The Giving that Pleases Jesus

It was Tuesday before the crucifixion. Jesus is in the Temple. He has been responding to the Scribal challenges in a way that has left them devastated. He has just warned His disciples to beware of or avoid the Scribes due to their hypocrisy. They try to look the part of authentic religious leaders with their long lily-white robes and their show-stopping prayers, but Jesus says they "devour widows houses" and "for a pretense make long prayers" (Mark 12:40). Jesus wants His disciples to be the REAL thing, not to follow in the Scribe's waxy steps.

At this point Mark writes that Jesus sat down in the Court of the Women where the offering boxes were (Mark 12:41). This is where the daily "giving show" took place. 13 inverted trumpet shaped offering receptacles lined the wall (?), each marked for the particular type of offering to be collected there (6 of them were marked for "freewill" offerings).

Mark tells us that Jesus saw "many rich people put in large sums" (v.41). These were the stars of the "giving show." You can just hear the dozens of denarius coins clank into the trumpets. Wow! do these guys LOVE God! Look at how much they give. However, we tend to be easily impressed when it comes to giving. Many clanks = much love, right? Wrong.

Jesus wasn't impressed. He didn't CONDEMN the rich givers. They were rich, they SHOULD give large sums. The giver, however, that caught Jesus' eye was a poor widow. Apparently widows could be spotted by their clothing just like the rich. This widow probably made her way to the trumpets under the radar of everyone present...but Jesus. Her offering? A totally UNIMPRESSIVE 2 lepta (2 small copper coins). Their worth? No one seems to know for sure...perhaps a few cents in modern equivalence. They were small and they were thin and someone has written that this amount was the SMALLEST legal offering accepted.

With this in mind, the comment of Jesus to His disciples is mind-boggling. "This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box" v.43. Wait a minute! We HEARD the clanking of the rich offerings. We couldn't even hear the slightest tinkle of this old ladies coins.

Jesus then tells them why this poor widow's offering was more than all the clanking coins of the rich. "For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had, all she had to live on" (v.44).

This is why the widow's giving caught Jesus' eye. She gave it all. She had nothing left. She had 2 coins...could have kept one for herself...that's still an eye-popping 50% offering! But no...in they BOTH went. She had nothing left to trust in but God Himself. When she prayed later on, "Lord, give me my daily bread today" SHE MEANT IT!

The rich? They had plenty left over to trust in and lean on and feel confident over. If you have a million denarii and give 200, you still have 999,980 left! That's alot of daily bread!

Do you give like the rich or the widow?

• It's not how much you begin with but how much you have left.
• It's not the amount given but whether there is SACRIFICE involved.
• It's not giving by FEAR: fear that if I give too much I may not have enough left to cover unforseen emergencies.
• It's giving by LOVE: for Him who gave everything He had on the cross for ME.
• It's giving by FAITH: faith that my Father in Heaven really means to supply my daily bread regardless of how much is left in the checking account.

God makes great use out of small sacrifices. This widow's two small copper coins were immortalized in this gospel as an encouragement for all the disciples of Jesus to be sacrificial givers, like the widow, like Jesus...leaving it all in the offering box, leaving it all on the cross...

What are YOU leaving?