PRETENSE OR DEVOTION (Mark 12:38-44)
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus did not hold back when He began His attack on the scribes, and He began as we saw last week where it hurt them the most by attacking their interpretation of Scripture. They were the self-proclaimed experts on Scriptural interpretation. Obviously, they had never faced the messianic implications of Psalm 110. Why had they missed it? Because they were dominated with political, nationalistic dreams of a human deliverance, and earthly kingdom. Their earthly dreams made them gloss right over the obvious spiritual meaning of the Scriptures they had vainly expounded. When Jesus brought it to their attention it made them squirm. They had fallen captive to their culture and interpreted the Scriptures to fit their dreams.
But before we are too hard on the scribes we must make sure that our interpretation of Scripture has not fallen captive to our own culture. In our own culture today, millions of Christians are obsessed with materialism to the point that they are no different than the society around them. They live from paycheck to paycheck and go into huge amounts of debt to keep up with the Smiths and the Joneses. The rise and spread of the “prosperity gospel” have given many justification for their materialistic lifestyle. Allen Parr, author of the book entitled “Misled” writes, “Churches that teach people to claim, tap into, declare, decree, or activate God’s blessings of health and wealth are some of the fastest-growing churches in the world today. They attract—and mislead—many new believers…Prosperity theology, the prosperity gospel, the Word of Faith movement, and health-and-wealth theology are all terms for this false doctrine. Together they comprise a collection of teachings that share a few common features, especially the notion that financial prosperity and perfect health are always the will of God for believers. Within this doctrine, health and wealth are two sides of the same coin. Anything short of experiencing these blessings means you are living outside of God’s will for your life. Proponents of this view usually teach that physical health and financial prosperity are available to all believers because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.”[1] We must be careful that we are not misled, and we must heed the Bible’s warnings about such false doctrines. Someday, future believers will look back on our day and shake their heads in disbelief. We need to read the Word of God with a first-century freshness, escaping the bondage of our culture and allowing it to penetrate our being. In today’s passage we will see Jesus go after the scribes again and compare their self-righteousness and the pretense of their lives with true faithfulness and devotion seen in the life of an unnamed widow. Let’s pray before turning to our passage this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bible this morning to Mark 12, we will finish up this chapter this morning. Mark 12:38-44 is our passage, please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 12:38-44,
“In His teaching He was saying: ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.’ 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. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 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; 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.’ ” (Mark 12:38–44, NASB95)[2]
A WARNING (Mark 12:38-40)
In these opening verses of our passage Jesus stepped up His attack on the scribes, moving from pointing out their erroneous interpretation of Scripture to attacking their actions and motives. His attack was in the form of a warning to His disciples and the crowd that was still listening to His teaching. Mark records, “In His teaching He was saying: ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.’” (Mark 12:38–40, NASB95)[3] The long robes that Jesus mentioned was the power suit of the day. These were full-length, expensive, ornate outer garments. On their fringes were the required tassels, which the scribes enlarged in an elaborate display of their supposed piety. Second, Jesus mentioned that they liked, and we might even say expected respectful greetings in the marketplaces. Their lavish robes marked them as scribes, so everyone knew who they were. To fail to respectfully greet them with honor was considered to be seriously rude and inconsiderate. Third, in their arrogancy and pride and their desire for attention and praise, they eagerly sought for the chief seats in the synagogue. These seats would have been on an elevated platform in the front and would have faced the rest of those attending. They also for the same reasons sought to have the places of honor at banquets, which were the seats closest to the host. The scribes were proud lovers of praise and position.
Jesus went on condemning them for devouring widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offering long prayers. During Jesus’ day, most scribes lived off subsidies because they were forbidden to take money for their work. Supporters were relatively easy to come by because supporting a scribe was considered a commendable work. It seems that they preyed mostly on the poor widows and milked them for all they had and then took their houses as well, all the time making long prayers to show how righteous they were, it was all a fraud, a show for the people who might see them and question their motives. They were a corrupt bunch, corrupt to the core.
Our Lord’s judgment was especially pronounced on those who persisted with their phony, proud, profit-making lifestyle. He said, “…these will receive greater condemnation.” (Mark 12:40b, NASB95)[4] This is a terrifying judgment by Jesus. James wisely said in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1, NASB95)[5] We must all take this to heart!
AN OBSERVATION (Mark 12:41-42)
At this point Jesus was finished teaching and moved away from the crowd that had gathered to hear Him. Mark writes that He sat down opposite the treasury. Money—giving—reveals the state of the heart as few other things can. Because of this, Jesus chose this place to contrast the phony righteousness of the religious establishment with true devotion to God. The treasury was in the court of the women, so named because this was as far as women could go into the temple complex. It was closer to the actual temple then the court of the Gentiles. The treasury consisted of thirteen brass treasure chests called trumpets because they were shaped like inverted horns, narrow at the top and enlarged at the bottom.
According to some Jewish writings, each of the chests bore inscriptions designating what that particular chest was for. These designations might not make sense to us as they related to needs of the temple, six of the chests were labeled as free-will offerings. Because it was soon to be Passover, the treasury was a very busy place as both the local inhabitants and those who had come for the Passover filed past the chests and inserted their offerings in the narrow brass mouths of the chests.
Here in the court of women Jesus had found a place to sit and observe the givers without drawing attention to Himself. Jesus was sitting and watching the people, He was not only watching their actions but also their motives. They did not know they were being watched by the Lord of the Universe, but how often do we remember that He is watching us as well?
What did Jesus observe as He sat across from the treasury and watched as the worshipers made their deposits? First, Mark tells us that “many rich people were putting in large sums.” (Mark 12:41b, NASB95)[6] Now it must not be automatically assumed that Jesus disapproved of all the offerings of the wealthy. Very likely there were some who had noble motivations. But I am sure there were others that gave begrudgingly. Remember as Jesus observed them He could also see the heart attitude of the giver as well as the gift.
As these Jews paraded before Jesus putting their large amounts of money into the chests, Jesus’ heart must have ached for the souls of those who thought that giving a large sum on a scale that was impossible for others somehow made them more acceptable to God, maybe even giving them the delusion of superiority and safety.
Then Jesus observed something that made His heart applaud. He saw that “a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.” (Mark 12:42, NASB95)[7] Jesus and everyone else who happened to see her knew she was a poverty-stricken widow because widows wore distinctive clothing, which may have been worn and tattered due to her poverty. The life of a widow in Jesus’ time was extremely difficult, especially if you had been preyed upon by the scribes.
I wish we knew more about this widow, what she did that Jesus observed makes us wonder where she lived and how, and what had been her suffering. Her offering was two coins, so small they were called lepta which means “peeled” or “fine” the idea being a tiny, thin coin. The miniature lepton was worth only one four-hundredth of a shekel, or about one-eighth of a cent. The two lepta represented her day’s earnings, hardly anything and yet a considerable sum to her.
Undoubtedly she did not seek to draw attention to herself as she quietly approached the trumpets, head bowed. Though she did not know Jesus was watching her, she knew God saw her, and that was who she came to please. Seen in the whole context of chapter twelve, this is a withering reproach to the earthbound rationalism of the Sadducees. Her humble motivation could be nothing but love. She was living out the Shema Israel, loving God with all she had.
When she dropped the two small coins in the mouth of the trumpet, they undoubtedly fell inaudibly against the shekels of the rich. But she had given all! She gave both coins, she could have retained one for a meager evening meal. She gave everything! On this Passover she was silently saying to God, “I love you, and all I have is yours. Here’s my heart, my life. I am trusting You.”
There may have been some oohing and aahing from the people in the court over the large offerings that some of the rich had put in, but Jesus had remained unmoved. But when the widow passed by, though he sat still, he was inwardly on His feet clapping. She was a rare flower in a desert of pretentious devotion, and her inward beauty made Jesus’ heart rejoice.
A TEACHABLE MOMENT (Mark 12:43-44)
After observing this poor widow drop her two small coins in the offering, Jesus uses this as a teachable moment for His disciples. Mark records, “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; 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.’ ” (Mark 12:43–44, NASB95)[8] The sixteenth century theologian John Calvin correctly saw Jesus words spoken to His disciples as double-edged, encouraging to those with little and a sobering exhortation to those with much. He writes, “The lesson is useful in two ways. The Lord encourages the poor, who appear to lack the means of doing well, not to doubt that they testify to their enthusiasm for Him even with a slender contribution. If they consecrate themselves, their offering which appears mean and trivial will be no less precious than if they offered all the treasures of Croesus (a sixth century BC king who was noted for his abundant wealth). On the other hand, those who have a richer supply and stand out for their large giving are told that it is not enough if their generosity far exceeds the commoners and the underprivileged, for with God it rates less for a rich man to give a moderate sum from a large mass, than for a poor man to exhaust himself in paying out something very small.”[9]
Realizing that Jesus’ commendation cuts both ways calls for some soul-searching observations. First, when it comes to giving, the posture of our hearts makes all the difference. For example, when I write a check to the IRS, the IRS does not care whether I give willingly or grudgingly. Not so with the Lord. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, NASB95)[10] But if I give a penny with the widow’s heart, it is great gain to me and to God. God weighs our motivations. This truth is at the same time a terror and a comfort. Which way does it strike you?
Second, God can do great things with tiny offerings. Those two coins (equaling a quarter of a penny), given quietly with the widow’s motive, have produced more for the kingdom in the intervening two thousand years than all the other gifts presented that Passover week. Down through the ages those to small coins have been multiplied into billions and billions for God’s work as humble people have been liberated to give from their little. The Lord converted those two coins into a permanent and recurrent wealth of contentment and instruction for the Church.
If there is love and sacrifice with the giver, there will be spiritual power in the gift. In this respect, we can say that what the Church needs is not larger gifts, but gifts given with the positive spiritual quality of the poor widow. Jesus meant to encourage all of us with this.
Third, at the Judgment Christ will square His accounts. There is no evidence that the widow ever knew what Jesus thought of her gift, she may have gone to her grave not knowing what we know about her. The Judgment is going to reveal her work, and I believe that she will come forth adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones.
Finally, a forth observation, God is completely impartial. There is no advantage to the poor or the rich, to the uneducated and the ultra-educated, to the unknown or the known. Billy Graham has no advantage over the humblest believer, and vice versa. All of us are called to be faithful, and without exception, can do great things for God if we allow Him to use us.
Is it possible for the Church to love and give like the widow? The answer is Yes. Paul told the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians 8:1-5, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:1–5, NASB95)[11]
CONCLUSION:
Our study of this passage of Scripture should cause us to begin by asking three major questions of ourselves. First, what place does the Word of God have in our lives? Do we know it? Do we read it? Or are we being bound by our culture so that the Word is not going to our hearts? Do we want the Bible to really do its work? This calls for a resolve to be carefully, even painfully, Biblical in our Christianity.
The second question is, why do we serve God? Is it to be seen by men? God help us if that is our motivation, no matter who we are or how we serve God. God have mercy on us if we use piety for gain.
Third, is it possible for me to love and give like the widow? God does not want our money. He wants us. Yet, we cannot give ourselves to Him apart from our money. The saying is true: Money speaks. It tells us where our hearts are. What does your giving say about you, what does my giving say about me? I have said before that ten percent is a good starting place, but don’t allow that percentage to stop you from giving sacrificially like the widow out of your love for God. How much do you love Him? Do you love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength?
[1]Parr, Allen, Misled. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2023, pg. 30.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]Calvin, John, A Harmony of the Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke and the Epistles of James and Jude, vol. 3, trans. A.W. Morrison, Grand Rapids, MI : Eerdmans, 1975. Pg 72.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.