Think on these questions as you dwell in Mark 12:38-44:

1. How does Jesus' observation of the widow's offering challenge the common practices of religious ostentation and showmanship that he criticized in the scribes? What does this reveal about the true nature of devotion and giving?

2. In what ways does the contrast between the wealthy contributors and the poor widow highlight the difference in their heart attitudes toward God? How does their approach to giving reflect their faith and trust in God's provision?

3. Reflecting on this passage, how can we apply the principles of sacrificial giving and genuine faith to our own lives? How might we guard against the temptation to seek recognition or elevate ourselves through religious acts, and instead, come before God with open hands and trusting hearts?

Transcript:

As we finish up Mark 12 today, we are seeing two very short stories. And you'll notice here that the uninspired part of our scripture, the headings that are put in after the fact, have it in two little different stories. But really, as you read it, it is one story, right? They complement each other. And so, Jesus sees the scribes. He is talking about how they like to do their religious show. He's talking about how they like to have all this honor for themselves, but yet they go around and they devour widow's houses and they make long prayers. They make a scene out of all these things. And then immediately, where does the Gospel of Mark go? It goes to verse 41. He sat down opposite the treasury, and he watched the people putting money into the offering box. And so, he's there with this idea in mind. Mark has told us about these people who are all about the show. With this in mind, he's brought us with Jesus to sitting down opposite the treasury. And so, there's people putting in money and obviously making a show of it. Otherwise, how would they possibly know how much they were putting in?

So, they make a show of it. This is a big deal. But then a poor widow comes and she puts in a penny. We can understand this. Imagine the difference between, say, someone who says, I've given $100,000 to the cause, and then a woman comes and says, Well, I'm giving $10. Well, if it's a multimillionaire and you're giving all this money, there's not much. It's not a big portion of your income, and it's a huge tax break, right? But for a poor widow to give a small amount, it's more substantial. It's a larger percentage of her income. But what Jesus is talking about here is the hearts. Who are they looking to glorify? They're looking to glorify themselves. Whereas this widow comes and she gives all that she has to God. She realizes that God will bless her, even though she has a small amount. She trusts that. She believes that. So, we sit and we think about these two different types of people. And it's important for us to think about and ask ourselves a question. Which one are we? Whether it's financially, where we are let people know maybe how much we give, or we give out of our abundance, we don't give sacrificially, that can be an issue.

But also there's an issue of faith here, right? Are we doing our religious acts for show? Are we doing them to think that we've somehow been elevated maybe before God or before men to a higher status because we have given more religiously? Or are we coming to Christ like this woman and saying, This is all that I have. My hands are empty. I have no righteousness of my own to give. And so, God, I need you to fill me up. I need your blessings. We know which the right heart attitude is, and that was ultimately the problem of the religious leaders at the time. And Jesus used this woman's simple faith to contrast that idea that they were somehow elevated, that they were the religious elite. And he says, No, this woman who gave, sacrificially, and came with great faith is the one who is truly blessed, the one who truly believes. And so may we have an attitude of that. May we come with empty hands. May we come with the things that matter to us, the things that we need, and may we lay them before our God and trust that He is going to bless us, knowing that in Christ, He has blessed us abundantly.

He has given us all that we have, and so we can give from what He has blessed us with, with great abundance, because He is the one who has saved us and rescued us and blesses us beyond measure.