Tag Archives: temple treasury

MARK’S GOSPEL…HOW MUCH? – 30

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Mark 12:41-44 NIV

“Jesus 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. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

How often this story shakes and challenges us when we come face to face with the sacrifice of an unknown, unnamed, poverty-stricken Jewish widow, a daughter of Abraham! Why did Mark record this incident?  

What was Jesus thinking when He sat and watched the worshippers coming and going around the temple precincts? Why the temple treasury? What did that tell Him about the inner workings of people’s hearts?

One thing is sure…Jesus always matched what people did on the outside with what went on in the inside. He wasn’t impressed by what people did without discerning motives and attitudes. 

Let’s examine this story against the backdrop of Jesus’ teaching. Since money plays such a pivotal role in human life, Jesus would have had much to say about the way we use and abuse it. How did this woman and the other worshippers measure up? 

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t give your money in public.” This wasn’t possible because the temple treasury was in a public space. He  did say, “Don’t make a show of your giving.” How could the people do that? 

To prevent theft, the receptacles, apparently, were shaped like trumpets and made a ringing sound when coins were thrown in with force. To be noticed, the giver would make a show of his gift by tossing it in hard enough to be heard. 

Guess who made use of this phenomenon? Of course, the Pharisees! They were the ones Jesus dubbed as “hypocrites”. The widow, by contrast, dropped her two coins in quietly. They were so small that they hardly made a sound. 

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What happens when people use their money to serve others? Gain, not loss… more, not less. An amazing thing happens when we give… a record is keep in heaven, a deposit against which we can draw in times of need. What we hoard for ourselves is diminished. What we share with others becomes a heavenly investment.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV

Jesus used well-known imagery to dig into hearts and attitudes. Just as healthy eyes let light into the body, so a healthy attitude to money reveals an attitude of generosity towards others, lighting up the soul to see beyond the end of its own nose.

The opposite is also true. Just as blindness shuts out the light, so selfishness and greed shut out hearts to the needs of others. Selfishness is essentially darkness…the realm from which God is absent.

Now, here is the crux of the matter. 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s not about what we own. It’s about who or what owns us! Money is a good servant but a terrible master. What we do with our money depends on who we serve, who we honour. 

When Jesus watched the widow drop in her two measly coins, He also saw what was left in her pocket…nothing! This does not mean that He requires that we give away all our money. He did , of the rich young ruler because money, not Jesus, was his master. What He saw in the widow was someone who was prepared to trust God for her livelihood when she had done what was required of her. 

All the other givers who threw in many coins, according to Jesus, had plenty left over for themselves. Nothing wrong with that but…how did they view their giving? Self-satisfied because of the amount they had given or at peace, like the widow, because she had obeyed her Lord?

I know I’m reading into this story what is not written but, judging by Jesus’ response to what He had seen, we can assume that she was at peace because money was not her master but her servant. 

Jesus is not concerned about whether we are rich or poor, how much we have or don’t have. When He is entrenched in our hearts as Lord, He is in charge of our material and physical well-being. What little we have will always be enough when we use it as currency to keep the flow going by giving and receiving, because that’s the way God’s kingdom works. 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE NOTICED HER!

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HE NOTICED HER!

41 Jesus 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. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

Why was this incident recorded here, in the centre of Jesus’ warning against people honouring the false pride of the religion scholars? They expected to receive accolades because their “knowledge” had puffed them up. By contrast, this poor widow did something from her heart because she did not expect to be noticed. Amazing how often Jesus brought into the limelight the unnoticed ones because they acted from the heart and for God rather than for man’s attention and praise!

In this situation, Jesus shows us how God evaluates our generosity, not by what we give but by what we have left over. In this case the widow gave all – she had nothing left over for herself. Would the Father have left her with nothing? I doubt it. She had created a current with her two small coins that would surely have brought back to her the abundance of God‘s supply. Who knows but Jesus Himself would have instructed His disciples to put money into her hands?

What is the point of this story in this context? Jesus warned His disciples not to admire the ones with knowledge simply because they had knowledge. They were using their knowledge to gain attention and admiration from men. Yes, God noticed them, but with disdain because of their self-centredness. Jesus instead drew His disciples’ attention to the one person who had no reason for position or prestige. She was a nameless widow; she was a woman and she was poor, yet her being and behaviour had more value to God than those with knowledge. She, not they, reflected the heart of God because of her generosity.

God is pleased with humility that acts out of reverence and love for Him rather than with an eye to the admiration of the people who really don’t matter anyway. God is also pleased with faith that obeys Him and leaves the outcome to Him. If we do what He tells us to, He will do what He has promised.

He Noticed

Bible Study, , , ,

HE NOTICED

Jesus 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. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth a few cents. Calling His disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’ Mark 12: 41-44).  

Why did Jesus sit and watch people putting their offerings into the temple treasury? Didn’t He teach His disciples that the left hand should not know what the right hand was doing? Yes, He did. He was looking at hearts and motive.

Did you notice how the wealthy people “threw” their money into the receptacles? These were trumpet-shaped clay jars, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom to prevent theft. When the coins were thrown into the container it made a ringing sound. Of course the wealthy ones exaggerated the sound to be noticed – and admired for their generosity. Guess who were at the top of the parade? The hypocrites!

Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 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 honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full (Matt. 6: 1-2).

Jesus sat and watched because He was a keen student of people – and He had a group of men who needed teaching. So, as He watched, He saw an endless stream of wealthy people tossing their coins into the treasury. Some threw them in with force and looked around to see who was watching. Jesus noticed them. Some dropped their money in as though it was a routine thing to do. Jesus saw them too.

Then an elderly women, thin and poorly dressed, sidled up to the jar and, with eyes downcast, opened her hand and dropped in two tiny coins that made no sound as they fell into the jar. Then she silently melted into the crowd and disappeared from view.

“Did you see that?” Jesus announced excitedly to His disciples. “That little old lady who has just dropped her offering into the box?” With wonderment in His voice, He exclaimed, “She gave away every last cent of her livelihood. Now that’s generosity! All the others gave a little of their much. She gave much of her little. That’s the difference!” And He noticed.

So what’s it all about? Does God expect us to give everything we have to feed others and to go without ourselves? Was His instruction to the rich young ruler for everyone? “Give everything you have to the poor . . . “ No, not at all. God is realistic. He knows that we have families to feed and financial commitments to meet.

But there is something important that we as believers in Jesus need to understand. We are stewards, not owners of what we have. Moses reminded the Israelites:

But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today (Deut. 8: 18).

We think that we are the source and the owners of our money and possessions and that it is all ours. Not true! God owns it all, and He has the right to tell us how to use it. Unlike the world system which pays interest, God works with percentages, and increases by multiplication. Look at the natural world. Money is like seed. When you eat it, it disappears until there is none left. When you plant it, there will be a harvest for the next year. Sow 20% of your seed and there will be an abundant harvest to feed your family and enough to sow again for the following year.

He instructed His people to give 20% of their income away to meet the needs of others, and live on 80% without guilt because this was their duty. Why their duty? Since God was generous to them by providing resources to meet their needs, they were obliged to be generous to those who had no means to provide for themselves. This was not about how benevolent they were towards others. This was about how grateful they were for God’s generosity to them.

Judging by the way many churches struggle financially, especially during an economic downturn, God’s people are horribly ungrateful, pathetically ignorant or woefully unbelieving. You see, it takes a partnership of obedience and trust in the trustworthiness of God and His promises to live in and above a world system that orbits around money. Either God’s promises are true or He is a liar and not worthy of our worship.

This little widow woman obviously trusted Him in the midst of a world of religious hypocrites. She knew that God would care for her – so she gave what she could – everything she had because her coins added up to the least she was permitted to give.

What we do with our money is, in the end, the measure of our obedience and faith in God.

So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16: 11).

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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