2. Mark 12:41-44 41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.
3. Mark 12:41-44 Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a frac-tion of a penny.
4. Mark 12:41-44 43Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the trea-sury than all the others.
5. Mark 12:41-44 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything -- all she had to live on.”
18. Mark 12:41 HCSB Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the One to whom we are accountable.Hebrews 4:13 NLT
19. Matthew 6:2-4 NIV So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
20. Matthew 6:2-4 NIV (3) But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (4) so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
22. Mark 12:41-43 NLT … Many rich people put in large amounts. (42) Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
23. Mark 12:41-43 NLT (43) Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions
25. Who despises the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10 Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish John 6:1-14
26. Who despises the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10 Tabitha, with a needle & thread, clothed the poor Acts 9:36-39
27. Who despises the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10 David, with one stone from his sling, felled the giant Goliath 1 Samuel 17
28. 2 Cor. 8:12 NIrV Do you really want to give? Then the gift is received in keeping with what you have, not with what you don't have.
29. 1 Sam. 16:7 NIrV I do not look at the things people look at. Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart.
30. Lessons Learned Jesus sees our giving Amount of gift irrelevant Attitude is everything
31. Mark 12:43-44 NLT This poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.
32. It’s not our money the good Lord needs, But devotion of heart for which He pleads!
33. 2 Cor. 9:6-7 NLT Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
34. 2 Cor. 8:3-5 NLT For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. (4) They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
35. 2 Cor. 8:3-5 NLT (5) They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
37. Lessons Learned Jesus sees our giving Amount of gift irrelevant Attitude is everything
38. Dear Lord, Please bless us with a giving heart.
Editor's Notes
Wayne (CCU), Scott (Sports Illustrated), Joe (KAIO – inner burning desire – “Hey, Joe Show” on Facebook – Live webinar tonight at 9 pm Central (7 pm here)Story of widow who gave all (Mark 12:41-44).Context: Mark 12:38-40 NLT Jesus also taught: "Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. (39) And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. (40) Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished."Jesus has exposed hypocrisy of scribes in schemes to bilk widows out of money & homes. Now, by contrast, He shames them by drawing attention to a widow, who gives everything she has.In uncertain economic times; remember economics is at the heart of spiritual decision-making.
If Jesus were to place you in one category, where do you think he would place you?93% said “With the crowd, giving more than a little, but less than a lot.”
What statement most accurately describes your church contribution?Pretty evenly divided between:45% said “I give less than I can afford.”45% said “I give what I can afford.”Additional 10% said “I give more than I can afford.”
Whom do you think is MOST impressed by your giving?Pretty evenly divided between:48% - “No one is impressed, including myself.”48% - “God, who sees my heart.”Suggests that about half of us know we could be doing better.
Whom do you think is LEAST impressed by your giving?59% said “I am least impressed with how much I give.”41% said “God, who sees my heart.”Think about it. This suggests that just about all of us know we could be doing better, since we’re not impressed with our own giving, and we don’t think God is impressed, either.
How do you determine the amount of your church contribution?38% give a percentage of our “after tax” income.35% give an amount based on what we have left over after paying our living expenses (i.e. we give the church some of what we have left over).15% give a percentage of our “before tax” income.8% base our giving on whether we think the church is spending its money wisely.4% base our giving on whether we’re generally satisfied with the local congregation.
What percentage of your gross income (before taxes) does your church contribution represent?14% give less than 1% of our income.31% give between 1% and 5% of our income.28% give between 6% and 9% of our income.21% give between 11% and 15% of our income.7% give between 16% and 20% of our income.No one gives over 20% of our income.
Jesus leaves the Royal Porticoes (14on diagram) & passes through Court of Gentiles (12)Walks through Beautiful Gate (11) into the Court of Women (9), which houses Temple Treasury (10) Against the wall of this court were 13 trumpet-shaped collection receptacles. Each receptacle was marked, so that the people would know for what distinctive purpose the money it received would be used, whether for the temple tribute, for sacrifices, incense, wood, or whatever. Worshipers put coins into one group of the trumpets and offerings of goods into others.(MishnahShekalim 6. 5).
Jesus was a “people-watcher”. From a vantage point opposite (Gk. katenanti) these receptacles he observed how (Gk. pōs, "in what way") the Passover crowd was putting their money into the temple treasury (lit., "the receptacle"). Evidently, He notices the attitude with which they give as well as the amount of money they contribute. Do the faces of the rich show the pain of having to keep up their reputation for being generous? Does the widow look ashamed when she throws in her offering and hears only two "pings" as her mites hit the bottom of the trumpet? Who knows the difference between the offerings? Jesus knows.
Lepton was smallest Jewish coin in circulation. She dropped in two lepta, which means a quarter. A quarter of what? Of a dollar? No, of an assarius. An assarius was worth one sixteenth of a denarius!The denarius was a laborer's average daily wage. Due to fluctuating monetary values, impossible to accurately say what these would be worth today. If denarius is equivalent of 16-18 American cents, then the assarius would be worth about a cent & "lepton" merely 1/8 cent. The little copper coins which this widow dropped into the "trumpet" were literally "thin ones." English leaf is related to lepton – small, thin & light. The two lepta, taken together, should be regarded as being worth no more than a fraction of a penny.
By human calculation what the widow gave was insignificant.Measured by divine standard, however, her contribution was priceless, as is clear from the next verses: Mark 12:43-44 NLT Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. (44) For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."
Not only did He see it, what she did was so important in his eyes that he summoned his disciples to call their attention on it.In his estimation the two copper coins were sparkling diamonds. One might even say: they resembled talents which over a period of time doubled in value; yes, doubled and redoubled, for her deed and Jesus' comment have inspired thousands of people to follow her example. What was it that made her gift so precious? Others had given "out of their abundance," she "out of her poverty," her want or lack.She might at least have kept one of these small, thin copper coins for herself? But she gave both. Trusting that God would not fail her, she sacrificed everything.
During worship, has it occurred to you that Jesus is watching “how” you engage in worship?How you sing, pray, commune, listen. Not only that, but He watches “how” you give.Grudgingly or gratefully?Greedily or generously?*** Remember Hebrews 4:13
“Do not announce it with trumpets.” Most translations talk of “blowing trumpets”. Literally “Do not sound the trumpet in front of you.” Not about blowing horns, but about making racket with the “trumpet” which is the collection receptacle. BART - $20 for $16.20 ticket. Got $3.80 in nickels. Imagine how 76 nickels sound hitting the coin tray. Like a Vegas slot machine on a good day! Imagine converting your contributions into pennies, then dropping them into the trumpet receptacle. That would get people’s attention!“They have received their reward in full.” They sold out too cheaply. They got what they bargained for, and cannot expect God’s approval, when all they were seeking was the approval of men. God has marked their account “Paid in full.”“Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Not literal. Reason for cloth on communion tables years ago.God sees, and He is the only one who matters!
The amount of the gift is irrelevant, but real giving must be sacrificial. The amount of the gift never matters so much as its cost to the giver, not the size of the gift, but the sacrifice. Real generosity gives until it hurts.
For many of us it is a real question if our giving to God's work is any sacrifice at all. Few people will do without their pleasures to give a little more to the work of God. It may well be a sign of the decadence of the church and the failure of our Christianity that gifts have to be coaxed out of church people, and that often they will not give at all unless they get something back in the way of entertainment or of goods. There can, be few of us who read this story without shame.
This question could be asked – and answered – in a variety of Biblical contexts when God did great things with small things.
This is what God said in rejecting all of Jesse’s other sons and choosing David to succeed Saul.
Attitude is everything: Real giving has a certain recklessness in it. The woman might have kept one coin. It would not have been much but it would have been something, yet she gave everything she had. There is a great symbolic truth here. It is our tragedy that there is so often some part of our lives, some part of our activities, some part of ourselves which we do not give to Christ. Somehow there is nearly always something we hold back. We rarely make the final sacrifice and the final surrender.
Paul gives a principle of giving.
Paul’s assessment of the generosity of the poor Macedonian Christians, giving for the relief of the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
The key to their generosity – gratitude for what the Lord had done for them
Merces Marquez immigrated (Bolivia to US) at 80.Had little & gave away what she had.Obeyed Gospel at age 87 (photo at baptism).Prepared communion weekly & cleaned up afterward – wanted to reflect appreciation for those who shared their private school with church. Elder: “Why do you work so hard?” Response: “I am making up for lost time, because the Lord Jesus found me only 12 years ago, and this is my way of saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus!’”At 99 still working & received no public assistance. Worked 60 hours a week weeding gardens, cleaning houses, and caring for little children and older disabled people, (all much younger than she). At 6:27 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, struck down by a speeding young driver & died on the scene. Congregation claimed her body because they were her only “next of kin.”Donated grave; funeral expenses (donations). Died with $57 in her checking account and $1.37 in her coin purse, but had her offering for the following Lord's Day already written out ahead of time for $55. In an envelope on which she had written, “Thank You Gift for Lord Jesus!”
Many axioms of giving from the widow's act:Giving is to be measured—not by its count, but its cost—not by its amount, but its portion—not by what is given, but by what is kept—not by money, but by spiritGiving is a conduit through which redemption flows.
