THE POOR WIDOW HAS PUT MORE

Mark 12:41~44

Key Verse 43

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”

Introduction

Living by faith in God doesn’t make a whole lot of sense according to the ways of this world. Yet the dreadful truth is that Jesus sees me. Jesus teaches us that we don’t have to have an abundance of anything in order to please Him. Jesus took upon Himself on the cross the abundance of our bad sins. Jesus made us anew! So whenever we give Jesus with all our hearts and two little coins out of trust and love, we put a smile on His face. And He looks at us and reminds us saying, “Son/Daughter, it’s not your two coins that I am after. It’s you that I want.”

1. Read verse 41. Why might Jesus have observed people as they made their offerings? (40, 41a) What did the offerings of the rich show about them? (41b)

1-1, Read verse 41.

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

1-2, Why might Jesus have observed people as they made their offerings? (40, 41a)

41a Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.

40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

• This event might have been related to what Jesus taught about the teachers of the law. Jesus wanted to teach His disciples personally and practically.

• The place of the offering was an open place of public access. It was designed in that way to keep an eye on all the offerings offered to the temple by the people.

• Public offering might have started with the intention of encouraging people to make offering a part of their spiritual lives.

• But in the time of Jesus it lost its purpose and became a means for those who were rich to make a public show of their false godliness.

• In our times passing an offering box or online seems to be a better option in this regard, for people are not paying attention to it.

• So Jesus sat there that day watching the people make their offerings to God. Jesus never showed interest in material things, for he dispelled money changers.

• But on this day, it was necessary to make a note of the offerings given to God. It was necessary to teach his disciples what “loving God” is.

• On this day it was important to make a note of the offerings, because they are the measure(stick) of faith and love for God.

1-3, What did the offerings of the rich show about them? (41b)

Many rich people threw in large amounts.

• The rich gave huge sums of money to the temple. To the eyes of the poor, what this man gave could be more than a year’s wages.

• Jesus and other people must have heard the noise of a lot of coins echoed throughout the temple. The crowds must have praised the rich people.

• Then they walked away to the awe of the watching crowds. But Jesus was not deceived at all from their outward appearance. Jesus knew this kind of person.

• This kind of person didn’t give out of his love for God, for he really didn’t love God. He gave out of his love for himself. He gave only when others were looking.

• But God knows the hearts of all people. He gave out of what he had, and not out of what he did not have.

1. Read verses 42-43. Describe how a poor widow made her offering. (42) What can we learn from Jesus who used everyday events to teach His disciples? (43a) What did Jesus say about this woman’s offering? (43b) What does the expression, “truly I tell you,” teach us about Jesus who took notice of this unnamed widow’s actions?

2-1, Read verses 42-43.

42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

2-2, Describe how a poor widow made her offering. (42)

42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

• Among those giving that day, there was a widow. The woman was poor because she was a widow and had no husband to help support her.

• It also may be significant that Jesus had just criticized the scribes as those who devour widow’s houses. Perhaps a scribe devoured her house.

• According to another version, a few coins are two mites. A mite is 1% of a denarius and was perhaps our equivalent of $1.

• The widow might have challenged her thought process like, “I’ll give when I have more.” The widow had virtually nothing yet was a giver.

• This means that we can all please God with our giving just as much as the richest man can please God with his giving.

• Whatever we give sacrificially to God, He sees it and is pleased. Also she came to the temple by faith without being forced to come.

• She had nothing to live on. She had only a few cents. She should keep them! She should buy a piece of bread so that she might not starve that day.

• But instead, she gave them to God. Some people might have said that she was out of her mind. Others might think she is fanatic! But she was neither.

2-3, What can we learn from Jesus who used everyday events to teach His disciples? (43a)

43 Calling his disciples to him,

• Jesus needed to teach his disciples about faith and about loving God. So he sat there opposite the place where offerings are given to teach his disciples a lesson.

• Jesus wanted to bring his disciples to witness the offerings made at the temple to teach them the difference between loving one’s self and loving God.

2-4, What did Jesus say about this woman’s offering? (43b)

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

• According to Jesus, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others in that she loves God more than herself.

• It was her pure devotion and sacrifice out of her poor status. Still she wants to give something as a giver rather than giving up or begging or taking.

• Jesus must have been moved by her act of love for God and her deep trust in the Almighty God.

• Again Jesus could say that the widow put in more than all. It was because all the others gave out of their abundance but she gave sacrificially.

• Jesus’ principle here shows us that before God, the spirit of giving determines the value of the gift more than the amount. God doesn’t want grudgingly given money or guilt money. God loves the cheerful giver.

• The widow’s gift and Jesus’ comment on it also shows us that the value of a gift is determined by what it costs the giver.

• This is what made the widow’s gift so valuable. David refused to give God that which cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).

2-5, What does the expression, “truly I tell you,” teach us about Jesus who took notice of this unnamed widow’s actions?

• God never misses our act of faith anytime and anywhere. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may be conscious of Him always.

• Jesus shows us that God does not need our money. If God needed our money, then how much we give would be more important than our heart in giving.

• Instead, it is our privilege to give to Him, and we need to give because it is good for us, not because it is good for God.

1. Read verse 44. What set this poor widow apart from others? What does this passage reveal about what God truly values? How does this woman show us an example of loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? (12:33)

3-1, Read verse 44.

44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

3-2, What set this poor widow apart from others?

44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

• And she loved God more than she loved herself. She also had great faith in God. To her, offering was not a matter of whether it was convenient or comfortable or whether her human situation or circumstance allowed it.

• Giving to God was a matter of her faith. It was her faith expressed through love. When you love God, you also trust God!

• Then you eagerly give God your whole heart, believing that your king deserves all of it, and that your king takes care of you!

3-3, What does this passage reveal about what God truly values?

• Our Lord God truly values where our hearts are up to. What God values is different from what the people of this world value.

• The people of this world do not/can not see through what is going on in those whose hearts are given to the Lord.

• So it seems that it is a waste of time, money, and ourselves. But God who is the Lord and Almighty God knows what is really going on.

• He does not let anything be wasted. Rather he truly values His people’s devotion and makes it fruitful even in the time of suffering like Joseph in Genesis.

3-4, How does this woman show us an example of loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? (12:33)

• Simply she was a woman who loved God with all her heart and with all her soul and with all her mind and with all her strength.

• Paul said in Phil.4:11-12, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

• He was not a greedy man. He loved God and had learned the nature of faith. Faith depends on God. Faith loves God more than anything else.

• When a person is greedy, that person finds excuses why he or she cannot give to God. But when a person is content with what God, he or she lives by faith.

• So Jesus taught his disciples the widow’s faith. She loved God more than all others. She trusted God more than all others.

• Her love for God was not in words, but in deed. She only thought that God is her Father who has given his Son for her redemption.

• So he deserves her all, her two pennies, even her life if need be. She was a woman who had found the grace of God in Jesus.

• She was a woman whose life and actions defined faith for the generations to come. She was a woman who loved God.

Conclusion

God tells his people in Exo 34:20 , “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.” It is a disgrace to appear before the King God Almighty with a half hearted, left over offering. When the people of God were called to offer for the rebuilding of the temple, they brought offerings from their hearts until the treasury was so full that Moses had to command them to stop them from bringing offerings. Through that, the people revealed that their love for God was genuine. They revealed that their faith was in God and not in their material possessions. They revealed that God Almighty is a King and the Lord worthy of the best and most precious of gifts. God is pleased with us when we give all our hearts and all our strength. Let’s love God with our whole being. Let’s love God not in words but in deed.

One Word: She put more into the treasury