Mark 12:41-44

In our story today, Jesus is going to let his disciples in on a secret. There, at the temple precincts, amid the noisy activity, Jesus found a true lover of God, a widowed woman who lived in poverty. She gave God everything she had. Jesus knew it. And he rejoiced at what he saw in her, so he pulled his disciples aside to tell them what he'd just witnessed.

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The Setting

This episode occurred just around the corner from -- and right after -- Jesus' debate with the religious leaders. They had been in the most outer court of the temple area, but Jesus moved closer to the actual temple and into a place called the court of the women.

In this court was the treasury, comprised of thirteen chests into which people deposited their tithes and offerings. Each box was for a specific type of offering -- new temple dues, past due temple dues, bird offerings, wood offerings, spice offerings, gold offerings, and freewill offerings.

Large Sums vs. A Penny

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box (41). Some translate this sentence: "Jesus watched how they put money into the offering box." How.

Lots of rich people put in large sums (41). But a poor widow came and put two copper coins (42). Mark says it came to a penny (42). Not our penny, but the Roman reader's penny, which amounted to 1/64 of a day's wage. By the modern California minimum wage, it was $1.75.

How Did They Know Who Gave What?

At this point, you might wonder how Jesus knew how much people gave that day. I'm sure the wealthy looked wealthy, and the poor widow betrayed her poverty, but how did Jesus know the rich put in large sums and the widow put in two copper coins?

We might envision the privacy of an ATM or credit card transaction. No one would really know. There is no sound to give it away. There is no substance to produce. Even our paper currency -- checks and bills -- is quiet when we drop them into the offering box.

It's possible everyone knew because of the noise. These boxes had lids in the shape of a horn, and you would drop your gift into the narrow end of that horn. It would drop down into the box—the louder or longer the sound, the bigger the gift.

It's also possible they announced the gifts as they were given, especially if they were given as donations to the welfare of the priests.

But Jesus must have also known by divine revelation. Why do I think this way? Because he told his disciples that she gave everything she had, all she had to live on (44). God the Son knew.

1 Samuel 2:3 — "...the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed."

1. She Captured The Attention Of Our Lord

Jesus Noticed Her

This woman had captured Jesus' attention. Imagine him there in that temple. He had rebuked the temple activity for its utter prayerlessness just two days earlier, calling it a den of thieves. But in this dry and barren wasteland, Jesus found a flower. He found life. And he rejoiced.

And it does not surprise us at all that this woman captured the attention of our Lord. She was in poverty. She was a widow. And God has a special place in his heart for people for whom life is hard. This is a steady theme throughout Scripture, typified in this psalm:

Psalm 146:9 — The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

So Jesus, the Lord, was bound to notice her. She probably hoped no one would notice her that day. In that culture, she was not highly valued or regarded. But Jesus saw her.

He Saw Her As A Model Of Devotion

But it was what the widow did that blessed Jesus' heart that day. He watched her drop in her two little coins, almost of no value at all. No one there that day celebrated her gift. It made little material impact on the temple's operating budget. Her gift was little more than an accounting error, but Jesus was floored by it!

He grabbed his disciples so he could teach them based on what had just happened (43). To Jesus, this woman was a model of devotion, an example of worship, a true lover of God. Jesus' disciples -- as we saw last week -- could not look to the scribes for their example. But they could look to this woman.

Portion vs. Proportion

The reason Jesus was so moved by her was be she had put in more than all those who were contributing to the offering box (43).

More. More! More?

This is amazing because everything in the passage portrays her as less. The rich came, but she was poor. They gave large sums, but she only two copper coins. One can imagine the wealthy being celebrated by everyone else, while this woman was anonymous and forgotten. But not to Jesus. Why? Because she gave more than they did.

Clearly, her two copper coins were not more in total value, but more in proportion, because they were her all (44). This is why Jesus said, "For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on" (44).

For the wealthy givers that day, there was no sacrifice. But this woman paid the price for her generosity. She had given it all. And Jesus was more blessed by the proportion of her giving than the portion of their giving.

And couldn't we say that her two copper coins did more than all the other gifts that day? The disciples needed her selfless example. They all eventually embraced a hyper-sacrificial life -- and the shape of the world, and our lives, is better because of their devotion.

Not only that, but I would imagine billions or trillions have been given to God's kingdom because of this woman's example. For two thousand years, she has confronted God's people. Her little gift is still doing superabundant good.

He Loves Devotion

Jesus loved her devotion. And he loves when we lay down our money or our time because it's a tangible way for us to love God with our heart, mind, soul, or strength. He loves your devotion.

We sometimes wonder if all our sacrifice or generosity makes a difference in God's sight. But God sees. God knows. And he loves it.

I recall a conversation I had with someone who was an integral part of this church in the mid-90s during a time when crucial decisions were made regarding this church's property. The church had met in rented and borrowed spaces. They had made it work but made the faith decision to buy some of this land and build a modest building. And that decision will bring long-range impact. Time will tell, and only God knows, how many thousands of lives have been impacted by the presence of a Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching church in the center of the greater Monterey Peninsula area. And the person I chatted with told me their gifts to the work felt like a great sacrifice at the time but that they rejoiced to see God continuing his work. The investment paid off.

2. She Exemplified Christian Maturity

But back to our poor widow. Her gift was exemplary of Christian maturity. What do I mean? Well, she was operating strongly in faith, hope, and love, three main characteristics that guide the Christian life. We are to abide in all three (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Faith

The woman operated in faith. She would not have given her gift if she had no "seen" him who is invisible. But, because she believed in God, she went to his temple and laid down her life.

Paul said:

“for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

This woman had certainly lived by faith that day. Had sight gotten the best of her, she never would have given even one copper coin.

Don't we crave more of this in our lives? Faith. Trust in God. Confidence that he is that enables us to live a different life.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Hope

But this woman also lived by hope. In the Bible, hope is the confident expectation of future good. In Christ, it is the confident expectation of the future good of his coming kingdom. We have an expectation -- and live in the light of that expectation -- that Jesus will one day be ruler overall. And that we'll be one with him in his kingdom's glory.

And she operated with that hope. She was trusting God for her life. She felt God could take care of her better than those two copper coins could.

Don't we crave a hope like this -- a total assurance that Christ's kingdom comes, and a reckless abandon to live as if that's so?

Love

But this woman also lived by love. She loved God. As Jesus said, this woman fulfilled the greatest commandment when she loved God with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Don't you crave this level of love for God? As her two little coins clinked into the treasury that day, her heart exploded with love for God. She was there for him.

Everyone Has A Chance

All this is beautiful because it shows everyone has a chance. She wasn't better because she was poor. But the rich weren't better because of their wealth.

But her commendation from Jesus shows us how everyone has a chance to walk by faith, hope, and love. Everyone can love God. I mean, think of it, the New Testament model for generosity isn't a wealthy benefactor, but a poor widow. And God loved her love.

Real love, real generosity, gives until it hurts. She had every right to withhold one of those coins, but real love has an element of risk. It feels reckless sometimes.

3. She Demonstrated Christlikeness

So Jesus loved her devotion. And her act was one of maturity. But let's consider one last thing about her -- when she gave in this way, she demonstrated Christlikeness.

You see, when Jesus came to us, he first stepped out of abundance. Equal with the Father, he took the low position. He took on human flesh. He became one of us. He embraced poverty.

Then, after embracing poverty, Jesus gave all that he had. He poured out his life, his time, and his energy in serving the people of Galilee and Judea. Then he poured out his blood and breath by dying on the cross. It was his gift towards humanity. The Son of God died instead of us.

And then, after rising from the grave and ascending to the Father, he continued to give. The Christian life is one of grace. That we exist is a gift. The creation is a gift. Men and women are gifts to each other. And even though the original man and woman weren't content with God's gift, he kept the gift flowing anyway. Promises. The ark. The law. The faithfulness of the seasons. Color. Flavors. Laughter. Sex. God gave it all to us!

And then God gave himself. He gave us his all.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Yes, everything we have is a gift. And Jesus gave from his poverty so that we might become rich in him. God is a giver. Christ is a giver.

Out Of Poverty

Jesus' spirit of generosity is something God's children partake of and also engage in. To be more precise, living a giving life, emulating Jesus in this way, is part of the gift he's given us.

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

When we give, we find ourselves. We get out of the monotony of life. We find a tangible way to celebrate and love and adore God. We tell the God of heaven how much we love him with a little piece of our earth.

And, like this woman, we must give out of our poverty at times. Remember Jesus' words: "She out of her poverty has put in everything she had" (44). Out of her poverty, the gift came.

This is the way of Christ, the way of the disciple. We give out of our poverty. And this usually feels like the worst time to give. Down to our last spare minutes or dollars, our reflex is to hold on and hold tight. Self-preservation begins to rule our spirits, and self-preservation breeds disastrous results.

But the disciple who grows into Christlikeness develops a new reflex of generosity and believes God will take care of the rest.

Way back in the pages of the Old Testament, God set aside a man named Elijah to be his prophet. He was a bold man, and he rebuked the nation for their worship of false gods. He declared a drought and, sure enough, it didn't rain for years. This, of course, led to a shortage of food. And Elijah needed to eat. So God sent him to a secret brook where ravens brought him a supply of bread every morning and evening.

But eventually, the birds stopped coming, and God told Elijah to go to a Gentile town called Zarephath. "There," God said, "I have commanded a widow to feed you" (1 Kings 17:9). When Elijah arrived in Zarephath, he found a widow at the gate of the city. She was gathering sticks. Elijah asked her for some water and then some bread. Only then did she tell Elijah that she was collecting firewood for one final fire for one final meal to bake her one loaf of bread. She and her son would eat the bread and await death.

But Elijah told her not to worry and to do just as she'd said, but first give him the bread. After that, she and her son could eat.

“For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” (1 Kings 17:14)

Miraculously, God provided like Ba'al could not. Those jars never emptied.

The believer...believes...God will take care of them. We believe the jar will not empty. God will always be there to fill us up.

So we give.