The Widow's Penny
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. 7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
Emphasize:
Acts 5:3 (NASB95)
3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
1 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.
6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
Body
Body
Giver 1
verses 1,3
v.1
v.1
1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
1 Ἀναβλέψας δὲ εἶδεν τοὺς βάλλοντας εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον τὰ δῶρα αὐτῶν πλουσίους.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Luke 21:1
1 aAnd He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Mark 12:41–44
41 aAnd He sat down opposite bthe treasury, and began observing how the people were cputting 1money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
42 A poor widow came and put in two 1small copper coins, which amount to a 2cent.
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all 1the contributors to the treasury;
44 for they all put in out of their 1surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, 2all she had ato live on.”
41 Καὶ καθίσας κατέναντι τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου5 ἐθεώρει πῶς ὁ ὄχλος βάλλει χαλκὸν εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον. καὶ πολλοὶ πλούσιοι ἔβαλλον πολλά 42 καὶ ἐλθοῦσα μία χήρα πτωχὴ ἔβαλεν λεπτὰ δύο, ὅ ἐστιν κοδράντης. 43 καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν τῶν βαλλόντων εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον 44 πάντες γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς ἔβαλον, αὕτη δὲ ἐκ τῆς ὑστερήσεως αὐτῆς πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν ἔβαλεν ὅλον τὸν βίον αὐτῆς.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 1 Chronicles 28:11–12
11 Then David gave to his son Solomon athe plan of bthe porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms and cthe room for the mercy seat;
12 and the plan of all that he had in 1mind, for the courts of the house of the LORD, and for all the surrounding rooms, for athe storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things;
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 1 Chronicles 26:20
20 1The Levites, their relatives, 2had acharge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts.
Luke 21:1 (UBS5)
1
Ἀναβλέψας 3s aaind he looked up
Mark 12:41 (NASB95)
41And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
δὲ conj but
εἶδεν 3s aaind he saw
τοὺς βάλλοντας mplacc paptcple one casting
εἰς prep into
τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον nsacc the treasury
τὰ δῶρα msacc the gift
αὐτῶν mplgen of them
πλουσίους. mplacc riches/wealth
This is not in Matthew.
And he looked up (Ἀναβλεψας δε [Anablepsas de]). He had taken his seat, after the debate was over and the Sanhedrin had slunk away in sheer defeat, “over against the treasury” (Mark 12:41). The word for “treasury” (γαζοφυλακιον [gazophulakion]) is a compound of γαζα [gaza] (Persian word for royal treasury) and φυλακη [phulakē] guard or protection. It is common in the LXX, but in the N. T. only here and Mark 12:41, 43 and John 8:20. Jesus was watching (Mark 12:41) the rich put in their gifts as a slight diversion from the intense strain of the hours before.1
1 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Lk 21:1.
“The final incident in this section is joined to what precedes both by the catchword ‘widow’ and by the contrast between the false piety of the scribes and the widow, although in the story itself the contrast is between the rich and the poor rather than between the scribes and the widow; in both contrasts, however, true and false piety is the issue. The incident fits in with Luke’s emphasis on the way in which true religion affects a person’s attitude to wealth, and brings out the lesson that what matters is not the amount that one gives but the amount that one keeps for oneself; in the present case the widow gave all that she had and thereby expressed her faith in God to provide for her needs.”1
1 I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 750.
There were immense monies collected during this time:
“The Temple revenues were in the first place devoted to the purchase of all public sacrifices, that is, those offered in the name of the whole congregation of Israel, such as the morning and evening sacrifices, the festive sacrifices, etc. This payment had been one of the points in controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So great importance was attached to it, that all Israel should appear represented in the purchase of the public sacrifices, that when the three chests were emptied they took expressly from one ‘for the land of Israel,’ from another ‘for the neighbouring lands’ (that is, for the Jews there resident), and from the third ‘for distant lands.’ Besides, the Temple treasury defrayed all else necessary for the services of the sanctuary; all Temple repairs, and the salaries of a large staff of regular officials, such as those who prepared the shewbread and the incense; who saw to the correctness of the copies of the law used in the synagogues; who examined into the Levitical fitness of sacrifices; who instructed the priests in their various duties; who made the curtains, etc.,—not omitting, according to their own testimony, the fees of the Rabbis. And after all this lavish expenditure there was not only enough to pay for the repairs of the city-walls, the roads, and public buildings, etc., about Jerusalem, but sufficient to accumulate immense wealth in the treasury!”1
1 Alfred Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ. (London: James Clarke & Co., 1959), 74–75.
Describe the offering setup:
According to the Talmud:
MISHNA: (a) There were thirteen curved chests and thirteen tables in the Sanctuary, and thirteen prostrations took place in the Sanctuary. The family of R. Gamaliel and of R. Hananiah, chief of the priests, made fourteen prostrations; this extra prostration was made towards the wood-chamber, because, according to an ancestral tradition, the ark was hidden there.
Seven chests were made for offerings for bird offerings, wood offerings, incense offerings, etc…
Six chests were made for free will offerings, which people were “coerced” into paying.
By many rich men giving abundantly, this put pressure on everyone else to give more than they should.
Giver 2
Verses 2,4
v.2
v.2
2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
2 εἶδεν δέ τινα χήραν πενιχρὰν βάλλουσαν ἐκεῖ λεπτὰ δύο,
After looking up..
He was sure to see a widow at the box.
“lepton” = 1/64 or 1/128th of a day’s wage.
A very small amount.
What do we know about these two givers?
v.3
v.3
3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
3 καὶ εἶπεν, Ἀληθῶς λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν
She gave more than them all.
Apparently not related to money.
v.4
v.4
4 for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
4 πάντες γὰρ οὗτοι ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς ἔβαλον εἰς τὰ δῶρα, αὕτη δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ὑστερήματος αὐτῆς πάντα τὸν βίον ὃν εἶχεν ἔβαλεν.
She gave from her life-money.
She used up her food money.
She would not survive if she keeps doing that.
44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
POINT:
Mark 5. The Widow’s Gift (12:41–44)
Quite different is the interpretation that claims the widow was guilty of imprudence and that Jesus could not have commended her. Rather he condemned a system that permitted widows to be destitute and perhaps even made them destitute by pressuring them to give all they had.
The widow should have been protected by the architects of Judaism.
22 “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 “If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; 24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. 25 “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest. 26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, 27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.
16 “So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17 “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. 29 “The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
But, rather, she was “devoured.”
38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
45 And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
Therefore,
If your giving to the saints is from the last of your living, keep it.
If your giving is from pressure to be “godly” and not from strong desire to minister to others in need, keep it.
If your giving is from a desire to be noticed by people for your “generosity,” keep it.