Someone has suggested that this widow should have been counseled to give only half of what she owned. After all, she desperately needed what she had and such a small gift as a couple of copper pennies could not possibly have helped in the day to day running of the temple. It was too tiny. Yet one who might counsel that way does not understand the nature of giving or the nature of God. The nature of the widow’s gift is not seen in how many splinters of wood it might buy to warm a sacrifice. The true nature of her gift is seen in the mighty trust in God that she proclaimed that day. It wasn’t a trust based on guilt or fear. It wasn’t done to impress men. It was done because she knew that God would not despise such a gift from a trusting heart.

The elders in a local congregation found themselves in what appeared to be a bit of a financial crisis. On Sunday morning they brought the need to the church and asked the members to contribute what they could. They suggested that on the following Sunday they bring what offerings they could to help. The members loved the Lord and loved the church so the following Sunday the offering collected was very large – more than enough to offset the need and quell the crisis. During the giving one of the elders had noticed one giver above all the rest. She was a young girl on crutches. She had come to the offering box, removed a ring she had on her finger, and after what looked like a great amount of struggle, dropped it in. Then she returned to her seat.

After the service was over, the elders went through the many gifts and found the ring. Remembering her struggle to part with it, they took it out and took it to her. "Honey, we saw what you did. It was beautiful expression of love, but the response of the people has been so large we have money left over, so we don’t need your ring. Here. We’ve brought it back to you."

The girl looked at the men and replied, "I didn’t give that ring to you. I gave it to Jesus."(1) With that she handed them back the ring.

We’re still considering our theme, The Character of the Committed. Again this morning we’ll consider someone from the Bible who was very dedicated to God – this time an obscure widow who gave everything she had to God when she tossed a couple of copper coins into the temple treasury.

Please join me in your Bibles at Mark 12:38-44.(2)

At this point in Jesus’ ministry, He had entered Jerusalem for His final Passover before the crucifixion. The common people proclaimed Him as Messiah as He came into the city on the back of a donkey colt as predicted 500 years earlier in Zechariah 9:9:

"Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord,"(3) they shouted as they laid down palm branches and garments in His path when He entered the city. The people loved Him - but the leaders hated Him. As He taught in the temple over the next several days they tried again and again to trap Him in something He said. But like the hypocrites that they were, they had to make it sound like their questions were those of honest inquirers, lest they stir up the people by tipping their hand and making their murderous intentions known. Again and again they came at Him with lawyer’s questions designed to ensnare him in their words. Again and again He confounded them with His answers. Yet rather than believe in Him as God’s Son, they stubbornly hardened their hearts and became even more steadfast in their deadly resolve to silence Him. It was several days of intense verbal exchange in which He pulled no punches. He exposed the Jewish leaders before the people for what they were – hypocritical opportunists who exploited God’s choice people for their own personal gain. (Religious hypocrisy is really nothing new.) Our text picks up amid has sharp denunciation of their hypocrisy. Mark 12:38-44:

Linking these verses together is the conspicuous mention in verse 40 of the scribes "who devour widow’s houses" and the mention in verse 42 of the offering of a particular widow.

Jesus wasn’t specific in what He meant by "devour widow’s houses," but it is clear that in some crooked way these men managed to bilk helpless widows out of their means of living. Perhaps a modern equivalent of treachery might be the scam artists who deceive the elderly into their bogus investment schemes, taking their life savings. Jesus blew the whistle on these widow-robbers right in the middle of the largest of Israel’s public assemblies. His truthfulness, while surely needed, would ultimately cost Him his life.

It appears that Jesus had broken off His fiery discourse with the Jewish leaders in front of the multitudes and retired to a spot beside the temple treasury. In the Court of the Women there were thirteen collecting vessels called, "The Trumpets."(4) These containers were given this name because they were so shaped with a large, bulbous bottom, and a long slender neck with a flair at the top. Collectively they were known as "the treasury" as Mark has it here. Each vessel was labeled with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet that signified the purpose for the money it collected. One might be for the purchase of wood for the sacrifices, another for the incense burned on the altar, and yet another for upkeep of the golden vessels.(5) This money was for offerings above and beyond the tithe collected for the support of the Levites.(6) The funds donated here were fully voluntary. It is important for us to know that so that we understand the condition of this woman’s heart and the meaning of her gift.

Remember, this was Passover. It was a time when more people would be in the Temple precinct than at other times of the year. It was a period when great sums of money were collected. Mark says in verse 41, "And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums." As we reflect on this, I think it is reasonable that we should picture a line of people filing by these "trumpets," many of them quite well-to-do, tossing their heavy bags of money into their chosen designated receptacle.

As the lines moved along that day and people made their way through the treasury area to deposit their gifts, suddenly the predictable sound of hefty bags of money thudding into the bottom of the containers, tossed there by the many "heavy givers" was interrupted by a conspicuous clinking sound as the widow’s two tiny lepta found their mark. Lepta is the Greek word Mark used for the widow’s coins. It means literally, "thin ones." Mark says in verse 42, "And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent."

Lenski writes in his commentary on Mark, "One writer tells us that there were always bystanders at these treasure chests who noted the large contributions and murmured praises when these were cast in." That doesn’t surprise me at all coming from a culture that paid mourners to cry at funerals.(7) One can even imagine such paid cheerleaders placed strategically among the worshippers to motivate by special mention of the heavy givers, though I don’t really know if it was the case here. So there was probably a lot of "ooing and ahhing" going on that day at the size of some of the gifts – until the widow came through the line. If her gift brought any response at all from bystanders, it was probably some sound of derision. But it may also be that no one noticed at all since there were so many people present – no one, that is, except the ever perceptive Son of God, and it is His special mention of this widow that earns her a spot in our Character of the Committed Series.

So what is most notable about the character of this committed woman? I think first that we can see that:

Of course, not all giving is motivated by love for God. Sometimes people give because they feel guilty – they don’t want to be shown to be people who don’t care. Sometimes people give out of fear – the idea that unless they give to God He is going to penalize them. Such persons will frequently wonder or ask, "What is the minimum God expects for someone who doesn’t want to be rejected?" Sometimes too, people are motivated by the desire for recognition from others. There was probably some of that kind of motivation present at the time this event happened – people using this very public setting to draw attention to themselves and the size of their large gifts. Jesus seems to point that out in his words of caution about the scribes who were very much into outward appearances. They just loved to be seen in religious settings where they garnered the honorable mention of themselves by others.

But it doesn’t look to me like this widow was motivated by any of these things. In giving "all she had to live on," she was giving far more than would be necessary to assuage an attack of personal guilt. I think the same could be said about a motive of fear. Fearful people, people who fear God in the negative sense, also fear other things, like running out of cash for themselves. It seems to me that a fear motive would not have moved her to give all she had to live on since she might also fear giving too much. And certainly her motive wasn’t to draw attention to herself. The size of her gift compared to the more notable offerings put into the treasury that day would have drawn the wrong kind of attention from bystanders. In fact, I think we have to admire this woman for standing in that line at all, since there was so great a potential for drawing negative attention to herself. That the size of her tiny gift could be seen is clear from the fact that Jesus could note it to His disciples.

When you consider all of these possible motives and eliminate them one by one as improbable, there is only one that remains. Her gift was motivated by love. She wanted a part in the furtherance and support of God’s kingdom. Such a free-will offering, motivated by love for God and the things of God, is pleasing to God in a very special way.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."

He didn’t say "God loves a fearful giver" in this verse. Neither did he say "God loves a tearful giver" in the sense that one is parting with something he would rather not give up. He said "God loves a cheerful giver."

There are two words that oppose one another Paul’s words in that verse – "compulsion" and "cheerful." The one, whenever it is present, always cancels out the other. If we give under compulsion, then it’s hard to be cheerful. If we are cheerful about our giving, it eliminates the idea of compulsion. I don’t think I have to spell out which kind of giving is motivated by love for God. Also, there is a deep sense of satisfaction that results in the life of a person who gives because he or she loves God that the person motivated by some kind of forced giving will never know. Whatever else may have been involve in this woman’s decision to give what she did, I don’t think she left the temple that day feeling like something had been wrung out of her. I sincerely hope you never leave a church service feeling that something has been wrung out of you.

The fact is that God has all the money He needs. He doesn’t need a single penny from you or me. Psalm 50:10 tells us that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Haggai 2:8 says, "‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts."

"If God owns it all, then why do we need to give?" you ask.

We give because it shows our love for God. Better than just our words of praise, it shows that we really mean business. It "puts our money where our mouth is." But also it binds us to Him. It gives us a stake in His cause. It allows us to invest in what is important to Him. It both shows our dedication and increases it.

This woman gave because she loved God.

Secondly, I think we can say about this woman:

Have you ever known someone to say, "I used to go to church. Just like you I was really involved. Then I got burned and I haven’t been back since." On they go to describe something bad that happened to them, perhaps through the hypocrisy or inconsistency of some corrupt church leader or leaders. My heart goes out to people who have been hurt like that. It’s something that should never happen.

God mentioned the tendency for people to judge Him on the basis of the behavior of those who profess to believe in Him in the case of King David, in the wake of his sin with Bathsheba. He said to the King, "You have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme."(8) Corruption by those who lead among the Lord’s people is often considered a reflection upon God. How many people today do not become Christians because of inconsistencies in those who claim to be Christ’s followers?

But I think we need to challenge the notion that corrupt leaders among God’s people mean that God is corrupt. In a system that allows free will, is it fair to blame God for the sins of men? I don’t think so. And it may be that this widow didn’t think so either.

Jesus mentioned the corrupt leaders who devoured widow’s houses in verse 40. Then on the heels of that pronouncement He pointed out this particular widow. It doesn’t take much of a leap to wonder if she could well have been one of the victims of such reprehensible acts. Perhaps hers was such a house devoured. If that is the case, or if she understood Jesus’ words about the corruption of the leaders of her day, I find it remarkable that she was not only still worshipping God but she was engaged in an act of sacrifice that has few parallels, then or now.

Perhaps she understood what some do not understand today. God can still be trusted even if there are examples of men who cannot. Paul says in Romans 3:4, "...Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar…."

This poor widow had not left the faith, even though she may have been seen some abuse. On the contrary, it looks like, from the nature of her gift, that her faith was stronger than ever!

Can we still serve God if, God forbid, our leaders are corrupt?

Consider what Jesus said in Matthew 23:2-4:

According to this, what is a person supposed to do in the face of corrupt leaders who do not practice what they preach – quit the Lord? No. Jesus said, "all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds…." It is still possible, even in the case when some leaders in God’s kingdom are unworthy of our trust, to still trust God. Indeed, that is what Jesus says to do and that is apparently what this woman did.

And what trust it was! Though her gift was meager by the standards of those around her, Jesus tells us in verse 44 that she, "…out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on." For her to do such a thing indicates that she was throwing herself totally upon the mercy of God, trusting that He would do for her what was right.

Do you suppose the widow starved to death? After all, this was all she had. I guess our answer to that question would be a reflection of what we believe about God. What did Jesus say about the way God viewed her gift? He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury…."

How could that be? Her gift was copper, not silver. It was little, not large. Yet to God, because of the condition of her heart, what she put in was pure gold. Apparently more goes into an offering than just money.

Someone has suggested that this widow should have been counseled to give only half of what she owned. After all, she desperately needed what she had and such a small gift as a couple of copper pennies could not possibly have helped in the day to day running of the temple. It was too tiny. Yet one who might counsel that way does not understand the nature of giving or the nature of God. The nature of the widow’s gift is not seen in how many splinters of wood it might buy to warm a sacrifice. The true nature of her gift is seen in the mighty trust in God that she proclaimed that day. It wasn’t a trust based on guilt or fear. It wasn’t done to impress men. It was done because she knew that God would not despise such a gift from a trusting heart.

That’s the way gifts should be given.

Two things are notable about the character of this widow’s commitment. She loved God and she trusted Him.

So what was the benefit to her? What did she get out of it?

I suggest that:

How could I possibly know that since the Bible does not tell us what happened to this widow after the day she put everything she had into the treasury? I know it because of the effect of her story.

You probably noticed what Jesus said about the magnitude of the widow’s gift in verse 43: "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury…." How is it that it can be said she with her tiny contribution contributed more that day to the Lord’s treasury than all the other contributors? Was Jesus just saying that for effect or should we take Him literally?

Surely Jesus’ disciples, to whom the widow was pointed out, were benefited from her example of faith. Perhaps they would retell her story as they went about the world preaching the word and teaching people how to follow God.

But beyond the benefit to the disciples, how many people do you suppose the example of this nameless widow has benefited down through the 2000 years of Christianity? How many millions of dollars do you suppose have been given because of people who have read her example? Even more importantly, how many people have come to better understand the nature of the kind of giving that pleases God through her example? God has multiplied here gift many thousands and perhaps millions of times over. I suggest to you that in the resurrection, this poor widow is going to be rich indeed!

Perhaps there is no better way to sum this up than with the words of Jesus Himself on the subject of giving. He says in Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

Footnotes: Please use your back button to return to your place.

1. T.T. Crabtree, Pastor's Manual, Zondervan, 1985, p. 304 (Adapted)
2. An account of these events is also found in Luke 21:1-4.
3. Mark 11:9
4. William Barclay, Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark.
5. Ibid.
6. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel, Augsburg Publishing House, 1946, p. 1005.
7. Jeremiah 9:17; Amos 5:17
8. 2 Samuel 12:14

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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