Widow's Mite
Notes
Transcript
Widows Mite
Widows Mite
Good evening my friends,
I hope you are doing well, Hope the first part of your week has been kind to you!
So often we have the expectations of a good or easy week and suddenly we find that it is just the opposite.
Life can get chaotic, difficult, frustrating or it can be blessed, and while not easy and peaceful, relying on Jesus brings us peace regardless of the storm we are currently facing...
Remember my friends, Jesus invites us to come to him, with all the stress of life, come to him and He will give us rest.
So lets look at the gospel of Mark, chapter 12… verses 41-44
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.”
Now I take the time to share this story with you because I actually have one of these mites, one of these little coins that date back to the time before Christ, so over 2000 years
A friend came by the other day and gave this to me..... show the coin
So I thought I would share the text with you about the coin and the faith of this elderly woman who gave out of her poverty.
So lets begin…
1. Teaching at the Temple...
It is interesting that we find Jesus once again in Jerusalem. It is very late in public ministry of Jesus, soon he will be arrested and crucified for the sins of the world.
But as he often did, Jesus teaches His disciples at the temple. He takes the moments from life and provides a commentary if you will… Seeking to take life and build upon it for the disciples to learn from Him.
And here the Scripture tells us that Jesus is in the temple area, and more specifically he is close to the court of the women, this area of the temple was open to both men and women.
And it is here that the giving receptacles for the treasury were located.
Now the Treasury consisted of 13 trumpet shaped receptacles that were used to pay both the temple tax and to give money voluntarily for different purposes.
Now the temple tax, was the amount of a half sheckle, and it was paid by both Israelites in general and by the Levities as well to help provide for the up keep of the temple areas.
So this was an important fund, and people were also commanded in Scriptures to give as well for other purposes, this was the voluntary gifts to assist in caring for the poor and taking care of others.
Side note, people tend to think that the church always has it hand out if you will looking for money.
And honestly the church does not, the truth of the matter is that God has commanded man to give out of his wealth.
30 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
and then
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
So we are commanded to give back to God out of what He has blessed us.... so how do you give...
I remember a friend saying once, we should give God 10%, we should save 10% and finally live on the 80%.... Doing so is good stewardship of what God has done so in their life
So Jesus is observing the situations from everyday life and will build upon it for the disciples to learn.
2. The Giving Observation....
So while there in the Temple area, we see that Jesus points out the giving of some of those there.
And it is illustrated by two types of people that is observed in the temple that day in particular
Look back at the text ...
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.
So you had the rich and the poor here in our story.
The rich, the wealthy came and gave, they placed in large sums of money Jesus says.
And take note of their giving, there is nothing negative said about it. They came and they gave ....
Then, the poor of the people is illustrated by this took widow. Now look at the difference of her life as illustrated in the text.
This lady is a widow, meaning her husband is dead, that is pretty obvious. And there is no mention of any other children or family members . So there is no one to help take care of her, no one to go with her to different areas of the city, more especially the Temple, the central area of life.
She appears alone having no mention of other family members. Her life is destitute, broken and sad.
And then if one more observation could be made, she is poor. So poor she is almost destitute.
So there is a great difference in the two type of people mentioned, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Wealthy and poor… so far apart. One with abundance and one with nothing.
One gave out of their wealth and one gave our of their poverty.. these are the two lives illustrated and it is here, Jesus will teach a great lesson.
Now Just one last thought here for our text for today..
3. Where is your giving from...
Consider that thought my friends, where is your giving from .... Now you might think what do you mean..
Look deep and see the motivation behind your giving…
Lets go back to the text again
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.”
What is Jesus saying here?
Two groups of people, the rick, the wealthy, and they gave large sums of money. They gave generously I am sure, they gave a lot
And then, we have a widow who gave 2 small cooper coins, which the sum total is 1 penny.
Think about a penny.. is there anything you can buy today for a penny. In my life time I don’t remember anything I could buy for a penny, but I could take 2 or 3 pennies and buy a piece of gum.
So a penny has almost no value.
And look at the observation that Jesus makes… in looking at these two groups, Jesus says this....Jesus says the widow, the poorest of the people here in this passage has indeed given more than all the rest
.Why...
How could that be?
Jesus says
“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.” VV43b-44
In truth it isn’t the amount of money or wealth that is given, but it is the heart behind the gift and the faith behind the gift.
I know people who could pull our a few hundred dollar bills and give them to a person, and while it is very generous of them, a really nice act on their part. They have so much wealth, they wouldn’t miss it at all.
Pocket change if you will....
The widow took the very last bit of money she had and gave it to the Lord to honor and worship the Lord with her gift.
She acted in faith....
You see its the attitude that is more important than the amount.
In Mark 14, we find Jesus is close to the crucifixion and Mary takes the alabaster flask of extravagant fragrant oil and anointed Jesus.
Some where up set, saying she wasted that which could be sold to feed the poor,, and Jesus says for them to leave her alone, for her attitude, her love for Him, to honor and worship him is great
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
Jesus called the disciples to see this.... the message was intended for them and for us as well.
As children of God we are called to be generous in the extreme without being boastful. We are to give our best to the Lord..
But now one last point I want you to notice right now, the sacrificial gift of the widow , it points to the sacrificial gift of Jesus.
She gave her entire liveihood and Jesus gave his very life
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Live like Jesus my friends....