who promise people that if they will sow a faith gift into their ministry, meaning give their money to this preacher,
God will multiply the money that comes back to them.
It is most often the most vulnerable and the most desperate of people who are exploited by this kind of religious manipulation.
Isaiah warns of this:
1 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
So, we see that they are willing to exploit widows for money, because not only do they love the glory of men more than the glory of God, but they love money more than God.
And Jesus has already taught clearly that you cannot love and serve both God and money.
Yet, for a pretense, they make long prayers.
The word pretense means “to make a show of.”
The scribes were men who would publicly proclaim long and lofty prayers to God, but it was just a show.
It was to simply seek to convince others that they were godly men though they were not.
Jesus says, “They will receive the greater condemnation.”
You see, according to the Bible, not all people in heaven will have the same amount of rewards, though all will be fully satisfied in God.
And also, not all people in hell will receive the same amount of condemnation and punishment, though all will be punished.
Jesus says it is those who, in the name of God and religion, would seek to distinguish themselves with wealth, rank, and superiority,
Those who would demand the respect and praise of men,
Those who would demand all the best positions of honor,
Those who would exploit the vulnerable in the name of God and religion,
And those who would make a show of things like prayer in order to seek to convince others of their godliness who will receive the greater condemnation and punishment in hell.
It only seems right to share how I have been meditating on these for my own soul in order to help you do the same, given it is a warning to religious leaders, and I am your pastor.
I hold a distinguished position when it comes to God’s church here at Christ Covenant.
So I must ask:
Do I seek to use my rank and superiority to advance myself? Or do I understand that the first will be last, and do I live as servant to all?
Do I crave the praises and compliments of men after a sermon more than I desire to please God in it? Or am I satisfied in being faithful in preaching God’s word because of God and God alone?
Do I utilize my place of honor so that others will think well of me? Or am I willing to confess my sins, failures, and shortcomings and my great need for God’s grace in all things?
Do I ever exploit someone else’s weakness in order to advance myself? Or am I long suffering and willing to serve where no one sees?
I have made a living in full time gospel ministry for over a decade now. Have I done something or not done something in my service to God motivated by my paycheck?
Finally, and this is most convicting to me this week: Do I ever offer more impressive and heartfelt public prayers than I do in my secret prayer life with God?
How are you tempted to use God and religion for personal gain?
We all need to consider if we are more motivated by receiving glory from man instead of pointing all glory to God.
We need to consider if we love God and others, or if we just use God and use others for what we truly want.
One way to search your heart is when God is not doing what you want him to do in your life, how does that effect your relationship with him?
When others are making your life harder and they are not praising you, how does that effect your relationship with them?
Jesus said:
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
There are some people who believe they are Christians, even some people in Christian ministry, and maybe outwardly they have done all the Christian things, but on the last day, they will be shocked that they receive condemnation instead of commendation from God, because they never bowed the knee to Jesus as both Savior and Lord and learned to love God and others,
Instead, they took on the name Christian because they saw it as a means to get what they truly wanted: whether it be the praise of men, or money, or position, or the power to exploit others.
This was true for the scribes.
Beware of the condemnation of the falsely religious.
Immediately following this warning about the scribes, we come to the four verses about the poor widow as God’s word sets up a contrast between the scribes’ attitude toward God and religion, and the poor widow’s attitude toward God and religion.
2. Offer Your All To God Who Offers You Commendation
2. Offer Your All To God Who Offers You Commendation
Verse 41 - And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box.
Now, while we want to be like Jesus, I would not encourage any of you to set yourself up in the foyer on a Sunday morning and watch as people place their money in the offering boxes trying to figure out how much they have given.
Please don’t do that.
It worked differently in the temple in those days.
In the temple, there were large chests set up in what was called the court of the women, where everyone could go and give an offering of money to the work of the Lord.
And there would have been many people milling around as people came and gave their offerings because it was not done during a structured time during a service.
So, it would have been easy for Jesus and his disciples to sit and rest in this area of the temple while people came in and gave of their offerings.
And it says many rich people put in large sums.
You would be able to tell that it was a large sum because for some offerings, the priests would have to inspect the offering first, so you could overhear the conversation and know the amount.
Even if that wasn’t the case, the sound that the money would make as it fell into the container would indicate the amount.
No one was writing checks.
But the poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
Imagine the difference in the noise between the clunk of the large amounts and the slight clink of the two leptas, which equaled a penny.
Verse 43 - And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Now, Jesus did not use the phrase, “truly, I say to you” because he had to indicate that he was about to tell his disciples the truth.
He always told the truth.
Jesus would say, “truly, I say to you” when he was about to teach spiritual truth that was going to be a surprise to them.
This poor widow whose two coins equal a penny gave more than all those rich people who put in large sums.
That certainly is a surprise.
How could Jesus say that?
Verse 44 - For they contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.
You see, Jesus did not qualify the amount based on how much was given, but based on how much was left over.
He said that those who gave the large sums were giving out of their abundance, in other words, they gave a percentage out of their overflow which was not going to effect their everyday life, because they had plenty left over.
The poor widow gave two small coins, but that was everything she had! All she had to live on!
And based on how much was left over after the offerings with given, Jesus was able to say, “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.”
I believe there are two aspects of this scene that we need to pay attention to as we consider how it speaks to the worship of God and following Jesus as Jesus ends his public ministry.
First of all, Jesus uses this final public scene in order to point out to his disciples yet again just how empty and corrupt the whole religious system of the Jews had become.
Here’s what I mean, Jesus had just warned his disciples to beware of the scribes who devour widows’ houses, and now, they are watching a poor widow give the last two coins she has to the ministry of the temple.
And while I absolutely believe that Jesus is pointing it out to commend this woman’s faith and sacrifice, I believe he is also pointing it out to once again condemn the religious leaders of the day and the whole false religious system they were a part of.
28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
In other words, the law of God commanded that one way the offerings in the temple were to be used was to give to the most vulnerable among them such as widows.
Yet, Jesus already pointed out back in Mark 7 how the Jewish traditions had kept them from keeping commandments like this one:
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Now, if they had made a tradition of not providing for their parents, do you think they were being faithful to provide for the widows among them?
And notice, they made it sound spiritual, oh, we cannot give to you, because we have given it all to God.
But listen, it is sinful to break God’s direct commands no matter how spiritual your reason sounds.
Jesus is showing his disciples: in worship, this woman has given all she has to live on, and I guarantee you, she is not receiving anything in return from the ministries of the religious leaders.
It’s wonderful to consider how faith in the gospel generates true love for God and others from the heart.
That is why James can say
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
It’s why Paul would write in 1 Timothy 5 that church leaders must be sure that the church provide for widows who are in need.
The gospel transforms the way we love God and others, including the most vulnerable among us.
The last aspect we must pay attention to as Jesus closes his public ministry is the fact that the worship of God and following Jesus is a complete and saturated life endeavor.
It effects all that you are, all that you do, and all that you have.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Another way to think about it is that in your heart and life: you are either proclaiming that Jesus is Lord of all, or you are proclaiming that Jesus is not Lord at all.
There is no middle ground.
The title “Lord” provides us no other options.
Back in chapter 10, a man came up to Jesus and asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus started listing off God’s commandments, and the man answered him:
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
It’s astounding to me that Jesus does not even argue with the man when he says he has kept all the commands of God from his youth, he simply and lovingly challenged the man on the thing that he knew the man loved more than He loved God, and that was his wealth.
When we come to passages like this one and hear Jesus ask the man to sell all that he has and give it all away, and we come to this poor widow, and we watch her give up the last two coins she has to live on, it leads us to ask, “Does Jesus demand that I give everything away in order to follow him?”
And my answer to that question would be: maybe.
Why do I say that?
Because we have examples in Scripture of wealthy people using their possessions and their homes to house missionaries and churches, they didn’t give it all away, instead, they kept it and used it for kingdom purposes.
We have other examples where someone is commended for giving away everything in faith.
The clear teaching of Scripture is that it is not wrong or sinful to have money, but it is wrong and sinful for money to have you.
It is sinful to allow money and possessions to keep you from the worship of God, the mission of God, and giving to God through the church.
I find it extremely valuable for us as American Christians to dwell on Paul’s words in:
8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Now, don’t get me wrong, James says he has given us all good things to enjoy, yet we must understand that He is the giver of all things and all things are ultimately His,
So, in faith, you must be willing to always offer him your first and your best, and keep open hands to the fact that all that you are and all that you have are His to do what He desires with it.
You’ve got to love the disciples, because they are just as slow to learn spiritual lessons as you and I are.
Look with me for just a second what is written just after our passage about the poor widow.
1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
It’s like this disciple was trying to correct Jesus.
Jesus, you say this lady gave more than anyone else, but look at these wonderful stones and buildings!
It took a lot more than two coins equalling a penny to build all this.
And Jesus takes this opportunity to warn the disciples about the destruction of the temple to come and the coming day of the Lord when Jesus will return, judge unbelievers, and take his children to be with him in eternity forever.
I want to remind you as we close today that this poor widow did not earn the salvation and commendation of God because she gave all of her money away in the temple that day.
If giving away all you have could earn us a right standing before God, the gospel of Mark could have ended right here.
But it doesn’t.
Instead, the gospel of Mark goes on to record for us the events of Jesus arrest, and trials, and crucifixion when Jesus was handed over to the scribes and the Pharisees used who falsely accused Jesus and stirred up the crowd to have him sentenced to death.
And when Jesus’ body was broken and his blood was poured out on the cross, it was broken and poured out for your sins and for my sins.
You see, the gospel is not: Do these great and sacrificial things for God in order to make yourself right with him.
The gospel is: you cannot do anything to make yourself right with God, but God has done everything to make you right with him through the sacrifice of Jesus.
And if you would confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
And when you are saved, you are not only forgiven of your sin, but you are given a new heart to love God with all that you are and to love others as yourself, and you will find it your joy to offer your all to God who has given His son for you, so that through faith in his son, you will never experience condemnation from God, but only commendation.
Is there anyway that you need to repent of making religion a show or using God or others for what you want?
Do you need to come back to the true heart of worship to the God who has done everything for you, so that you can now offer all of you to Him?
Are there parts of your life that you have been unwilling to submit to Jesus as Lord?
Are you joyfully obedient to Him in your giving, your time, and your giftings?
For as we have seen today, the key to worshipping God and following Jesus is offering your whole self to Him who has given His son for you.
Let’s pray.
