THE WIDOW'S 'THANKS' – Mark 12:41-44

Preached November 20, 2011
from
Mark 12:41-44

Theme: God measures our expression of thanks to Him, not by how great it is, but by how much we must trust Him in it.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

This is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. It’s the Sunday that we set aside to celebrate Thanksgiving together as a church family. And of course, we’re looking forward to a great meal together today.

But before we come to that meal—and as we prepare our hearts for our Thanksgiving Day later this week, I ask that we turn together this morning to Mark 12:41-44. There’s a wonderful story from the life of our Lord in that passage that, I believe, highlights to us what our attitude should be toward God our Provider this Thanksgiving.

Mark 12:41-44 says;

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 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; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:41-44).

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Now; before we get into this passage, I want to tell you why I feel a little hesitant to preach from it. I have heard sermons on this passage—and perhaps so have you—in which the preacher sought to use it to inspire the congregation to increase their giving in their church. It has been a favorite passage to preach from on many a “stewardship-Sunday”. But I don’t want anyone to think that that’s my motive this morning.

I don’t believe this passage was intended to be used in that way—even though it often is. After all, the people described in it were already “giving” to God’s temple. In fact, they were giving “much”. Instead, I believe it’s a passage that is meant to illustrate what God values in our hearts as we’re giving—and this has particular bearing on our attitude of heart this Thanksgiving.

Genuine thanksgiving before God is like a two-sided coin. On the one side, we express our thanks to God our Father for His provision in the past through worship and praise. But that expression of worship and praise and thanks to God is really meaningless and empty without the other side of that coin; and that other side is an active, practical trust in His future providence and care.

That second side of the Thanksgiving coin is something that the poor widow in this story illustrates for us. She obviously expressed her thanks to God as her sovereign Provider in that she came to the temple and gave. But she expressed her trust in God’s providence for the future by the fact that she gave everything she had. And our Lord’s response to her sacrificial gift teaches us that God doesn’t measure such things in the way that the world does.

You see; this passage isn’t about our giving more. It’s about our trusting more. It has to do with more than just ‘money’. It is concerned with everything that we do in the service of God in our expression of thanks to Him. You could sum it up this way: The world measures such a gift of thanks by how much is given; but God measures it by how much we must trust Him in the giving of it.

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Let’s consider this passage in a little more detail. It’s interesting that it comes in Mark’s Gospel in the place that it does. It follows right after some strong words our Lord spoke concerning the Scribes.

The Scribes where the intellectual experts of Judaism. They were the ones among the Jewish people who had set themselves to the task of carefully studying, interpreting, commenting on, and applying the Law of Moses. They were the biblical scholars of the day.

It’s important to remember that it was their job in society to handle God’s sacred word. They served an important and legitimate role in Jewish life. But the problem was that their role caused them to think of themselves as a part of the religious elite. In the verses just before our passage this morning—after having engaged in debate with the Scribes that were opposing Him and trying to trap Him—Jesus told His followers,

“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation” (vv. 38-40).

You can’t help being struck by the fact that, right after those words, we’re told a story about a poor, needy widow. Perhaps she was one of the very widows that Jesus was speaking of—a widow whose house had been ‘devoured’ by one of the proud, self-righteous religious elites who had taken advantage of her. Mark certainly seems to want us to notice the connection, anyway.

How long it might have been after Jesus spoke those words, we’re not told. But we’re told that, sometime afterwards, Jesus was seated in the temple area and was watching as people came in and made their offerings. Experts in biblical history tell us that, in the temple that King Herod had built, there was a section called ‘the Women’s Court’. Against the wall of this court were thirteen ‘trumpet-shaped’ chests—narrow at the top, wide at the bottom—for the receiving of charitable contributions. Each of these “chests” were marked—indicating what the contribution would be for.¹ It would be easy to sit and watch people as they gave. Apparently, it would even be easy to see how much they gave. And we’re told very specifically that the Lord Jesus “sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury” (v. 41).

You need to know that, when Mark tells us how the Lord Jesus “saw” this, he used a very particular word. He used a word that means “to observe something with sustained attention”². He wasn’t merely watching in an indifferent manner; but was watching with great interest—and, as Mark puts it in the original language, was apparently in the process of doing so for a while.

And before we go any further, I think that that’s something we should stop and think about. As I said, I don’t believe this passage is primarily meant to be used to prod people in churches to give more. But it is important to realize that the Lord Jesus pays attention to what His people give in the support of His cause. In fact, He considers it carefully—and even thinks about the attitude of heart with which it is given. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account”. And 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” We might simply drop an offering into the plate without giving it much thought; but our Lord sees it and gives it a great deal of thought! He not only looks at the gift that is given toward His work, but also weighs the inner condition of the person who gave it.

And knowing that this is true, dear brothers and sisters, let me make a suggestion. When we give to the Lord—whether here at church on Sunday morning, or to some other aspect of His work—let’s not do it thoughtlessly and hastily. Let’s do it as carefully as if it were an expression of sincere thanks that the Lord was sitting by and observing carefully—because He is! In fact, I would suggest that we get into the habit of preparing our tithes and offerings the night before; and praying about them as a family as we prepare them. I suggest that we offer thanks to God for His provision as we do so; and ask that He would take what is given and bless it greatly—along with the request that He would continue to meet our needs as our faithful Provider. And then, on Sunday morning—when we give that carefully prepared offering—we will truly be doing so as an act of worship in the full view of our Lord.

I believe that, if we do so, it’ll make our offerings something that the Lord—who watches our giving habits lovingly and carefully—will be greatly pleased to bless.

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So; the Lord was sitting in the temple and watching carefully as people gave. In fact, we’re told that He saw ‘how’ the people put their money in. And we’re told that “many who were rich put in much” (v. 41). We’re not necessarily told that they were doing so ostentatiously. In the Sermon on The Mount, the Lord warned His followers to heed not to do their charitable deeds before men in order to be seen and applauded. He said, “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men” (Matthew 6:2)—and perhaps He was even thinking of these ‘trumpet-shaped’ donation chests when He said this. But there’s no indication that the people Jesus was then watching were doing anything like that. We’re simply told that many who were rich were putting in much—which is as one would expect.

But we’re told, “Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans” (v. 42). And the “rich” who were putting in their “much”caused her to stand out in contrast.

Think for a moment about what Mark said that she was. She was a widow. In those days, a woman who was truly a widow was the very picture of utter helpless and poverty. She would have been someone whose husband would had died; and because there were no ‘company pensions’, or ‘state welfare programs’, or ‘life insurance policies’ in those days, she would have had no money coming in. Any money she might have had would have run out quickly. A true “widow”—such as she clearly appeared to be—would have had no surviving sons or relatives to take her in and provide for her. And, as a woman in that ancient society, there wouldn’t have been much in the way of work that she could do. She would have been absolutely destitute—other than whatever of her goods she might have been able to sell, or whatever charitable gift someone might have given her. What a contrast she would have been to the “rich” who were able to give “much”.

And think too of how easy it would have been to ignore her. We’re told that there were “many” who were rich who came into the temple to give. But in the original language Mark goes out of his way to emphasize her aloneness. He didn’t simply say, “a widow”—as if there might have been others; but rather “one widow”—as if she was the only one, and was truly alone. Personally, I think she was rather brave, don’t you? She didn’t let herself feel inhibited from coming into the temple to give by the fact that she was alone—and by the fact that she probably would have seemed unimportant and out-of-place in the presence of all the other, more wealthy people. What an honor it was that the Lord Jesus paid to her in the fact that, though she may have been “one widow”, He took careful notice of her.

And think further about what she gave. In the translation I’m using, we’re told that she threw in “two mites”—which were two small copper coins—”which makes a quadrans”. Other translations have it that these two coins together made “a penny”—which is meant to express that it was just a tiny amount. But, of course, you know that there was no such coin as “a penny” in those days; and to drop something that had only the value of a “penny” into the treasury would have been so minuscule and useless as mean almost nothing to her. The King James Version says that the two coins made up a “farthing”—but I suspect you also know that no one uses “farthings” in these days; so that doesn’t communicate much to us either.

When we really dig in deeper into this, I think we see something that makes this story even more meaningful. Historians tell us that a “quadrans” was a Roman coin that was a sixty-fourth of a denarius; and a denarius was the average daily wage of a common laborer. Now; I’ve done my best to think this through; and I’d suggest that a sixty-fourth of the average working man’s day’s wage today would work out to just under three dollars. And that would have meant that this poor woman didn’t just have “a penny”. She would have had just barely enough to buy two ‘junior-size cheeseburgers’ at your typical fast-food restaurant.

Now; I have a way of confirming this. Do you remember that in Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” That’s the same kind of coin that is referred to as a “quadrans” in our passage. And for one copper coin, you can get two sparrows. You may wonder why anyone would want to buy sparrows; and the reason they would was because—and I hope you don’t mind my telling you this—they were a fast-food item in Jesus’ day. They were the “cheeseburgers” of the ancient world. If you had a copper coin in your pocket, and you were in a bit of a hurry, you might stop along the way and pick-up two sparrows for the road. In fact, in Luke 12:6, Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?” In other words, you could buy four for two copper coins and get one “bonus sparrow” thrown in for free!

So; all that this poor widow had in the world were two “mites”—two small copper coins—which, together, made up one copper-coin’s worth. She had just enough in her hand to buy one small very small “happy meal” at the local sparrow-joint. No one would have thought that she was expected to give her only tiny bit of food money away. But she did.

And I think it’s fascinating that we’re told that she didn’t just have one “quadrans”. Instead, we’re told that she had two “mites” that, together, made up one “quadrans”. I hope you’ll pardon me for giving way to my imagination just a bit; but I wonder if—when she came to the temple treasury, and walked up to the chest with her two mites in her hand to make a meager offering of thanks to the Lord, she wasn’t tempted at first to put just one in and keep the other. Would you have blamed her if she did? Wouldn’t you have been tempted to do the same?

But I also wonder if, at that moment—tempted as she might have been to keep back at least something for her survival—she didn’t think back to some passages of Scripture that she would have known from when she was a little girl. Perhaps—as she was standing right there in God’s temple—she would have thought of Psalm 68:5; where it says, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.” Or perhaps she would have thought of Psalm 146:9, where it says, “The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow . . .” I feel very sure she would have thought back to Deuteronomy 10:18; where it says of the Lord, “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.”

And so, with sincere thanks to God for His provision in the past, the sound of that first mite falling into the chest had already been heard. But then, perhaps after remembering God’s promises to be the Provider of poor and needy folks like her, and with a sincere trust in His faithful providence for the future, the sound of the other mite soon followed.

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Acts of faith like this always get noticed by our Lord. I don’t believe the Lord—in any way—embarrassed the poor woman; but He called His disciples to Himself, pointed her out to them, and caught their attention by the words, “Assuredly I say to you . . .” (v. 43). (Whatever the Lord says is important; but when He begins it with those words, you know that it’s very, very important! He would want us as His followers to pay attention to what He said to His disciples.) And then, He told them something that must have amazed them. He said that “this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury . . .”

Now; they—along with the Lord—had no doubt been watching all the people who had put money in the treasury. They saw, as we were told, that many who were rich put in much. But it must have truly astonished them to hear the Lord say that this poor widow—with her two mites—put in more than all of them! The Lord let them know that He doesn’t measure gifts given to His cause in the same way that this world does. The world measures it by the amount that is given. But He measures it by something else.

He goes on to explain; “. . . for they all put in out of their abundance . . .” (v. 44). In the end, the gift those wealthy folks gave didn’t essentially change their sense of self-sufficiency. They had plenty left over. But “she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” She had nothing left. She was only able to do this because she not only expressed her thanks to God for His provision in the past, but also trusted Him that He would prove to be her sovereign Provider in the future.

And personally, I have no doubt whatsoever that He did provide for her. We can be sure that the same sovereign Lord that took such careful notice of this widow’s loving sacrifice of faith to Him made sure that her faith was answered, and that she had what she needed.

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Even so, I wish we knew the rest of the story; don’t you? But I wonder if there’s a reason why we’re not given the rest of the story. The story is left “hanging”, as it were—with her simply trusting in the providence of God for the future—because that’s where God our Father wants us to be.

You see; I don’t believe that the Lord necessarily wants us to follow the example of this widow’s actions, and do the same thing that she did. He may call some of us to do so; or He may not. But I do believe He wants all of us to follow her example of thanksgiving—to learn to trust Him as she did; and to keep our treasure where she kept hers. Jesus once told His disciples;

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:22-34).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; as we come to our Thanksgiving celebration this week, let’s be careful to practice both sides of the “thanksgiving” coin. Let’s be sure that we express our thanks to God for His good and abundant provision for us in the past. But let’s also be very sure that we do so in a way that shows we also trust Him for His faithful and sufficient provision for the future.

Let’s remember the lesson that this widow teaches us: That God measures our expression of thanks to Him, not by how great it is, but by how much we must trust Him in it.

¹Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Updated Edition (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994), p. 25).

²Third person singular imperfect active indicative of theōreō. See BDAG, third ed., p. 454.