THE WIDOW’S “MIGHT”
Mark 12: 41-44
It is a mild Sabbath morning in the Palestinian City of Jerusalem. The sun has not
yet risen to full strength, and yet people are already lined up all the way down the dusty
road which leads to the Holy Temple. Smoke is in the air because of the animals that
have already been sacrificed and burned on the altar. And in that slow moving line,
there are rich and poor alike, carrying with them the offerings that are to be presented
for the Lord God Jehovah.
The line leads to a small square room lined with metal collection boxes. the boxes
have metal horns extending out of them, to receive the offerings of the people. As you
can imagine, the coins make a constant clanging noise as they are cast into the
receptacles.
Most of the people shuffling along, quickly make their donation, and move on. But one
person, who has already given His offering, stands over in the corner with His disciples.
And notice that it DOES NOT SAY that Jesus is watching WHAT everyone is giving but
rather “HOW the people put money into the treasury.”
Of course, also in the room, supervising the money boxes, are several priests. As the
wealthy citizens pass by and make loud clanging noises by virtue of their many coins,
they seem to draw favored glances. Many seem quite impressed at the generosity of
those who cast an abundance of big, heavy coins into the boxes.
And it is not surprise that no one pays particular attention to one frail, little lady
who enters the room. Only one person sees her, and that is the One who sees all. But
she nonetheless stops at the collection terminal. She then reaches into a tiny sachet
and carefully draws out 2 rather insignificant coins -- mites, the smallest currency used
by the Romans. She tosses both of these lightweight coins into the big metal box, but
their faint click is drowned out by the heavy clanking of more substantial coins made by
the wealthy patrons. So, no one notices her. After all, what difference would her two
tiny tokens make?
But Jesus is impressed. He is so impressed that he singles this woman out to the
entire multitude and cheerfully confesses that her offerings are more important that
those made by men of wealth and prestige. And he recognizes her seemingly uneventful
giving by telling the disciples and by having this episode permanently recorded both in
the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke, insuring HER a place in history!
After reading about this event, we might wonder, “Why was Jesus so impressed with
the widow who gave her two mites?” What was it that caused him to stop and single her
out of the crowd? Why did he honour her minute gift so proudly and publicly? I want
to explore with you, 3 reasons why I believe Jesus was impressed with her giving.
I HE WAS IMPRESSED BECAUSE HE KNOW THINGS ABOUT THIS WOMAN
THAT NOBODY ELSE KNEW
A How did Jesus know about this poor woman’s state?
1. One might argue that Jesus was able to deduce some things based upon the
lady’s appearance.
a. She was likely dressed like a poor person> frayed robes & worn out sandals.
b. She was alone, and perhaps looked lonely, which would provide a good guess
that she was a widow.
2. But HOW did Jesus know that the 2 mites she gave were all that she had?
B I’ll tell you how Jesus know such intimate details about this woman. Jesus was not
just any other man! He was (and is) God in the flesh!
1. It was no big deal for Jesus to have supernatural knowledge about this woman.
He has done this before. I.e. John 4, the Samaritan woman from Sychar
2. And NOT ONLY did Jesus know this woman’s circumstances, He KNEW HER
HEART! (I believe he could feel her love for God emanating out of her heart)
C Listen to me friends, the LORD STILL KNOWS THINGS ABOUT US THAT
NOBODY ELSE KNOWS!
1. That’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? Jesus not only knows about our external
acts, but he knows what is going on in our hearts!
2. That is why He ignored the pompous, glory seeking hypocrites but noticed the
poor widow lady.
3. I want to assure you TODAY that if you are struggling, as this woman was, that
Jesus knows and understands your plight!
a. Are you suffering emotionally today?
b. Are you burdened with worries and concerns?
c. Are you going through a financial, physical, emotional or spiritual crisis?
“Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will work till the day is done.
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one! No not one!”
II HE WAS IMPRESSED BECAUSE OF THE ATTITUDE IN WHICH SHE GAVE
A This passage of Scripture is no doubt used often as a springboard for the topic
of “GIVING”. But I think it goes WAY BEYOND that!
B Did you know that technically, this woman didn’t even have to be present in the
Temple. She didn’t have to tithe! I.e. How do you tithe off of 2 cents?
C So why was the woman there?
D That is where her attitude comes into play.
1. SHE BELIEVED IN GOD’S WORK!
2. This woman truly WANTED TO GIVE. Even if it didn’t matter to anyone.
E We should also be impressed (as Jesus was) at the unassuming way in which she
gave. (She didn’t make a big show or let people know about her great sacrifice!)
1. I.e. Contrast “Phariseeical” giving and her giving.
2. She quietly and cheerfully sacrificed her whole living, and didn’t tell a soul!
III HE WAS IMPRESSED BECAUSE SHE WAS WILLING TO PLACE HERSELF IN
THE HANDS OF GOD
A This woman apparently had no one else to help her in life.
1. Her husband was dead. We don’t know how long, but she was left destitute.
2. We must assume that she had no other relatives, because the Levitical Law
would have called on them to support her.
3. She was all alone. She was by herself. She wasn’t even with a friend!
B And think about what those 2 little coins represented to this widow!
1. To a wealthy person, 2 mites were like pennies are to most of us.
i.e. Many of us wouldn’t even bend over to pick up a penny on the ground
i.e. I have pennies everywhere. I usually ignore them.
2. YET, to this woman, those 2 coins were the sum total of her livelihood!
They were her last meal! They were absolutely all that she owned!
C But something incredible happened when this poor widow gave her all. SHE
THEN BECAME TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY DEPENDANT UPON GOD!
D Have you ever been absolutely, totally dependent upon God? You need to be!
1. I don’t say this to hurt your feelings, but if you have NEVER known incredible
sacrifice, then you have never known what it means to depend on God. And if
you have never known what it means to depend on God, you don’t know what it
means to be a disciple!
2. “Pastor Tuck, how can you be so abrasive!” I’m not. Jesus is. Listen to His
words in Luke 14:33: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up
everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Read it AGAIN!)
3. I.e We read this verse the other night in Bible Study at the Ravelo’s. Teddy
asked, “Does this mean I must sell my house?” NO. Unless Jesus tells you to.
--The truth we discovered was, “Everything we have, and everything we are
needs to belong to God. Then He allows us to be stewards over these things.”
E LISTEN, we shouldn’t be upset when we are placed in desperate situations.
Because with God “Importunity = Opportunity! Trials become Teachable
Moments! Problems become Possibilities! Sorrow finds Comfort! Our Needs
become His Supply!” SOMEBODY SAY AMEN!!!
F I challenge each of us to throw ourselves at the feet of God like this woman did!
Let’s find out what it’s really all about.
CONCLUSION:
I wish the Bible gave us the rest of the story. We can only speculate.
There is so much we do not know about this lady. We don’t even know her name. And we
certainly know nothing about the final outcome. (I have many questions I’d like
answered). HOWEVER, we can know that God took care of her. MATTHEW 6:33
“...I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread” (Ps. 37
