Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 12:44
For all [they] did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, [even] all her living.
44. of their abundance ] i. e. of their superfluity, “of at ing at was plenteuous to hem.” Wyclif.
she of her want ] “of hir myseste sente alle ingis at she hadde, al hir lyflode,” Wyclif. Observe all the graphic touches in the account of the widow’s mite. (i) Our Lord was sitting over against the Treasury; (ii) He was watching the people casting in their contributions; (iii) He called to Him His disciples; and (iv) He points out to them the full meaning of her act of self-denial. After this incident in the “court of the women,” and apparently while the Saviour was still there, it came to pass, that two of the Apostles, Andrew and Philip, brought to Him the “inquiring Greeks,” who had desired to see Him (Joh 12:20-22). No sooner did He behold these “inquirers from the West,” than He broke forth into words of mysterious joy (Joh 12:24-26), and presentiments of His coming Passion (Joh 12:27-28); after which was heard the last of the Three Heavenly Voices, attesting the true dignity of His mission (Joh 12:28). And so with the clear prevision that He was about to be “ lifted up ” upon His Cross, and, if “ lifted up,” would “ draw all men unto Him ” (Joh 12:32), He prepared to leave the Temple, which He was never to enter again. His public work was over. His last counsels, His final warnings, had been delivered.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Of their abundance – Of their superfluous store. They have given what they did not need. They could afford it as well as not, and in doing it they have shown no self-denial.
She of her want – Of her poverty.
All her living – All that she had to live on. She trusted in God to supply her wants, and devoted her little property entirely to him. From this passage we may learn:
1. That God is pleased with offerings made to him and his cause.
2. That it is our duty to devote our property to God. We received it from him, and we shall not employ it in a proper manner unless we feel that we are stewards, and ask of him what we shall do with it. Jesus approved the conduct of all who had given money to the treasury.
3. That the highest evidence of love to the cause of religion is not the amount given, but the amount compared with our means.
4. That it may be proper to give all our property to God, and to depend on his providence for the supply of our wants.
5. That God does not despise the humblest offering, if made in sincerity. He loves a cheerful giver.
6. That there are none who may not in this way show their love to the cause of religion. There are few, very few students in Sunday Schools who may not give as much to the cause of religion as this poor widow; and Jesus would be as ready to approve their offerings as he was hers: and the time to begin to be benevolent and to do good is in early life, in childhood.
7. That it is every mans duty to inquire, not how much he gives, but how much compared with what he has; how much self-denial he practices, and what is the motive with which it is done.
8. We may remark that few practice self-denial for the purpose of charity. Most give of their abundance – that is, what they can spare without feeling it, and many feel that this is the same as throwing it away. Among all the thousands who give to these objects, how few deny themselves of one comfort, even the least, that they may advance the kingdom of Christ!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
For all they did cast in of their abundance,…. Or “superabundance”, as the Arabic version renders it; or “superfluity”, as the Ethiopic: they abounded in the things of the world, of which they gave only a part; and though they might give much, yet they could easily spare it, and had enough remaining:
but she, of her want; or “penury”, as in Lu 21:4; see 2Co 8:2;
did cast in all that she had, even all her living; her whole substance, all that she had in the world; what was to have bought her food, for that day; she left herself nothing, but gave away all, and trusted to providence for immediate supply.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “For all they did cast in of their abundance:” (pantes gar ek tou perisseuontos autois ebalon) “Because all of the others out of and from a source of their abundance tossed into the treasury,” Luk 21:4. They had much left for themselves, much more in proportion to what they gave.
2) “But she of her want,” (aute de ek tes hustereseos autes) “Yet she (this impoverished widow) out of and from her condition of want,” punery, or poverty, which was perhaps evident from shabby clothes she wore, but was surely known by the Lord, 1Sa 16:7.
3) “Did cast in all that she had,” (panta hosa eichen ebalen) “Did cast in all things (of value) of exchange, that she possessed,” not merely a tithe of all that she had, as the hypocritical Pharisee did, Luk 18:12.
4) “Even all her living.” (holon ton bion autes) “That is, all her living,” livelihood, of monetary or exchange value at the moment, Luk 21:4 She was constrained by love, motivated by Divine Love in her giving that day, 2Co 5:14-15. She believed God would care for her, Luk 6:38.
After Jesus denounced the Scribes, who devoured widow’s houses, and denounced the Pharisees, who prayed long prayers of pretence, and gloated in sitting in exalted places at feasts, He paid this glowing tribute of unselfish giving to the poor widow, then left the temple, never returning to enter again.
GIVE TILL YOU FEEL IT
There is a vast meaning in this advice. It is by this principle that churches are founded, and Gospel institutions sustained in cities, It is by this principle that many rural churches have made noble responses to the claims of benevolence. And if this rule could be applied everywhere, there would hardly be a feeble church in our land; or a church in debt; or a sanctuary out of repair; or a minister half-sustained; or a true cause of charity without all needful resources. “He who soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully.”
-J. Ross
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(44) They did cast in of their abundance . . . she of her want.The contrast between the two Greek words is somewhat stronger: They of their superfluity . . . she of her deficiency. We recognise the same standard of judgment, possibly even an allusive reference to our Lords language, in St. Pauls praises of the churches of Macedonia, whose deep poverty had abounded unto the riches of their liberality (2Co. 8:1-2).
Even all her living.This was not necessarily involved in the act itself, but the woman may have become known to our Lord in one of His previous visits to Jerusalem, or we may see in the statement an instance of His divine insight into the lives and characters of men, like that shown in the case of the woman of Samaria (Joh. 4:18).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 12:44 . , from her state of want, cf. on Lk. , here and in Phi 4:11 . : this not visible to the eye; divined by the mind, but firmly believed to be true, as appears from the repetition of the statement in another form. , her whole means of life. For the use of in this sense vide Luk 8:43 ; Luk 15:12 ; Luk 15:30 ; similarly in classics.
Though it has nothing to do with strict exegesis, I am tempted to give here a prayer by that felicitous interpreter and devout monk, Euthymius Zigabenus, based on this beautiful Gospel story: “May my soul become a widow casting out the devil to which it is joined and subject, and casting into the treasury of God two lepta , the body and the mind; the one made light ( ) by temperance, the other by humility”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
of = out of. Greek ek. App-104.
want = destitution.
all = the whole.
that = as much as.
living = life. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), App-6, for the means whereby her life was supported: i.e. her livelihood. Greek. bios. See App-170.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
cast in of: Mar 14:8, 1Ch 29:2-17, 2Ch 24:10-14, 2Ch 31:5-10, 2Ch 35:7, 2Ch 35:8, Ezr 2:68, Ezr 2:69, Neh 7:70-72, 2Co 8:2, 2Co 8:3, Phi 4:10-17
all her: Deu 24:6, Luk 8:43, Luk 15:12, Luk 15:30, Luk 21:2-4, 1Jo 3:17
Reciprocal: Luk 21:3 – more
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A GREAT GIFT
They did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had.
Mar 12:44
I. Who was the giver?She was a poor widow. Sorrow more often makes people selfish.
II. The gift.Two mites. Wealth, commerce, religious custom reckoned it small; but in the judgment of God the gift was exceedingly great.
III. The scene of the gift.It was bestowed in the Temple of God; it was deposited in one of thirteen boxes in the womens court. It is meet and right that we give where we receive.
IV. The object of the gift.These two mites were given as a freewill offering to the support of the Temple, its institutions and its services, and the offering them with this intent constituted this poor widow a contributor to all that the Temple yielded, to all it offered to heaven, and to all it gave to the children of men.
V. The spirit of the offering.The spirit of true piety and of real godliness. It may be that in her worship she had been saying, I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength, and that love gave all.
VI. Divine recognition of the gift.The Lord Jesus Christ saw the gift, estimated it, approved it, and commended the giver.
Illustrations
(1) The stinginess of professing Christians in all matters which concern God and religion is one of the crying sins of the day, and one of the worst signs of the times. The givers to Christs cause are but a small section of the visible Church. Not one baptized person in twenty, probably, knows anything of being rich towards God (Luk 12:21). The vast majority spend pounds on themselves, and give not even pence to Christ.
(2) If the Church is going to overtake the world, certainly its scale of giving will have to be increased a hundredfold. On pleasure, on drink, on everything else, this nation spends its millions freely, while it grudges its small sums for the work of the Church.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
4. Jesus explained his statement to mean that the widow made the sacrifice in that she gave all that she had. The rich gave much and yet had much left and hence did not make any sacrifice.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 12:44. For. The worth of a gift is to be determined not by its intrinsic value, but by what it costs the giver. The measure of that cost is what is left, not what is given.
Her whole living (or life). All at her disposal for her present subsistence. She could not have owned much else, since she is said to be a poor widow. She could not have hoped for glory of men(Mat 6:2), but she received praise from One who spake as never man spake. We are here taught, not simply to give, but how to measure the cost of gifts. Since Christ alone can bless contributions for the extension of His kingdom, this incident shows that the success He has accorded has been on account of the gifts which involved self-denial, these being the only valuable ones in His sight.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 44
The Savior meant simply to call the attention of the disciples to the fact that the liberality of a gift depends not upon its intrinsic value, but upon its relation to the means of the giver. He says nothing to justify the neglect of prudence and discretion in acts of benevolence. It is not even certain that he meant to express any opinion in regard to the propriety of the gift in this case. He simply says that this widow did more than they all. Whether, in her circumstances, it was her duty to do so much, seems to be left undecided. We are taught by this incident that they whose means are small should not be discouraged from doing what they can, since God regards, not the amount of the gift, but the disposition and feelings of the giver. But, then, on the other hand, this passage should not be employed as a means of urging the poor and the depressed to distress themselves by exertions which it is not their duty to make.