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Psalm 139:14

Registered: 01-2008
Posts: 2179
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Chapter 48--The Widow with the Two Coins


The Widow with the Two Coins

Her Character: Tough extremely poor, she is one of the most greathearted people in the Bible. Just after warning his disciples to watch out for the teachers of the law, who devour widows’ houses, Jesus caught sight of her in the temple. He may have called attention to her as a case in point.

Her Sorrow: To be alone, without a husband to provide for her. <o:p></o:p>

Her Joy: To surrender herself to God completely, trusting him to act on her behalf.

Key Scriptures

Mark 12:41-44

 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 fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, 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."


Luke 21:1-4
 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins."I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Her Story

With Passover approaching, the temple was packed with worshipers from all over Israel. The previous Sunday, Jesus had created a sensation as he rode down the Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem, mounted on a donkey. A large crowd had gathered, carpeting the road with palm branches and shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.”

Some of the Pharisees, scandalized that Jesus was being hailed as Messiah, demanded, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Stung by his words, the teachers of the law began to plot how they could break the law by murdering him at their first opportunity.

Days later, Jesus sat opposite the temple treasury, in the Court of the Women. The place was crowded with people dropping their offerings in one of the thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles that hung on the walls. But Jesus had eyes for only one of them. He watched as a widow deposited two small copper coins, less than a day’s wages.

Quickly, he called to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, 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.”

No one else would have noticed the woman. But Jesus, with eyes that penetrated both her circumstances and her heart, recognized the astonishing nature of her gift. Her gesture was a sign of complete abandonment to God.

We know nothing of the widow except her poverty and faith. Without faith, she wouldn’t have offered her last penny, believing God would care for her better than she could care for herself. How easy it would have been for her to conclude that her gift was simply too meager to offer. What need had God for two copper coins anyway? Surely they meant more to her than they would to him. Somehow she must have had the grace to believe in the value of her small offering.

Maybe God, in a manner of speaking, did need what she had to offer. Perhaps her gesture consoled Jesus a short time before his passion and death. She had given everything she had to live on; soon, he would give his very life.

The story of the widow and her two copper coins reminds us that God’s kingdom works on entirely different principles than the kingdom of this world. In the divine economy, the size of the gift is of no consequence; what matters is the size of the giver’s heart.

Her Life and Times

Money

Two tiny coins. Mark identifies them as two Greek lepta, tiny copper coins worth less than a penny.

Roman coins (denarius), Greek coins (drachma, farthing), and Jewish coins (mite, pound, shekel, and talent) are all mentioned in the New Testament. The Israelites typically used the coinage of the nation that ruled over them, but they also developed their own local system of coinage.

Coins didn’t actually come into use in Israel until after the people returned from exile between 500 and 400 B.C. Before that time people bartered, exchanging produce, animals, and precious metals for goods and services. A woman might barter a flask of oil for a new robe or the wool from a lamb for a new lamp.

The Israelites probably carried Persian and Babylonian coins back to Israel with them when they returned form exile there. These coins were rather crudely made. Each was individually punched from gold or silver or some other metal, then a design was hammered onto each side. Greek coins most often had images of nature or animals or gods stamped onto them. Later, Roman coins carried the image of the emperor of that time, as well as his name. Coins have been found with the images of all twelve Roman emperors.

By Jesus’ day, a large variety of coins had come into use in Palestine. New Testament Jews used coins from Rome and Greece as well as their own Jewish form of coinage. The temple tax had to be paid in Jewish currency—in shekels. Money-changers set up their businesses in order to change other coinage into shekels for temple worshipers. Jesus was not opposed to the operation of such business, but to the operation within the temple itself. He furiously scattered them, declaring that his Father’s house was a house of prayer, not a business site (Matthew 21:12-13).

While money is necessary for life in most cultures, the Bible warns against placing more importance on it than it should rightfully have. The widow who gave all she had furnishes us with the best example of recognizing the need for money—she had money, although very little—but also the need to hold it lightly—she willingly and lovingly gave it away. Peter warns us not to be “greedy for money” (1 Peter 5:2), and the writer to the Hebrews admonishes us to keep our “lives free from the love of money and be content with what [we] have” (Hebrews 13:5). When writing to Timothy, Paul penned those famous, and often misquoted, words about money: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:1). A lover of money would have hung onto it more tightly than the widow and, when giving it away, would have made sure the gift was noisily apparent.

The pervasive lure of money and what it can provide—the need to have more and do more and get more—is probably more prevalent in our culture than in any other in history. Christians are just as susceptible to its enticements as anyone else. Money drives an effective and forceful wedge between our Savior and us. Jesus knew that, and pointedly reminded us with these words: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luke 16:13).

Her Legacy in Scripture

Read Mark 12:41

1. Why would Jesus watch people putting money into the offering? What do you think he was looking for?

2. Picture yourself in this scene: You’re in the temple, putting your offering into the receptacle. You don’t know it, but Jesus is watching. What does he see?

Read Mark 12:42

3. The trumpet-shaped receptacles for offerings were made of metal. Compare the difference between the sounds of the widow’s offering with the sound of the offerings of the rich. Who do you think was most noticed by the crowd? Who did Jesus notice?

4. What did Jesus see about the woman that others in the crowd missed? What might Jesus see about our that others around you might miss?<o:p></o:p>

Read Mark 12:43-44

5. What was significant about the widow’s offering? Why do you think Jesus pointed the widow’s offering out to his disciples? What did he want them to think, to understand?

6. How does the widow’s offering compare to the offering Jesus was about to make? What was similar about it? What was different?

7. In one sentence, summarize what the Holy Spirit is teaching you through this story.


Her Promise


God’s promise of provision is nowhere more evident than in this story of the widow who gave all she had. She had no one else to rely on—only God. That’s true of us as well, isn’t it? Regardless of our financial situation, whether we are financially well off or constantly skimming the bottom, we have no one else to rely on. Our true security is not in our belongings or our bank accounts, but in God alone. And he has promised to provide.


Promises in Scripture


The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8


Those who know your name will trust in you, or you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7


"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:25-26


Her Legacy of Prayer


Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. Mark 12:43


Reflect On: Mark 12:41-44


Praise God: For judging not by outward appearances but as one who sees the heart.


Offer Thanks: For blessings of money, time, energy, and emotional resources.


Confess: Any tendency to act as though your security depends more on you than it does on God.


Ask God: to make you a generous woman with the faith to believe that even small gifts are worth giving.


Lift Your Heart.


This week, think of an area of your life that feels particularly empty or impoverished. You may be lonely, financially stretched, or worried about the future. Whatever it is, pray about it. Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Is God inviting you to do something to express your trust? What kind of offering would be the most pleasing to him? Once you hear his voice, go ahead and give him what his heart desires.

Father, you are the source of every blessing. This week, help me to give, not only out of my wealth, but out of my poverty. Remind me that I belong to you, body and soul, heart and mind, past, present, and future.
7/16/2008, 9:26 am Link to this post Send PM to DianneHough
 
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Psalm 139:14

Registered: 01-2008
Posts: 2179
Reply | Quote
Re: Chapter 48--The Widow with the Two Coins


Her Legacy in Scripture

Read Mark 12:41

1. Why would Jesus watch people putting money into the offering? What do you think he was looking for?

Jesus was looking for honest givers, one who gave out of their hearts and not just because it was expected.

2. Picture yourself in this scene: You’re in the temple, putting your offering into the receptacle. You don’t know it, but Jesus is watching. What does he see?

Jesus would probably see me putting in what I could afford at the time.

Read Mark 12:42

3. The trumpet-shaped receptacles for offerings were made of metal. Compare the difference between the sounds of the widow’s offering with the sound of the offerings of the rich. Who do you think was most noticed by the crowd? Who did Jesus notice?

The sound of the rich offerings would of either been louder if it was change, or with no noise at all if it were paper money. The sound of the widows would have been quiet since there was only a couple of coins being dropped in, Jesus noticed the widows offering.

3. What did Jesus see about the woman that others in the crowd missed? What might Jesus see about our that others around you might miss?

Jesus saw the heart and love that the woman had that the crowd missed. Jesus may see the small amounts that we give but he also sees our heart.

Read Mark 12:43-44

5. What was significant about the widow’s offering? Why do you think Jesus pointed the widow’s offering out to his disciples? What did he want them to think, to understand?

The widow’s offering was significant since she gave out of love and obedience. Jesus pointed the widow’s offering out to his disciples to show them that He loves all and that no one could buy their way to Him.

6. How does the widow’s offering compare to the offering Jesus was about to make? What was similar about it? What was different?

The widows offering compared to the offering that Jesus was about to make since they both were giving all they had. The only difference was that Jesus was a final offering for all who would believe.

7. In one sentence, summarize what the Holy Spirit is teaching you through this story.

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that no matter what we have, who we are, or what we give, as long as it is done with love it is all that matters. That it isn’t those with a lot that Jesus looks for, but for anyone who will give their lives over to Him and follow Him to the best of their ability.
7/16/2008, 9:26 am Link to this post Send PM to DianneHough
 


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