(Mark 12:41-44 NKJV) (41) Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many [who were] rich put in much. (42) Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. (43) So He called His disciples to [Himself] and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; (44) “for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
V41 “Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many [who were] rich put in much.”
(ISBE): “In Herod’s temple the name “treasury” was specially given to the “court of the women” (see TEMPLE, HEROD’s), where were 13 trumpet-shaped boxes for the reception of the offerings of the worshippers. It was here that Jesus saw the poor widow cast in her two mites (Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1-4), and the court is expressly named the “treasury” in John 8:20 : “These words spake he in the treasury, as he taught in the temple.” It is a legitimate deduction that this court was the ordinary scene of the Lord’s ministry when teaching in the temple.”
Jesus was observing the people, not because He was interested in what and how much they gave, but to teach a point, a principle.
V42 “Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.”
A quadrans has the least value of Roman coins, just as the penny has the least value in the USA.
A mite is (Brave AI): “A Bible era lepton is the smallest Jewish copper or bronze coin during the Christian Greek Scripture period, often translated as “mite” in some Bible versions. It was worth about 6 minutes of a workman’s day and was used in the time of Jesus. The lepton was minted in Judea during the reigns of Alexander Jannaeus and his successors, and these small coins remained in circulation for a very long time, even during the first century AD.”
V43 “So He called His disciples to [Himself] and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury… “
Why? Because it was the percent that she gave, not the amount she gave. To give this revealed an attitude. She certainly did not give it for recognition or for people’s praise.
V44 “… for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Many in Israel gave much larger amounts, but God gave less recognition to them because of the lower percentage and a faulty attitude seeking human praise or at least self-satisfaction. God knows the heart and its motives.
One principle is that Jesus knows how motives and desires are and bases His rewards or judgments based on those two things.
The rich gave much but with possibly selfish motives (people thinking highly of them) and desires (recognition and praise).
The poor gave all with possibly an unselfish motive and desires the money in thankfulness.
We learn:
- God looks at our motives and attitudes more than our outward giving.
- Giving must be sincere, not for praise.
Questions:
- What is our attitude when giving funds to church, Christian organizations, or to individuals?
- Do we even give anything?