"And 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. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 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; 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."
Good Morning my beloved,
This is why I love expository preaching, the verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel, simply teaching what comes next. It removes the pressure of being accused of selecting certain passages only to manipulate people to give money, making the text to say something it clearly doesn't say or be condemned, there are some people that like to assume that when we gather to worship God, we only come to receive, to see what blessings we can get what we can from God. I believe that when we gather to worship God, we don’t come just to get, or to evaluate the message, we gather prepared to give God what He deserves, as the Lord leads us, whether an individual or a congregation. Psalm 96:8 says, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts."
2 Corinthians 9:7, "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." True humility will help us to keep our priorities in proper order, this is the practice that I follow, for ministry. A practice, I believe, that all pastors would do well to implement from the very outset of their ministry, keeping their own personal opinions and demands out it, ultimately becoming servants of greed rather than God. While there are many today who claim to represent God, faithfully proclaiming His Word, when in fact, they are dominated by sin and pride, speaking messages are straight out of mouth of Satan. If there is ever a time that this world needs faithful pastors who are
willing to speak the Truth, boldly with power and authority, within the clear parameters of Scripture, I strongly
believe that time is now. Beware of any leader who tells you only what you want to hear, rather than what you need to hear, the damning reality is they’re going to lead you away from God and straight to Hell.
While not everyone can give a lot, I do believe that
everyone can give a little, making giving open to everybody. However, that said, Jesus is not teaching a lesson about giving, this is not an invitation to empty out your pockets, as some have suggested, looking for a self-serving interpretation of the Word. It's actually quite the opposite, this is our Lord giving a justified lesson of judgment, on the corrupted religious leaders, who couldn’t see the sinfulness of their own hearts, who were lovers of money, wrongfully taking everything a poor widow woman had to give, validated by the the act of her giving her last two small copper coins to a false religious system, under the false assumption that it would somehow make her more worthy of receiving God's blessing. This very brief portion of Scripture is powerfully packed with far-reaching implications.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your precious Word, so rich, so powerful, that it can break through the barriers of darkness and deception with the glorious Light of the Truth, bringing about conviction leading us to repentance, to renew our minds and reshape our lives. Lord, I humbly pray that Your will would be accomplished in sinful, darkened hearts, that can only be explained by the miraculous power that comes from You alone to transform broken and shattered lives. Father, we thank You in faith believing and rejoice in anticipation of that happening, even today. O' Lord, I pray that Your Word would bear heavily on the unrighteous, ungodly leaders in Your Church, unmasking the religious hypocrites, disguised as Your angels of light, while seeking to build a reputation and kingdom for themselves by teaching a false gospel. Graciously grant them the gift of a true understanding of Your Word, that they might turn from sin to repentance, and live lives marked by genuine humility, with a renewed commitment to obedience to Your Word. I pray this for Your glory and for Christ's sake.
Father, thank You for Your precious Word, so rich, so powerful, that it can break through the barriers of darkness and deception with the glorious Light of the Truth, bringing about conviction leading us to repentance, to renew our minds and reshape our lives. Lord, I humbly pray that Your will would be accomplished in sinful, darkened hearts, that can only be explained by the miraculous power that comes from You alone to transform broken and shattered lives. Father, we thank You in faith believing and rejoice in anticipation of that happening, even today. O' Lord, I pray that Your Word would bear heavily on the unrighteous, ungodly leaders in Your Church, unmasking the religious hypocrites, disguised as Your angels of light, while seeking to build a reputation and kingdom for themselves by teaching a false gospel. Graciously grant them the gift of a true understanding of Your Word, that they might turn from sin to repentance, and live lives marked by genuine humility, with a renewed commitment to obedience to Your Word. I pray this for Your glory and for Christ's sake.
It is in His Name we ask and pray these things.
Amen
Today's Message: All Gave Some, She Gave All
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, as we return to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verses 41 through 44. Mark 12:41-44. This is the conclusion of chapter 12, and it is Wednesday, the last week in our Lord's life, just days before going the cross, and He seems to have reached the point where He’s had enough. I believe that's why so many pastors avoid teaching the difficult passages in the Bible, not because
they are difficult to understand, in fact, the Word of God is very
clear. But because the Word of God is deeply penetrating, especially
piercing our own hardened hearts, convicting us of the sin in our own
lives, bringing the authority of God to bear heavily on our lives. As we examine this text, I believe we will find there's a very valuable lesson here for all of us in the church today. I trust you will be following along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we open our hearts to hear what the Spirit of God has to say to us today.
"And 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. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 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; 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."
In order to better understand the text, allow me to remind you that Jesus’ presence in the temple this week began when He overturned the tables of the money changers, He threw out both the buyers and the sellers, then He unmasked the religious hypocrites for their outward appearance’s of taking care of those who needed to be protected, while ravenously stealing money from the poor, devouring widows houses, consuming everything until there is nothing left, leaving then with not even the hope of recovery, offering long prayers while masquerading as servants of God.
And now, chapter 12 ends with His condemnation of their taking advantage of this widow, who willingly gave everything that she had, leaving her destitute with only the belief that it would make her more worthy of receiving God's blessing. Clear evidence of what their corrupt religious system did to widows to fill their treasury. Again, this isn't about the widow, nor is it to take us to task about our attitudes towards giving. If that was the case, Jesus would have encouraged others to follow her example of giving until it hurts, even if you’re down to your last cents. This is intended to shed light on corrupt religion.
The treasury was located in the Court of the Women, which was open to everybody and it was the area where Jesus taught in the temple. There were 13 trumpet-shaped receptacles in the area, each marked to indicate how the offerings would be used, intended to elicit gifts and offerings. Nine of these were for what we might call tithing offerings that were used for the temple while the other four were for gifts that were used for the maintenance of the ministry; money for wood, incense, temple decorations and burnt offerings and such. False teachers are always motivated by greed rather than Truth and pleasing God.
Verse 42, "A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent." The word "poor" is used in contrast with the crowds, the extreme opposite of the rich, to helps us see that she was destitute, the word "ptōxós," literally means to crouch and cower like a beggar. I'd like you to notice there’s nothing here about the Lord commending her for putting in everything she had, He could easily justified that she couldn’t afford to give any amount, or that she should given only one and kept the other one for herself, this would been the ideal opportunity to do that, but He doesn't make mention that either.
He's making the case that she's the victim of severe abuse by a false religious system that could not be more corrupt. The two small copper coins or "leptón," were also known as the widow’s mite, it was the smallest coin in use among the Jews, their value was literally next to nothing. Two of these coins were worth 1/64 of a Roman denarius, a day’s wage for a common laborer. They were so thin, and light that they would not have even made a sound as they went in the offering receptacle. I love that Jesus not only sees that this woman and what she gives, because she would have been unnoticed by the crowds and corrupt religious leaders certainly would have taken no interest in this woman. But He sees it all, missing nothing! I don't believe that most people today even consider the fact Jesus sees what we give and the attitude with which we give it.
I hope that you will indulge me for a moment, while I share the story of a young boy from a poor neighborhood, dressed in tattered clothes, who was walking along the road one Sunday, when a church bus driver was passing by and stopped to ask him if he would like to go to come to church next Sunday. If so, he would be happy to come by and pick him up as long as it was alright with his parents. The boy said quickly yes and that his parents weren’t home very much so he was sure it would be alright. So the next Sunday, when the church bus pulled up and honked the horn, out came the little boy dressed in the same ragged clothes. The bus driver smiled, and kindly introduced him to the other kids, who made him feel welcome. When they arrived at church, the bus driver took him and introduced him to the Sunday school teacher who was also kind like the bus driver. He heard about Jesus for the first that morning, convinced his teacher and the bus driver must be like this Jesus because no one had ever treated him so kindly. Then the Sunday school teacher took him into the sanctuary and sat with him. The preacher talked about Jesus and then they sang. And then some men gathered in the front of the church and started passing the collection plate down through all the rows. When it had reached his row, he watched the Sunday school teacher put money in the plate and pass it by him. He asked her what that was for, she said it was for Jesus. Immediately, his heart sank, because he had nothing of value to give Jesus. Then, he got up and ran to the man with the collection plate and asked him if he could please have it for a minute. With caution the man handed it to him. The boy put the collection plate on the floor and stepped in it and said, "Jesus, I'm sorry because I don’t have anything to give you but me. But if you will take that, you can all of me." To this young boy who had nothing, Jesus was everything, so that's exactly what he gave Him in return. My point is, it's how valuable we believe that Jesus is to us that will ultimately determine how much we are wiling to give, or give up.
Verse 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." The Greek verb "proskaleó," is a strong word that means, to bid to come, it's basically a command. By the way, Scripture is full of commands and with very few suggestions. In fact, even repent and believe in the Gospel is a formal exhortation to take action. Then He said to them "Truly I say to you," I love that when Jesus says that, it's not a indication that everything else is false, it means that we better pay attention, He doesn't want us to miss what He’s about to say. Then, after getting their full attention, He goes on to say "this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury." Jesus is pointing out that it's not how much we have but what we do with what we have. Again, it's not the amount of the gifts, but the sacrifice. Not everyone is financially able to give the same as everyone else, but everyone is able to make an equal sacrifice.
By the way, I have good news and bad news today. The good news is that we have enough money to meet the financial needs of this ministry and there's a surplus left over to help provide for others in need! The bad news is most of that the money is still in your pockets! I pray that God, the provider of all things, will bless your income this year to equal your offering. I love the way one preacher put it when he said, "If
your financial fears are dictating your use of money, then you have
made money to be master over your heart just as much as the wealthy man is bound by his greed." God isn't impressed by how much you give as much as He cares about why you give. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have."
I believe a person’s giving attitude should start with the belief, that "It’s all God’s money, and ends with the question "How much of God’s money should I keep?" It is my experience that it’s a lot easier to avoid being convicted when a preacher talks about giving when you are giving. Before we move on, there's one more thing that Jesus notices, that's how we live. Look at the end of the verse again, "this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury." In comparison, this woman gave very little but the Lord measures giving by our motive, our means and by how much we have left. To be clear, I'm not asking for anything, this isn't as much about giving, as it is about trust and managing God's money in a godly way.
God can and will do great things when we offer even the little we have. Remember the miracle of the feeding the five thousand? God doesn't need your money, He does want your trust. We don’t give to earn God's favor, rather we offer back to Him what is His because of His grace.
That brings us to verse 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." They gave out of their surplus, anticipating the more they gave the more they would receive. This woman didn’t give out of her surplus, what was left over after she paid her bills, she didn't give what she could spare or to fulfill her duty. She gave out of her poverty, she gave everything she had to live on, because she trusted God to provide what she needed, that's why her gift was greater than all the rest. It's like Paul writes in Philippians 4:13 which says, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved