Those that devour widows

Mark 12:38–44 NIV

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Often this passage gets separated from each other. The widow’s donation gets pulled out from the passage to showcase generosity. Which there is a case to be made and a sermon to be preached about her generosity.

-She believes God will provide for her even if she can’t provide for herself.

-She has faith that is absolutely something to be modeled.

-She “has put in more than all the others”

There is clearly a sermon here and Jesus IS CLEARLY showing her faith off.

But that is not Jesus’ primary point of pointing the widow out. You can almost imagine Jesus is pointing her out with tears in his eyes. This woman is being devoured because of the teachers of the law.

-They have taught her a system of legalism where she can barely survive.

The whole section and the whole context is Jesus says - “WATCH OUT FOR THE TEACHERS OF THE LAW!”

“Watch out” is interesting language.

Because he could have just said something like “how terrible.” or “Those jerks” or even “BEHOLD” —- very biblical word.

But he wants his disciples to WATCH OUT and wants us still to WATCH OUT

Why should we watch out for the teachers of the law?

Well… I believe for three reasons.

1. To not be devoured by such people and teaching

One of the oldest temptations is the SIN of devouring another person.

To LORD over someone in such a way that you have power, money, control, whatever.

Whether it’s an abusive relationship

-from a family member or friend or significant other

Or a toxic workplace environment

Or even to go as far as a religious system/cult that keeps you hostage using GUILT or SHAME.

Jesus says - Watch out for these people. The people that want to DEVOUR widows.

That care for their own good above all others. For their own power, control, or greed.

Jesus - says look at these people - “They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.”

Aka - they don’t appear evil. They appear important.

We live in a world that would love to devour you.

-Credit Card debt

-Scams

-Ideologies

-Systems of thought that require complete obedience

Often these people appear important, they have the answers, they can fix your problems. But WATCH OUT - for they DEVOUR.

Like snakes curled up in the grass, ready to pounce.

-Taking the last coin from the widow who may now starve, so they can build another gold goblet.

What does this mean for you and me? How do we watch out for such people?

-Discernment

-Wise counsel

-A prayer filled life

Now - we should ask - Doesn’t God require obedience and surrender? What’s the difference?

-God doesn’t devour, he sets free.

-God doesn’t use SHAME to bring people to him, “Kindness leads to repentance” —- and “conviction is different than shame.”

-Shame says - “I’m a terrible human that won’t amount to anything.” — Conviction says “remove the nonsense that’s blocking your way to freedom, you are worth too much to waste your life.”

Does this mean we shouldn’t turn into the widow and give generously? If we were in her shoes, we should stand up and keep the coins in our pocket?

-Two things can be true.

1- she’s living in a system in which she’s being devoured.

2- she’s generous because she deeply loves God.

Generosity should not be forsaken. Like I said, Jesus is WOWed by her faith in spite of the teachers of the law, not because of them.

But that’s not all we should think about when it comes to “WATCH OUT”

For there’s another way to watch out for these people…

2. To not normalize it as part of our church

Remember this is happening at the center of WORSHIP for Yahweh in Jerusalem. Which means that it’s at the holy place, happening by the holy people. So, there’s another way we should watch out… not normalizing this as part of the church.

It’s real easy to glorify the wrong things at churches. You can drive to other churches in town and see similar things happening. And if Praise isn’t careful, it could happen here too, and probably does from time to time.

Mark 12:38–39 “As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.”

The book of James warns of a similar thing seeping into the church

James 2:1–7 “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?”

Around 2013, a fictionized story made its rounds on the internet. It was about a pastor who was being installed as the new lead pastor of a mega church. He came that morning pretending to be a homeless person, asking for help, money, whatever. The big reveal was when he was introduced and then he shamed the congregation for not helping him, and how he wants to pastor a church that doesn’t do this.

-It turned out the story was mostly made up. However - it went viral because of something very real. People could imagine that happening. Why? Because many churches have lost the plot. Many churches have made church service a show rather than a family. Many churches care more about bigger and fancier rather than humble and helpful.

-The hard part, is we join in this narrative… because the best way to grow a church in the last decade has been to build a church around something to belong to that feels “COOL” or “Bigger” than themselves. Belonging to something that makes the individual feel really good that THEY belong to it.

-However, that’s not the gospel.

Now the fiction story of the pastor pretending to be a beggar does have some truth to it, it was revved up by an online writer to make it sound even more outlandish but in 2013 there was a pastor that did something like this but the ending was less shame, and the congregants weren’t as helpless. The story about pastor Willie Lyle from Sango United Methodist Church in Clarksville, Tennessee goes like this:

In a dream, God told Willie that he needed to live on the streets of Clarksville as a homeless and hungry person. He challenged Willie to experience firsthand just what it was like to have nothing — no home, no money, no friends, no food on even a semi-regular basis, no nothing.Pastor Willie's wife, Suzette, dropped him off in downtown Clarksville early Monday morning, June 17, and he lived on the street through the morning of Friday, June 21. In those four and a half days, he learned a great deal about the homeless, the working poor who face hunger daily and those in need of spiritual and emotional help. It was not comfortable.

Early morning on June 23, Willie lay under a tree on the church lawn covered up by a big overcoat. He still had not shaved or combed his hair. He wondered how many people would approach him and offer him food, or a place to sit inside an air conditioned room, or just see how they could help. Twenty people spoke to him and offered some type of assistance.

While he preached, his daughter-in-law cut his hair and his daughter helped shave off his scruffy beard. He changed shoes, and beneath the overcoat, he was wearing his Sunday clothes. He put on a tie and his suit coat, all the while continuing to preach his message. Before the 200 people gathered that morning, he went from looking like a homeless person to the new pastor of the congregation.

The sermon title was "The Least Used Parts of the Body" and based on I Corinthians 12:12-15. According to Pastor Lyle, "Often the least used parts of the body are the ones that mean the most, like our heart and mind. We need to understand that there are no small or least used parts in the body of Christ.

"Too many of us only want to serve God one hour each week. That doesn't cut it. That is not God's plan."

This true story has a much more James like feel to it, for it ends with encouragement to walk the way of Jesus.

Who’s the most important person at a church?

Is it the rich person that donates the most money? The pastor? The leadership team chair? The janitor? The person that plates the cookies? The kids ministry worker?

It’s none of those, James says - the most important person at the church is JESUS.

This isn’t a passage about elevating anyone. It’s not about pushing any character to the top of the pile. It’s all about leveling the playing field.

That the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Galatians 3:26–28 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

So as a body of Christ, we have to make sure we are allowing Jesus to get all the glory. Jesus to be the center of attention. Jesus to be the most important person at Praise Covenant Church.

And it’s my job to make sure that continues to be the point. The pastor is the one that is tasked with the job of keeping Jesus at the center of a church… even when and ESPECIALLY when there will be well-intentioned people trying to pull the narrative in different directions.

That generosity flows because we want to lift Jesus high!

But there’s one more thing to watch out for…

3. To not become a person that devours widows

Jesus says to his disciples to WATCH OUT for these people.

The New Testament writers spend so much time magnifying the same message…

-Watch out for those that call themselves SUPER apostles.

-The wealthy that want to LORD it over you or use their resources to manipulate the church

But ultimately - we need to watch out that we DON’T BECOME THESE PEOPLE.

Self-righteousness

Self-exaltation

Luke 18:9–13 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

How do you become like this? It’s actually not what’s in your bank account. I know plenty of wealthy people who do not act like those who devour widows and I know some of those who aren’t rich that do.

Jesus says - the posture comes from — those “who are confident in their own righteousness and look down on everyone else.”

Confident in their own righteousness

Look at the language of the Pharisee “I did this, I do that”

He’s confident in his own righteousness. Who needs a Savior when you have your own righteousness to rely on?

-Yet, when we analyze our own righteousness, it’s left deeply wanting.

So — if we don’t want to become like those that devour widows we have to - recognized our own righteousness is trash. It amounts to nothing. We need a Savior.

-We are a sinner and need of grace.

Having a good job, a nice family, money in the bank account, a superior intellect, etc. doesn’t give you righteousness.

-You can’t cancel bad deeds with good deeds.

Look down on everyone else

Comparison is a death sentence —- ON either side of the coin.

-Comparing to people you think are better than you.

-Comparing to people you think are worse than you.

The second posture we need is HUMILITY.

The reality is - MORALITY is impossible.

So we can either create NEW MORALITIES

Or we can humble ourselves and find righteousness through Jesus.

Philip Spener, the great pietist thinker once said, “I cheerfully concede that here in this life...the farther a godly Christian advances, the more he will see that he lacks, and so he will never be farther removed from the illusion of perfection than when he tries hardest to reach it.”

Look at the tax-collector for a minute…

Luke 18:13–14 ““But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.””

The position that God looks down on is the humble in spirit. The one that God exalts is the one that is humble. For this is the way of Jesus.

Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

Which is why Jesus then turns and points out the widow going up to the offering box and placing “more than everyone else” — the posture of humility produces generosity.

The posture that God looks down and smiles is not the teachers of the law but the poor widow, dropping her coin in the box, saying, “I’ll trust in God today.”

So… All this to say -WATCH OUT - for those that devour widows….

From them, guard the church, and make sure you don’t become them.

Let’s pray.

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How can we actively discern between true teachings and harmful practices within our church community?

In what ways can we ensure that Jesus remains the center of our church activities and outreach programs?

What steps can we take to cultivate an atmosphere of humility among church members, so that no one feels superior?

How can we better support the marginalized and vulnerable in our community, like the widow in the sermon?

What role does prayer play in helping us 'watch out' for destructive teachings or attitudes within the church?

How can we apply the lesson of the widow's contribution to our giving habits and financial choices?

In what areas of our lives might we be tempted to seek recognition or prominence, similar to the teachers of the law?

What are some practical ways we can avoid normalizing unhealthy behaviors or teachings in our church?

How can we remind ourselves and others that the church is about community and not about being 'cool' or 'successful'?

What personal practices can we adopt to prevent ourselves from becoming 'devourers' in our interactions with others?