Haughty or Humble?

 A church had fund drive for a building renovation. One after another, members pledged. $50. $100. $500. Then Frank stood up. "I'd like to give $10k, anonymously." The total still wasn't enough. So, Pastor preached. Afterward, an usher slipped him a note. "Your stewardship sermons are getting better. Still no money, but a lot more IOUs." Just before thanksgiving, the Butterball Turkey company set up a hotline to answer cooking questions about turkeys. One woman called & asked, " If the turkey was in my freezer 23 years, can I still cook it?". The operator said, "It might be safe if the freezer never got above 0 degrees. But even if it's safe, the flavor is likely bad. I wouldn't recommend eating it." The caller replied, "That's what I thought. I'll just give it to the church." See a heart attitude problem? So would Jesus. Just before our verses, in Mk 12:35 Jesus points to 2 Sam 7:12-16. 35"The Christ is the son of David." Then, in Mk 12:36, Jesus sets Ps 110:1 beside it. 1The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." What's up? Jesus is setting up a rabbi's hagada question. Each text is true by itself. But side-by-side, it looks like both can't be true. In Mk 12:37, Jesus asks the question. 37David calls him 'Lord.' How then can the Messiah be his son?" Jesus wants hearers to find the answer: THE Son (of God) is also A son (of man, David's descendant). The point? Scribes study Scripture's tiny details. But they miss the main thing, Jesus. They settle for feel-good rewards. Public respect, honor, & wealth. Little or no eternal value. They can't see the rich spiritual life God wants for them. They've thrown away their chance to know God. Even worse, they missed their Savior. Refusal to accept Christ is the only unforgiveable sin. In Mk 12:38-44, we pick up the story. 38aAs he taught... What did Jesus teach? It starts in Mt 23:2-3. 2The teachers of the law & Pharisees are government. 3You must obey them. (Unless they require sin.) 38bJesus continues in Mk 12:38b. 38b"Watch out for them. Why? In Mk 23:3, He explains. 3They don't practice what they preach. How so? 38cThey like to walk around in flowing white linen robes. Their tassels are all across the fringes. Not just the corners (law). <picture> Power suits. Good only for show & ceremony. Useless, otherwise. They plan trips to people's gathering places. Why? So they can 38d be greeted in the marketplaces. Aloha, Rabbi! Howdy, Teacher! Hello, Father. They love their titles. They love the respect & honor. But in Mt 23:8-10, Jesus already warned. Those titles are for God alone. They like to 39have the most important seats in the synagogues & the places of honor at banquets. They like to be 1st. Pride. But God's place is 1st. Even if Pharisees & scribes enter the KoG, they'll be last. Pride like that is bad enough. But it's never the only sin. Pride always leads to worse sins. 40aThese men devour widows' houses. Scribes didn't get a state income. They lived on donations. So, in public they'd act pious. 40bFor a show they make lengthy prayers. Long, beautiful prayers for anyone with a need. Especially someone who could pay them. They worked hard to gain people's sympathy. Especially widows. Back then, widows were especially vulnerable. They needed prayers. But they also needed their income to survive. Teachers of the law often targeted widows. Why? They were especially likely to make donations. So, scribes pretended to love God. Greatly. In reality, their showy devotion was all meant to get others to love them. They wanted donations! People thought God saw their donations to scribes as good works. No doubt, that's true. What does God judge? Their oh-so-dramatic devotion. It was a mask for greed. We still see it. One televangelist sent out a brochure asking for money. In it were pictures of him. Praying hard by a waterfall. Praying with his hands on a pile of letters. Holding a baby. (He likes children). Shaking a poor man's hand. (He knows poor people.) In the brochure, he offered a specially blessed handkerchief. It had been dipped in the Jordan River. And, if prayerfully applied, it'd bring healing. Its cost? Just $15. Who sends in the most money to televangelists? Those in greatest need. Those depending on Social Security. No other means of support. That's who scribes took advantage of. 40cSuch men will be punished most severely." More severely than other sinners! (New learning. We knew rewards will vary in line with our deeds. Now, we know our punishment will, too!) No wonder Jas 3:1 says not many should presume to be teachers! Teachers will be judged more strictly. Jesus warned us! After Jesus finishes this teaching, he moves to the court of the women, near the treasury. 41aJesus sat down opposite the wall of the women's courtyard where the offerings were put. <picture> Priests set 13 trumpet-shaped treasury boxes (shofar) against the wall to receive offerings. 6 were marked 'Freewill.' The other 7 each supported a temple / worship need. Jesus 41bwatched as people in the crowd put their money into the temple treasury. Think anyone noticed Him watching? I doubt it. That's a lesson. Think God isn't watching us? Guess again! He's a people watcher. God is always watching. He weighs even our smallest actions. Each, disciplined or rewarded. As Jesus watched, 41cMany rich people threw in large amounts in silver coins. Each gift made a lots of noise as big coins spiraled into the boxes. Everyone else can't help but notice. But notice something. Jesus doesn't condemn them for giving! All giving to the Lord is good. 42A a poor widow came & put in 2 very small copper coins, lepta, worth only half of a penny. <picture> 1/128th of a denarius, a day's wage. Not much. She could've kept one. She probably should've for food that night. But she didn't. She put them both in. It's teaching time. Jesus 43acalled His disciples to Him. "I tell you the truth... Listen up! 43bThis poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. How so? 44aThey all gave out of their wealth. Their gifts didn't hurt. No sacrifice. What do their faces show? Pleasure at how loudly their many silver coins clang loudly spiraling into the box? Maybe. Do their faces show any pain? If so, is it the pain of having to keep up a reputation for generosity? 44bBut she, out of her poverty, put in everything. All she had to live on." Does she look ashamed when her two lepta make small pings as they hit bottom? Maybe. Jesus' lesson? God judges the heart. He measures giving not by its count, but its cost. Not the amount, but the portion. Not by what we give, but what we keep. What was her offering's true value? Total commitment. She put it all in. All she had. Let's wrap up. A wealthy Christian lawyer joined a world tour with a group in his church. Pastor asked them to all to take pictures of anything odd. In Korea, they saw a boy pulling a crude plow in a field. An old man steered its handles. The lawyer took a picture. "That's odd. Are they poor?" "Yes," the guide answered. "That's Kim Min Su & his son. When the church in this area was built, they wanted to help fund it. They didn't have money. Instead, they sold their only ox & gave the money to the church. Now, they take turns pulling the plow." The lawyer reflected thoughtfully. "What a sacrifice!" The guide replied, "They didn't think so. They felt fortunate to have an ox to sell." The lawyer got quiet. Back home, he took the picture to his pastor. As he sat in Pastor's study he said, "I want to double my pledge to the church. And please give me some plow work to do. I've never known what it meant to sacrifice for the church. It took a converted Korean to teach me. I'm ashamed I've never given anything to my church that really cost me." You may be thinking this sermon is about giving. It does sound like it. And our verses do, too. But giving isn't the real issue. Jesus doesn't condemn the Scribes for giving. What's the real issue? Heart attitude. God doesn't want any of us to miss His best for us. The key issue is pride. Pride of living. Looking good in order to get something from others. Pride of giving. Thinking a large gift somehow justifies us. It's all pride. Seeking to be 1st. In any moment, we face the same choice as Jewish leaders in Jesus' day. Will we choose humble? That's the path to heavenly rewards. Or haughty? That's the path to earthly rewards. Choose. Haughty or Humble? - Mark 12:38-44 Page 1 of 1