Mark 12:41-44 "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. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.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; 44 for they all put in out of theirsurplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Introduction:
In yesterday's post we began considering how the widow in Mark 12:41-44 gave her all to God. We saw that God is just as concerned with how we give and we also labored to show that God clearly lays out how much we give. Today's post is going to finish up our consideration of this widow and her giving of two little coins. In addition to the facts that God is interested in how we give as well as how much we give, we can notice a third observation from this widow woman's giving:
How must we view resources? We must view everything as belonging to God. Mark 12:44
Notice what God's Word says in Mark 12:44 "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.” I think it is interesting that Jesus tells us how much the woman gave - two little coins. The coins in question were common coins of the lowest denomination - a Bronze Lepton. According to one source - two of these coins could buy 1/3 of a loaf of bread. When this widow gave her last money, she was expressing her willingness and desire to give more to God than to feed her own stomach. As far as ironies go, the specific treasury that the widow was contributing to was designed to help out people like herself. This woman was a woman of faith and thus viewed God, not man, as her source of sustinance. She purposefully gave in expression of her belief that God, not man, supplies all her needs. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 37:25 - "I have been young and now I am old,Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."
So why would this woman go to such extremes? She viewed everything in her life as coming from God and belonging to Him. The other people in this short account gave their pocket change. This woman on the other hand did not struggle with this concept of everything belonging to God. Again, Jesus commends her, which means she had God's favor already. She practiced the principle found in Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine." Or how about Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.'"
Though the widow was poor by finanical standards, yet to have one's needs met and to be content is far richer than to have a bulging purse or wallet with discontent. Psalm 50:10-11 reminds us - “For every beast of the forest is Mine,The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains." Romans 11:36 reminds us that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things....". To be able to view everything as belonging to God, as well as to consider how we give and thus how much we give are necessary if we expect to give our all to God.
How must we view resources? We must view everything as belonging to God. Mark 12:44
Notice what God's Word says in Mark 12:44 "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.” I think it is interesting that Jesus tells us how much the woman gave - two little coins. The coins in question were common coins of the lowest denomination - a Bronze Lepton. According to one source - two of these coins could buy 1/3 of a loaf of bread. When this widow gave her last money, she was expressing her willingness and desire to give more to God than to feed her own stomach. As far as ironies go, the specific treasury that the widow was contributing to was designed to help out people like herself. This woman was a woman of faith and thus viewed God, not man, as her source of sustinance. She purposefully gave in expression of her belief that God, not man, supplies all her needs. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 37:25 - "I have been young and now I am old,Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."
So why would this woman go to such extremes? She viewed everything in her life as coming from God and belonging to Him. The other people in this short account gave their pocket change. This woman on the other hand did not struggle with this concept of everything belonging to God. Again, Jesus commends her, which means she had God's favor already. She practiced the principle found in Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine." Or how about Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.'"
Though the widow was poor by finanical standards, yet to have one's needs met and to be content is far richer than to have a bulging purse or wallet with discontent. Psalm 50:10-11 reminds us - “For every beast of the forest is Mine,The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains." Romans 11:36 reminds us that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things....". To be able to view everything as belonging to God, as well as to consider how we give and thus how much we give are necessary if we expect to give our all to God.
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