Pride and Humility in the Temple

Announcements:

Thanksgiving

Introduction

We are continuing in the Gospel of Mark

And we are wrapping up Mark chapter 12

The past several weeks we have seen the clashing between Jesus and the religious leaders

His authority challenged

Questions of Taxation

Questions about the resurrection

Questions about the greatest commandment

And today we have one final judgement cast against the religious leaders

In short… We are going to see that Jesus warns us against those who practice ‘religion’ for showmanship and their own glory

And he commends a poor and helpless widow for her self-sacrificial heart towards God

There is a contrast between the powerful and the powerless

But let’s jump right in

Scripture Reading

(SLIDE)

Mark 12:38–44 CSB

38 He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.” 41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had—all she had to live on.”

Today I just want to jump right in:

There is a clear warning

There is a clear commendation

Juxtaposition

Positive and negative example to emulate

And according to all of our expectations—it seems backwards

Jesus warns against the religious leaders

Jesus commends the poor widow, struggling to make it by

Connect to our time/culture

Religious leaders

Widows

So today, first we are going to consider Jesus’s warning

And then we are going to look at why Jesus commends the widow

(SLIDE)

Mark 12:38–40 CSB

38 He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

If there was one glaring issue with the religious leaders that Jesus constantly addressed—it was their hypocrisy

Hypocrisy—Acting

Time an time again, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders

To them, they played the role, but did not reflect the love and character of God

And here he is exposing the same problem, but with very specific examples

They are actors, doing everything for show

It is all a performance

Their deepest desire isn’t to honor God

But it is:

To attract attention to themselves

To be acknowledged and greeted by others

To have the best seats and places of honor

Their own wealth and success

And they cover up the things they do wrong with long and wordy prayers for show

How many of you have ever interacted with a Christian like this?

They might say all of the right things—but they are using Jesus as a tool for clout and reputation

Maybe we know people

But we see this all of the time:

Politics

Musicians

And here Jesus is giving us a two-part warning:

To beware of these people

Multiple times Jesus warns against false teachers

We all need to have discernment over those who lead us

Myself included

Don’t get swept up in their showmanship

Don’t be deceived

But also don’t take judgement into your own hands

When I see stuff like this it makes me angry

But we trust in Jesus words that they will receive harsher judgement

2. For us to not fall in the same ways

It is extremely important to question our motives in Christianity

Why are we following Jesus?

It it because we want to use him to succeed?

Is it because your parents expect you to?

As Children we learn a lot from watching and imitating those who care for us

You are all at a crucial season of your life where you are being called to have your own relationship with Jesus

Not just a faith because of your parents

So why are you here today?

Maybe it is because your parents take you, and you don’t want to be here

And that’s okay—I’m glad you’re here

But for those of you that are serious about following Jesus—why?

Is it because what he can do for you?

Or is it because of what he has already done for you?

The issue with these leaders that we still see today is “Performative Christianity” or Religious Showmanship

Where you actually have no relationship with God

But you’ve learned how to mimic and imitate other people

There’s no depth to your faith—it is just a set of actions

You go to Church, You pray before meals, You (maybe) read you Bible

And to be straightforward: this is not what it means to be a Christian

It is not a performance—a list of boxes to be checked—but a real and living relationship

And God is heartbroken when people want to use him as a stepping stone for their own honor, pride, and selfishness

So we’ve seen how Jesus warns us against this form of hypocrisy

But after he commends and lifts up a widow:

(SLIDE)

Mark 12:41–44 CSB

41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had—all she had to live on.”

After exposing the religious leaders—Jesus points to this woman and lifts her up as the example

She didn’t give her money for show

She didn’t expect to be applauded or celebrated

But she gave out of a generous heart

“They gave out of their surplus but she gave everything she had”

Truly, this woman, show us what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus:

Self-Sacrifice

Humility

Self-Sacrifice

Following Jesus entails sacrifice

It is not an easy path

It is the only path to true and lasting life—but it is not easy

Jesus himself in Luke 14 tells us to count the cost of following him

Builder building a tower

King going to war

If we don’t know what we are in for—we are more likely going to give up

Following Jesus means giving when it costs us

Money

Time

Energy

(Introvert ?)

But there is a reward in heaven

It is not for nothing

Wired for rewards (it’s not bad)

But where are we seeking our rewards

Following Jesus isn’t about living our best life now

It’s not about becoming successful

It’s not about being honored and respected

It is about wholeheartedly following Jesus

Success isn’t bad—success will probably come

But it isn’t our motivating factor

Grateful heart vs entitled heart

I have received vs I earned

Which leads me to my last point

Under all of what we’ve been talking about today is the clash of pride and humility

The religious leaders were puffed up with pride

Thinking highly of themselves—seeking their own glory

But this woman was marked by humility

Not concerned with herself, but with the things of God

Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less”

(SLIDE)

Sometimes humility is being so comfortable with yourself, the person God created you to be, that you don’t spend time or energy worrying so much about what others think about you. Instead, you might spend that time and energy thinking about others, loving them, and supporting them. Humility sometimes manifests as being comfortable in compassion for the sake of others. As Mother Teresa said, “if you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.”

This woman must have known that what she had to offer could not begin to compare with what everyone else in the temple was giving

But she was focused on giving what she could to God

Not comparing what she had to others

She simply gave what she could

God is more concerned that we are giving him what we have than how much we are giving—both financially but with our time, talents, giftings.

Humility tells us that we are not indispensable (irreplaceable)

God doesn’t need us to accomplish his will

I love the story of Balaam’s prophets in the OT

He can literally speak through a donkey

God isn’t a college sports scout looking to recruit the best and the brightest

He is looking for those with a heart after his own

John H. Story (?)

But we find ourselves in grave danger when we begin to believe that God needs us

That we are a big deal, that we are the star player on his team

True humility is helping others to become the star players

Lifting up others to succeed

(SLIDE)

Litany of Humility:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

This is the sort of heart Jesus is after

Not a self-seeking go-getter

Not even those who are gifted and talented

But God longs for and celebrates a humble heart

Because God too, has a humble heart

God in his nature is meek, and lowly

Considers others, loves with a self-sacrificial love

So when we are called to humility…

We are being called to become like God himself

It’s not just like he is a tyrant demanding humble subjects

He is the example—He is not asking us to do anything he hasn’t done first

Conclusion

And as we end I want to leave you with one takeaway with how we are able to grow in this area of humility

Solitude

Spending alone time with Jesus

The problem of the religious leaders was that they cared more about what people though of them, than they did about God

And when we spend time alone with God—it refocuses and reorients us back to him

I’ll close with this long, but good, quote:

Solitude is a formative place because it gives God’s Spirit time and space to do deep work. When no one is there to watch, judge and interpret what we say, the Spirit often brings us face to face with hidden motives and compulsions. The world of recognition, achievement and applause disappears, and we stand squarely before God without props. In solitude Jesus did battle with the intoxicating possibilities of achieving his kingdom and identity in the power of the self. He faced down the self Satan offered and instead chose his true identity as the beloved Son. Throughout his three years of ministry Jesus returned again and again to solitude, where the rush of attention and the accolades of the crowds could be put into their proper perspective. Solitude with God was a way Jesus remained in touch with his true identity in God. Most of us can identify with the intoxicating feeling that comes when we are the center of attention. Solitude is a discipline that gets behind those feelings to who we are when we feel invisible and unrecognized. Who are we when productivity and recognition fall away and God is the only one watching us? Some of us simply seem to lose our sense of self when there is no one to mirror back who we are. Without the oxygen of doing and the mirror of approval, our feelings of being real and important evaporate. Hollow places open up in our heart, and our soul feels empty and bare. We can feel agitated, scattered and distracted. These disconcerting feelings do two things for us. (1)They reveal how much of our identity is embedded in a false sense of self. (2)And they show us how easy it is to avoid solitude because we dislike being unproductive and unapplauded. But we need solitude if we intend to unmask the false self and its important-looking image. Alone, without distractions, we put ourselves in a place where God can reveal things to us that we might not notice in the normal preoccupations of life. Solitude opens a space where we can bring our empty and compulsive selves to God. And no matter how well we “do” silence, God is there to accept, receive and love us. God longs for us to be our true self in Christ. He wants us to be who we are meant to be. In solitude we see how little we embrace our true identity in Christ. And we find the truth of who we are in Christ. We are the beloved, and God is pleased with us. This identity is given; it is not earned. Many other voices pull at us, seeking to own and name us, but in solitude we learn what it is to distinguish between the voice of God and the voices of the world.

—Adele Calhoun

And I would love to have a time for you to have solitude today, but we don’t have enough time and space

So I encourage you—Sometime this week—Get away with Jesus

15 minutes—30 minutes—an hour

No distractions—no to-do list

But to sit before Jesus and remember who we are in him

To read what his word says about us

To pray and speak to him

To reorient ourselves to God — GOSPEL

I do this regularly—and it is one of the most important spiritual disciplines in my life

Solitude with God

But as we wrap up, we won’t break up into small groups—but we will have a few minutes for reflection:

Reflection Questions

Who do you seek approval from?

Are there any areas of your life marked by hypocrisy?

What area of self-sacrifice might God be calling you into?