She Gave Her All
(A Week Like No Other – Part 7)
#133 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4
(In the story of the widow, giving her last penny, we see two things: the example of total surrender, and an illustration of the deception of an apostate religion.)
In this final week leading up to the cross, Jesus is pouring truth into His disciples, preparing them for what lies ahead… The cross is coming, and then … the church… These men will become responsible for preaching the message of the Kingdom. They will be proclaiming the truths Jesus is pouring into them now…
The context of our passage shows a full on confrontation between The Lord of Truth, and the false system of religion that Judaism had become. Jesus has just exposed the hypocrisy, heresy, and corruption of the Jewish leadership. He has pronounced judgement upon them, and the temple – and now we read of an incident that has provided no small amount of … debate.
We read of an incident that has been referred to as a great example of sacrificial giving, but also serves as an … eye-opening, heart-wrenching, soul-searching opportunity for self-examination… Stay with me through this message, and let’s prayerfully consider what we are about to read…
Mark and Luke both record this event, but Mark gives a little more detail, so we will focus our attention there –
Mark 12:41-44
41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and beganobserving how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Let me begin by offering a hermeneutical principle that you should look for in every sermon… The points of the message, should be clear in the text – the text, in its context!...
Let’s start with –
1. The Observance by Jesus
Mark 12:41
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury;
The fact is, for the past several days, Jesus has been … observing… He has observed the corruptness that has destroyed Judaism, the apostate oppressive nature that characterized the religious leaders, and the perversion of the temple…
We have learned throughout Jesus’ ministry, that He always had a perfect understanding of all that He observed… He could read a room with exact clarity and could see right through the hearts of every man, or woman – any synagogue, or even nation… Jesus sees … and He knows … people.
Now, we simply read of how He was … observing how people were contributing to the treasury of the temple.
He observes what people are doing. He is observing how they are doing it… And deeper still – He knows why people are doing it…
There were 13 different stations around the Court of Women where people could make their contribution… Each station served for a different purpose – that is the money received at each station went to a different purpose… These were actually receptacles where people would drop their money… They were shaped like a trumpet, and depending on the force used by the one giving their offering, they could make a rather loud … attention-getting sound when one dropped their offering…
Keep in mind that everyone, including gentiles, were encouraged to make financial contributions to the temple… You can see how the process involved in making a contribution became another way of … drawing attention to one’s self…
At this particular point, Jesus and His disciples are in the temple, and Jesus is … observing…
What does He see?... He sees –
2. The Contribution by People
Mark 12:41-42
41And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
People were putting in money… It is interesting that we want to jump to the poor widow’s offering and focus on that, but let’s not skip over the fact that there were rich people – many rich people – who made large contributions to the temple!
If this had been a practice in many modern churches, especially over the past 100 years or so – we would see people wanting to put a name on something because they had given so much! [It may be a window, a pew, or an entire wing of the complex… people will give more if they can direct the attention of the gift … to themselves!... A practice Jesus condemns! (Matt. 6:3, etc.)]
As you know, there is a false version of Christianity today that places a lot of emphasis on people making their “contribution” to their system… The so-called “Prosperity Gospel” crowd are only interested in filling their coffers, not yours… That system leads to poverty – financial and spiritual! Watch out!...
The predominant religious system in Jesus’ day was very similar! People would often give in order to bring attention to themselves…
At least that was a motive by many among the Jewish leaders in particular… Their motives were more often anchored in ill-gotten gain, than God-honoring contributions…
We’ll discuss the widow’s offering more in a moment, but let’s think a bit more about this matter of money and the heart of the worshipper…
Is it right to give money as a part of worship? Of course it is!...
Write these references down (they are not in your notes) – and keep in mind, the Scriptures have a lot more to say than these:
First a statement about tithing:
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
But giving should also be … freely:
24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.
25 The generous man will be prosperous,
And he who waters will himself be watered.
For the Christian, our giving should be … cheerfully:
6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The point is – God looks upon the heart in the act of our giving! It is to be unto Him – and for His glory – His glory alone!
Why is it that so many become … uncomfortable when the preacher starts talking about money?... For some, it’s a guilty conscience…
Write this down:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
How do you know if you are … loving and serving money more than God?... Alistair Begg offers some helpful thoughts on this:
Alistair Begg – “I am guilty of loving money when:
1. Thoughts of money consume my day.
2. Others’ success makes me jealous.
3. I define success in terms of what I have rather than what I am in Christ.
4. My family is neglected in my pursuit of money.
5. I close my eyes to the genuine needs of others.
6. I am living in the paralyzing fear of losing it.
7. I am prepared to borrow myself into bondage.
8. God gets my leftovers, rather than my first fruits.
May the Lord deliver us from any such … divided heart!
Continuing with our text, we now will lean into –
3. The Evaluation by Jesus
Mark 12:43-44
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Jesus immediately assesses what is going on in this scene, and He explains His evaluation to His disciples… I suppose the reason why the widow is the focus in this scene, is because Jesus makes her so… There is not much ink out there commenting on the contributions of the rich, as there pages and pages of commentary about the widow and her … contribution.
Mark and Matthew tell us that as people came to make their contribution to the treasury, that –
Mark 12:42
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
The small copper coin mentioned here, was the smallest denomination of currency in Judea at that time… I’ve read that it was equivalent to 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius was an average day’s wage… Two small copper coins are stated in the text as being equivalent to a cent … in that currency… To try and gain a better understanding of how this might translate into our currency and time, I did a bit of research.
You might be surprised to know that according the social security administration, the average salary in the U.S. today is $66,622 a year… If that salary is earned in a 40-hour work week, then the “small copper coin” would be worth about $4 today… That means the widow gave $8 in our money… That amount of money could buy a simple meal in most fast food places, so it wasn’t an insignificant amount…
Jesus says –
Mark 12:43-44
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Jesus simply points out that even though she gave a relatively small amount, she … gave her all!
In John MacArthur’s Study Bible, he says -
“This meant she would not be able to eat until she earned more. The widow exemplified true sacrificial giving.”
There is a principle that we need to make sure to NOT miss… When it comes to a worshipper, returning a portion of what God has provided … by contributing to the offering – the value of the gift is not the amount, so much as it is the cost… Let me say that again… The value of an offering is not so much the amount of money given, as it is … the cost – the cost to the one making the offering!
To put it another way – Erwin Lutzer says – “Those who give much without sacrifice are reckoned as having given little.”
And the truth is, God is not so much concerned about the amount that is given, as He is about the … heart of the one giving it!
King David’s heart was revealed, when the Prophet Gad instructed the King to go and erect an altar in a specific place - the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah (A-rOn-a)... When the king went to do so, he was determined to purchase the land. Araunah saw him coming, and went to meet the king. He bowed before the king, and gave the appropriate greeting… When he inquired why the king came to his servant, David said he came to purchase the spot for the altar that was to be built… Araunah wanted to simply give the place, and everything needed for the offering to the King… Listen to David’s response –
However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Did you see it?... David said –
However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
So, when it comes to the worshipper making an offering to the Lord … we should all examine our own hearts and consider … what is it costing us…
But — is this the point Jesus is making in His evaluation? Is Jesus, in this context, pointing to the widow and … elevating her as an example of what sacrificial giving looks like?... I think the answer is both, YES, and NO…
YES - she illustrates what sacrificial giving looks like… And NO … this is not the point of the story…
In the context of our passage, we have seen how Jesus has been confronting … and obliterating the false version that Judaism had become!
Jesus is NOT commending this woman for giving so sacrificially to … the greedy, self-righteous, Christ-forsaking, religious system that the temple had become!... He is simply making the observation … the observation that she is giving her all!...
Let me yield for a moment to my mentor from afar… MacArthur, in his sermon on our passage, elaborates on the fact that this woman … is really … a casualty in all of this. Listen to what he says –
John MacArthur - “What is she in the story? I’ll tell you what she is, she’s a victim; she is a victim. A victim of what? She is a victim of the system. She is the ultimate victim of a system that ‘devours widows’ houses’ - verse 40 - that’s the connection. This has nothing to do with Christian giving, unless you think Christian giving is, ‘Give everything you have; take a vow of poverty, go home and die.’”
That’s rather strong, isn’t it?... This woman, this widow, for whatever reason, has chosen to give her all – which may be something done out of a sincere heart of surrender — but the problem is, she is being … duped – duped by an apostate version of Judaism!...
[ I submit that is exactly what is happening today in the so-called prosperity gospel movement! It is a movement that has moved away from the gospel and now offers an apostate version of Christianity to the world! And the leaders in this movement are just as guilty as the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, of being greedy, self-serving, predators of the needy and the vulnerable… especially the widows!]
Ok… that is a challenging perspective on the context of our passage. The larger context shows a system that was no longer worthy of the sacrifice this widow was making… But, on the micro level… we see in her what total surrender looks like!
Before you begin to question whether you should become less … surrendered in your relationship to Christ – before you begin to start clutching to what you have out of concern for … not wanting to give to a faulty expression of Christianity… or for self preservation… Let us be reminded of the standard to which Jesus Himself has called us!
Let’s be reminded of Jesus’ own words, when He said –
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Authentic Christianity, is a life of … surrender! Even before going to the cross Himself, Jesus invokes the image of the cross as the emblem that illustrates one’s total and complete surrender to God! The cross was an emblem of death. One comes to die to one’s self, when they come to Christ! We surrender to Jesus! We surrender our … all – our very lives!
Every Christian knows that this is a daily matter… Not that one “gets saved everyday” – that is a one-time event. But, because we still live in fallen bodies, in a fallen world, every Christian has a daily battle. The flesh is at war against the Spirit! The Christian makes ongoing, daily, hourly, … moment-by-moment decisions of surrendering our all to Jesus!
The Holy Spirit, through Paul gives us this warning / and promise –
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Paul also told the believers in Colosse –
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Again, this is a daily, ongoing determination of a surrendered life!
How are you doing in this today?... You may sense the need to come afresh to the Lord’s call upon your life to … surrender your all to Him!
He WILL fill you with His life – His joy – His peace — no matter what you will yet face in this life!
Questions to consider in Community Group:
