Mark 12:41

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Mark 124144
The Widow's Mite
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Introduction
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two themes in this story

• the true measure of giving, and
• another reason for the coming judgment upon the
  nation of Israel (an underlying theme in the
  Gospel of Mark)

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evidence for Gods lawsuit against Israel
accumulates as Mark progressesculminating in the
religious leaders mocking their Messiah on the
cross (Mark 153132)
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context

• why is this story between the condemnation of
  the scribes (123840) and the destruction of the
  Temple (1312)?

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the end of Jesus' public ministry occurs in
Mark 1240in the Temple (1235)
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Condemnation of the Scribes

• Mark 123840

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And in His teaching He was saying Beware of the
scribes who like to walk around in long robes,
and like respectful greetings in the market
places (Mark 1238),
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and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of
honor at banquets (Mark 1239).
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They are the ones who devour widows houses, and
for appearances sake offer long prayers these
will receive greater condemnation (Mark 1240).
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two sins

• hypocrisy (appearance of godliness),
• stealing from widows and then covering up their
  despicable theft with a hypocritical show of
  godlinessoffering long prayers

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terrible crime

• to "devour widows' houses" probably refers to
  encouraging widows to make large gifts beyond
  their means to teachers of the Law and to the
  Temple (teachers were not allowed to charge for
  their teaching)

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"devouring" (katesthio) implies consuming
completely birds eating seed (Luke 85) and the
effect of fire (Rev 115 209)to devour
financially is to leave someone pennyless (the
prodigal son completely lost his inheritance,
Luke 151214, 30)
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Corban

• was a similar crimeby encouraging adult sons
  to dedicate their earnings to God, aged and needy
  parents were impoverished (Mark 7613)

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The Widow's Offering

• Mark 124144

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And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began
observing how the multitude were putting 1money
into the treasury and many rich people were
putting in large sums (Mark 1241).
1 i.e., copper coins
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And a poor widow came and put in two small copper
1coins, which amount to a 2cent (Mark 1242).
1 Lit., lepta2 Lit., quadrans, i.e., 1/64 of a
denarius
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the faithful widow is a striking contrast to
the greed and hypocrisy of the scribes
(123840) the juxtaposition of this story
with verse 40 suggests she is most likely one of
their victims
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she is also a striking contrast to the "many
rich people" who "were putting in large sums"
(1241) 41c many rich people were putting
in large amounts 42a a poor widow
put in two small coins44a They
all out of the riches to them put
in 44b she out of the poverty
of her put in
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contributions were dropped into 13
trumpet-shaped chests called shopharot (the
Trumpets) placed at intervals around the walls
of the Court of the Women coins were dropped
into the narrow top and accumulated in the wider
base they were inscribed with various titles
"New Shekel Dues," "Old Shekel Dues,"
"Bird-Offerings," "Young Birds for the
Holocaust," "Wood," "Frankincense," "Gold for the
Mercy-Seat," and six "Freewill-Offerings"
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she gave her offering and believed God would
provide all of her needs the scribes used their
religion to exploit people to raise money
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And calling His disciples to Him, He said to
them, Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in
more than all the contributors to the treasury
(Mark 1243)
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for they all put in out of their 1surplus, but
she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned,
2all she had to live on (Mark 1244).
1 Or, abundance2 Lit., her whole livelihood
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her small offering was greater than all the
offerings made by the rich together (1243)
she gave two leptaabout a fourth of a cent a
lepton (the thin one), the smallest of all
Jewish coins , was worth about an eighth of a
cent and is the only Jewish coin mentioned in the
New Testament
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the rich gave from their surplus after their
own needs were satisfied she gave all she owned
before God provided her needs
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the value of an offering is best measured(1)
against the financial worth of the offerer,(2)
as a percentage of total assets,(3) by the
amount left over after giving, or(4) by the
sacrifice made, not the amount given (cf. 2 Sam
2424)
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by this measure anyonerich or poorcan lay up
treasure in heaven and be rich toward God(Luke
1221, 3334 1822)
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she entrusted her life to God, lived in total
dependence upon him, laid up treasure in heaven,
and became rich toward God
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Reason for Israel's Judgment
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the story of the poor widow is a bridge between
the avarice of the religious leaders (123840)
and the coming destruction of the Temple (1312)
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the abuse of widows in Jesus' day justifies the
coming destruction of Judea and the Temple (as it
justified the destruction of Israel and Judah in
the Old Testament) this widow is one of the
last nails in the coffin of national
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the days of covenant-breaking Israel are
numbered all that remains is to implement the
curse of the Sinaitic Covenant
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Widows in the Mosaic Law
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widows were as much a part of the covenant
community as anyone else (Deut 161011, 1314)
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widows, orphans, and foreigners were vulnerable
and dependent and were offered special protection
under the Law(1) fields should be left for
widows to glean (Deut 241921 cf. Lev 19910
2322 carried out in Ruth 2), and(2) a
triennial tithe provided food for widows and a
blessing for Israel (Deut 142829)
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there was no reason for farmers to be greedy
God promised to provide an abundance of food if
the people obeyed the Covenant (Deut 2845, 8,
1112)
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God promised to (1) support (Psa 1469 Prov
1525), (2) execute justice for (Deut 101718
Psa 685), (3) avenge (Psa 9417), and(4) curse
anyone who withholds justice from a widow (Deut
2719) oppressing a widow was a sin unto death
(Exod 222224)
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widows were often taken advantage of in times
of national apostasy (Isa 11617, 23 1014)
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abuse of widows contributed to the fifth cycle
of disciplineto the fall and dispersion of Judah
in A.D. 70 (Jer 757 Ezek 227 Zech 7914)
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Jews who exploited widows in the Age of Israel
will be judged shortly after the second coming of
Christby the Messiah (Mal 325)
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Many of these insights come from an excellent
article by Geoffrey Smith Geoffrey Smith, A
Closer Look At The Widows Offering Mark
124144, JETS, March 1997, 2736.