Giving Your All

A trait that I picked up from my mom and dad is to be a people watcher. They both enjoyed sitting in the mall and just watch people. They’d both tell about people that had seen at the mall or in a store and would often laugh about some of the outfits that they saw people wearing or the mannerisms that people had.

If you’re a people watcher you sometimes try to figure out what is going on in a person’s life that they act or dress like they do.

If you pay attention you see all kinds of people out there in society. I think Jesus was a people watcher. In our Scripture text this morning we see an example of Jesus being a people watcher and in fact he instructed the disciples to watch, well not to just watch, but to watch out. He says in verse 38

Mark 12:38 (CEB)

38 As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts.

When you tell someone to watch out for something you are warning them about a possible hazard. This time of year we tell people when they are driving in this area to watch out for deer in the road. It’s that time of year, you have to be careful. I noticed that the small flock of deer that hangs out here has dwindled by 2 over the past couple of weeks. Someone wasn’t watching .

Jesus tells the disciples to watch out for the teachers of the law. No I don’t think he was condemning all teachers of the law. Earlier in this chapter there was a teacher of the law who asked Jesus about the greatest commandment. Jesus commented to the man that he wasn’t far from the kingdom of God. There were some good ones in that group that was classified as teachers of the law but Jesus said to watch out for them.

Look at how Jesus describes them in verses 38 and 39. He said:

Mark 12:38–39 CEB

38 As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. 39 They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets.

He points out some characteristics about these teachers that must have been common of them. The first thing he says is that they “like to walk around in flowing robes.” That doesn’t sound like a very practical way to dress to just walk around in. One writer commented that “A long white linen robe is good only for leisure, ceremony, or show[1]”

That reminds me of some of the outfits that some of the actors and actresses wear at those awards ceremonies. They often are not very practical and are meant to draw attention to themselves and to make a show of themselves.

There are news stories about “famous people” and what they wear or where they live or what kind of car they drive. People follow them like they are gods or something. There are people that make millions of dollars a year just for the videos they create and post on-line. They are called “influencers.”

People buy into what ever they are selling. Christian people get into following these people to the point of making them more important than their relationship with God.

Some of these teachers were the influencers of their day.

Jesus said these teachers wear these impractical robes out in the market place just so they can be greeted with the average Joe. They like to be spotted and recognized.

Jesus takes it a little further and says that they “have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” The important seats in the synagogues were the ones up front like these chairs up here behind the pulpit. If someone were to sit up here they would be noticed.

When there was a banquet or pot luck dinner they would have the best table. Well, they didn’t sit at tables they reclined on couches to eat and the couch that they had would have been the best. The places of honor would have been right by the food.

They were the people that when they arrived at the synagogue or someone’s house they commanded everyone’s attention. Have you ever been around anyone like that? They have this air of importance about them. They want the attention of everyone and they do things to draw the attention to themselves. It happens today in the secular world and it also happens in the church.

Jesus says to watch out for them. He goes on to describe two other things that they do. He says there in verse 40

Mark 12:40 CEB

40 They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”

He says “they cheat widows” is important for us understand. Widows were amongst the poorest of the poor. The Bible says in Malachi chapter 3

Malachi 3:5 CEB

5 I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, the adulterers, those swearing falsely, against those who cheat the day laborers out of their wages as well as oppress the widow and the orphan, and against those who brush aside the foreigner and do not revere me, says the Lord of heavenly forces.

God takes a pretty dim view of those who oppress the helpless. In this case that Jesus points out are the religious elite taking advantage of the vulnerable. One commentator wrote:

Their role gives them the opportunity to convince lonely and susceptible women that their money and property should either be given to the scribe for his holy work or to the temple for its holy ministries. In either case, the scribe gains personally. If he can convince a widow to become a patron of his work, a life of comfort is assured. If the widow prefers to contribute to the temple, he determines the share that can be taken as his consulting fee. Of course, there is no better way to assure the confidence of widows than by a show of spirituality, whether with long prayers in the temple or instant tears on television.[3]

How often do we see people take advantage and abuse the trust and faith that an older person has in a family member or a care giver? Sadly, it happens way to frequently. I had a lady in a previous church that a family member was taking advantage of her financially. She was tens of thousands of dollars in debt because she wouldn’t say no to the family member. The family member had made all sorts of promises to her and never once kept the promises and she was ruined financially.

That is what was happening with some of these teachers of the law. Jesus even said that “for a show make lengthy prayers.” They were trying to show how spiritual they were while at the same time they took advantage of very vulnerable around them.

We’ve witnessed the abuse of children by religious leaders here in our area. The vulnerable, the ones that a priest or pastor or other leader should be protecting has caused them harm. Jesus gives a very condemning consequence of that abuse. Jesus said:

Mark 12:40 (CEB)

They will be judged most harshly.”

That punishment is not in the here in now. Yes they need to be held accountable by our laws and punished appropriately. The punishment that Jesus is referring to is at the judgement day where they will give an account for what they have done.

Mark changes the scene for us but it is a continuation of the teaching that Jesus has been doing. Mark writes:

Mark 12:41 CEB

41 Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money.

Bob Hope once said

Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B Easter Friday: Mark 12:41–44

‘I was on a plane,’ said the comedian Bob Hope, ‘and suddenly it started to go into a spin and head straight for earth. Everybody was panicking and someone said, “Do something religious!”

‘So,’ he said, ‘I took up a collection.’

In the Temple they didn’t pass an offering plate like we do here. They had offering stations setup around the Court of the Women where you could give your offerings and gifts. These stations were 13 in number. Each was a brass vessel that was shaped like a trumpet. Nine of them were for what the law prescribed that worshippers give for the support of the Temple and the priests. The other four were for voluntary gifts to the Temple.

Mark doesn’t tell us which one all this action is taking place at. My personal opinion is that this action is taking place at one of the trumpets, offering receptacles for voluntary gifts. I’ll try to explain why in a moment.

There is an important thing to notice also here. Jesus sat here in the Temple. According to several commentaries, some of the later writings of the Rabbi’s stated that “sitting there is reserved for the Davidic king[4]” Remember, this event had occurred after Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The religious leaders had been challenging Jesus authority. Here Jesus sits in the Temple a reference that the religious leaders would have recognized as a statement that Jesus was making regarding his authority that he was the son of David, the Messiah.

Jesus is watching the people as they come and give their offerings and gifts. Mark writes that “Many rich people threw in large amounts.” It would make sense that this was the voluntary gifts to the Temple. Everyone who came to worship had to pay their Temple Tax. I don’t think the rich would have made a show about them paying their temple tax. I think they would make a show of giving a voluntary gift to the Temple. Remember they are putting their offering into a brass trumpet shaped receptacle. When they tossed coins in it would make a lot of noise. It would be like when we receive the Alabaster offering and you dump your coins into the church, it makes a lot of noise. The more you dump in the more noise it makes.

They rich threw in large amounts Mark tells us. The impression that we are to get is that they are doing it to make a show. I’m sure I’ve told you this story before but bear with me because it illustrates this point.

In one of the churches we were members of in Mississippi there was a family who liked to make a show of how much they gave to the church. She was the pianist for the church and a member of the board. She arranged for us to have a concert by a very gifted pianist. He came and performed the concert on a Sunday. When we came back for the Sunday evening service the keyboard that he had brought with him was still there. A board meeting was called after the service and she said that she had signed a contract to purchase the keyboard. The rest of us board members were astonished that she did that without consulting the board. She started to change her mind and said that she was going to retire soon and that as one of the biggest givers in the church she wouldn’t be able to contribute as much when she retired so maybe we should seek to cancel the contract.

She made a big show about her giving just like the rich that Jesus pointed out in is observing what was happening at the temple. Into this picture Mark writes that a widow comes. He wrote:

Mark 12:42 CEB

42 One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny.

She came to give a gift. I don’t believe that this was the required temple tax, but this was a gift. The tax was required of all worshipers. The gift was out of a person’s generosity. Mark says that she put in two very small copper coins. The amount was a fraction of a penny.

Jesus makes a very important observation about what He witnesses. Mark writes that Jesus pointed this out to the disciples and says to them:

Mark 12:43–44 CEB

43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. 44 All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”

He says that the widow contributed more than all the others. It’s easy to think that that is impossible. She only put in two small coins and others were putting in large amounts. The point that Jesus is making is that it didn’t cost the wealthy to contribute a gift. He said they “gave out of their wealth.” It didn’t hurt them to give what they gave.

The widow on the other hand gave out of her poverty. It hurt her to give this gift. To make the point Jesus says that she “put in everything – all she had to live on.” There wasn’t any more that she could give. She gave everything that she had.

What do we take from this observation that Jesus made? What can we learn from it?

I think the principle at work here is tied to the verses just preceding this event when Jesus was questioned by one of the teachers of the law about what was the greatest commandment. Jesus said in response

Mark 12:29–31 CEB

29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

I believe what Jesus said here about the giving is tied to what Jesus said about loving God and our neighbor because when we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength then we realize that everything that we have really belongs to God.

Jesus spoke about the teachers of the law who took advantage of the widows. They were in violation of the second greatest commandment. They weren’t loving their neighbors as themselves. They were taking advantage of them for their own profit.

When we love God in the way that the commandment speaks of we willingly give our all to God just like that poor widow who contributed her two coins. This event in the life of Jesus is way more than just and account of giving money to God. It’s an example of how our life is impacted by the grace of God in our lives.

The rich and the religious leaders in this case represent those who claim to serve God but live in such a way that people see their outward actions but inside they are selfish greedy abusers of the less fortunate. They are not loving God with all their being. Outwardly they make a good show, but inwardly there has been no change.

The widow represents those who are loving God with their entire being. They don’t do anything for a show. They live their lives in daily obedience to God. They have as Jesus said elsewhere taken up their cross daily and are following Jesus.

That is the life that God is calling all of us to. When we give our all to God we saying no to our own selfish desires and saying yes to all that God wants to do in and through us. My prayer is that you live your life like that widow woman, giving your all to God for the sake of His Kingdom and glory.

[1] McKenna, David L., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Mark. Vol. 25. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982. Print. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. [3] McKenna, David L., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Mark. Vol. 25. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982. Print. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. [4] Brower, Kent. Mark: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill, 2012. Print. New Beacon Bible Commentary.