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12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
(ESV)
Total sacrifice. Do we understand it? Do we live it? Jesus pulls his disciples aside to highlight the faith of the poor widow. In this story, the NASB translation reads…
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
Mark 12:42 NASB
Interestingly, the amount she gave was far less than one cent. This is a case where the currency difference and language translation hinder the original text.
The KJV gives us a better idea of the actual amount.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
Mark 12:42 KJV
A mite was a small copper coin worth 1/8 of a cent. In that time, it was the least of all coinage. For the benefit of the Romans, Mark related this amount to the least of all coinage for their system, hence, we get the NASB translation of a cent. In the end, it really does not matter. The point is, her gift was considered the smallest of the small. It is just interesting to discover that the amount she actually gave was only equivalent to 1/4 of our penny.
The focus was simple. It was all she had. Jesus literally says it was her “bios,” or, livelihood. She gave knowing that this money could have provided a small meal for her. She could have given one “mite” and kept another. Who would have blamed her? Consider that Jesus judged the least amount financially to be the greatest amount spiritually. By giving all that she had, though it was extremely small, she received Jesus’ highest blessing.
Back then, those who gave from their surplus may have done it in a way that drew attention to themselves. This is likely considering Jesus was standing opposite the treasury. Mark writes that Jesus was “observing how people were putting money into the treasury.” This happens today as well, however, it is more common in our day for churchgoers to argue that they are exempt from tithing. Giving with the wrong motive and refusing to give entirely are a reflection of the heart. In reality, the issue is not the church’s financial well-being. Jesus will provide for His church. He always does.
We must ask, why is this story in Scripture? It deals with the heart condition of man in relation to monetary resources. It reveals how the love of material possessions can distort and corrupt our heart. Sadly, those who refuse to give today have not experienced a faith like this woman who was willing to give it all. Her faith is a challenge to all of us, myself included!
There is no wiggle room. Jesus pulled his disciples aside in order to show them a model by which to live in the Kingdom of God. Many today do not understand it. Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. What is your response when He calls you aside to illustrate what it looks like to go all in and trust Him?
