41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two copper coins, which make less than a penny. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” ~ Mark 12:41-44
Today, we conclude our study of Mark 12 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem and it was the last week of His life on earth. In context, we have read about the contrast between the life defined by the flesh or religion and the life lived by faith in the God of the Bible.
The whole purpose of life is to be led to this ultimate truth: that God is the One who loves us and He is the only One who can fully satisfy us. The problem with this truth is we will not realize the fulness of it until we get to heaven and are snatched out of the sphere of the effects of sin upon us.
God's love meets the deepest needs of our lives. I find that many resist this truth. We resist receiving love from God because we are so insistent that it come from people. But, when we try to meet our love needs by people, we discover those needs cannot be fully met by them. And, that reality leaves us feeling alone or lonely. We can be with people who are trying to love us with all their hearts and yet feel lonely. Love needs are met only by God Himself and the design of living in this fallen world is to be convinced of this most profound truth.
The difference in this poor widow was she was being defined by the God who embraced her through her misery which enabled her to see as He does. This is one of those times when less is more. This widow is a clear example of the teaching that the Lord Jesus had previously given: "Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength." This "poor" woman "gave out of her poverty, she put in all that she had, her whole livelihood." The rich didn't miss a cent of what they gave that day, but, this poor woman didn't either! She didn't miss it because she was defined as complete or whole through the grace of God.
Earlier, the Lord Jesus taught "whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." It may look to some as if she had thrown away her "whole" life, but the Lord Jesus saw in her surrender what His call requires of us if we are to go deep with Him. She "lost" her whole life to gain intimacy and dependency upon the God of all creation. Giving our "all" means giving in ways that we will find discomforting. Perhaps the time to give more is when we feel least comfortable about giving more.
In v.41 of today's passage we read, "Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much."
The religious performance among the religious leaders of Israel had reached such an absurd level that some of them, before they made their contributions, actually summoned a trumpeter to go before them to get everybody's attention. Then they went up to the treasury and proudly deposited their coins, garnering the attention of all who were present.
In v.42-44 of today's passage we read, "42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two copper coins, which makes less than a penny. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.'"
Although there were many others who gave more, this one poor woman was the one who really caught the attention of God. She was the only one who moved the heart of the Lord Jesus. Her poverty in this world enabled her to see her rich status in the next. Even though her contribution to the kingdom of God was small, the equivalent of less than a penny today, this unnamed and unknown widow captured the attention of the Lord Jesus. She put in two tiny copper coins that added up to less than a penny; but because she loved the Lord her God with all her heart, all her soul, all her strength, and all her mind, she gave it. This led the Lord Jesus to say, "She has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury."
Religion, if we let it, will convince and enslave us to believe that God wants some kind of activity from us in order to be acceptable to Him. We think that the way to serve God is to do showy things, to win a lot of people to Christ, or to expend our energies in ways noticeable to others. Yet, the Scriptures tells us that the only thing that pleases God is the Lord Jesus Himself.
God always looks at and accentuates to us our hearts. As we see with this woman, nobody was watching her, yet, God says the kingdom of God is advanced most by her heart response to Him. The Lord Jesus has always had an eye for the insignificant among us. But, who wants to choose insignificance?
The difference in this poor widow was she was being defined by the God who embraced her through her misery which enabled her to see as He does. This is one of those times when less is more. This widow is a clear example of the teaching that the Lord Jesus had previously given: "Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength." This "poor" woman "gave out of her poverty, she put in all that she had, her whole livelihood." The rich didn't miss a cent of what they gave that day, but, this poor woman didn't either! She didn't miss it because she was defined as complete or whole through the grace of God.
Earlier, the Lord Jesus taught "whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." It may look to some as if she had thrown away her "whole" life, but the Lord Jesus saw in her surrender what His call requires of us if we are to go deep with Him. She "lost" her whole life to gain intimacy and dependency upon the God of all creation. Giving our "all" means giving in ways that we will find discomforting. Perhaps the time to give more is when we feel least comfortable about giving more.
When we seem to be throwing away our lives, we’re saving it. We don't save it, it is made whole by having been made whole by the God of the Bible whom we are learning to trust with each and every passing day. It is then, we discover that we are being saved from constantly worrying about things that end up in the don’t matter and don’t last category, like the little money that we have.
"The Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, became poor so that we through his poverty might become rich." The greatness of Christ is most profoundly understood in His willingness to stoop to take notice of the insignificant. Because the Son of God emptied Himself, therefore, we can say with Paul, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us."
"The Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, became poor so that we through his poverty might become rich." The greatness of Christ is most profoundly understood in His willingness to stoop to take notice of the insignificant. Because the Son of God emptied Himself, therefore, we can say with Paul, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us."
