Daily Bread Mark 12
Daily Bread Mark 12
The Widow's Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."
Observations:
As Jesus laments the many forms of hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders, he sits down to observe “offering time”. I’m sure many were trying to impress him with the large amounts they threw in. But Jesus takes delight in the poor widow, who puts in all she has, which isn’t very much.
This is especially meaningful given that widows in that society if not taken care of by their family, had a very hard time making ends meet. This widow obviously fell into that category. But yet, in spite of the scarcity of her resources, she is able to give all of what she has to God. Jesus commends her for her sacrificial giving and uses it an example to teach the others.
Application:
So often we measure things in our society by how big they are. We value quantity over quality. Sometimes we even do this in the church. The Pharisees tried to impress others by their religious expressions and clothing. But Jesus saw through it and called them out for their hypocrisy (hypocrisy literally means to “wear a mask” or pretend to be something you are not).
By contrast the Widow’s bad fortune showed her true heart in that even though she had very little to depend on, she gave it all up for God’s use. It really is an amazing story when you read it this way. Often we uplift the tithe (which was God’s standard of giving in the OT), and yet this women gave 100%. Whether Jesus meant it literally or not, is not the point. The point is this woman gave sacrificially because of where she put her ultimate trust!
In times like we are living in, it would be easy to have a “scarcity mentality” and not be generous with God and others. Yet maybe we can take a cue from the widow who gave all she had, even when she didn’t have very much at all.
Prayer: God give me faith like the widow to share generously what I have with you and others, to show where my ultimate trust is placed. I know that just as you blessed the Widow, you will bless all those who cheerfully give what has been first been given by you. Amen.
The Widow's Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."
Observations:
As Jesus laments the many forms of hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders, he sits down to observe “offering time”. I’m sure many were trying to impress him with the large amounts they threw in. But Jesus takes delight in the poor widow, who puts in all she has, which isn’t very much.
This is especially meaningful given that widows in that society if not taken care of by their family, had a very hard time making ends meet. This widow obviously fell into that category. But yet, in spite of the scarcity of her resources, she is able to give all of what she has to God. Jesus commends her for her sacrificial giving and uses it an example to teach the others.
Application:
So often we measure things in our society by how big they are. We value quantity over quality. Sometimes we even do this in the church. The Pharisees tried to impress others by their religious expressions and clothing. But Jesus saw through it and called them out for their hypocrisy (hypocrisy literally means to “wear a mask” or pretend to be something you are not).
By contrast the Widow’s bad fortune showed her true heart in that even though she had very little to depend on, she gave it all up for God’s use. It really is an amazing story when you read it this way. Often we uplift the tithe (which was God’s standard of giving in the OT), and yet this women gave 100%. Whether Jesus meant it literally or not, is not the point. The point is this woman gave sacrificially because of where she put her ultimate trust!
In times like we are living in, it would be easy to have a “scarcity mentality” and not be generous with God and others. Yet maybe we can take a cue from the widow who gave all she had, even when she didn’t have very much at all.
Prayer: God give me faith like the widow to share generously what I have with you and others, to show where my ultimate trust is placed. I know that just as you blessed the Widow, you will bless all those who cheerfully give what has been first been given by you. Amen.
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