Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 12:41

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

41 44. The Widow’s Mite

41. And Jesus sat ] In perfect calm and quiet of spirit after all the fierce opposition of this “day of Questions.”

the treasury ] This treasury, according to the Rabbis, consisted of thirteen brazen chests, called “trumpets”, because the mouths through which the money was cast into the chest were wide at the top and narrow below. They stood in the outer “Court of the Women.” “Nine chests were for the appointed temple-tribute, and for the sacrifice-tribute, that is, money-gifts instead of the sacrifices; four chests for freewill-offerings, for wood, incense, temple-decoration, and burnt-offerings.” Lightfoot, Hor. Heb.

beheld ] The imperfect tense in the original implies that He continued watching and observing the scene. “Christus in hodierno quoque cultu spectat omnes.” Bengel.

how the people ] “Before the Passover, freewill offerings in addition to the temple-tax were generally presented.” Lange.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Sat over against – Opposite to, in full sight of.

The treasury – This was in the court of the women. See the notes at Mat 21:12. In that court there were fixed a number of places or coffers, made with a large open mouth in the shape of a trumpet, for the purpose of receiving the offerings of the people; and the money thus contributed was devoted to the service of the temple – to incense, sacrifices, etc.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Mar 12:41-44

And Jesus sat over against the treasury.

The treasury test

The lesson taught by this narrative is-mans treatment of Gods treasury the true touchstone of piety.

I. God has a treasury in His church. God has conferred on man various kinds of material possessions and property for use and enjoyment. Among these, money has become the portable representative and circulating medium of all. Far above these possessions is the privilege of sacred worship. This would be an urgent necessity and a lofty privilege even if man were holy. How much more now that he is a sinner! As all material arrangements are costful, so also is worship. If man could not meet this cost, God would. As man can, Why should he not? Is he not honoured in being allowed to do it? Does not this test his character?

II. Men contribute to Gods treasury in various measures and from various motives. The Divine rule has ever been according to ones power. This principle is definitely stated in an instance for universal guidance (Lev 5:7; Lev 5:11): As God hath prospered. According to that a man hath. In the temple scene before us, we behold the devotion of every coin, from the golden mineh, of three guineas value, to the mite of brass, three quarters of a farthing. Motives also differ, often as much as coins. Some give from necessity. Some give from a sense of honesty; if they did not give, debt and dishonour must ensue. Some give with pride and self-righteousness even before God. Some give from habit acquired from youth. Some give with holy love and joy, as a blessed privilege and rich delight: thus did the widow; so also have many done till now.

III. The Saviour observes how men treat His treasury and by this He tests their love to Himself. As worship is mans highest act, its gifts should be rich and substantial. Jesus beheld men at the treasury. He still directs His eye thither; not that He needs mans gifts; but deeds and gifts test mans love; also they elevate and refresh mans heart. Men test others love by deeds and gifts. Jesus challenges us to test the love of God thus.

IV. Jesus estimates gifts chiefly by what is retained. This principle alone accounts for the higher worth of the widows gift.

1. This estimate of gifts according to what is retained agrees with reason. Mans gauge of the moral value of a deed is the power of the doer. The child is not expected to put forth the strength of a man. Less force is looked for from the feeble than the strong man. A small gift from a narrow income is esteemed as much as a large gift from a vast income.

2. This treasury test accords with general life. This principle is acknowledged in all departments of life. Men readily meet the cost of their chosen pursuits and pleasures, in the measure of their means. True patriots willingly pay national charges, according to their ability, Faithful husbands provide for their wives, in the measure of their power. Loving parents nourish their children, as their resources allow. Should not Christians thus provide for the service and glory of Christ? Notice Gods rebuke of Israels neglect of this principle (Isa 43:22-24; Jer 7:18).

3. This treasury test accords with universal Scripture demands. God tested mans confidence and honesty by the forbidden fruit. We know the sad issues. Jesus tests our obedience, love, and devotion by a treasury. Besides the large dedication of their property to the national religious service, Israel were commanded to open a treasury to the Lord, to build a tabernacle (Exo 35:1-35; Exo 36:1-38); David to build a temple (1Ch 29:1-30); Joash to meet the expenses of worship (2Ki 12:1; 2Ki 12:9). This woman would give her all to His worship. Who doubts her love? But did she act prudently? She acted according to the rule. She acted for the hour and the occasion. She would not make herself an exception to the rule. She gave her all to God. She left the future to Him. Does any one think she starved by this? Behold what a grandeur the smallest service acquires, when it is done for God! Observe what magnificent interest and enduring renown accrue from the devotion of a creatures all to God. Jesus did not disparage the other gifts; He simply indicated their true relative value, and attached to the widows His highest commendation.

Application:-

1. God has a treasury for human hearts, His own heart. He would have your heart centre in love, safety, and joy in His own heart. He wants you there, as a creature who can love, serve, and delight in Him. He claims and demands you for His. Christ has died to redeem and win you back to Him, Will you give yourself to Him now just as you are, that He may make you all that He can delight in, that you may find Him all that your soul can desire?

2. Christ gathers the funds of His kingdom in His Church.

3. All worshippers are required to give as a duty.

4. To give cheerfully is to elevate a duty into a privilege.

5. Jesus thus tests His friends and foes, the obedient and the disobedient.

6. Jesus waits at the treasury for your gift, to receive it at your hands, to bless it, and to teach you how to use it. If Christ is Lord of your mind, and heart, and life, let Him be also of your silver and gold. (John Ross.)

Helpers of sacred institutions

Surely this must tell us what it did to those that stood by the Messiah. The principle now is exactly the same as it was then, as certainly as any principle governing matter in natural laws. The young man may say, I am willing to do my share for sacred causes and institutions; but if he means by that, he will aid them after he gets all his parties, and operas, and sleigh rides, and everything besides that his heart can wish-the gift for which he will not deny himself the least of these things, must be before heaven less than the least. And the man of business may say, I will help; the Lord has been good to me, I will be grateful; if gratitude takes the form of that he can well spare, and yet spare nothing out of his life. But after he has purchased with the talents God gave him as a steward everything for himself that he can possibly need, then he really spares nothing, makes no sacrifices, gives only out of his abundance, and is still open to that touch of fear, that he may not even be dealing fairly with the Principal who has committed the talents to his trust; the fear which good old brother Cecil used to say, always gathers about stewards and agents that grow uncommonly rich. So may we all give, no matter what we are, a poor selvage out of the web in our ample and voluminous robes; give the crusts after we have eaten the dinner; spare in the Lent what we could not spend in the Carnival-and it will be the same to every one of us. The wise all-seeing eyes will see us, and what we are doing, and the angel will write in his book of life, He gave to God and good uses what he did not need himself for any uses. Or we may give out of the real substance; but if we do not give with a real sacrifice, I have no authority from the Lord to say that the poorest Irish washerwoman in this town who gives to the Lord, according to her light, her two mites, which make one farthing, gives it out of her life to say a mass, even for the soul of her wretched sot of a husband who was found dead in the Bridewell-does not take infinite precedence of the best and most generous who have all they want, and then do ever so nobly out of the rest. (R. Collyer.)

The widows mites

I. Some of the things which the incident reveals concerning Christ Himself.

1. It presents Him as the omniscient Teacher of hearts.

2. By what a different standard Christ judges mens actions from that they themselves judge by.

3. His eyes are upon the treasury and those who contribute to it.

II. Some of the things which this incident reveals respecting ourselves.

1. It shows that offerings to the Lords treasury must bear some decent proportion to what He has bestowed upon us.

2. Our offerings to be acceptable must be felt to involve some sacrifice.

3. Liberality is a means of grace.

III. 1. There are here lessons for the whole church. What value God sets on tittles.

2. Christ will strictly reckon with the Church for all the wealth bestowed upon her. (James Molt, M. A.)

Giving ourselves in the sacrifice

AEschines, when he saw his fellow scholars give great gifts to his master, Socrates, he being poor and having nothing else to bestow, did give himself to Socrates, as confessing to be his in heart and goodwill, and wholly at his devotion. And the philosopher took this most kindly, esteeming it above all other presents, and returned him love accordingly. The widows two mites were welcome into His treasury, because her heart was full, though her purse was empty. (Dr. Donne.)

The power of mites when combined

There is now-A.D. 1887-in the French savings banks the sum of 100,000,000 sterling. These savings banks are patronized only by workmen, servants, and small shopkeepers. What missions might be founded and Christian work accomplished, if professors would but cast their mites into the treasury. (Somerset Express.)

Over against the treasury

One form of gift which is found with increasing frequency is the in memoriam gift. This touching form of offering in remembrance of some loved one is a beautiful new departure from the old mode, which too often expressed its loss only by the stately monument in the quiet churchyard. The Christian inventiveness revealed in many of the contributions is significant. A young lady gathers snowdrops in the fields around Carnarvon, and realizes 2, which she sends to Dr. Barnardo. A friend of missions puts on one side all the threepenny pieces he receives. Talents, such as painting and drawing, are made to contribute towards sending the Gospel across the seas. In many quaint ways Christian inventiveness helps on the work of God in the world. Another class of contributions are the thank offerings. One sends a shilling-a thank offering for Gods kindness to me on the evening of March 1, when I was out in that severe snowstorm. An old lady of eighty sends a thank offering because she has had no doctors bills for two years! The thank offerings of parents for the recovery of children from sickness are also frequent. Then there is the sacrifice pure and simple. The ring, the pencil case, the brooch, the treasured coins, given by devoted hearts who feel that if missionaries are willing to give up the comforts of home and kindred, and to sacrifice their lives even for the love they have for the Master, Christians in England should be joyfully ready to support them at all cost. A form of contributions peculiar to these days springs from the growing practice of abstainers to devote the money saved by giving up stimulants to missionary and charitable societies, who thus save their money from doing harm, and spend it in doing good. The last, but not the least, kind of offering is that which comes from the stricken themselves. The life-long invalid, the afflicted, the maimed, with a sympathy born of pain, and a Christ-like desire to relieve and help other lives, are among the most frequent contributors to our societies. The concealment by many of the donors of their identity is another feature of present day charity. In this present time this anonymity brings its reward, for it saves them from the reiterated requests of the importunate letter writers. If thou hast abundance give alms accordingly; if thou hast but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little. (Edward Dakin.)

Small gifts

Jesus commends the worshipper who put in the smallest gift. This was strange. Why did He do it? Two reasons.

1. Because she gave her heart with it: and God wants hearts, not coins, and coins only when they carry with them hearts.

2. Because hers was really a great gift in proportion to her means. Sixpence from one may be really more than a sovereign from another. The sixpence may come from one who has but few shillings a week; the sovereign from one who has thousands a year. This woman gave all. Hers was a great sacrifice.

The duty of giving in proportion to our means

Dean Ramsay relates of a certain penurious laird in Fife, whose weekly contributions to the church collection, notwithstanding his largely increasing wealth, never exceeded the sum of one penny, that he, one day, by mistake, dropped into the plate at the door a five-shilling piece, but, discovering his error before he was seated in his pew, hurried back, and was about to replace the silver coin by his customary penny, when the elder in attendance cried cut, Stop, laird, ye may put what ye like in, but ye maun tak naething out. The laird, finding his explanations went for nothing, at last said, Aweel, I suppose Ill get credit for it in heaven. Na, na, laird, said the elder, yell only get credit for the penny. It is not the amount of our gift, but the proportion of it, and the spirit of it which are noticed, and commended by Christ.

The widows gift of her sons

The eldest son of a widowed mother went out to missionary work in Western Africa. In a short time he filled a missionarys grave. There was another son left at home, and he came to his mother and said, Mother, let me go, and I will take my stand by my brothers grave. I will preach to my brothers people. I will tell them of my brothers God. He went, and it was not long before there were two graves in that heathen land, and the brothers were sleeping side by side; at least their ashes were; their spirits, no doubt, were safe in the heavenly land. The news came to the mother, and the story said she wept sore. Her mourning friends tried to comfort her, Oh, she said you do not understand my grief. I am not mourning because two of my lads have filled a missionarys grave in Africa. I grieve because I have not a third son to die in the same cause. (Handbook to Scripture Doctrines.)

Motive the measure of the acceptability of gifts

Xenophon tells us of Socrates, that when he sacrificed he feared not his offering would fail of acceptance in that he was poor; but, giving according to his ability, he doubted not but, in the sight of the gods, he equalled those men whose gifts and sacrifices overspread the whole altar; for Socrates ever deemed it a most indubitable troth, that the service paid to the Deity by the pure and pious soul was the most grateful service. As with what Plutarch relates of Artaxerxes, out on a royal progress, during which people presented him with a variety of gifts; but a labouring man, having nothing else to give him, ran to the river, and brought him some water in his hands. Artaxerxes was so much pleased that he sent the man a gold cup and a thousand darios. (Francis Jacox.)

Give till you feel it

A religion which costs nothing is good for nothing. Like a certain kind of faith which we read of, it is dead, being alone. How much meaning was conveyed in the reply which one man made to another who offered to contribute a small amount to some benevolent object, and said, I can give this and not feel it! Would it not be better for you, my friend, to increase it to such an amount that you will feel it? So in every case. A person should feel what he does, and should do what he will be likely to feel, or morally there will be but very little good resulting from it. (Quarterly Journal.)

Giving her all to God

In the beautiful Island of Ceylon, a few years ago, the native Christians decided that they must have a church built for themselves. To the amazement of all, Maria Peabody, a lone orphan girl who had been in the schools at Oodooville, came forward and offered to give the land upon which to build-the best site in her native village. Not only was it all she owned in this world, but it was her marriage portion, and in making the gift she renounced all hopes of being married. As this, in the East, is regarded as an awful step, many thought her beside herself, and tried to dissuade her from her purpose. No, said Maria, I have given it to Jesus, and as He has accepted, you must. Maria Peabodys schooling had been paid for years by a coloured servant in Salem, Massachusetts, whose wages were rather more than a dollar (4s.) a week. (Light and Life.)

The widows donation

Religion is the road to honour. Little did this woman imagine she was doing an act that would be handed down, for the admiration of mankind, to the end of time. This is the only instance recorded in history, of an individual going the whole of his or her possessions. Observe from this incident:-

1. That God employs mans instrumentality, for carrying on His work. Not of necessity, but to exhibit His grace and power.

2. That we should combine in our religion, piety, zeal, and humanity. We must corns to Christ ourselves, before trying to benefit others. We must make it a matter of conscience to influence others for good. While caring for mens souls, we must also have regard to the comfort of their bodies.

3. That the Saviour is ever watching His treasury, and those who come up to it, or pass it by. He notes all our opportunities for doing good, and whether we embrace or reject them. How this should impel us to look to our motives, spirit actions; and stimulate us to do our utmost.

4. That there is great propriety in contributing to collective funds for public objects. The relief of mens bodily miseries cannot be met without hospitals, dispensaries, etc.; so it is our duty to support them. Especially should we take care that everything connected with public worship is well sustained. It was a gift for the service of the temple that won this high commendation from the Saviour. (J. A. James.)

The widows farthing

In that court of the temple called the court of the women, there stood thirteen vessels, shaped liked trumpets, to receive offerings. Shaped like trumpets! surely a sarcasm is lurking here. As the rich man drops in much, the clash of it sets the trumpet blowing, and all the temple knows what a liberal man is passing by. But two mites would cause the trumpet to sound very faintly, if at all. Yet Love can see love, and will honour it. Christ views it not relatively to what it will buy, but to the love that gave it. But there is an ascetic or envious disparagement of riches in Christs praise of this tiny offering. Great gifts are just as capable of illustrating pure motives as small ones.

1. If, then, Christ thought much less of the rich mens gifts than they did themselves, it was because they gave

(1) for ostentation, loving (so to say) the trumpet much more than the temple,

(2) without a grateful sense of personal obligation, and

(3) with little spiritual appreciation of the true glory of Jehovahs service, or

(4) because usage so required, and policy urged their observance of the usage, though their heart inwardly grudged the offering.

2. And if Christ thought much more of the widows gift than any of these men would have done, or even His own disciples, it was because of

(1) the grateful love she manifested,

(2) the deep sense of religious blessings she evinced,

(3) the self-respect that valued a share in spiritual obligations, and would not allow penury to be an excuse for withholding an offering,

(4) that confiding trust shown towards God, which would not divide the last farthing with Him, giving Him one mite and keeping the other, but which gave him both. (T. T. Lynch.)

Offerings for Gods treasury

Observe these four points.

I. The contrast. It is not the poor, or widows, that Christ contrasts with rich men, but a widow. She was, perhaps, in almost as great contrast to many of her own class as to these; for many of the poor forget God, and offer Him nothing, because they have but little; and many widows make widowhood worse by murmuring. But circumstances may be imagined in which it would not have been right for the widow to give away her last farthing. But why suppose she was in such circumstances? A heart that so loved God, as hers did, would understand Him too well to divert the last farthing from the service of her sick child, if she had one. Then, perhaps, God would have received only a mite. She threw herself utterly on Gods Providence, and would not withhold from Him even the half of her last farthing.

II. The lesson. Christ might have said, See how these rich men can offer openly in the temple; how much better would it be to give private aid to this poor widow. That would be real love; this is but paraded zeal. He might have said this, but He did not. Instead of directing attention to what the poor want done for them, He pointed to what they (in spite of their poverty) do; instead of teaching His disciples liberality towards them, He here bids all men learn from their liberality.

III. The masters attitude. Christ sat over against the treasury, as if placing Himself there on purpose to observe. Our gifts are offered under the Divine eye. We know the difference between a bad half-crown and a good one; but we think a half-crown from a bad man and from a good one of the same value. Christ, doubtless, thinks otherwise. He tries the heart as well as the money; notices what our spiritual temper is, and what proportion our gifts bear to our possessions.

IV. The motive. Though money came plentifully to the treasury, and the splendid temple was sustained by splendid offerings, yet this vigour of the voluntary principle did not prevent Christ from being crucified, nor avail to keep the temple standing. It was not the purified will of believing hearts that brought the plentiful money. There may be strong motives for supporting religion, when there is in the heart bitter enmity against the very religion sustained. (T. T. Lynch.)

The woman who gave her all

I. God still has a treasury.

II. The poorest may make some offering.

III. Christ stiff watches over against the treasury.

IV. Gods estimate of gifts differs from ours.

V. God looks at motives as well as gifts.

VI. An individual unconscious of Gods high estimate. (T. Sherlock, B. A.)

The widows acceptable offering

I. Great hearts are often found where great sorrows have been before them.

II. Little services and little gifts are needed by man and noted by God. If we can only give even two mites, God will not despise the offering.

III. Had this woman listened to excuses, she would have lost her great honour and reward.

IV. More justice should be done to the giving of the poor, for their generosity still surpasses that of any other class. God notes their gifts of money, whose necessary smallness permits them to be overlooked by men. O what a gospel for the poor is here! (R. Glover.)

The widows offering

I. The occasion described. Gill says there were thirteen chests placed, six of which were to receive the free-will offerings of the people. Macknight says they stood in the second court, and each had an inscription, signifying for what use the offerings were destined. The chief objects were to repair and beautify the temple. The whole, however, was voluntary.

II. The lesson taught. That the value of the offering depends chiefly on the state of the heart.

1. Some that were rich gave liberally.

(1) No doubt, some gave ostentatiously.

(2) Perhaps some gave in a self-righteous spirit.

(3) Probably some gave only because it was customary.

(4) Possibly some gave dishonestly, who should have paid their debts; and thus gave robbery for burnt offering, which God declares that He abhors.

(5) Others, no doubt, gave grudgingly.

2. Of the poor widow it is said that she gave but two mites, which make a farthing. What were the motives which rendered her offering so precious in the Saviours sight?

(1) Her love to God.

(2) Her trust in His providing care.

III. But what would Christ have said to those who gave nothing, if there were any such who passed in review before him? (Evangelical Preacher.)

Two mites

A woman who was known to be very poor, came to a missionary meeting in Wakefield, and offered to subscribe a penny a week to the mission fund. Surely, said one, you are too poor to afford this? She replied, I spin so many hanks of yarn a week for my living, and Ill spin one hank more, and that will be a penny a week for the society.

Loving and giving

From this passage we may learn:

I. That God is pleased with offerings made to Him and His cause.

II. That it is our duty to devote our property to God. We received it from Him; we are stewards, etc.

III. That the highest evidence of love to the cause of religion is not the amount given, but the amount compared with our means.

IV. That it may be proper to give all our property to God, and to depend on His providence for the supply of our wants.

V. That God does not despise the humblest offering, if made in sincerity. He loves a cheerful giver.

VI. That there are none who may not in this way show their love to the cause of religion. The time to begin to be benevolent is in early life.

VII. That it is every mans duty to make inquiry, not how much he gives, but how much compared with what he has; how much self-denial he practises, and what is the motive with which it is done.

VIII. Few practise self-denial for the purpose of charity. Most give of their abundance-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, how few deny themselves of one comfort, even the least, that they may advance the kingdom of Christ. (A. Barnes, D. D.)

The widows mites

I. Christs notice of apparently trivial things. This is not incompatible with true greatness. Things are not always as trivial as they appear. The fact affords encouragement to those whose means are small and whose opportunities are few.

II. The nature of true benevolence.

1. It is unobtrusive. The widow did not want to be observed. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, etc. The gifts most acceptable to God do not always appear in the subscription list.

2. It is spontaneous. The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. Love must rule us in giving, as in other matters. The word charity stands for love.

3. It is self-denying. God is best pleased when our gifts cost us something. He judges less by what is given than by what is left behind.

4. It involves trust in God. She cast in all that she had. Faith asks no questions. It concerns itself with present duty, and leaves the future with God. Have you of your abundance or of your penury cast into the treasury? If Christ gave Himself for you, is it unreasonable that He should ask you for your money? (Seeds and Saplings.)

The due proportion of Christian benevolence

I. As it regards the individual contributing.

1. There should always be a due proportion observed between an individuals contributions and his means. Appearances are often considered. Precedent and example have a painful influence. Strongly excited feeling is not unfrequently a cause of error and of sin in our benevolent contributions, nor must it be concealed that men are often lured, in the present day, by the fame and splendour of an institution, rather than by its intrinsic merits, to contribute to its funds. There should be a due proportion observed between an individuals contributions and his means; a mans means are to be determined by what he has-what he owes-what he can obtain by exertion-and what he can save by economy.

2. There should be a proportion observed between an individuals contributions and his station.

3. There should also be a proportion between our benevolent contributions and our opportunities of doing good.

II. To the objects of benevolent contribution. The souls of men are to be preferred before their bodies; we must do good to them who are of the household of faith. Remarks:

1. See that what you give in the cause of Christian benevolence is from love to Christ, and to the souls of men.

2. Give as much as possible in secret, and this will at once relieve you from the suspicion that you give to be seen of men.

3. Never pride yourself on what you give.

4. Consider what Christ gave for you, and be ashamed that you should give Him so little in return. (T. Roffies, LL. D.)

The widows gift

I. The giver: a widow, and a poor widow. The widow alone understands widowhood; it must be felt to be known. God knows its grief. Sorrow often makes people selfish, but this benevolent donor was a widow, and she was poor. Perhaps a young widow whose husband had been cut off before he could provide for his own house. Poverty, like rain, comes from several quarters, and is not easy to be borne, whether the wind that brings it blow from east or west, from south or north. With poverty we generally associate getting, not giving. This poor widow was pious and generous; the tree is known by its fruit.

II. The gift. Money was her gift; hard to get, hard to hold, hard to part with; the severest test of religious integrity. The commercial value is small, but the value to her is great. Wealth called it small, commerce called it small, religious custom reckoned it small; but in relation to the means and heart of the donor, and in the judgment of God, the gift was exceeding great.

III. The place, or scene of the gift. It was bestowed in the temple of God, deposited in one of the thirteen boxes in the womens court. It is meet and right that we give where we receive.

IV. And what, fourthly, was the object of this gift? These two mites were given as a free-will offering to the support of the temple, its institutions and its services, and the offering them with this intent constituted this certain poor widow a contributor to all that he temple yielded-to all it offered to heaven, and to all it gave to the children of men. The incense and the light and the fire and the shewbread and the daily sacrifices were, in part, this womans oblation. She helped to clothe the priests in their holy garments, to supply the altars with oblations, and to preserve the order, decency, and beauty of the house of God. Say not, she gave only two mites. This voluntary offering, although commercially so small, as really contributed to support the temple, as the immense revenue derived from tithes and other appointed contributions. Jehovah received these two mites, and the world was by this offering made a debtor.

V. The spirit of the offering. Was it gratitude for benefits received? She may have valued more highly the benefit of Gods sanctuary, since she became a mourning widow, than while she was a rejoicing wife. She had there heard words of consolation which had healed her wounded heart (Psa 68:5; Psa 146:9). What impulse opened her hand? Was it the force of hallowed and pleasant association? Her fathers worshipped there. She could say, Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house (Psa 26:8). The spirit of the offering was the spirit of true piety and of real godliness.

VI. The Divine recognition of the gift. Jesus Christ saw the gift, estimated, approved, and commended the giver. He did not speak to her, but of her, in an undertone to the disciples. No person takes any account of what I do, some disciples are heard to complain. Thy fellow servants may fail to recognize, but the Master never fails. Jesus is in a position to see, and He is disposed to observe. Everything that is human is interesting to Him, and all that is right is attractive. Some people only see faults. Jesus approves all that He can approve. He gives the testimony of a good conscience.

VII. Look at the fact that Jesus Christ calls attention to this gift.

1. That the greatness of a gift depends upon the possessions of the individual after the gift has been made.

2. That grief need not hinder giving. The child of sorrow doubly needs the returns which acts of piety and charity invariably bring.

3. And shall we not be taught by this incident to learn well-doing from each other? The Head Teacher bids His disciples learn from this certain poor woman. He makes her a kind of object lesson.

4. Let us learn to act as under our Great Masters eye. He sees us. He speaks of you, it may be to His angels and glorified saints. And what can He say of you? (S. Martin.)

Giving in the sanctuary

It is meet and right that we give where we receive. The tree yields its fruit on the very spot where it has been nourished by the earth; there, where it has received the light and air and heat of heaven, does it hold up as into the face of heaven its increase. The child gives joy to the parent in the home whose very walls remind the mother of her anguish. The place of an unsealed spring is the seat of a flowing fountain. And it seems but meet that, in the place where we receive, we give. And what a place of blessing is a true house of the Lord; it is Bethel and holy ground, it is beautiful Zion and Bethesda, a house of light, and life, and love, of healing, and salvation, and redemption. (S. Martin.)

Christ mindful of our love service

He who knows how much I am loved, knows how I love; He who knows all that I receive, and how I receive, knows what I give, and in what spirit. It is possible that my very gifts to His Church may grieve Him. Not that He is hard to please; He waits, looks, longs to delight in the doings of His disciples. Their good works may be concealed like violets in the tall grass of the forests, but He will scent their fragrance; they may be feeble as the newborn infant, but He will rejoice over them as over the bright beginning of blessed life; they may be imperfect as some flower or fruit in a formative state, but He will see the end from the beginning; they may wear an appearance of evil, but He will look deeper than the surface; they may be condemned by His disciples, but they shall be approved by Himself, and He will show to the universe that He is not unrighteous, to forget any work of faith or service of love. (S. Martin.)

The two mites

I. That there may be more splendour in some obscure thing we never stop to notice, and would not care for if we did, than there is in the things that dazzle our sight and captivate our hearts.

1. We have all tried to notice this among children. One little child runs all the errands, makes all the sacrifices, but beyond that is a little nobody; plain, small; not brilliant. This is the two-mite child of the family; the small piece of home heroism, of a worth surpassing all the gifts and graces of the household besides; the little one Christ would see if He came and sat down in the house.

2. We notice this again in the Church. Some naturally attract applause by their gifts; others no more attention than this widow with her two mites. They say their poor word. It is their sorrow that they cannot do more; but the joy of heaven that they do so much.

3. This is true of the whole life we are living. There are many never seen or known who cast in more than the brilliant characters who cast in of their abundance.

II. It was an illustration of this law of our life, that the most god-like deed is that which belongs to the sacrifices we make, giving for sacred things and causes that which costs us most, and is most indispensable, and yet is given back to God. Nothing was worth a thought in this poor widows gift, but the sacrifice it cost her to give. The whole worth of it lay in that piece of her very life which went with it, but that made the two mites outweigh the whole sum of silver and gold cast in by the wealthy, which cost nothing, beyond the effort to give what a very natural instinct would prompt them to keep. They gave of their fulness, she of her emptiness; they of the ever-springing fountain, she, the last drop in her cup. It was not the sum, but the sacrifice that made the deed sublime.

III. We learn, in this simple and most obvious way, of that whole world of grace and truth that culminated on Calvary. (R. Collyer.)

The scene

Here comes a merchant; the times are hard, he tells you; nothing doing, taxes heavy, losses large, and things so bad generally, that you have to say, What a misfortune it must be to be a merchant. But you have to notice that his chariot is of the latest style, and by the best maker; his robes of the finest texture and colour; his diamonds of the purest water; and, altogether, for a man in such hard trial, he looks very well. Yesterday he looked over his accounts; he will not tell you wharf he saw there, but, certainly, he did not seem any worse for the sight. This morning, before he goes to his store, he will go to the temple; he will be thankful, to the extent of offering a lamb; and then there is a little balance, when all is done, that he would like to drop into the treasury. A little balance! but it would buy all that widow has in this world,-the hut she lives in, all the furniture, and all the garments she has to keep her from the cold. Very low the priest, who stands by the chest that day, bows to the generous gift; the holy man would be horrified if you told him he was worshipping a golden idol, but it is true for all that. Then the great merchant passes on, and you see him no more; he has given out of his abundance; he will not need to deny himself one good thing for what he has given. If a new picture strikes his fancy, he will ask the price, and then say, Send that round to my house; he will have his venison, all the same, whether it is a sixpence a pound or a dollar; and at the end of the year he will have his balance undamaged, in spite of the hard times. He has given out of his abundance; but, considering the abundance, he has not given as the widow did. Then there comes a lady. You can see that she is not looking well, and the world goes hard. This has been a hard year for her. She has had to give parties, and attend parties; to dress, and dance, and smile when she wanted to weep; and lose her rest, and be a slave that the slaves themselves, if they had any sense of what she is, and has to do, might pity. The season is over, and now she must think of her soul-her poor soul. She must repent in dust and ashes; go to the temple; give to the poor, and to the support of the true faith; and altogether lead a new life. It is the most exquisite make up of dust and ashes on the avenue that morning. She sweeps on in her humility, gathering her garments of penitence about her, lest even a fringe should touch the beggar at the gate. She stops a moment to give her gift; low bows the priest again as she passes, and she takes her place among the women, and says her prayers, and her soul is shriven. May we venture to watch her back to her home, and see the luxury that waits her? Is there one jewel, or one robe the less for what she has given, or one whim the less gratified, when the time for penitence is over, and the season opens? I see no sign of that. I never hear her say, This and that I will forego, that I may give. She has given of her abundance; she simply purchased a new luxury, and got it cheap, and she fades out of sight and out of life. You see others come with better gifts, not so much, it may be, in mere money value, but more in those pure eyes that are watching that day, not for the amount of the gifts, but for their meaning. A decent farmer follows the fine lady, forehanded, and fall of industry. His crops have done well; his barns are full; his heart is open. He has come to the city to sell his produce; has sold it well, and is thankful, and he will make his offering of two doves in the temple, and give something for the sacred cause, and to the poor besides, because his heart is warm and grateful, and, as he says, he will never feel what he gives to God and the poor; there will be plenty left at the farm when this is given; and then who knows but that the Lord will give a greater blessing next year, for does not the wise book say, He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord, and that which he giveth shall be rendered to him again? So it is at once a free gift, and in some way, a safe investment. He is glad to give the money, and yet to feel that this is not the last of it. Very pleasantly the holy man smiles on him too, as he drops his shekels and passes on; he has been there before; he will come again. He is one of those fast friends who can always be counted on to give while the fruitful fields answer to the diligent hand. He is a sort of country connection to these commissioners of the Most High, and will always be received, as he is today, with grace and favour. And very low indeed the good man bows to that stately centurion who comes now. He is not a member of this church; indeed, he is not a member of any church; for, like all his nation of that rank, he thinks that all churches are very much alike, and none of them of much account, except as managers of the common people. But it is a good thing to keep in with them; there is no knowing what you may want; and so he comes now and then, and looks on at the service, tosses his Roman gold into the chest, nods and smiles to the cringing priest, and feels that he has done well. Then with all these come the good and sincere men and women, with not much to spare, but who make a conscience of giving, and manage to get an education for their children, and everything decent; who never want any simple and wholesome thing they need, and are able to lay up a little beside for a rainy day; as various as they are now, they were then, who would do something for these things which to them were so sacred; and it was when givers like these came, that the widow came with her two mites-the smallest matter, possibly, that anybody ever thought of giving. I think if she was like most women, the utter littleness of what she had to spare, would be a shame to her; she would be tempted, on the mere ground of her womanly pride, to say, Since I cannot give more, I will not give anything: to put in these two mites when others are pouring in their gold and silver, will only show how poor I am. So it was like giving her life to give so little; and yet these two mites that meant so little to the treasury, meant a great deal to her. They meant darkness, instead of a candle on a winters evening; a pint of milk, or a fagot of sticks, or a morsel of honey, or a bit of butter, or a bunch of grapes, or a pound of bread. They meant something to be spared out of the substance and essence of her simple and spare living. And this these wise and loving eyes saw at a glance. Jesus knew that the two mites were all she had; and so as they made their timid tinkle in the coffer, they outweighed all the gold. He saw what they came to, because He saw what they cost, and so His heart went with the two mites; and while the holy man, who had made such deep obeisance for the larger gifts, let this trifle pass unnoticed, Christ caught up the deed and the doer, and clad them both in the shining robes of immortal glory.

The poor widows two mites

I. See Gods ordinance that His cause should be supported by our gifts.

II. That the Lord notices the gifts we cast into His treasury.

III. That the Lord passes judgment on those who cast their gifts into His treasury. He declared she had given more than all the rest.

1. She had given more, because she had given with a larger heart, with more real love.

2. She had given more in proportion to her possessions.

3. She had given more in the force of her example.

4. She had given more in its beneficial influence on the character of the giver.

5. She had given more in the relation of the gift to its future reward.

Learn:

1. The right use of money.

2. The value of the offerings of the poor.

3. That the Lord sits over against the treasury. (W. Waiters.)

The power of pence

Those whose means are small may take encouragement to give what they can. There is a mighty power in the combination of littles. We see this in nature, and in the institutions of society. One star would afford small light to the midnight sky, but countless myriads shining together brighten it with their glory. One drop of rain could have no moistening effect on the earths dry and thirsty soil, but millions of such drops make the barren land fruitful. There are two bodies of religionists who show us in a striking manner what may be done by the combination of a large number of small contributions, by regular, systematic giving on the part of all their members, even the poorest. I refer to the Roman Catholics and the Wesleyan Methodists. Both sects number the poor largely among their members, and derive no inconsiderable support from their offerings. The sums they annually raise furnish in a most striking manner an illustration of the power of pence. (W. Waiters.)

The power of humble fidelity

There were many gifts, many of them of vanity, many of them of pride, many of them of superstition, many of them of mere custom and necessity; but hers was a voluntary gift of love. And that fact consecrated it. Love imparts a value to a gift which nothing but love can stamp upon it.

I. This is a striking. Illustration of our Lords sympathy for the heart of human life, instead of for its exterior. He was sitting in the very culmination of the pride and beauty of the Jewish ceremonial. He was not attracted by sumptuous trains of these gorgeous gift bringers. He saw that which interpreted the innermost and the best nature, the gentle, generous, and piteous. When human strength disdains to notice, there is the very point at which Divine strength notices most. Where men see least to be admired, under uncouth forms of helplessness, there Christ looks with sympathy and compassion. This imparts to the Divine government an aspect of comfort and encouragement. If human life takes care of the successful, the Divine government takes care of the weak and obscure. The great eye is not looking out for the great deeds alone, but for those whose deeds are in secret.

II. Many of the secret fidelities of life have power to outlaw, in usefulness, the products of ambitions, desires and deeds. All the rich gifts of the temple are now forgotten. We do not know what Rabbi was syllabled with admiration among his fellows on that day. The only person who has come down to us was the least conspicuous. The gentle light of that example shines still. All the ages have not buried her. How little she thought she was enriching the world. Christ is still the same. We think those gifts most influential which have most of record; but it is not so. While many a proud philanthropist will scarcely be seen, many strange philanthropists will emerge from among the poor, and take their places as princes in Gods glory. So God works Himself, in secret might. So gives He a pattern for us to work after. It is not the thunder which makes the most racket, that does the most work. The things in this world that are accomplishing great deeds are silent things, and hidden things. And we are told, in a kind of strange paradox, that the things which are not, are ordained to bring to nought the things that are. The most inconspicuous things often belong to Gods most potential working. The root neither strives nor cries, and yet, all the engines of all the ships and shops on earth, that puff and creak with ponderous working, are not to be compared for actual power with the roots of one single acre of ground in the meadow. All the vast pumps of Harlem Lake, and all that serve our needs, adjoining, are not to be compared for force with that might which inheres in one single tree. It is a fact revealed only to those who study natural history, that leaves, that vegetation, that dews, and rains, and heat, that the natural attractions which prevail in the world, without any echo or outward report, have an enormous power in them, and that they are the means by which God works. He works in silence, and inconspicuously, and almost hiddenly. And so they work importantly who work by thought, by love, by zeal, by faith unrevealed; who work in places not seen by the public eye, in season and out of season, from the mere desire to do good, and not from the mere love of being found out in doing it. Look upon your scarfs, so brilliant. The colour shines afar off. Comely it is on the shoulder of beauty. How exquisite is the dye that comes from the cochineal insect. And yet how small is that insect-scarcely, I may say, so big as the point of a pin-which feeds so inconspicuously on the under side of the leaf of the cactus, nourishing his growth quite unconscious that as one of all the myriads of all these little shining points he will by and by help to produce these glowing colours which civilization and refinement will make so meet and comely in distant lands! So it is with good deeds. The great things in this world are the sum of infinitesimal little things. And those who are in sympathy with God and nature, are not to reject in men the ripening, the development of themselves or their true spiritual life, because the effect is but little. That effect will be joined to other things which are like itself obscure, and others and others will make their contributions; and little by little the sum of these specks of gold will make masses of gold; little by little these small insects will make great quantities of colouring matter; little by little small things will become large in magnitude. Do not be ashamed, then, to live in humility, if you fill it up with fidelity. Never measure the things that you do, or do not, by the report which they can make.

III. There are two spheres in which men must work. The first is that which judges of causes by their apparent relations to the end sought. That is important; but it is not the only sphere. It is the visible, material sphere-the one which belongs to the region of physical cause and effect. We are obliged to work in that sphere according to its own laws. But in the moral sphere men must judge of acts by their relations to the motives and dispositions which inspire them; and they are great or little, not according to what they do, but according to the sources from which their actions spring. In engineering that only is great which does. It matters not what the intention is; he who in the day of battle is not victorious, is not saved by his intention. No matter hew wisely you mean, if your timber is not squared and fitted right, the result is not right. In the outward sphere effect measures the worth of the plan. In that sphere effect must always be measured by the cause; and the worth of the cause must be proved by the effect. And that is the lower sphere. In the moral sphere it is the other way. There, no matter what the effect is, you do not measure in that direction. Pray. Your prayer accomplishes nothing? The measure is not What did it do? Speak. Your words fall apparently uncaught and unprofitable? You do not measure in that direction. You measure the other way. What was it in your heart to do? What was your purpose? In the moral sphere we look at the bow-not at the target. From what motive did the soul project its purpose? What gave that sigh? What issued that speech? What created that silence? What produced that moral condition? In that sphere the heart measures, estimates, registers. This gives rise to thoughts which, perhaps, may have relation to ourselves. There are many who will work if you will show them that their working will insure immediate good results. They will work in the moral sphere if they can work according to the genius of the visible or the physical sphere. They will work if they can do what others do. They do not work because they love to work. They do not work because they feel that it is their duty to work, simply, without regard to consequences. They are willing to work under the stimulus of a vain ambition. They will work if they may be praised. They will work if they are to receive an equivalent for their working in some appreciable form. The equivalent, oftentimes, for exertion, is praise or popularity. Do, then, whatever there is to be done without questioning and without calculation. Make progress in things moral. If need be, utter stammering words. Would you console the troubled if you only had a ready tongue? Take the tongue that you have. Ring the bell that hangs in your steeple, if you can do no better. Do as well as you can. That is all that God requires of you. Would you pray with the needy and tempted if you had eminent gifts of prayer? Use the gifts that you have. Do not measure yourself according to the pattern of somebody else. Do not say to yourself, If I had his skill, or, If I had his experience. Take your own skill and your own experience, and make the most of them. Do you stand over against trouble and suffering, and marvel that men whom God hath blessed with such means do so little? Do you say to yourself, If I had money, I know what I would do with it? No, you do not. God does; and so He does not trust you with it. If I had something different from what I have, I would work, says many a man. No; if you would work in other circumstances, you would work just where you are. A man that will not work just where he is, with just what he has, and for the love of God, and for the love of man, will not work anywhere, in such a way as to make his work valuable. It will be adulterated work. What if you have not money? If you have a heart to work, it is better than if you had great riches. And if you find that you are hesitant, reluctant, and are acting accordingly, be sure that you do not belong to the widows school. Did she say to herself, as she handled her fractions of a penny, What is the use of my throwing these in? They will scarcely be taken out. They are all that I have, with which to buy my days food. There it will do very little good; here it will do a great deal of good? (H. W. Beecher.)

Consecrated womanhood

What is it to be a consecrated woman?

I. Such consecration involves heart dedication to Christ and His service.

II. Such consecration embraces the sacred devotion of time to the work God carries on through female agents. She saves her odd minutes as the jeweller saves the cuttings of gems and gold.

III. Such a consecration implies the devotion of culture to the Divine glory and uplifting of humanity.

IV. Such consecration embodies the ability to do varied work of a beneficent nature, whereby God is glorified,

V. Such consecration involves the sanctification of the pence to the Divine glory. (S. F. Leech, D. D.)

The Lords searching eye

The Saviour noticed not merely, the fact or acts of contribution, but also the wonderfully diversified modes in which the acts exhibited themselves. Mode is inseparable from act, and, when outward, reveals the inward essence of the act. We may suppose that our Saviour looked in, through the diversified modes that struck His outward eye, to the diversified characters of the contributors, as they passed in succession before Him. If so, it would be with far more interest and innerliness than was ever manifested by Lavater, and with an intuition that was unerring. On Sundays, after the sermon, says the poet Goethe, it was Lavaters duty, as an ecclesiastic, to hold the short-handled, velvet alms bag before each one who went out, and to bless as he received the pious gift. Now, on a certain Sunday he proposed to himself, without looking at the several persons as they dropped in their offerings, to observe only their hands, and by them silently to judge of the forms of their donors. Not only the shape of the finger, but its peculiar action in dropping the gift, was attentively noted by him, and he had much to communicate to me on the conclusions he had formed. As the idiosyncrasy and form of the whole body was revealed to Lavaters eye by the form and action of the fingers, so the idiosyncrasy and moral condition of every soul were unveiled to our Saviours gaze, as He noticed how the offerings were cast in. (J. Morison, D. D.)

Liberality of the poor

Peggy had been consigned by her dying mother in Ireland to the care of a lady, who brought her up as a servant, giving her only clothes and food as her wages. Her residence with this lady led to Peggys attendance on the ministry of the gospel, which met, in her case, with a heart prepared by Divine grace to receive it. She imbibed it as the thirsty earth the shower; her appearance became altered, and her whole demeanour greatly improved. Her mistress, finding her services increasingly valuable, and fearing that the temptation of higher wages might cause her to seek another place, offered, of her own account, to give her a small sum of money annually. For this she was truly thankful; and some months having elapsed, she came to me (says a Christian minister in London) one evening after service, apparently with great joy, and slipped a piece of paper into my hand. On examination I found it to be a one-pound note. Peggy, said I, what is this? Your reverence, said she, it is the first pound I could ever call my own since I was born; and what will I do with it? Ah! will I forget my country? No; it is for poor Ireland; it is for my countrymen to have the blessed gospel preached to them. I admired her disinterestedness, but thought the sacrifice too great, as I knew she must want such a sum for very important purposes. Peggy, I said, it is too much for you to give; I cannot take it. Oh, your reverence, she replied, with her characteristic energy, if you refuse it, I shall not be able to sleep for a fortnight! And she went away, leaving the money in my hand, and exclaiming, God bless my poor country with the ministry of the gospel.

Costly gifts

A missionary, in a report of his field of labour says: I can imagine someone saying, as he reads this report, Well, I will give 5 to the cause; I can give that, and not feel it. But suppose, my Christian brother, you were to give 20, and feel it? There is vast meaning in the advice, Give till you feel it. It is by this principle that churches are founded, and gospel institutions sustained. If this rule were to be put in operation 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 adequate support. (Anon.)

Religion the first thought

A poor negro woman, after the death of her husband, had no means of support for herself and two little children, except the labour of her own hands, yet she found means, out of her deep poverty, to give something for the promotion of the cause of her Redeemer; and would never fail to pay, on the very day it became due, her regular subscription to the church of which she was a member. In a hard winter she found it very difficult to supply the pressing needs of her little family, yet the few pence for religious purposes had been regularly put by. As one season for the contribution came round, she had only a little corn, a single salt herring, and a five-cent piece remaining of her little store. Yet she did not waver. She ground the corn, prepared her childrens supper, and then with a light heart and cheerful countenance set out to service, where she gave joyfully the five cents, the last she had in the world. Returning from the church she passed the house of a lady, to whom a long time before she had sold a piece of pork-so long, indeed, that she had quite forgotten all the particulars of the transaction; but seeing her this evening, the lady called her in, apologizing for having been so tardy in the settlement, and then inquired how much it was. The poor woman could only reply she did not know; but the lady, determined to be on the safe side, gave her two dollars, besides directing her housekeeper to put up a basket of flour, sugar, coffee, and other good things for her use. She returned home with a joyful heart, saying, as she displayed her treasures, See, my children, the Lord is a good paymaster, giving us a hundredfold even in this present life, and in the world to come life everlasting.

The gift of love

Once upon a time there was a king, and he was very powerful and great. He was also very good, and so kind to his people that they all loved him very much. To show their gratitude to him for all his kindness and the many favours he was constantly bestowing upon them, and also to show the very great love which they had in their hearts for him, the people resolved to make him a present. Now there was a poor woman who loved the king very, very much, and she wished to contribute something to the present for her dear sovereign; but she was so very poor that she had nothing at all in the world to give but only one little brown farthing. And a rich neighbour came to her, and said, You can never put that dirty brown farthing among the bright gold pieces offered to the great king. Here are some new silver shillings, they will not look so bad; you can put them in, and it is all the same, for I was going to give them at any rate. But this poor woman replied, Oh no; when I bring a gift to the good king, it must be my very own. I am very sorry I have nothing better to give; but I will just slip it in quietly, so that the king wont take any notice of it; and if he throws it away afterwards, I dont mind. It is all I have, and I will have the pleasure of giving it to him whom I love so very, very much. So this poor woman went forward with the rest; but she walked very slowly, and hung down head, being sorry her gift was so small; and when she passed the king she never once looked up, but just slipped her little brown farthing into the plate among the rest of the gifts. When she was turning away she felt someone give her a tap on the shoulder, and when she looked round the king was looking down at her, and smiling very graciously. My good woman, he said, was it you who put in this costly gift? And as she looked in his hand she saw something very like her old brown farthing; but just as she was wondering if that could be what the king meant, the farthing began to grow brighter and brighter, till the poor woman could scarcely look at it, for it had changed into a beautiful locket, all shining with gold and diamonds and other precious stones. The poor woman gave a little sigh of disappointment in bet heart, but she looked up straight into the kings face, and said, Oh no, I only gave one little brown farthing. Take it into your hand and see, said the king, still smiling. So she took it as he bade her, and then she saw that it was her farthing after all. Yes, she said, feeling greatly surprised, that is the very farthing I put in, for I tried hard to clean it up, and could only get it to look a little bright at the edge. So she laid it back again in the kings hand, and as soon as he touched it, there it was shining and sparkling as before. Then the king said, I thank you very much for this beautiful gift; it is very precious to me. And he took it, and hung it upon the chain that was round his neck, and the poor woman went home quite happy, because the king had been pleased to accept her gift, and loving him a thousand times more than before, if that were possible. Now it is more than eighteen hundred years since that day, and the great and good king has been wearing that poor womans brown farthing at his chain all the time. And whenever any poor woman wishes to offer him a gift from the great love that is in her heart, and is afraid to bring it because it seems so small, he points to the shining locket, and says, Why, this was once only a little brown farthing, and it pleased me as much as the rich mans gold; for with me a man is accepted according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not? (C. P. Craig.)

Covetousness cornered

A gentleman called upon a rich friend for a contribution to some charitable object. Yes, I must give you my mite, said the rich man. Do you mean the widows mite? asked his friend. Certainly, was the reply. I shall be satisfied with half as much as she gave. How much are you worth? Seventy thousand dollars. Give me, then, your cheque for thirty-five thousand; that will be half as much as the widow gave, for she, you know, gave all that she had, even all her living. The rich man was cornered. Covetous people often try to shelter themselves behind the widows mite; but it is a dangerous refuge.

Alms-giving, false and true

Alms-giving is degraded in two ways-when it is done to be seen of men, and when it is done to save your soul. You cannot tender to God 1s. 6d. or 1 for a sin committed. You cannot wipe out guilt with half a crown. The Jews thought you could. The Roman Catholic Church, in its worst days at least, openly taught that you could. The priests invited the dying to insure against hell or purgatory by leaving their property to the church or the poor. The fallacy is not yet quite extinct. The other day a witty ecclesiastic was listening to a rich merchant who, after dinner, boasted that, although no better than he should be, he gave 2,000 away to the poor every year. He did not know, nor apparently care, who got it, but it went. Well, said his clerical listener, that is the largest insurance against fire I ever heard of! Now, mark this, if in alms-giving the donor is thinking more of himself than of the recipient of his gift, his act is not Christian charity, but selfishness. If he gives, in order to be praised, or to save his soul, or merely to relieve his own feelings, without regard to the effect of his gift, that is not Christian charity. The impulse is good, but not alone. It does more harm than good, without reflection, common sense, and eves wisdom. Every penny given to a knave robs a deserving person. There are plenty such: find them out, and when you find them, do not pauperize them. Help them to help themselves. Every Christmas we are deluged with circulars; choose the right institutions and pleas to support; avoid the professional beggars of this world, in print or out of print, who prey on the credulous and impulsive, and can give no satisfactory account of their stewardship. I am not against extras at Christmas. If we brighten our homes for our friends, God forbid that we should forget the poor; but again I say, be careful. Let us comfort the sick, seek out the deserving poor, think of poor dependents, old servants, the people in our own neighbourhood; let us do all we can to lighten the burden of unobtrusive sufferers, helping the thrifty poor, the sick, the aged; but let us avoid bolstering up the blatant impostor! (H. R. Haweis, M. A.)

All her living.
Mr. Skeltons devotion to the poor

The salary of the Rev. Philip Skelton, an Irish clergyman, arising from the discharge of his ministerial duties and from tuition, was very small; yet he gave the larger part of it away, scarcely allowing himself to appear in decent clothing. Returning one Lords day from public worship, he came to a cabin where an awful fire had occurred. Two children had been burnt to death, and a third showed but faint signs of life. Seeing the poor people had no linen with which to dress the childs sores, he tore his shirt from his back piece by piece for their use, and cheerfully submitted to the inconvenience to which it exposed him. Some time after this, when a scarcity of food was felt around him, he sold his library, though his books were the only companions of his solitude, and spent the money in the purchase of provisions for the poor. Some ladies hearing of this, sent him 50 to replace some of his most valuable books with; but, while gratefully acknowledging their kindness, he said he had dedicated the books to God, and then applied the 50 also to the relief of the poor.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 41. Cast money into the treasury] It is worthy of observation, that the money put into the treasury, even by the rich, is termed by the evangelist , brass money, probably that species of small brass coin which was called prutah among the Jews, two of which make a farthing, and twenty-four an Italian assarius, which assarius is the twenty-fourth part of a silver penny. We call this, mite, from the French, miete, which signifies a crumb, or very small morsel. The prutah was the smallest coin in use among the Jews: and there is a canon among the rabbins that no person shall put less than two prutahs into the treasury. This poor widow would not give less, and her poverty prevented her from giving more. And whereas it is said that many rich persons cast in MUCH, , (many,) this may only refer to the number of the prutahs which they threw in, and not to the value. What opinion should we form of a rich man, who, in a collection for a public charity, only threw in a handful of halfpence? See Lu 21:1, and See Clarke on Mt 5:26. The whole of this account is lacking in Matthew. Another proof that Mark did not abridge him.

Let us examine this subject a little more closely: Jesus prefers the widow’s two mites to all the offerings made by the rich.

In the preceding account, Mr 12:41, it is said Jesus beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. To make this relation the more profitable, let us consider Christ the observer and judge of human actions.

I. Christ the observer.

1. Christ observes all men and all things: all our actions are before his eyes, what we do in public and what we do in private are equally known unto him.

2. He observes the state and situation we are in: his eye was upon the abundance of the rich who had given much; and he was well acquainted with the poverty and desolate state of the widow who had given her all, though that was but little in itself. What an awful thought for the rich! “God sees every penny I possess, and constantly observes how I lay it out.” What a comfortable thought for the poor and desolate! The eye of the most merciful and bountiful Jesus continually beholds my poverty and distress, and will cause them to work for my good.

3. Christ sees all the motives which lead men to perform their respective actions; and the different motives which lead them to perform the same action: he knows whether they act through vanity, self-love, interest, ambition, hypocrisy, or whether through love, charity, zeal for his glory, and a hearty desire to please him.

4. He observes the circumstances which accompany our actions; whether we act with care or negligence, with a ready mind or with reluctance.

5. He observes the judgment which we form of that which we do in his name; whether we esteem ourselves more on account of what we have done, speak of it to others, dwell on our labours, sufferings, expenses, success, c., or whether we humble ourselves because we have done so little good, and even that little in so imperfect a way.

II. See the judgment Christ forms of our actions.

1. He appears surprised that so much piety should be found with so much poverty, in this poor widow.

2. He shows that works of charity, c., should be estimated, not by their appearance, but by the spirit which produces them.

3. He shows by this that all men are properly in a state of equality for though there is and ought to be a difference in outward things, yet God looks upon the heart, and the poorest person has it in his power to make his mite as acceptable to the Lord, by simplicity of intention, and purity of affection, as the millions given by the affluent. It is just in God to rate the value of an action by the spirit in which it is done.

4. He shows that men should judge impartially in cases of this kind, and not permit themselves to be carried away to decide for a person by the largeness of the gift on the one hand, or against him by the smallness of the bounty on the other. Of the poor widow it is said, She has cast in more than all the rich. Because: 1. She gave more she gave her all, and they gave only a part. 2. She did this in a better spirit, having a simple desire to please God. Never did any king come near the liberality of this widow; she gave all that she had, , her whole life, i.e. all that she had to provide for one day’s sustenance, and could have no more till by her labour she had acquired it. What trust must there be in the Divine Providence to perform such an act as this!

Two important lessons may be learned from her conduct. 1. A lesson of humiliation to the rich, who, by reason of covetousness on the one hand, and luxury on the other, give but little to GOD and the poor. A lesson of reproof to the poor, who, through distrust of God’s providence, give nothing at all. Our possessions can only be sanctified by giving a portion to God. There will be infallibly a blessing in the remainder, when a part has been given to God and the poor. If the rich and the poor reflect seriously on this, the one will learn pity, the other liberality, and both be blessed in their deed. He must be a poor man indeed who cannot find one poorer than himself.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This is the only piece of history in this chapter which we did not before meet with in Matthew. Luke hath this, Luk 21:1-4. For the understanding of this history, both as to the letter and profitable instruction arising from it, we must know, that in the temple (where our Saviour now was) there was a treasury, or rather treasuries. And famous Dr. Lightfoot said, there were treasure chambers, called Lesacoth, and thirteen treasure chests, called Shopheroth, all called by the general name of Corban or Corbonah. Two of these chests were for the half shekel, which every Israelite was to pay according to the law, Exo 30:12,13. There were eleven more, the inscription upon which showed what money should be put there.

1. For the price of the two turtle doves, or two young pigeons.

2. For the burnt offering of birds.

3. For the money offered to buy wood for the altar.

4. For those who gave money to buy frankincense.

5. For those who offered gold for the mercy seat.

6. For the residue of the money for the sin offering.

7. For the residue of the money for a trespass offering.

8. For the residue of an offering of birds.

9. For the surplus of a Nazarites offering.

10. For the residue of a lepers trespass offering.

11. For whosoever would offer an offering of the herd.

The Israelites, tied to their several offerings, were not tied to

provide them themselves, but they might bring sums of money, with which the priests provided them, and if there were a surpulsage, it was put into one or other of these chests. These chests were placed in that part of the temple which was called the court of the women, not because none but women might come there, but because women might go no further, as the court of the Gentiles (into which Jews came) was so called because the Gentiles might go no further. Our Lord so sat, as he observed men come and put their offerings into one of these chests. He saw many Jews that were rich casting in much money of silver, or gold, or brass, though brass money was most in use. Amongst others a poor widow came;

she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. As to the value of what she threw in, let us hear the learned Dr. Lightfoot in his Temple Service, chapter 19.

The weight of the piece of silver mentioned in the law, was three hundred and twenty barley corns. The wise men added to it, and made it four hundred and eighty-four middle barley corns. This made four Denarii; each Denarius made six Meahs, which in Mosess time was called a Gerah. The Meah made two Pondions; the Pondion made two Issarines or Assariusses. The Assarius, or Issarine, was the weight of four barley corns, the weight of a mite was half a barley corn.

According to this rate, the widowss two mites made in silver the weight of a middle barley corn. This our Saviour calls all that she had, and all her living. The Greek is all her life, that is, all that she had to sustain her life. Arias Montanus thinks that that which is meant is, all that she had to uphold her life for one day. For it is said, that this quantity was usually reckoned the livelihood, or a sufficiency, for a poor man for a day. Christ said, she had cast in more than any of the rest; not more strictly, but pro rata, comparing what they were able to do with what she was able to do. The two great instructions which this history affords us are:

1. That the poorer sort of people are not excused from good works, 2Co 8:2,3.

2. That God in his acceptation of our good works looks at the heart, the will, and affections, not at the quantum of what we do: If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not, 2Co 8:12. It is the obedience and love which God accepteth, not the quantum of the gift.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Jesus sat over against the treasury,…. the Arabic version reads, “at the door of the treasury”; the place where the chests stood, into which money was put for various uses: there were thirteen chests in the temple d; six of them were, , for voluntary oblations, or freewill offerings; for what remained of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the turtles; for those that had fluxes, and for new mothers; and of the sacrifices of the Nazarite, and of the trespass offering for the leper; and the last was for a freewill offering in general; and into one of these chests, or all them, was the money cast, afterwards spoken of. The Ethiopic version renders it, “over against the alms chest”; but this contribution in the temple, was not for the maintenance of the poor, but for the supply of sacrifices, and other things, as mentioned. Jesus having done preaching, and the Scribes and Pharisees having left him, and the multitude being dismissed, he sat down, being weary, and rested himself in this place:

and beheld; with pleasure.

how the people, of all sorts, rich and poor,

cast money into the treasury; into one or other of the above chests: the word rendered “money”, signifies “brass”, which the Jews call,

; for they had shekels of brass, as well as silver; and brazen pence, as well as silver pence e; and also “prutas”, or mites of brass f; and such, the poor woman cast in:

and many that were rich cast in much: they gave very liberally and largely, as they were possessed with much worldly substance; for though religion was at a low ebb with them, yet they took care to support the external and ritual part of it.

d Misn. Shekalhim, c. 6. sect. 5. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. & Moses Kotsensis, Mitzvot Tora, pr. affirm. 44. & Maimon. Hilch. Shekalim, c. 2. sect. 2, 3. e Misn. Maaser Sheni, c. 2. sect. 8, 9. & Ediot, c. 1. sect. 9, 10. f Vid. Hottinger de Nummis Heb. p. 118.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Christ Commendeth the Poor Widow.

      41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.   42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.   43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:   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.

      This passage of story was not in Matthew, but is here and in Luke; it is Christ’s commendation of the poor widow, that cast two mites into the treasury, which our Saviour, busy as he was in preaching, found leisure to take notice of. Observe,

      I. There was a public fund for charity, into which contributions were brought, and out of which distributions were made; a poor’s-box, and this in the temple; for works of charity and works of piety very fitly go together; where God is honoured by our worship, it is proper he should be honoured by the relief of his poor; and we often find prayers and alms in conjunction, as Act 10:2; Act 10:4. It is good to erect public receptacles of charity for the inviting and directing of private hands in giving to the poor; nay it is good for those who are of ability to have funds of their own, to lay by as God has prospered them (1 Cor. xvi. 2), that they might have something ready to give when an object of charity offers itself, which is before dedicated to such uses.

      II. Jesus Christ had an eye upon it; He sat over against the treasury, and beheld now the people cast money into it; not grudging either that he had none to cast in, or had not the disposal of that which was cast in, but observing what was cast in. Note, Our Lord Jesus takes notice of what we contribute to pious and charitable uses; whether we give liberally or sparingly; whether cheerfully or with reluctance and ill-will; nay, he looks at the heart; he observes what principles we act upon, and what our views are, in giving alms; and whether we do it as unto the Lord, or only to be seen of men.

      III. He saw many that were rich cast in much: and it was a good sight to see rich people charitable, to see many rich people so, and to see them not only cast in, but cast in much. Note, Those that are rich, ought to give richly; if God give abundantly to us, he expects we should give abundantly to the poor; and it is not enough for those that are rich, to say, that they give as much as others do, who perhaps have much less of the world than they have, but they must give in proportion to their estates; and if objects of charity do not present themselves, that require so much, they ought to enquire them out, and to devise liberal things.

      IV. There was a poor widow that cast in two mites, which make a farthing (v. 42); and our Lord Jesus highly commended her; called his disciples to him, and bid them take notice of it (v. 43); told them that she could very ill spare that which she gave, she had scarcely enough for herself, it was all her living, all she had to live upon for that day, and perhaps a great part of what she had earned by her labour the day before; and that forasmuch as he knew she did it from a truly charitable disposition, he reckoned it more than all that put together, which the rich people threw in; for they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want, v. 44. Now many would have been ready to censure this poor widow, and to think she did ill; why should she give to others, when she had little enough for herself? Charity begins at home; or, if she would give it, why did she not bestow it upon some poor body that she knew? What occasion was there for her bringing it to the treasury to be disposed of by the chief priests, who, we have reason to fear, were partial in the disposal of it? It is so rare a thing to find any that would not blame this widow, that we cannot expect to find any that will imitate her; and yet our Saviour commends her, and therefore we are sure that she did very well and wisely. If Christ saith, Well-done, no matter who saith otherwise; and we must hence learn, 1. That giving alms, is an excellent good thing, and highly pleasing to the Lord Jesus; and if we be humble and sincere in it, he will graciously accept of it, though in some circumstances there may not be all the discretion in the world. 2. Those that have but a little, ought to give alms out of their little. Those that live by their labour, from hand to mouth, must give to those that need, Eph. iv. 28. 3. It is very good for us to straiten and deny ourselves, that we may be able to give the more to the poor; to deny ourselves not only superfluities, but even conveniences, for the sake of charity. We should in many cases pinch ourselves, that we may supply the necessities of others; this is loving our neighbours as ourselves. 4. Public charities should be encouraged, for they bring upon a nation public blessings; and though there may be some mismanagement of them, yet that is not a good reason why we should not bring in our quota to them. 5. Though we can give but a little in charity, yet if it be according to our ability, and be given with an upright heart, it shall be accepted of Christ, who requires according to what a man has, and not according to what he has not; two mites shall be put upon the score, and brought to account, if given in a right manner, as if they had been two pounds. 6. It is much to the praise of charity, when we give not only to our power, but beyond our power, as the Macedonian churches, whose deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality,2Co 8:2; 2Co 8:3. When we can cheerfully provide for others, out of our own necessary provision, as the widow of Sarepta for Elijah, and Christ for his five thousand guests, and trust God to provide for us some other way, this is thank-worthy.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Sat down over against the treasury ( ). The storm is over. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, scribes, have all slunk away in terror ere the closing words. Mark draws this immortal picture of the weary Christ sitting by the treasury (compound word in the LXX from , Persian word for treasure, and , guard, so safe for gifts to be deposited).

Beheld (). Imperfect tense. He was watching

how the multitude cast money ( ) into the treasury. The rich were casting in (, imperfect tense) as he watched.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

The treasury. In the Court of the Women, which covered a space of two hundred feet square. All round it ran a colonnade, and within it, against the wall, were the thirteen chests or “trumpets” for charitable contributions. These chests were narrow at the mouth and wide at the bottom, shaped like trumpets, whence their name. Their specific objects were carefully marked on them. Nine were for the receipt of what was legally due by worshippers, the other four for strictly voluntary gifts. See Edersheim, “The Temple.”

Beheld [] . Observed thoughtfully.

Cast. Note the graphic present tense : are casting.

Money [] . Lit., copper, which most of the people gave.

Cast in [] . Imperfect tense : were casting in as he looked.

Much [] . Lit., many things; possibly many pieces of current copper coin.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

JESUS AND THE WIDOW’S MITE V. 41-44

1) “And Jesus sat over against the treasury,” (kai kathisas katenanto tou gozophulakeiou) “And as He, Jesus sat (in the temple) opposite (but near) the treasury.”

2) “And beheld how the people,” (etheorei pos ho ochlos) “He closely observed how the crowd,” how the masses who passed by; He was a keen observer of what went on that day.

3) “Cast money into the treasury:- (ballei chalkon eisto gazophulakeion) “Tossed copper money (coins) into the treasury,” received into brazen trumpet shaped receptacles, designated for sacrifices, temple tribute, incense money, wood, things necessary to carry on the temple service program.

4) “And many that were rich cast in much.” (kai polloi plousioi eballon polla) “And many rich men (wealthy plutocratic men) threw much,” much copper into the treasury, to impress the poorer of their pretended piety, Luk 6:24; Luk 21:1.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CHRIST AND THE CONTRIBUTION BOX

Mar 12:41-44.

Compare Luk 21:1-4.

THE Jews were very proud of their city, Jerusalem; Beautiful for situation; the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, the city of our God, they were wont to say.

But travelers tell us it is a very ordinary sort of a city, and only strikes one as having something of beauty when it is approached from the East side, and that is the side on which the Temple stood.

You remember that the Temple was made up of a system of courts, and that in the court of the Gentiles, the outer and greater court, Christ did much of His teaching. And it was while He was there one day that the time of the annual offering for the Temple service was at hand, and the Jews came not alone from Jerusalem, nor yet only from Palestine, but from the ends of the known world to bring their offering to the Temple of their God.

Many of them were rich and made their offerings accordingly. Up from Alexandria, and Cairo, and other Egyptian cities; out of Greece and Rome these faithful folks came to bring their gifts unto their God.

Say what you please about the despised Jew, but just remember that he never did the irreligious thing of running away from a collection. I know many a so-called Christian Church that is almost depopulated on that day set apart for a big offering unto the Lord.

But not so with the ancient Israelites. They came in great crowds and they brought with them their splendid gifts. The rich from Asia, from Babylon, from Ephesus, from Greece, from Rome, from Jerusalem, and the poor as well, all put their offerings into the treasury. Bars of gold, bullion, moneys of many kind, they put into the treasury this day.

Princely men, attended by a retinue of servants, filled the treasury chest and necessitated the bringing of a new one.

And along with such came the less favored of Israel with their small offerings, the very smallest of which was this widows two mitesan amount equalling about a tenth of a present-day penny.

Truly around that treasury chest the rich and the poor met together, and by their offerings acknowledged God as the Maker of them all; and out of this scene upon which the Son of God looked that day, I want to bring some suggestions for present-day instruction and action.

I think we shall find this text full of helpful lessons.

CHRIST WAS OVER AGAINST THE TREASURY.

And Jesus sat over against the treasury (Mar 12:41).

He is always present when His people present their gifts. Many years ago this church voted to exchange our long-handle boxes for plates, to have the deacons of the church take up the offering, and the pastor to ask Gods blessing upon it, moved by the thought that the offering made to the Lord ought to have greater prominence in the service of the sanctuary, and be reckoned as a most important part of the praise rendered our Redeemer.

No part of our temple service is more attractive to Him who gave His life for us than this same service of gifts to His cause. And His eye is upon it.

One time Dr. John A. Broadus, when his ushers were about to take the offering, left his pulpit and walked down to where the usher was beginning his work, and went along with him and looked at every penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar that went into that basket. Some of the people were angry, some were confused and shame-faced, some were filled with amazement, all were evidently surprised. When the collection was over, he went back to his pulpit to speak from this mornings text, and he said to them, My people, if you take it to heart that I have seen your offerings this day, and know just what sacrifices you have made, and what sacrifices you have not made, remember that the Son of God, your Saviour, goes about the aisles with every usher, and sees, with His sleepless eye, every cent put into the contribution by His people.

If Dr. Gordons dream, How Christ Came to Church, changed his whole ministry, would not a realization of the Masters espionage upon the collection plate mightily affect our offerings unto Him?

Christ reads character in the contribution. There is no question that He was doing so on this day of the Temple offerings. There is no truer touch-stone of present-day Christian profession than the collection plate of the present-day church.

A man or woman may have many desirable traits, be very companionable indeed, fitted by mental culture and moral character to move in good society, so affable as to be a social favorite, and yet in the absence of the spirit of giving, all pretentions to Christianity are either self-deceptions or a vain effort to impose upon the public.

There were notable traits in the character of Jesus Christ, but I make bold to say that the fundamental trait of His character, the one that differentiated Him from man, as no one other did, was His giving-spirit. He gave everything, even His life, in evidence of His love.

And the public is wont to judge a professed Christian upon this same basis. Let a man seek higher education for himself, and, as he comes more and more into its possession, shut up his mind against others, becoming a mental recluse, feeding upon books while refusing to contribute anything to the worlds mental needs; and cultured people will call him mean; and they are right. Let a man aspire to social or political position, and when he attains unto it, treat with contempt those who are below him, never stretching out the sympathetic hand of help, and the public will condemn him; and they are right. Let a man seek wealth and succeed in his effort, and, as he grows richer, grow more penurious, until he parts from every penny with a pain, and the public will call him a miser, and think of him in a stronger term; and the public is right.

Nothing so evidences character as ones contributions, and success in itself is a temptation to sin.

The very growth in these best things appeals to the flesh to use them for selfish uses.

A good business man said to me once, that while he had many appeals made to him, he was glad for them, because he wanted to keep his heart open to the worlds needs, and never become a mere money grabber.

Ah, it is keeping not only the heart open to the world needs to give as we believe God requires of us, but it is keeping character itself. It is keeping all of life that is worth the living, for covetousness and selfishness can so bury a man up as to put him into the deepest grave ever dug long before breath leaves his body.

A few years ago I was preaching in an Illinois town. A gentleman there took me driving one afternoon and as we passed an elegant placea mansion swept about by a great lawnhe told me that a banker had lived there. For years he and his wife had hoarded their money, never parting with a penny of it except for the necessities of life, and since the husbands death, the wife was so absolutely eaten up of greed, so utterly lost to all other desires but that of accumulation of silver and gold, that she would not buy food for herself, and the cashier of the local bank had to carry her meals daily to keep her from starving.

Of course this is an extreme case and yet it serves perfectly to illustrate the fact that character is a question of ones contributions to the world in which he lives and moves and has his being.

And by as much as I desire the development in the members of the church over which God has set me of all that is Christ-like, of all that makes for character here and character hereafter, it is mine to urge upon you, as Paul did upon the Corinthians, that as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace (of giving) also (2Co 8:7).

The church is measured by the offering of its members. It is not measured by its numbers. It makes little difference to me that we are now above the 3000 mark, unless an increase in membership is an increase in all that is Christ-like.

I am familiar with churches, the multitude of whose numbers becomes their shame at every annual report. It is not a question of wealth, for some of the richest churches in America exhibit the least spiritual power and exert but small sacred influence.

It is not a question of social standing. On one of the hills of a great city stands a church that has the elite of that beautiful suburb in its membership. One of its officers writing a young minister a while ago regarding the pastorate, said, We have a beautiful house; our manual has in it the names of many important people; in social matters we are much in the lead, but we have nothing to do with the Holy Ghost of God.

So long as the members of the church are making money to give in proportion to their prosperity, God is greatly glorified thereby; but, as one has well said, When the church becomes a coffer for holding coveted wealth, she becomes also a coffin for enshrining a dead Christianity.

Pollution easily becomes the experience of such a people; and domestic crimes, social stains, and religious stagnation are the inevitable results.

That is a remarkable expression in Luk 11:41 where Jesus said, Give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

You go look on the sea of Galilee today and its waters are bright and sparkling and alive. It receives a river on the one side; it gives out a greater river on the other side. You go look on the Dead Sea and its waters are foul. No fish live in them, no fowl swim upon them, and to the taste of man they are bitter indeed. It is a receptacle for the Jordan River. It contributes nothing, and what the Dead Sea is as compared with the Sea of Galilee, so is the covetous Christian as compared with the liberal soul, and the close-fisted church as compared with that Christian institution whose sacrifices are fountains whose streams of benevolence make glad the city of our God.

THE RICH AND THE POOR GAVE TOGETHER.

The wealthiest Jew and the widow! As Jesus watched that day, He looked upon the offering of the wealthy Jew and the poor widow, and He sees the same as He watches today.

In the late life of George Mueller, we find him writing down under one date as offerings to the Orphan Asylum, A shilling and seven pence from two factory girls, and $20,000 in the same mail from a Christian of means.

The rich Jew gave grandly. Our text tells us, And many that were rich cast in much. It must be so, if Gods work is to go on. The very constitution of things require that the favored of the earth shall employ their good fortune in behalf of the oppressed, the ignorant, the needy, the sin-cursed. And what a blessed thing it is, that many of those to whom God has given money, have triumphed over the flesh and retained a generous spirit.

In 1814, the Synod of the Reformed Church was in session, and money was being raised for the education of young men who were entering the ministry, and many orators had made as many brilliant speeches concerning the subject, when old Elias Van Benschoten came into the meeting. Presently he arose to speak, and the people looked chagrined, for they thought this unlettered layman would speak but poorly. But the old man said, Mr. President, I will give $840 in cash toward this object and $13,000 in bonds. That was a mighty fortune then.

Such oratory is heard in Heaven and interests the angels of God.

The poor widow put in a small sum. It was very small indeed, about a tenth of a cent. Henry Ward Beecher says, So small was it that you might have listened and you could not hear it chink. It was almost like dust in her hand, and I am not exaggerating when I say, you could not have heard it fall into the chest, especially after the ringing of the bullion of some big Jew; and yet it was heard in Heaven!

And it was heard on the earth by the Son of God, and through His Word the sound of it has gone around the world, and for nineteen centuries now it has been stirring stingy men and women to make an offering to the Lord, and inspiring the generous hearted to give again, and again, and yet again.

It is certain that the offerings of the poor are worth while. The avalanche of snow is made up of so many flakes. You understand that the cochineal insect is only about as big as the point of a pin, and feeds on the underside of a cactus leaf and is not easily discovered because it is so small; and yet, when myriads of these little creatures are brought together, they produce a coloring of the brightest scarlet, and when the small offerings of the poor, whether in money or good deeds, are brought together, wonderful results are affected. What would the Church of God do without her little offerings? What would our missionary treasuries do without the small gifts?

But the greatest blessing is to the giver. They are blessed themselves by making them.

Our text tells us that this woman of her want did cast in all that she had, even of her living. Ah, what a grand giving!

I have heard people talking about giving the widows mite, but I do not want any of you to give so much.

She went without her dinner that day. She looked at her old clothes, her worn-out sandals, and said, Well, I need new ones, but I need the love of God more, and I need more to show Him my love.

There are some who would advise those who are in difficult financial straits to give nothing, but Christ did not so speak, even when He saw a woman giving all her living, casting in all that she had. Perhaps He knew that such an act would bring her the blessing much above the value of those two mites.

When Abraham Lincoln arrived at Gauga Seminary for a second term, he had but a six pence in his pocket. The next day the contribution box was passed at the church and he put in that six pence, all that he had, even all his living, and yet God took care of him through that entire term, and when it closed, he had paid his expenses and had $3.00 in his pocket.

A close, calculating character, such as would have said, It behooves me to take care of myself and keep this last six pence, could never have become Abraham Lincoln, our noble PresidentAbraham Lincoln of broad mind and of bigger heart.

CHRISTS APPROVAL IS A QUESTION OF PROPORTIONS.

And He called unto His disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury;

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 (Mar 12:43-44).

There are three points in this to which I call your attention.

First, the proportion of ones living. The largest gifts I know, reckoned proportionately, are made by the Lords poor. There are members of my church who have made offerings within a year, when the money given meant of necessity either hunger, or cold; and in some instances, I think it meant both.

When I reckon my offerings to the cause of Christ Jesus in the light of what my fortunate fellows do, I am filled with contentment and congratulate myself. But when I reckon them in the light of the gifts of those who put the butter from their bread, and take the sugar from their tea, in order to add $5.00, or $10.00, or $15.00 to the treasury of the Church, I am filled with shame and ask God to help me bear a better proportion of the expenses of that institution; and when I look about me and see many whose fortunes have been swept from them, and I remember that they are left in old age with meager incomes, and yet out of that, manage to make a liberal gift to God, I am again ashamed, and I find in my heart a longing for the privilege of paying more that they may be called upon for less.

I know of no sin of a prosperous Christian of the present-day greater than that of his failing to properly share the burdens of life with his less fortunate brethren.

Many years ago when fortunes were few, an enterprising newspaper reporter in the city of New York looked into the cost of living in the fashionable circles of that city. He found the well-to-do were living at an expense of thirty to fifty thousand a year, while one rich man admitted that he managed to rub along at $25,000. A certain well-known after-dinner speaker of that city, in making up a schedule of necessary expenses, put down $250 for his church and $5,000 for a box during the opera season, and yet I expect he had brethren and sisters who were day-laborers, and who spent many sleepless nights in praying and planning to be able to meet the rent; and possibly he was a member of the finance committee and scolded because the plain did not better contribute.

Again, this proportion is upon the basis of what one has left. A small boy in Chicago, a son of a deacon, complained to his mother that it was a hardship to have to give a whole dollar out of the $10.00 he had saved up, but when his mother had said, Johnnie, remember that while you only gave $1.00, you have $9.00 left, it impressed the boy profoundly, and from that time he always reckoned not on what he gave, but upon what he had left.

There are some people who have another way of reckoning on what they have left. They provide every necessity, and even some luxuries, and if there is anything remaining, they tithe that for God.

In the olden time, Solomon wrote, Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine (Pro 3:9-10). The reason why we find it more difficult to give as we get more, is that we put our eyes upon what we part from and forget what we retain.

A good woman in New York who, out of her poverty, had given regularly one-tenth, when she received $5,000 from a friend, wrote in her diary, Quick, quick, before my heart grows hard.

But, after all, the real proportion is upon the basis of what our Lord asks. I do not believe that a man necessarily meets the requirements of God when he gives a tenth, while I am sure that he comes short of it if he gives less. God may demand a fifth. God may demand a half. God may demand all.

If we would enjoy His blessing, we must inquire His mind and make our offerings accordingly.

I dislike debts. I believe thoroughly in paying what one owes. I see no reason why a church should not meet its every bill with promptness; and I believe that can be done, and that it would be done, if every man inquired of God and gave what the Lord asked of him.

Years ago a young girl in the South married a well-to-do New York man. She had been an active Christian, but her new position plunged her into a mad whirl of social gaieties and she was intoxicated with social life and neglected her prayer, ceased largely from church attendance, paid no attention to the old custom of contributing to the cause of Christ. On a return trip from California, the train was ditched and she was fatally injured. When the physician at the little station to which they brought her, told her that she had not more than an hour to live, she said, But, Doctor, I must go home to New York. No, said the physician, it is impossible. If you are moved in any way, it will only shorten the time. I have only an hour, you tell me? My dear madam, I cannot tell you more. And this is all there is left to me of the world? It is not much, Doctor. Tears came into his eyes and she covered her face and lay quiet awhile. Then looking back at him, she said, in a frenzy, Less than an hour to live? To think of all that I might have done with my money and with my time. God wanted me to help the poor and the sick. It is too late now. I have only an hour. She started up wildly and said, Why, Doctor, I have been doing nothingnothing but leading the fashion. Great God! I have only an houronly an hour. But the exertion was too much for her and she lay dead at the Doctors feet.

Beloved, when we sweep out of time into Eternity, we will either go rich or poor, and our riches in the world to come will depend upon how much we have laid up where moth and rust doth not corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. And if we go out bankrupt, go out to find ourselves wanderers in Eternity, without home or friend, it will be because we refused to befriend Him, and help Him on whom all hope of salvation depends.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mar. 12:41-44

(PARALLEL: Luk. 21:1-4.)

A celebrated contribution.The collection is generally considered to be commonplace. Jesus, in this passage, clothed it with sublimity. He immortalised the famous farthing. The two mites are transformed into two angels, and they seem to watch over the contribution chest of the Church as the cherubim did over the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus was memorable for seeing the many in the one, the much in the little, the sublime in the simple. The smallest act may embody the greatest principle. The mites of the poor widow rise to the transcendent height of latent martyrdomeven all her living. She gave all that her life depended upon. One step more and the gift would have been life.

I. True religion is sometimes under disadvantageous circumstances to develop itself.

1. True religion is to be developed. Piety is composite, consisting of principle and action. As rays to the sun, branches to the tree, the stream to the fountain, so conduct is to the heart, its natural and necessary outcome.
2. The possessor of true religion is sometimes unfortunately situated. The condition of woman, and especially of a widow, in the East was deplorable. Her portion was oppression.
3. Contrast between principles and position makes the development of religion difficult. The widow had the will, but not the means, to give. She was a princess in heart, but a pauper in hand.

II. True religion will develop itself in spite of adverse circumstances.This poor widow displayed

1. Consciousness of ability to give. God created all beings with the power to realise the design of their existence. This is pre-eminently true of man. He has soul, will, affections, emotions, conscience, body, privileges, motives, and example.
2. Conviction of duty to give. Every one under the law was commanded to give. None was exempted. The principle still remains under the new dispensation. Individual effort is everlasting. No proxy in religion. Follow thou Me.

3. Practical promptitude to give. She contributed gloriously, and the tinkling of her tiny tokens has reverberated throughout the universe. The making power of the two mites has been felt in all the collections of Christendom ever since.

III. The display of true religion in spite of adverse circumstances wins the hearty commendation of Christ.Christ reports a farthing. He is alone in this. The sum was small, but it was an indication of profound feeling and great sacrifice. It was full of self-denial. The others of their much gave a little, but she of her little gave all. There was no suffering in their offerings. Religion was secondary to riches. Gold superseded God. If there is no sacrifice in our deeds, they are valueless in a moral sense. The widow went her way after depositing her gift, and probably never knew that she was observed. Perhaps it will be so with thee. Do thy best and thou shalt reap. Do thy best in the family, the business, the school, the Church, the world. Time is short. Work is urgent. Recompense is sure.B. D. Johns.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Mar. 12:41. The Church treasury.

1. The Church treasury.

1. Its supreme importance. The Church can no more succeed without its treasury than can a mill, factory, workshop, farm, or store.
(1) Church edifices can neither be built nor maintained without money.
(2) The ministry is sustained by the treasury.
(3) All the benevolent work of the Church waits on the treasury.
2. The treasury measures the love of Christs people for Him. Self-sacrifice. Money is the principal representative of value.

II. The people who cast money into it.

1. The multitude. None empty. Every one lay by, etc.
2. Jesus saw how much, etc.
3. How rather than what. Cheerful giver. Willing mind. Many gave from purse only; she from heart. Customlove.

Mar. 12:42-44. The greatness of the widows gift.

I. The greatness of a gift cannot be determined by its absolute amount; it can be truly ascertained only by a moral standard.

1. The first index on this moral standard points to the ability to bestow. The widow had given more than the wealthy in proportion to her ability. Their contributions were as much less than their living as the widows mites, which were all her living, were less than their gifts of gold. And, even while they stood at the Temple, their servants were busy in their rich dwellings, preparing savoury viands against their masters return. But the widows habitation was desolate in her absence; the fire had gone out upon her hearth; and she must return not to a luxurious feast, but to an empty board. In such circumstances abundant indeed was her contribution.
2. A second mark upon this standard indicates the disposition that prompts the gift. There may be no generosity in the most magnificent bequest, while a soul overflowing with love may accompany the humblest present. Here indeed is a sense in which her offering was greater than those of the worldlings. It was greater in her own soul. Small indeed was their gift in the estimation of their own secret thought. Inferior was its weight in the scales of conscience, but great and glorious the integrity and joyfulness of the widows spirit.
3. There is still another index on this moral standard which determines the greatness of a gift. This index points to the good effect resulting from the gift. How many hearts has this lofty spirit of the poor widow, thus celebrated by Christ, inspired with the same self-forgetful love and impelled to the same noble conduct! Viewed in its ultimate influence, then, her gift was greater than theirs; and, thus regarded, we may even say it was absolutely greater. For if we consider all the effects of her example in cherishing a true benevolence and leading others to be bountiful even the sum of the rich mens benefactions would dwindle and fade into nothing before the greatness and splendour of offerings devoted to the cause of religion which have grown, as an immense harvest from invisible seed, out of the widows mites. She gave not only to the Temple at Jerusalem, but to every Christian temple under the heaven whose foundations have since been laid. By a single act of self-denial she has been charitable to the whole world; and for what she did, in humility and sorrow that she could do no more, the whole world will confess itself under obligations and be grateful.

II. This subject naturally suggests an absolute truth, apart from the particular case presented in the text.

1. We may say, generally, it is not great but small things, not imposing but humble deeds, that make up the great sum of good influence. Look at all the great associations for the support of government, education, philanthropy, religion. It is not the talents, but the mites, by which they are nourished.
2. In regard to our own characters we may say the mites are more than the talents. It is not what we think and feel and do on extraordinary occasions that makes the bulk of character, but the silent and steady accumulation of our every-day desires and motives and habits of life. Religion consists not in spasmodic efforts, but persevering industrynot in doing much at one time, but all we can at all times. Think not thy little, if it be all thou canst, will be despised: think not thy much, if it be less than thy ability, will be accepted.C. A. Bartol.

Unconscious fame.She knew not that any had seen it: for the knowledge of eyes turned on her, even His, would have flushed with shame the pure cheek of her love; and any word, conscious notice, or promise would have marred and turned aside the rising incense of her sacrifice. But to all time has it remained in the Church, like the perfume of Marys alabaster that filled the house, this deed of self-denying sacrifice. More, far more, than the great gifts of their superfluity, which the rich cast in, was, and is to all time, the gift of absolute self-surrender and sacrifice, tremblingly offered by the solitary mourner. And though He spake not to her, yet the sunshine of His words must have fallen into the dark desolateness of her heart; and though perhaps she knew not why, it must have been a happy day of rich feast in the heart when she gave up her whole living unto God. And so perhaps is every sacrifice for God all the more blessed when we know not of its blessedness.A. Edersheim, D.D.

Uncoined charity.The humblest and feeblest among us may cast in their mite wherever there is a sick bedside to be prayed by, ignorance to be enlightened, or misery to be relieved. There are many widows still among us in heart like her who left her all in the treasury. May their useful and estimable class extend and persevere! True to their principles of doing all unto the Lord, and of giving in secret, may no apprehension of the scorn of the world, nor any misgiving of their doing good because the good they do seems small in amount, check their hands or chill their hearts: many a midnight prayer ascends for them from sleepless but grateful sufferers, many a blessing poured forth for them by helpless lips is registered on high; and still, when the Lord looks up to view how men are filling His treasury, He sees certain poor widows casting in thither their mites; and passing by unheeded the rich mens gifts, He fixes on them the praise of real charity.R. L. Browne.

A rule of giving for the rich.Different circumstances require different management, and there is a way of coming up to the poor widows attainments without doing exactly as she did. If a rich man were to give away his whole estate, and reduce himself to poverty or to hard labour, this would not only be doing as much, but a great deal more than the poor widow did; for she did not make any such great change in her circumstances, nor did she sink her state or condition at all lower than before. Her example therefore, or our Lords applauding it, is of no force as to obliging any one to throw himself out of that rank, station, or condition of life wherein God has placed him. Nor does the instance of the text oblige a man, when in a thriving way, to dispose of all the overplus, all the clear gains, at the years end: for how then could he go on to support that rank and station he is in, and to provide for his family? The poor widow might, by what she did, straiten herself for a day or two, and after that be in as good a condition as she was before. But were any trading or thriving men to give away all their increase, they would soon find their affairs run backwards, and would not be able to recover them. Well, then, how must we state the case with a rich man to make it answer to this in the text? The rule of proportion, I conceive, is this: that the richer sort, in order to give the more away in charity, should be content to practise some degree of self-denial, in like manner as the poor widow did. Let them retrench unnecessary expenses at least, abridge their pleasures, shorten their diversions, cut off as much as possible from the pomp and pride of life, to spend upon the poor. Besides this, let them not be oversolicitous as to futurities, providing handsomely for their children, or raising their families. The poor widow trusted God for her own necessary subsistence rather than make no offering at all to the treasury. And thus much at least may be expected of every man: that he contribute according to his perfect circumstances; and that no anxiety, either for himself or his children after him, ever hinder him from doing in proportion to what he at present enjoys. Be content with a moderate provision rather than grow covetous and defraud the poor; for, after all, Gods providence is the best security and His friendship the richest treasure we can have.Archdeacon Waterland.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 12

Mar. 12:41-42. The widows mites.In my pastorate at Wyoming, Pa., a brother Pettibone, since deceased, a man rich in faith, charity, and good works, cast five dollars into the church treasury every Lords Day; a poor widow cast into the same treasury five cents each Sunday. She was very poor, and, to provide for her six fatherless children, took in washing every week. Brother Pattibone came to me one day, and asked me to say to this widow that the church officers felt she ought not to pay anything for the support of the church; and, he added, tell her that I will pay the five cents extra each week for her. I called, and performed my errand as delicately as I could; but never before or since did I learn a lesson that taught me, as I was then taught, what it meant to give. As she heard my story the tears came to her eyes, and she answered: Do they want to take from me the comfort I experience in giving to the Lord? Think how much I owe to Him. My health is good, my children keep well, and I receive so many blessings I feel that I could not live if I did not make my little offering to Jesus each week. I left her humble dwelling, feeling that Providence had ordered the incident, to teach me a never-to-be-forgotten lesson, that giving is absolutely essential to true Christian discipleship and worship, and that our giving and all other acts of worship will be judged not by the amounts we give, nor the professions we make, but by the spirit, the motive of our giving and doing.R. W. Van Schaick.

The gifts of the poor.Jewish tradition, though it ever and painfully thrusts forward the reward, has some beautiful legends, allegories, and sayings about the gifts of the poor. One is to the effect that if one who is poor doeth charity, God says of him: This one is preventing Me. He has kept My commandments before they have come to him. I must recompense him. In Vayyikra, R. 3, we read of a woman whose offering of a handful of flour the priest despised, when God admonished him in a dream to value the gift as highly as if she had offered herself. The tractate Menachoth closes with these words: Alike as regards burnt offerings of beasts and those of fowls [those of the poor] and the meat offering, we find the expression for a sweet savour, to teach us that to offer much or to offer little is the same, provided only that a person direct mind and heart toward God.A. Edersheim, D.D.

Mar. 12:43-44. Liberality must correspond with means.Sir Thomas Sutton, the founder of the Charter House, was one of the wealthiest merchants of his day. Fuller tells how he was overheard one day praying in his garden: Lord, Thou hast given me a large and liberal estate; give me also a heart to make use of it.

Oracles are said to have more than once proclaimed that the hecatombs of noble oxen with gilded horns, that were offered up ostentatiously by the rich, were less pleasing to the gods than the wreaths of flowers and the modest, reverential worship of the poor. In general, however, the service of the Temple had little or no connexion with morals, and the change which Christianity effected in this respect was one of its most important benefits to mankind.W. E. H. Lecky.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

9. THE POOR WIDOW AND HER OFFERING 12:41-44

TEXT 12:41-44

And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they which are casting into the treasury: for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 12:41-44

693.

Identify a diagram of the templelocate the treasury.

694.

What was of particular interest to our Lord as He watched the worshippers at the Treasury?

695.

Why was the multitude giving?

696.

For what was the money used?

697.

Is there some connection in thought with this widow and the ones mentioned in Mar. 12:40?

698.

How much did the widow give?

699.

If she had two coins why didnt she keep one? Wasnt she foolhardy in her generosity?

700.

Why call the disciples to Himwhere were they? Cf. Mar. 13:1.

701.

According to Jesus what is a truly liberal gift?

COMMENT

TIME.A.D. 30Tuesday, April 4
PLACE.The temple area, probably the court of the Gentiles.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTS,Luk. 21:1-4.

OUTLINE.1. Jesus by the treasury, Mar. 12:41. 2. He sees a poor widow, Mar. 12:42. 3. He points out true generosity, Mar. 12:43-44.

ANALYSIS

I.

JESUS BY THE TREASURY, Mar. 12:41.

1.

He was seated near for careful observation.

2.

He noticed the manner of giving as well as the amount.

3.

The rich were especially conspicuous.

II. HE SEES A POOR WIDOW, Mar. 12:42.

1.

Of her own choice she came.

2.

She put in two copper coins amounting to less than a cent.

III.

HE POINTS OUT TRUE GENEROSITY, Mar. 12:43-44.

1.

He called His disciples to Him.

2.

Attention was called to the widow as giving more than anyone else.

3.

Her heart was given with her giftshe gave her lifeher living in the gift.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

JESUS BY THE TREASURY.

And Jesus sat over against the treasury.The treasury test:The lesson taught by this narrative ismans treatment of Gods treasury the true touchstone of piety. I. GOD HAS A TREASURY IN HIS CHURCH. God has conferred on man various kinds of material possessions and property for uses and enjoyment. Among these, money has become the portable representative and circulating medium of all. Far above these possessions is the privilege of sacred worship. This would be an urgent necessity and a lofty privilege even if man were holy. How much more now that he is a sinner! As all material arrangements are costful, so also is worship. If man could not meet this cost, God would. As man can, Why should he not? Is he not honoured in being allowed to do it? Does not this test his character?

II.

HE SEES A POOR WIDOW.

II. MEN CONTRIBUTE TO GODS TREASURY IN VARIOUS MEASURES AND FROM VARIOUS MOTIVES. The Divine rule has ever been according to ones power. This principle is definitely stated in an instance for universal guidance (Lev. Mar. 12:7; Mar. 12:11.): As God hath prospered, According to that a man hath. In the temple scene before us, we behold the devotion of every coin, from the golden mineh, of three guineas value, to the mite of brass, three-quarters of a farthing. Motives also differ, often as much as coins. Some give from necessity. Some give from a sense of honesty; if they did not give, debt and dishonour must ensue. Some give with pride and self-righteousness even before God. Some give from habit acquired from youth. Some give with holy love and joy, as a blessed privilege and rich delight: thus did the widow; so also have many done till now. III. THE SAVIOUR OBSERVES HOW MEN TREAT HIS TREASURY, AND BY THIS TESTS THEIR LOVE TO HIMSELF. As Worship is mans highest act, its gifts should be rich and substantial. Jesus beheld men at the treasury. He still directs His eye thither; not that He needs mans gifts; but deeds and gifts test mans love; also they elevate and refresh mans heart. Men test others love by deeds and gifts. Jesus challenges us to test the love of God thus.

III.

HE POINTS OUT TRUE GENEROSITY.

IV. JESUS ESTIMATES GIFTS CHIEFLY BY WHAT IS RETAINED. This principle alone accounts for the higher worth of the widows gift. 1. This estimate of gifts according to what is retained agrees with reason. Mans gauge of the moral value of a deed is the power of the doer. The child is not expected to put forth the strength of a man. Less force is looked for from the feeble than the strong man. A small gift from a narrow income is esteemed as much as a large gift from a vast income. 2. This treasury test accords with general life. This principle is acknowledged in all departments of life. Men readily meet the cost of their chosen pursuits and pleasures, in the measure of their means. True patriots willingly pay national charges, according to their ability. Faithful husbands provide for their wives, in the measure of their power. Loving parents nourish their children, as their resources allow, Should not Christians thus provide for the service and glory of Christ? Notice Gods rebuke of Israels neglect of this principle (Isa. 43:22-24; Jer. 7:18). 3. This treasury test accords with universal Scripture demands. God tested mans confidence and honesty by the forbidden fruit. We know the sad issues. Jesus tests our obedience, love, and devotion by a treasury. Besides the large dedication of their property to the national religious service, Israel was commanded to open a treasury to the Lord, to build a tabernacle (Exodus 35, 36); David to build a temple (1 Chronicles 29); Joash to meet the expenses of worship (2Ki. 12:1; 2Ki. 12:9). This woman would give her all to His worship. Who doubts her love? But did she act prudently? She acted according to the rule. She acted for the hour and the occasion. She would not make herself an exception to the rule. She gave her all to God. She left the future to Him. Does any one think she starved by this? Behold what a grandeur the smallest service acquires, when it is done for God! Observe what magnificent interest and enduring renown accrue from the devotion of a creatures all to God. Jesus did not disparage the other gifts; He simply indicated their true relative value, and attached to the widows His highest commendation. Application:1. God has a treasury for human hearts, His own heart. He would have your heart centre in love, safety, and joy in His own heart. He wants you there, as a creature who can love, serve, and delight in Him. He claims and demands you for His. Christ has died to redeem and win you back to Him. Will you give yourself to Him now just as you are, that He may make you all that He can delight in, that you may find in Him all that your soul can desire? 2. Christ gathers the funds of His kingdom in His Church. 3. All worshipers are required to give as a duty. 4. To give cheerfully is to elevate a duty into a privilege. 5. Jesus thus tests His friends and foes, the obedient and the disobedient. 6. Jesus waits at the treasury for your gift, to receive it at your hands, to bless it, and to teach you how to use it. If Christ is Lord of your mind, and heart and life, let Him be also of your silver and gold. (John Ross.)

FACT QUESTIONS 12:41-44

812.

What is the touchstone of true piety?

813.

What is the portable representative and circulating medium of all material possessions?

814.

State two measures and two motives men use in contributing to Gods treasury.

815.

Just how does the Saviour test our love to Him?

816.

How does Jesus chiefly estimate mans gifts? Show how this principle agrees with reason.

817.

Illustrate the above principle from a life situation.

818.

By three examples show how the treasury test accords with all of the scripture.

819.

What is Gods treasury for human hearts?

820.

Where does God gather His funds for His kingdom?

821.

Are we required to give? Discuss.

822.

If we do not give our gold and silver to Christ can we in honesty say we have given anything else to Him?

823.

Please remember the two things that God said He saw and remembered about that good man Cornelius? Cf. Act. 10:4.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(41) And Jesus sat over against the treasury.The narrative that follows is found in St. Luke also, but not in St. Matthew. The word used is not the Corban of Mat. 27:6, and is, perhaps, more definitely local. The treasure-chamber of the Temple would receive the alms which were dropped into the trumpet-shaped vessels that stood near the entrance for the purpose of receiving them, but they probably contained also the cups and other implements of gold and silver that were used in the Temple ritual.

Cast money into.The word indicates primarily copper or bronze coin, but probably, like the French argent, had acquired a wider range of meaning.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

THE TWO MITES OF THE POOR WIDOW, Mar 12:41-44.

This beautiful narrative is given by Mark and Luke alone.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

41. Jesus sat over against the treasury The successive contests with rulers, Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, are scarce concluded, and the rage of his enemies like a fire is burning. But from those high excitements the Lord subsides not into reaction, but to a calm tranquillity. No unholy passion disturbs his soul, no wounded recollection haunts his conscience, no plot of murder excites his fancy. He rushes not from the temple but seats himself in self-possessed repose, watching the doings at the temple treasury.

In the court of the women, near the pillars that lined its square, there stood ranged at due intervals eleven chests, of a trumpet form, to receive the offerings of Israel. (See our temple plan.) These offerings were not the tribute for the government, but the donation of liberal hearts for the expenses of the temple. They were indications, more or less sincere, of the value set by the offerer upon the worship and the house of God.

Many that were rich cast in much The fact of their wealth destroys not the merit of a genuine liberality. For experience shows that a wealthy purse is no enlargement of a covetous heart. The rich in pocket are often poor in soul and scanty in liberality. Hence, all the more noble is the picture of the wealthy man, rich in soul, who from his abundance gives his much. This is the most truly enviable point in the fortune of the rich.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And he say down opposite the Treasury and watched how the crowd dropped money into the Treasury, and many who were rich dropped in large amounts.’

‘The Treasury.’ This probably referred to the thirteen trumpet shaped receptacles which were placed against the wall of the Court of the Women, the actual closed box being presumably behind the wall. Each had a separate purpose. One was for the purchase of materials for sacrifices, one was for the upkeep of the Temple, and so on. Alternately it may have been an opening on the outside of the Treasury making possible gifts to the Treasury.

‘He sat down opposite -.’ He wanted to watch men as they gave so that He could bring home a lesson to His disciples from it. No doubt some of the richer walked up ostentatiously with large sums of money and publicly dropped them in. They were no better than the Rabbis previously described. They were buying publicity and respect, not giving to God. And then there were others, humbler and truly expressing gratitude to God.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Poor Widow Who Gave More Than Everyone Else (12:41-44).

In contrast with the greed of some of the Scribes (Mar 12:40), and the love of money of the rich young man (Mar 10:22), we now have drawn to our attention the generosity and self-sacrifice of a humble poor widow. Here was ‘true discipleship’ from one who was not yet a disciple. And the main point that comes out from it is that God sees her as having given more than everyone else because He measured all their giving by what they had left.

Analysis.

a And He say down opposite the Treasury and watched how the crowd dropped money into the Treasury (Mar 12:41 a).

b And many who were rich dropped in large amounts (Mar 12:41 b).

c And there came a poor widow, and she dropped in two mites which make a penny (a few cents) (Mar 12:42).

d And He called to Him His disciples, and said to them (Mar 12:43 a).

c “Truly I say to you, this poor widow dropped in more than all those who are dropping money into the Treasury” (Mar 12:43 b).

b “For they all dropped in out of what they had to spare” (Mar 12:44 a).

a “But she of her want did drop in all that she had, even all that she had to live on” (Mar 12:44 b).

Note that in ‘a’ many threw gifts into the Treasury, but in the parallel only one threw in all that she had. In ‘b’ the rich dropped in large amounts, and in the parallel they did so out of what they had to spare. In ‘c’ the widow dropped in a tiny amount, and in the parallel she was seen as having dropped in more than all of them. Centrally in ‘d’ His message was directed at the disciples.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jesus Teaches on the Widow’s Mites ( Luk 21:1-4 ) In Mar 12:41-44 we have the account of Jesus teaching in the Temple about the widow’s two mites, which she gave sacrificially.

Mar 12:41  And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Mar 12:41 Comments – Just as Jesus watched how people cast money in the treasury, we can also observe how people do things in the name of the Lord. The Holy Spirit can Scripturally give us insight into people’s true motives. God searches man’s heart.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Widow’s Mite. Mar 12:41-44 .

v. 41. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.

v. 42. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

v. 43. And He called unto Him His disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury;

v. 44. for all they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all she had, even all her living.

The Temple treasuries, thirteen in number according to transmitted accounts, were located in the Court of the Women. Jesus, being weary of His labors of teaching and arguing all day, sat down near these collection boxes, or repositories, the money of each of which was designated for special purposes,. and carefully watched the multitude as they cast money into the Temple treasury. The evangelist states that many rich people, perhaps some of the merchants that came to Jerusalem only for the great festivals, threw in much. A few pieces of gold more or less made very little difference to them. It gave them the satisfied feeling of having done their duty when they dropped their superfluous money into the box. But suddenly a woman attracted the interest of the Lord. A poor widow she was, that probably had to support herself as best she could. Two mites she had in her possession, and, though she might have kept at least one of them, she threw them both into the treasury. “Another coin, translated ‘mite,’ is in Greek lepton, ‘the small one, ‘Or the ‘bit’ It was two of these that the widow cast into the treasury, where it is said that two of them equaled a quadrans. The ‘mite’ was, then, of the value of 1/8 of a cent. It was doubtless the smallest coin in circulation, but it has not yet been identified with certainty with any coin that archeology has discovered. ” There was a lesson for the disciples in this act of the poor widow, and therefore Jesus called them over quickly and pointed out the greatness of the sacrifice. In proportion, she had given more than all the rest that had cast money into the treasury. For, though many of them may have given money equal to thousands of dollars, it was all given from their surplus; these amounts they would never miss; theirs was no sacrifice in any sense. But how different the gift of the widow! She had, out of the depth of her want, in her destitute state, given all that she possessed, her whole means of living; she had sacrificed the last necessities of life to the Lord, and apparently out of a heart filled with free love for the God of Israel, since Jesus in no way censures her manner of giving. That is, in truth, cheerful giving, and such givers the Lord loveth. A special warning is in place here, since many people try to excuse their infinitesimal gifts for the Lord with a reference to the widow’s mite. If cases like hers would actually happen in our days, the treasuries of the Church would be filled to the bursting point, so that the disposal of the money would become a real problem. Let the Christians of the present time learn to be only one tenth as liberal and sacrificing in their gifts to the Lord as this poor widow, and there would never be need of any more cries for help.

Summary. Christ tells the parable of the wicked husbandmen, is tempted by the Herodians and Pharisees with regard to the tribute to Caesar, answers a question of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection, names the foremost commandment of the Law, asks a question concerning David’s Son and Lord, warns against the scribes, and praises the poor widow for her gift to the Temple treasury.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Mar 12:41. And Jesus sat over-against the treasury, Jesus was now in the treasury, or that part of the women’s court, where the chests were placed for receiving the offerings of those who came to worship. These chests, being thirteen in number, had each of them an inscription fixed to the pillars of the portico which surrounded the court, and signifying for what use the offerings put into them were destined. Hence the propriety of St. Mark’s expression, Jesus sat over-against the treasury; he sat in the portico of the women’s court, opposite to the pillars where the chests for receiving theofferingsofthepeople were fixed. From these voluntary contributions they bought wood for the altar, salt, and other necessaries, not provided for any other way. It was in this court of the women, according to the Talmudists, that the libation of water from Siloam was made annually at the feast of tabernacles, as a solemn public thanksgiving and prayer for the former and latter rain; to which rite it is supposed that our Lord alluded, Joh 7:38.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mar 12:41-44 . Comp. Luk 21:1-4 . It is surprising that this highly characteristic and original episode, which according to Eichthal, indeed, is an interpolation and repeated by Luke, has not been adopted in Matthew. But after the great rebuking discourse and its solemn close, the little isolated picture seems not to have found a place.

] comp. Josephus, Antt. xix. 6. 1, where Agrippa hangs a golden chain . According to the Rabbins it consisted of thirteen trumpet-shaped brazen chests ( ), and was in the fore-court of the women. It was destined for the reception of pious contributions for the temple, as well as of the temple-tribute. See, generally, Lightfoot, Hor. p. 539 f.; Reland, Antt. i. 8. 14. The treasure-chambers ( ) in Josephus, Bell. v. 5. 2 and vi. 5. 2, have no bearing here. Comp. Ebrard, p. 495. The word itself (comp. Joh 8:20 ) is found also in the Greek writers (Strabo, ii. p. 319), and frequently in the LXX. and the Apocrypha.

not money in general (Grotius, Fritzsche, and others), but copper money, which most of the people gave. See Beza.

] imperfect, as at Mar 12:17-18 . The reading (Fritzsche) is too weakly attested, and is not necessary.

Mar 12:42 f. ] in contrast with the : one single poor widow. A , so called from its smallness (Xen. Cyr. i. 4. 11 : ), was 1/8th of an as in copper. See on Mat 5:26 . It is the same definition in the Talmud, that two make a ; see Lightfoot, p. 638 f.

On the fact that it is not “a quadrans” but , that is mentioned, Bengel has aptly remarked: “quorum unum vidua retinere potuerat.” The Rabbinical ordinance: “Non ponat homo in cistam eleemosynarum” (Bava bathra f. 10. 2), has no bearing here (in opposition to Schoettgen), for here we have not to do with alms.

.] “de re magna,” Bengel.

] is said according to the scale of means; all the rest still kept back much for themselves, the widow nothing (see what follows), a sacrifice which Jesus estimates in its moral greatness; , Theophylact.

The present participle (see the critical remarks) is not inappropriate (Fritzsche), but designates those who were throwing, whose was present, when the widow .

Mar 12:44 . . ] (not ) is the antithesis of . . in Mar 12:43 . Comp. 2Co 8:14 ; Phi 4:12 . Out of her want, out of her destitution, she has cast in all that (in cash) she possessed, her whole (present) means of subsistence. Observe the earnest twofold designation. On , victus, that whereby one lives, comp. Luk 8:43 ; Luk 15:12 ; Luk 15:30 ; Hesiod, Op. 230; Xen. Mem. iii. 11. 6; Soph. Phil. 919, 1266; Dem. 869, 25; Plat. Gorg. p. 486 D; and Stallbaum in loc.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

8. The Widows Mite, and our Lords view of the Piety and Good Works of the Jews. Mar 12:41-44

(Parallel: Luk 21:1-4)

41And Jesus23 sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast24 into the treasury: 44For all they did cast in of their abundance: but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

See the parallel passages in Luke.This apparently trifling history is of inestimable importance. It shows how the Lord, in perfect quiet of spirit, can still seat Himself in the temple, after He had ended His great days work in it, namely, after the silence of the Sanhedrim regarding His person, in which its rejection of Him lay,after He had opened His mouth, and pronounced the great denunciations, and with these had, as theocratic King, whom the authorities of Israel rejected, taken His departure from the temple. In this He seems like a deposed king, who seats Himself, as he leaves, on the lowest step of his palace, not to weep on account of his fall, but to bless the poor child of a palace-domestic; or like one excommunicated, who is able, under the new burden of its fanatical ban, to judge with the greatest mildness, and freedom from prejudice, that religious society which cast him out. It is the divine manifestation of His freedom from all fanatic disposition and exasperation, with which He had fought through the great decisive epochs, made His denunciatory speech, and presented His great judgment-picture. In this sunlike clearness and purity, the old Catholic Christians did not in general leave the heathen temples, and but few of the old Protestants the temples of Roman Catholicism. This eternally figurative import is gained by our passage in consequence of its position. In itself, however, it shows us, in a most instructive narrative and act of our Lord, how His eyeand how, consequently, Gods view, and the Spiritsrests upon the treasury of the Lord, and marks the act and manner in which we give. Luke has recorded this circumstance likewise; but Mark presents it more picturesquely and more fully. The Lords seating Himself opposite to the treasury, the statement of the worth of the mite, the summoning of the disciples to Himself, and the sublime elevation of tone characterizing the decision,in all this we see plainly how important Mark deemed the history. It stands there to show that the Lord has His eye upon the offerings in His temple, and that, amid all the chaff of seeming religion, He finds out the noble grain of spirituality and truth.

Mar 12:41. The treasury, The sacrifice-fund is meant, which was distinguished from the proper temple-treasury, but yet, as belonging to it, was denoted by its name (Josephus, Ant. 19:6, 1). The Rabbis tell us that this treasury consisted of thirteen brazen chests (, trumpets; certainly not because the chests themselves were trumpet-shaped, but because the mouths through which the money was cast into the chests were wide at the top and narrow below). They stood in the outer court of the women. This offering-fund received also the voluntary gifts for the temple. Lightfoot, Hor.: Nine chests were for the appointed temple-tribute, and for the sacrifice-tribute (that is, money-gifts, instead of the sacrifices); four chests for freewill-offerings, for wood, incense, temple-decoration, and burnt-offerings. Before the Passover, freewill-offerings, in addition to the temple-tax, were generally presented. No one, we may easily suppose, entered the temple without putting something in. This is also the custom in the synagogue. The Church has taken an example from this habit.Many that were rich cast in much.They were not content to give only copper, which was the general offering, but presented silver. Or, perhaps, gave in copper, because a large gift in that metal was of greater bulk, and made more noise.

Mar 12:42. A certain poor widow.She is singled out from the whole crowd of donors.Two mites, The very smallest copper coin. Two made one Roman quadrans, which was equal to the fourth of an as: ten or sixteen ases were equal to a denarius, which is equivalent to about five groschen, four pfennigs Prussian money (6 pence, nearly). An as in Ciceros time was worth nearly four pfennigs (or nearly a halfpenny); hence the quadrans would be one pfennig (one-tenth of a penny,) and the mite half a pfennig. She gave two; and Bengel remarks, she could have kept one. The rabbinic injunction, Non ponat homo in cistam eleemosynarum, is of no force here, because alms were not under consideration. Meyer. Nevertheless, the inference drawn by Schttgen is by no means foreign; only it is probable this rabbinic habit became, at a later period, the matter of rabbinic legislation.

Mar 12:43. More in than all they.That is, in proportion to her means, as the Lord Himself immediately explains.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. See Exegetical Note.

2. Jesus, to a certain degree as stranger, or observer of a religion now become foreign to Him, presents us with an ever-enduring example of the way in which one should, in the spirit of Christianity, look upon and judge all religious systems and associations. Such was the conduct of Paul at Athens, Acts 17. He found out the altar of the Unknown God.

3. The last object on which our Lords eyes rested in the temple.The widows mite. It is not said that the gifts of the others were worthless. Many possessed, no doubt, no worth (Mat 6:1); others, a greater or a lesser. The greatest value, however, attached itself to the widows mite.

4. And how much interest may that mite, in the course of the entire history of the Church, have accrued?

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See Doctrinal Reflections.The Lords sublime peace of soul in leaving the temple, where He had met no recognition.The humble resting-place of the Lord at the temple-gate, after He had been refused the throne.The backward glance of mildness which the Banished cast upon the Church system by which He had been banished.Christs example teaches the heaven-wide distinction between godly zeal and ungodly fanaticism.The Lords eyes are upon all offerings.The mite of the widow as a gift: 1. The smallest gift; 2. the largest gift.The freewill-offering of the heart, the real inner existence and life of the temple.Christ observes with emotion the dying embers of the expiring fire of God in the temple.The distinction between the treasury of the Lord in the law-church and Gospel-church (there, chiefly intended for symbolic temple necessities; here, Chiefly for the poor. See the lame beggar at the Beautiful gate of the temple, whom Peter heals).The ancient estimable institution of Church alms.Christo in pauperibus.

Starke:Canstein:The Lord Jesus pays attention, without doubt, to mens alms; hence they should be willing to give, and take earnest heed how they give.Bibl. Wirt.:Christians must willingly deposit in Gods treasury, and contribute to the support of Gods servicechurches, schools, the poor, 2Co 9:7.J. Hall:Where distribution is made to the poor, there Jesus pays attention, and takes pleasure therein.O God, I have only two mites, a body and a soul.Canstein:Christ remarks a compassionate and believing heart, when alms are being given.Nova. Bibl. Tub.:Gods opinion regarding good works is infinitely different from that of men. Those who give the most, give often the least; and those who give the least, the most.Servants must not exclude themselves from almsgiving.

Braune:He says, Verily I say unto you, because He wishes to make His judgment abide, as though it were a dogma and fundamental principle in His divine kingdom.How she must have fixed her trust upon God, and not have cared for the morrow; since she did to-day, what to-day brought with it, Mal 1:8; Mar 12:14.

Schleiermacher:If there had only been many such to give as this poor widow, who was ready to contribute all that she could claim as her own, to the support of Gods service, then might a purer zeal have developed itself, which had been far from degenerating into that tempest which destroyed the temple, and had contributed rather to prevent the downfall. This extreme tendency to externals on the part of the many was the first germ of destruction to that people.

Footnotes:

[23][Mar 12:41. wanting in B., L., ., Tischendorf, Meyer; bracketed by Lachmann.]

[24][Mar 12:43.Lachmann, after A., B., D., Origen, reads .]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 1453
THE WIDOWS MITE

Mar 12:41-44. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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.

THE morality of the Gospel is applauded by most: yet there are few who do not, by their explanations and comments, deprive it of half its excellence. The turning of the left cheek to him who has smitten us on the right; the surrendering of our cloak to him who has already taken away our coat; the forgiving of an offending brother, not only seventy times, but seventy times seven; these, and other precepts of a sublime import, are reduced to little more than an abstinence from revenge; so anxious are men to reduce the Scripture to their own practice, rather than to elevate their practice to the standard of Gods word. The same would be done in reference to the great duty of liberality; but happily an example is set before us which cannot possibly be explained away. Had the conduct of this poor widow been merely set forth in a way of precept, instead of being exhibited in actual life, it would have shared the fate of those other precepts, and have been pared down to a general commendation of self-denying charity. But here is no opportunity afforded us for talking about Eastern metaphors, and figurative expressions; here is a plain simple fact, decidedly approved by Him who cannot err; and consequently, it may be regarded as an illustrious example, which, as far as we may be in similar circumstances, we shall do well to follow.
Let us consider,

I.

Our Lords commendation of the widow

[In the temple there was a treasury, where all who felt their hearts disposed to make a voluntary offering to the Lord, were enabled to do it: and the money so collected was expended in the service of the sanctuary, either in sacrifices that were to be offered, or in the wood, and salt, and other things necessary for the offering of them. Depraved as that generation was, the custom of contributing freely for these purposes very generally prevailed: it seems, that the people in general, and not merely a few liberal individuals, cast in their contributions. Many that were rich contributed largely: but a poor widow, who possessed only a single farthing in the world, gave that, even all her living.

Now it may well be doubted whether there be a man upon earth who would not have disapproved of this act, if our Lord himself had not expressly commended it: they would have blamed it as unnecessary, as useless, as presumptuous: unnecessary, because God could not require any offering at the hands of one who was so indigent; useless, because a farthing towards the expenses of the temple was literally no more than a drop in the ocean; and presumptuous, because to cast away her all, was to tempt God, and to expect a further supply from him, when she was throwing away the supply he had already afforded her.

But our blessed Lord took pains, (if we may so speak,) to express his approbation of it. He called his Disciples to him, to inform them of it, and to declare to them his sentiments respecting it. We do not apprehend that he knew the circumstances from any conversation he had had with her: he had no need to be informed by others, because he himself was omniscient: and he declared without hesitation, that this donation of hers, small as it might appear, and highly indiscreet, was indeed both great and good: it was great, inasmuch that it exceeded all the accumulated presents of the rich who had contributed; since they had only given a part of their property, out of their abundance; whereas she, of her want, had given all that she possessed, even all her living: it was also good, because she had given it with a single eye to the glory of God; and God, who knew the motive by which she had been actuated, accepted it as an offering of a sweet-smelling savour.]

Let us now turn our attention to,

II.

The instruction to be gathered from it

Among many other lessons we may learn from it,

1.

How to estimate charity

[We are apt to estimate it by the amount that is given on any occasion: but this affords no proper criterion for judging of real charity: that must be judged of, first, by the proportion which the donation bears to the ability of the donor; and, next, by the disposition and design of him that gives it. Donations that are large in the actual amount, may yet be small, when taken in connexion with the donors opulence: whilst the smallest gifts, as in the instance before us, may be truly great, on account of the indigence of him that bestows them. This is told us by St. Paul, who says, that God accepts them according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not a: if only there be [Note: 2Co 8:12.] willing mind, the amount of the gift makes no difference in his eyes [Note: 2Co 8:12.]. That which gives every thing its chief value is, its being done with an unfeigned desire to please and honour him. Without that we may give all our goods to feed the poor, and yet have not one atom of that charity which will be approved of our God [Note: 1Co 13:1-3.].]

2.

How to practise it

[Much was there in the conduct of that poor widow that is deserving of imitation. We should dispense our charity secretly. We are well assured, that there was nothing of ostentation in her upon this occasion; else our Lord would not have bestowed such commendation upon her. She wanted none to be spectators of her liberality; it was sufficient for her that God was privy to it. Thus our left hand should not know what our right hand doeth. There are occasions indeed, when, for the sake of example, it is necessary that our liberality should be known: but, when that is not the case, we should rather affect privacy, and be satisfied with approving ourselves to God.

We should also dispose of our money cheerfully. She needed not to be urged to it: she was happy in serving God [Note: Ready willing. See 1Ti 6:18 and 2Co 9:7.]: and doubtless, instead of imagining him indebted to her for any service she could render, she considered herself infinitely indebted to him for the disposition he had given her.

We should also impart liberally of what we possess. If any be disposed to set aside her example as singular, and not intended for our imitation, we appeal to similar conduct in the Churches of Macedonia; where, in the midst of deep poverty, they abounded unto the riches of liberality; and gave, not only according to their power, but even beyond their power, being willing of themselves, and praying the Apostle with much entreaty to be the distributor of their alms [Note: 2Co 8:2-4.]. We may indeed be foolishly prodigal in giving where the occasion does not require it: but, if we have really an eye to the honour of God, we need fear no excess. Many may proudly talk of giving their mite; but we shall not find many that will really do it: but the more we can deny ourselves for God, the more acceptably shall we serve him.]

3.

How to act on the present occasion [Note: If this be the subject of a Charity Sermon, a comparison may here be instituted, between the occasions for exertion; and the urgency of the particular occasion be insisted on. It may also be stated, that, if carnal sacrifices were offered to God by means of the contributions in the one case, the spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving will abound in the other. It may also be suggested, that the Lord Jesus has his eye upon the treasury, and is observant of every one, to mark, both what he gives, and by what motive he is actuated: and that he will bear testimony to our liberality in the day of judgment, and confer on us a reward proportioned to it. 2Co 9:6.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Ver. 41. And beheld ] He still sits and seeth the condition, gift, and mind of every almsgiver; and weighs all, not by the worth of the gift, but by the will of the giver. Lycurgus enjoined the Lacedaemonians to offer small sacrifices. For God, said he, respects more the internal devotion than the external oblation.

How the people cast money ] , brass; the worst was thought good enough for God and his poor. Something men will do, but as little as they can.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

41 44. ] THE WIDOW’S MITES. Luk 21:1-4 ; probably from a common origin.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

41. . ] This is usually understood of thirteen chests , which stood in the court of the women, into which were thrown contributions for the temple, or the tribute (of Mat 17:24 ). But it is hardly likely that they would be called ., and we hear of a building by this name in Jos. Antt. xix. 6. 1. Lcke, on Joh 8:20 , believes some part of the court of the women to be intended, perhaps a chamber in connexion with these chests.

Our Lord had at this time taken his leave of the temple , and was going out of it between Mat 23 end, and 24.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mar 12:41-44 . The widow’s offering (Luk 21:1-4 ). This charming story comes in with dramatic effect, after the repulsive picture of the greedy praying scribe. The reference to the widows victimised by the hypocrites may have suggested it to the evangelist’s mind. It bears the unmistakable stamp of an authentic reminiscence, and one can imagine what comfort it would bring to the poor, who constituted the bulk of the early Gentile Church (Schanz).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mar 12:41 . : Jesus, a close and keen observer of all that went on (Mar 11:11 ), sits down at a spot convenient for noticing the people casting their contributions into the temple treasury. ( , Persian, = , Hesychius). Commentators are agreed in thinking that the reference is to the treasury in the court of the women, consisting of thirteen brazen trumpet-shaped receptacles, each destined for its distinctive gifts, indicated by an inscription, so many for the temple tribute, and money gifts for sacrifice; others for incense, wood, etc.; all the gifts having reference to the service carried on. The gifts were people’s offerings, generally moderate in amount: “the Peter’s pence of the Jews” (Holtzmann, H. C.). may be meant for money in general, copper representing all sorts (Fritzsche, Grotius, etc.); but there seems to be no good reason why we should not take it strictly as denoting contributions in copper, the ordinary, if not exclusive, money gifts (Meyer; Holtzmann, H. C.). , etc., many rich were casting in much: Jesus was near enough to see that, also to notice exactly what the widow gave. Among the rich givers might be some of the praying scribes who had imposed on widows by their show of piety, suggesting reflections on where wealthy givers get the money they bestow for pious purposes. That is not a matter of indifference to the Kingdom of God, whatever it may be to beneficiaries.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 12:41-44

41And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43Calling 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; 44for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Mar 12:41 “the treasury” The Mishnah (and Alfred Edersheim’s Temple, pp 48-49) says there were thirteen trumpet shaped chests, each marked for a specific charitable purpose, located in the Court of the Women. There has never been found any physical evidence of these nor any other literary confirmation beside the Mishna of their existence.

Mar 12:42 “two small copper coins” This is literally “lepton” (the thin one), which was worth only a fraction (1/24 or 1/96) of a denarius. It was the least valuable Jewish copper coin.

“which amount to a cent” This is the Latin term quadrans, which was equivalent to the lepton, the smallest Roman copper coin (1/4 of an assarion, which was itself 1/16 of a denarius). Mark was probably written to Romans.

SPECIAL TOPIC: COINS IN USE IN PALESTINE IN JESUS’ DAY

Mar 12:43 “‘Truly'” This is literally “amen.” See Special Topic at Mar 3:28.

Mar 12:44 This woman’s complete faith is contrasted with the scribes’ religious pride and shallowness. They rip off widows’ resources. This widow gives all her resources to God and thereby depends on Him by faith to provide her needs. In giving, God looks at the heart, not the amount (cf. 2 Corinthians 8-9). But also notice the amount was all she had. Giving, like deeds and words, reveals the heart! See SPECIAL TOPIC: WEALTH at Mar 10:23.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Mar 12:41-44 is parallel with Luk 21:1-4. See notes there.

the treasury. Situated in the women’s court, occupying about 200 feet square, and surrounded by a colonnade. Inside, against the wall, were thirteen receptacles, called “trumpets” (from their shape) nine being for legal dues, and four for voluntary contributions. All labelled for their special objects.

beheld = observed thoughtfully. Greek. theoreo. App-133.

cast = are casting.

money = copper money; called prutah, two of which made a farthing.

into. Greek. eis. App-104.

cast in = were casting [in] (as He looked on),

much = many [coins]. Referring to number, not to value.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

41-44.] THE WIDOWS MITES. Luk 21:1-4; probably from a common origin.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mar 12:41. , beheld) Christ, in our worship at even the present day, beholds all.-, , many rich men) The state was then flourishing.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Mar 12:41-44

12. THE WIDOW’S MITE

Mar 12:41-44

(Luk 21:1-4)

41 And he sat down over against the treasury,–The treasury was the receptacle into which the people deposited the contributions which the law of Moses required all of them to bring when they came up to the annual festivals. (Dent. 16:16, 17.)

and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury –Jesus sat opposite to and in full sight of the treasury, where he could see all who contributed.

and many that were rich cast in much.–“Many,” not all, of the more wealthy contributed freely.

42 And there came a poor widow,–Alone and lonely, probably poorly dressed. She attracts attention of observers–probably calling forth sympathy from some; but Jesus regards her with admiration. Perhaps she was one of those widows some hypocritical scribe had robbed.

and she cast in two mites,–A small coin made of brass, the smallest in use among the Jews.

which make a farthing.–The two mites made a farthing. The mite was much less than any coin we have, as the farthing was less than an English farthing. It was worth about three mills and a half, or one-third of a cent.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury:–That is, more in proportion to her means, and therefore more than was acceptable to God. It does not mean more in value than all which the others had put in, but it showed more love to the sacred cause, more self-denial, and more sincerity in what she did. This is the rule by which the Lord will reward us. (2Co 8:12.) It was in the widow’s case a freewill offering. How it was in the case of the others cannot be so decidedly known; for some doubtless from proper motives cast in their gifts. Yet from the character of the leading classes, very justly represented by the scribes (verses 38-40), it may be correctly presumed that a majority of those casting in much did it not so much from love to God as from love of human praise.

44 for they all did cast in of their superfluity;–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.

but she of her want–Of her poverty–out of her deficiency; while the others gave out of their excess, superabundance–their overflow.

did cast in all that she had, even all her living.–All that she had on which to live. She trusted in God to supply her wants, and devoted her scanty property entirely to him. This poor widow gave all the money she had at that time, and all that she had to live upon, at least for that day. Luke (Luk 21:4) says: “All the living that she had,” would fast in order to give. She felt what she gave, they did not to her it was real self-denial, but not to them. In love she devoted all to God, strong faith in his providential care. There are two ways in which to estimate the value of contributions; first with reference to the benevolent object on which the money is to be expended; and second, with reference to the spiritual good resulting to the contributor. Estimated according to the former standard, the larger gifts of the rich were the more valuable, because they would accomplish more in feeding the poor and in providing for the expenses of the temple. But from the latter point of view, the gift of the widow was greater than all, because she actually gave more in proportion to her ability, and secured to herself a great blessing at the hand of God. She did voluntarily what Jesus had vainly commanded the rich young ruler to do; though poor herself, she gave her all. She did this, too, when she had only her widow’s hands with which to earn more; but he had refused though he had the strength and ingenuity of young manhood to guard him against future want. Many improperly apply the term, widow’s mite, to their trifling contributions. To give the widow’s mite, one must give all his living.

There are none who may not in this way show their love to the cause of Christ. The time to begin to be benevolent and to do good is in early life–in childhood. (Ecc 12:1.) It is every Christian man’s duty to observe, not how much to give, but how much compared with what he has and what is the motive with which it is done. But few practice self-denial. Most givers give of their abundance–that is, what they can spare without feeling it. Among the large number who give, how few deny themselves of one comfort, even the least, that they may advance the kingdom of God!

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

CHAPTER 56

Lessons from a Certain Poor Widow

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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.

(Mar 12:41-44)

Why do you go to work every day? What is your purpose in working? It does not matter what kind of work you do. We live in a society that honors and praises professionals, whose jobs require a college education. Doctors, lawyers, politicians and executives are usually the people who have influence in society, before whom others bow and scrape like groveling dogs. What a pity!

It is altogether proper that we give honor to whom honor is due; but we ought never to look upon one person with contempt and another with adulation, simply because of their different social status. It does not matter in the least where you work, or what kind of work you do. All honest labor is honorable labor. I do not care whether you work for minimum wages by the hour or whether you make a million dollars a week. If your labor is honest labor, it is honorable labor.

Motives for Work

My question has nothing to do with the kind of work you do. I want you to consider only one thing: Why do you do it? What is your reason for working? In the Word of God, I find three things, and only three things, which should motivate believers in their labor. These three motives are very clear. There is nothing profound or mysterious about them. I hope you will be surprised by the fact that among these three motives for working, and working hard, there is not a word written about gaining riches, getting more stuff, or increasing our social rank. Are you interested in Bible motives for work? Here they are.

1.The Glory of God (1Co 10:31; Eph 6:5-6; Col 3:22-24) When we go about our daily employment, whatever it is, let us seek to honor our God in the work we do.

2.The Needs of our Families (1Ti 5:8) It is the responsibility of every man to provide for his family. That provision reaches beyond physical things. We are also responsible to provide for our families spiritually. Every man is responsible to serve God as a prophet, priest and king in his own house.

3.The Privilege of Giving (Eph 4:28). We ought to be motivated every day, as we do the work the Lord has given us to do, to do that work (whatever it is) to the best of our ability for the glory of God and the good of our families. But there is a third reason for working, a third noble, biblical principle which ought to be a high priority and motive to every child of God in his daily employment. We ought to work that we might enjoy the high honor and privilege of giving.

If we belong to Christ, if we are his servants, we ought to make the business of giving, open handed, open hearted, generous giving, a high priority in our lives. There are many, many great examples of this kind of giving in the Word of God (2Sa 24:24; Mar 14:3-9; 2 Corinthians 8, 9; Php 4:15-19). I urge you to read those passages carefully before proceeding.

There are few events in the earthly life of Christ more commonly overlooked than the giving of this poor widow, described in Mar 12:41-44, and our Redeemers commendation of it. Few of the words of the Son of God are more commonly unnoticed than these.

Our Lord Jesus saw many that were rich cast in much. Without question, those who have more should give more. That is seldom the case; but it should be. Usually, the wealthiest people really give the least. And when they do give a little something somewhere, they have lots of strings attached and a bag of instructions!

Then, our Master spotted a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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. I call your attention to four things in this story. May God the Holy Spirit graciously and effectually teach us the things here revealed in his Word.

The Observer

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. The first thing evident in this passage is the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no indication that our Master was informed by anyone about the wealth of the rich or the poverty of this woman. Yet, he who is the omniscient God knew everything about everyone before him. He knew how much each possessed, how much each gave, why they gave it and what the circumstances of their lives were. I stress this fact because I want us ever to remember that he who gave his all to redeem and save us is himself the almighty, omniscient God. He who is God gave himself for us![7]

[7] The fact of Christs divinity assures us of the certain efficacy of his work. If he is God, he cannot fail. If he can fail, for any reason, to accomplish what he desires or tries to accomplish, then he is not God!

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. (2Co 8:9)

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Php 2:5-8).

That Man who loved us and gave himself for us is himself our God. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!

He beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. He did not merely observe the fact that they gave, he observed how they gave. He observed what they gave and why they gave it. We should ever be aware of this fact. Our God observes all things. He looks beyond what we do and observes why we do it. All things are naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. He weighs not what we give, but how we give.

The Givers

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing (Mar 12:41-42).

There are many in this world who are rich, very rich in material things, even rich in religious tradition, ceremony and activity, who are poor, utterly destitute before God. And there are many very poor people in this world who are rich, indescribably and eternally rich toward God, rich in Christ.

Learn what that means. Riches, luxury, ease of life and earthly exaltation are no indication of Gods favor; and poverty, afflictions and earthly sorrows are no indication of Gods disfavor (Psalms 73). Those who have Christ have all; and those who are without Christ have nothing. Without Christ, they are without God, without promise, without grace, without mercy, without hope!

The Gifts

In the temple worship of the Old Testament, in addition to the tithe required by the law, those who were so inclined brought their voluntary gifts (freewill offerings) and put them in an offering box, here called the treasury. These offerings were used in the maintenance of the temple and Gods appointed priests, and to supply the priests with those things necessary for the service of the temple and the worship of God. Though the worship of God had degenerated to nothing but religious ritualism, during the days of our Lords earthly ministry, it was customary for people, when they entered the temple, to put some money in the box. Many, we are told, who were rich cast in much. But our Savior calls our attention to a certain, poor widow. She had only two mites to her name. And those two mites is what she put into the collection box.

And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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 (Mar 12:43-44).

Anyone who observed such an act as this, were this story not recorded upon the pages of Inspiration, would declare that it was an inexcusable act of misplaced zeal. It would be condemned by all as an unnecessary, useless act of presumption. It would appear that her gift was unnecessary, because God did not require it. It might be thought useless, because her two mites were materially insignificant. It might be considered presumptuous, because, when she had given all she had, she had not exercised any wisdom or prudence with regard to her future needs. But the Son of God not only approved of what she did, he called his disciples attention to her gift, and said, Men, this is what the Bible calls giving!

Though she gave only two mites, our Savior commends her gift as something both great and good. It was a great act, because it involved great sacrifice. And it was a good gift, because she gave as unto the Lord, for the glory of God, to the utmost stretch of her ability.

This poor womans gift in itself was small, insignificant, even contemptible in the eyes of men; but it was highly valued and esteemed by the Son of God! All that was given by the wealthy was given out of their abundance. It was just the overflow, the excess, what they had left over after buying all they wanted, throwing away all they wanted and saving all they wanted. They gave a portion, but only a portion of what they had. She gave all. They gave out of their wealth. She gave out of her poverty. They gave and had much remaining. She gave everything she had, all her daily sustenance. As John Gill observed

She 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.

They gave out of a sense of duty. She gave because she wanted to give. They gave to be seen of men. She gave because she loved the Lord. They gave to get glory to themselves. She gave to the glory of God. They gave what they did not need. She gave what she very much needed. They gave their spare change. She gave everything. I have heard men and women speak with a pretended modesty of giving their two mites; but we have not given our two mites until, like this blessed woman, we have given our all.

The Lesson

We find the lesson of this story in 2Co 9:7. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver.

Such giving as that which this poor widow exemplified arises from love, not law. Believers give, not by legal constraint, but by grace, not by force of law, but by the force of gratitude. Believers understand what the world can never understand. Why do believers give as they do? Because we recognize that Christ gave his all for us, and we understand that everything we have has been given to us (1Co 4:7). Believers love Christ, his gospel, and his people. Believers understand that it really is more blessed to give than to receive.

There is an abundance of instruction in the New Testament about Christian giving. All of 1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 8, and 2 Corinthians 9 are taken up with this subject. But there are no commands to the people of God anywhere in the New Testament about how much we are to give, when we are to give, or where we are to give. Tithing and all systems like it are things altogether foreign to the New Testament. Like all other acts of worship, giving is an act of grace. It must be free and voluntary. But there are some plain, simple guidelines laid down in the New Testament for us to follow.

1.Christian giving must be motivated by love and gratitude towards Christ (2Co 8:8-9). Love needs no law. It is a law unto itself. It is the most powerful and most generous of all motives.

2.Our gifts must arise from willing hearts (2Co 8:12). If that which we give arises from a willing heart, if it is given freely and cheerfully, it is accepted of God. The Lord is not concerned with the amount of our gifts, be it great or small; he looks to the motive behind them.

3.We should give to the work of the gospel in proportion to our blessings from the Lord (1Co 16:2). We are expected to give generously in accordance with our own ability.

4.All of Gods people should give (everyone, 1Co 16:2; every man, 2Co 9:7). Men and women, rich and poor, old and young all who are saved by the grace of God are expected to give for the support of Gods church and kingdom.

5.We should be both liberal and sacrificial in our giving (2Co 9:5-6). We have not really given anything until we have taken that which we need, want and have use for and given it to the Lord.

6.Our gifts must be voluntary (2Co 9:7).

7.We are to give as unto the Lord (Mat 6:1-5). We give, not to be seen of men, but for the honor of Christ, hoping for nothing in return.

8.This kind of giving is well-pleasing to God (Php 4:18; Heb 13:16).

This is the teaching of the New Testament about the matter of giving. First, give yourself to Christ. Give purposefully, in proportion as the Lord has prospered you. Give secretly, unto the Lord. Give cheerfully, with a willing mind. Give generously. Give regularly. And give for the glory of God, as unto the Lord. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him. As every ransomed sinner does so, every need of Gods church will be supplied by the free generosity of his people.

What have we to cast into the Lords treasury? Robert Hawker asked. Then he wrote, Indeed, and in truth, nothing but what we have first received. We have two mites: soul and body; and these are both the Lords: Oh, for grace to give both these; and Jesus looking on; Jesus disposing to the act, and Jesus accepting all to his glory (1Co 6:19-20).

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Act 20:35). It really is! May God the Holy Spirit graciously teach us all to abound in this grace also, for Christs sake.

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

All that She Had

And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they which are casting into the treasury: for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.Mar 12:41-44.

This beautiful incident, as recorded by the evangelists St. Mark and St. Luke, is immediately followed by Christs prophecy of the overthrow of the Temple. We have before us a picture-study in contrasts.

1. A scene Within the Temple.It occurred in the Womens Court, where the Treasury, or the thirteen brazen chests, popularly known as the Trumpets, were kept. The offerings cast at certain seasons into these Trumpets were devoted mainly to the maintenance of the sacred building and to defraying the expenses of Divine worship. To this fund every pious Jew was expected to contribute. Before the birth of Christ a movement had been inaugurated by Herod the Great for the completion and adornment of the Temple, and the furtherance of this work of national piety was regarded as a patriotic as well as a religious duty. This public giving was part of the established routine of the holy place, and the publicity of it was, no doubt, calculated upon as a spur to generosity. The religious Jew of those days was not above parading his good deeds, and if he gave a handsome sum to the Temple fund he preferred to do it in the presence of admiring spectators and with a certain amount of dramatic effect. Those rich men had no idea that the eyes of the Judge of quick and dead were resting upon them. And this, of course, is quite as true of the poor widow, concerning whom our Lord spoke those penetrating words of appreciation and foresight, as it was of the self-satisfied givers of large sums.

2. The Temple from Without.We in these days of modern civilisation, and with our colder northern temperament, can perhaps scarcely realise the pride and glory of the Jewish heart in that wonderful structure. It was associated with the antiquity of their nation, and seemed to stand like a visible link connecting them with their glorious forefathers of the olden time. Around it clustered all those emotions of patriotism which burned so fiercely in the Hebrew nature; while with its awful Holy of Holies and mystic altars, it became the symbol of the sublime worship of the one Jehovah which had for ages made their nation stand in lonely pre-eminence as the single witness for the true Lord of men. So that the trinity of emotionsNationality, Patriotism, Devotionwhich marked the national character of the Jews, were all centred on that Temple at Jerusalem.

In the disciples these feelings must have existed, but they had become softened, and in one sense deepened, by the influence of the Saviour. The grandeur of the Temple had excited the awe and wonder of their boyhood, but their associations with it had been strengthened by the change wrought in them through the companionship of Christ. He had told them of the Father in heaven; and as they worshipped before the veil that hid the burning glory, His house became more truly the house of God. He had told them of a Kingdom of heaven; and as they heard on the great feast days the Psalms of David rolling through its archways, they must have felt more than ever that that kingdom was near. So that on that evening, as they were going out with Christ to the Mount of Olives, and the gold and marble of the Temple shone resplendent in the setting sun, it was most natural that their enthusiasm should burst forth in the admiring cryMaster, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!

3. These two pictures taken together present a significant contrast. While the disciples were wondering at the majestic carved stone-work as a great offering dedicated by man to God, Christ had seen in the trembling gift of the widow an offering equally great in the eye of heaventhe offering of a loyal heart. Others, too, had brought their offerings, gifts which in the worlds eye might even be comparable to the glorious stones, while presumably this poor womans offering had passed unnoticed save by the eyes of One in whose estimation she had brought more than all. The stones of the Temple and the widows heart! The disciples saw Gods dwelling-place in the house of stone, with its Holy of Holies and altar of sacrifice; Christ saw it in the devoted heart of a widow. This idea characterised all His teaching; it is the inner motive and heart, as He constantly proclaimed, that God regards, and it is in the spirit that He must be served. The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. This poor woman, unknown and unnoticed except by the Divine eye, had come in her poverty, and had given all she had for Gods servicethere was the true altar of sacrifice.

I asked an art critic why he did not consider a certain painting under observation a real work of art. He answered: It lacks enthusiasm. I think the artist who painted it was not enthusiastic and not positive enough. The result shows in a painting which just misses being good.1 [Note: E. W. Wilcox.]

4. She was simply one of a crowd, and as uninteresting and unpromising probably as are the members of any crowd; but the fact that she was, outwardly at least, uninteresting, makes it interesting that Christ was interested in her, and it is one of the features of our Lords character that He was impressed by unpromising people. Whoever it might be that He was dealing with He seemed to feel that He had a good deal to go upon. No one, we should say, appeared to Him ordinary. We cannot fail to have been struck with what must have seemed to us the apparently haphazard way in which He selected His disciples. It would seem as though any one whom He ran across, as He was walking along the edge of the Sea of Galilee, would answer well enough for a disciple, and so for an apostlenot, be it understood, as a disparagement of the position which He selected them to fill, but as a recognition that even common men were so uncommon as to be inherently able to fill the position. He could doubtless have continued His walk along the seaside and have selected another twelve just as competent as the first twelve, if He had cared at that time to have so many. And certainly it is not venturing much to presume that He could have come into any of our cities and congregations, and have found a dozen people with natural qualifications that would have made them as capable as Peter, James, and John, and the rest, to lay, in co-operation with Himself, the foundations of the Christian Church.

The moon and the stars are commonplace things,

And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings;

But dark were the world and sad our lot

If the flowers failed and the sun shone not;

And God, who studies each separate soul,

Out of commonplace lives makes His beautiful whole.1 [Note: Susan Coolidge.]

The subject may conveniently be treated in two parts:

I.Christs Unerring Judgment

II.Opportunity and Responsibility

I

Christs Unerring Judgment

1. There is not so much difference between a bats eye and an eagles as there is between the insight, as we call it, of ordinary men and the insight of Jesus. The whole universe and every detail of it becomes changed to our eyes directly we catch a glimpse of any part from the standpoint of Jesus Christ How tawdry are the pomps and the magnificences which we admire, and how splendid are the lowly eternities which we despise.

A public meeting was held at a certain English town in the interests of Foreign Missions. The chairman was reading out a list of donors. Mr. So-and-So, a hundred guineas. Tremendous cheering. Mr. So-and-So, 50. Great cheering. Mr. So-and-So, 20. Much cheering. Mr. So-and-Song of Solomon , 6 d. No cheering. Not being pleased at this cool reception of a gift which probably cost as much sacrifice, or possibly more than any of the foregoing, the chairman, amidst breathless silence, exclaimed: Hush, I think I hear the clapping of the pierced hands. The audience keenly felt the rebuke.1 [Note: J. H. Jowett.]

So with the Lord: He takes and He refuses,

Finds Him ambassadors whom men deny,

Wise ones nor mighty for his saints He chooses,

No, such as John or Gideon or I.

He as He wills shall solder and shall sunder,

Slay in a day and quicken in an hour,

Tune Him a music from the Sons of Thunder,

Forge and transform my passion into power.2 [Note: F. W. H. Myers, St. Paul.]

2. The beauty of the poor widows act, commended by our Lord, lay in its entire unconsciousness of self, and of the moral value of what she was doing. We all see that both the moral and the sthetic quality of her act would have sunk to a much lower level if she had known that the eyes of the promised Messiah of her race were upon her, or that her modest offering would be spoken of in distant climes and future ages wherever the story of mans redemption should be told. In that case the elements of calculation and of reward would have mingled with her motives.

It matters not what we seem to be to ourselves or others, but only how God looks upon us when we pray to Him. This you may take as the test and proof of anything you say, do, or think; and of the real importance of any event that happens to you: What difference does it make when you come to appear before God in prayer? Will it render you more acceptable or not? Let any one notice each daythere can be no better rule or safeguardwhat will render him in his hours of prayer most acceptable with God. There can be no better standard or measure of the real value of all things than this.

I thank Thee I am not my own,

But have to live in Thee alone,

Each passing day, each passing hour,

To live in Thy great power.

Whateer to-day, to-morrow brings,

Tis all Thine Hand, Thine orderings.3 [Note: Ibid.]

3. The extravagance of love.It undoubtedly was an imprudent thing for a woman to do, for perhaps at a later hour of the same day she was unable to meet the necessities of her subsistence; but a beautiful intention we like all the better if it is not too careful and too calculating. Her act is like that of Mary when she broke her alabaster cruse and poured the costly spikenard on her Saviours head. If Mary had been more economical with the spikenard less of its fragrance might have floated down to our own day. Both acts were extravagant and reckless, but their very recklessness is one of their charms.

I was preaching a missionary sermon in the village of LOriginal, in the province of Quebec, to a congregation of forty. A student who was with me pointed out an old Roman Catholic lady who had come to hear the missionary sermon. My subject was China and her need. At the close of the sermon this lady rose and left the building. I feared that I had said something which gave her offence. But while we were singing the last hymn she returned, walked to the front of the church and handed a piece of money to the steward, who afterwards told me what she said, and they were precious words. Take that and give it to that man for China, and may God bless him and save the heathen. I only have thirty cents, five of which I brought with me for collection, but when I heard of Chinas need I thought I would go home and get the twenty-five cents and give it, and keep the five cents for myself. I shall ever see in that old lady, whose name is unknown to me, a facsimile of that certain poor widow casting her two mites into the treasury, and I believe that the word of commendation from the Christ will be no less in the one case than in the other.1 [Note: G. I. Campbell.]

In the long run all love is paid by love,

Though undervalued by the hosts of earth;

The great eternal government above

Keeps strict account and will redeem its worth.

Give thy love freely; do not count the cost;

So beautiful a thing is never lost

In the long run.2 [Note: Ella Wheeler Wilcox.]

4. Another thought which the story told by the Evangelist may suggest to us is that each single life is an offertory, a contribution, made to the great sum of human influences and examples. Every day, in our business and in our time of leisure, by the words we speak, by the force of our example, direct or indirect, by the unconscious revelations we make of our true selves, by the standards we apply to our own conduct and that of our fellow-men, by the opinions we express, the aims we pursue, the moral principles we support or discourage, we are casting something of our own into that invisible treasury which will abide there as a witness for or against us.

Some faint resemblance to this idea of a common treasury to which all in their several ways contribute may be seen in the demands and expectations of men and women when united in social groups. What the writers of the New Testament call the world has its own code of unwritten laws, together with its own peculiar sanctions. If you desire to stand well with people in society you must contribute something towards the general stock of comfort, of pleasure, or of amusementsomething that ordinary minds, not overburdened with intelligence, can appreciate. Either you must be rich, and spend your money freely in lavish entertainments, in which case much will be forgiven you; or you must have a reputation for being clever; or you must have done something remarkable; or you must possess the happy knack of saying or doing the right thing in awkward situations. In one way or another, by self-assertion or by tact and adroitness, you must prove yourself to be an important social unit, and then you may count upon your special contribution to the worlds treasury being stamped with approval. The unpardonable offence is to be a cipher, to stand for nothing that a materialised society values or cares for. It is in this way that the vulgarised minds interpret the Gospel precepts, Give, and it shall be given to you. To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly. The rich and powerful are welcome as the benefactors of society, and society rewards them with its smiles. Modest and humble goodness may pass by with its slender offering, rich only in the coin of love and self-sacrifice, but such coinage has no appreciable value in the eyes of the children of this world. They are not concerned to ask whether your motives are pure and disinterested or whether your so-called charity is but a form of self-advertisement. All they care to know is how much you are able to give as your solid contribution to the material wealth and enjoyment of this life, which are, in their judgment, the only things that have any real value.1 [Note: J. W. Shepard.]

II

Opportunity and Responsibility

i. The Value of Sacrifice

Christ had looked on the woman who, with her heart bowed in desolation and sorrow, had given her all to God, and He declared that, small as that was in itself, it was the truest and greatest offering that could be made. Here we find a great principle. The greatness of the outward act of surrender is nothing,the perfectness of the inner spirit is alone of value in the eye of God. This is a truth which we seldom fully realise, and yet it is one which, if realised, would transform our whole life. We are perpetually prone to measure sacrifice by the outward appearance, while Christ points to the least act which is done with the surrender of the hearts life as the greatest sacrifice of all. Doubtless this is partly because the external greatness of a sacrifice gratifies our self-glorying spiritwe like to do a thing which seems to be a great dedication, and which flatters our self-love by its greatness. Or it is partly because it is far easier to us to do a great thing which does not necessitate self-surrender than to do a small thing which demands it. We call it a great thing, and rightly so, to spend a life in toilsome service, to give up home and friends and live in strange lands, forgetting that this may not involve more sacrifice than patiently to bear our lot, wherever it may be, than to perform the constant but unnoticed self-denials of an obscure life, and accept without murmuring the unknown and unrewarded toils of each day. This tendency pervades all our judgments. We judge mens acts by their outward forms rather than by the spirit which impelled themwe are so apt to regard only the great Temple stones. The principle uttered by Christ with regard to the widows gift reverses our common notions; before it, our distinctions between great and small vanish. It is the allthe very heart of the offerer that God asks for, the outward form of the sacrifice is of little worth. There are many unknown heroes and silent martyrs now whom the world passes by. It is not the great outward act, but the perfect yielding of the soul, that constitutes the sacrifice which God will not despise.

In the worship described in the vision in the Apocalypse the four-and-twenty elders fall down before him that sat upon the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne (Rev 4:10). They lay their crowns, the symbol of their attainments, at the feet of Him that sitteth upon the throne; and while these glorified saints are thus offering themselves in delighted homage in heaven amidst surroundings that tell of perfect joy and peace, some poor struggling Christian upon earth has broken away with tears and an aching heart from what he loves most, that he may do more thoroughly what he believes to be the will of God. The principle that moves both is the samesacrifice and self-oblation; only here the will is being purified and cleansed, loosening itself with pain from the creatures to which it clings inordinately, that in faith, and often with little sensible love, it may give itself to God. There, in that picture in heaven, we see the result; there is no more need of struggle or effort, the will is free, bound for ever into the will of God, and it is the joy of the soul for eternity to cast itself and all it possesses at the feet of its Creator.

What can I spare? we say:

Ah, this and this,

From mine array

I am not like to miss:

And here are crumbs to feed some hungry one:

They do but grow a cumbrance on my shelf:

And yet, one reads, our Father gave His Son,

Our Master gave Himself.1 [Note: Frederick Langbridge.]

ii. The Sacrifice of our Substance

St. Paul says, We are not our own, we are bought with a price; therefore, strictly speaking, we have nothing to give, and yet it is true that Christ, who gives us all, condescends to receive back our gifts. Observe, however, how our Lord receives them, observe how He passes judgment on those who cast their gifts into His treasury. He does not condemn the rich who that day brought their offerings. He does not say how much they ought to have given, whether or not they ought to have given more; but He makes no honourable mention of them. One of the evils of our day is an ostentatious parade of what rich persons give for charitable and religious purposes. This kind of parade is in direct opposition to our Lords conduct on the occasion before us. He did not call the attention of the disciples to what He saw till this poor widow had cast in her two mites. The sums which the rich men gave are not named at all. How unlike is this precious passage in New Testament history to what is too common in modern reports, where the larger sums, with their donors names, are specified first, and then the lesser ones are massed in one amount under the head of small sums!

Christ sees the workmans sixpence, and how much it is in relation to his weekly wages. The subscription of a thousand pounds from many who are rich is not, in His eyes, half so much. The offerings of the very poor make a deep impression on His heart. He specially calls the attention of the disciples to the greatness of least gifts. He excites their reverence and wonder by speaking of a poor widow who had cast in more than all. To the treasury of the Temple her offering was next to nothing, but it was very great in the sight of God. How easily and reasonably she might have said, My two mites are much to me, but they will not make the treasury noticeably richer: I will keep them for my own need; instead of which, she kept her need, and gave her money, all that she had. And Jesus has built her an eternal monument: she cast in more than they all.

Poor widow indeed! but in a sense quite different from that in which Christ uses the words. Her name is unknown, her deed immortal, but verily she hath been made a packhorse for more stinginess than any other character of history. Surely we may well be thankful that her name is not known, else we would have had societies bearing it while belying her character. We talk about our mite, of course referring to her, and there is no near relationship between the two. She did not foretell, or after tell, what she gave. We do both. She gave two mites, we give what we call a miteand generally speaking it is, but not much like the widows. She of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living; but we of our superfluity cast in what we happen to have with us or feel like giving, and this is a mite, but rarely all our living. Usually it does not affect our living in the least.

I would my gift were worthier! sighed the Greek,

As on he goaded to the temple-door

His spotted bullock. Ever of our store

Doth Zeus require the best; and fat and sleek

The ox I vowed to him (no brindled streak,

No fleck of dun) when through the breakers roar

He bore me safe that day, to Naxos shore;

And now, my gratitude, how seeming weak!

But here be chalk-pits. What if I should white

The blotches, hiding all unfitness so?

The victim in the peoples eyes would show

Better therefor;the sacrificial rite

Be quicklier granted at thus fair a sight,

And the great Zeus himself might never know.

We have a God who knows. And yet we dare

On His consuming altar-coals to lay

(Driven by the prick of conscience to obey)

The whited sacrifice, the hollow prayer,

In place of what we vowed, in our despair,

Of best and holiest;glad no mortal may

Pierce through the cheat, and hoping half to stay

That Eye before whose search all souls are bare!

Nay, rather;let us bring the victim-heart,

Defiled, unworthy, blemished though it be,

And fling it on the flame, entreating,See,

I blush to know how vile in every part

Is this my gift, through sins delusive art,

Yet tis the best that I can offer Thee!1 [Note: Margaret J. Preston.]

iii. The Sacrifice of Ourselves

1. What do we mean by the word ourselves? Christ has said, Whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels shall save it. For what doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life? This, then, is what we mean by ourselves: our time, our talents, our desires, our affections, in short, all that which makes up our life; and Christ has taught us that nothing short of ourselves is an offering worthy of Him. This may be called the ideal way of looking at the subject.

Two mites, which make a farthing. Is that merely the Evangelists explanation, or is he quoting Christ? It would have been like Him to give the equation; for no one reckons as He the value of human love. She had two mites. Had she had the farthing in one piece it might have been different; but while there are two pieces there is always room for a double heart. It is not in money only that we are tempted to halve with God. Our talents, our time, our love, our consciencelet us keep half and give God the other!1 [Note: H. Elvet Lewis.]

I beheld Him

Bleeding on the accursed tree:

Heard Him pray, Forgive them, Father!

And my wistful heart said faintly,

Some of self, and some of Thee!

I once read a book which suggested that the words, My Master, should be worn next the heart, next the will, sinking into the very springs of both, deeper every day. The writer says: Let us get up every morning with this for the instantaneous thought that my Master wakes me. I wake, I rise, His property. Before I go out to plow, or feed, or whatever it may be, upon His domain, let me, with reverent and deep joy, go into His private chamber, as it were, and avow Him as my Master, my Possessor; absolute, not constitutional; supremely entitled to order me about all day, and, if He pleases, not to thank me at the close.2 [Note: D. Farncomb, The Vision of His Face, 70.]

That He had always been governed by love without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found good reason to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased, when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts.3 [Note: Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, 8.]

2. Three practical lessons arise.

(1) A lesson of duty.We are so tempted to say, Had we only great opportunities of service, were we only free from these passing cares, we would dedicate our lives to God. Meanwhile this wonderful life is passing, never to return, and nothing is done. Every man may be spiritually heroic. Beneath every trouble or disappointment, small and insignificant as they may seem, lies Gods opportunity.

Believe that the work you are appointed to do is Gods work, and you will always find scope for the heavenly spirit, and for living out the principle which Christ indicated when He pointed to the widows mite. It is true that this makes life a very difficult thing,it is supremely hard to live to God in small things. But forget not that He who saw the widows offering sees you, and He who guides the stars binds up the broken heart.1 [Note: K. L. Hull.]

There is a great deal in the Bible about things we might be inclined to call trifles. I think God wants to remind us at every turn that He is carefully taking note of all the little details of life. Nearly two thousand years ago a man was doing a lowly act of servicejust carrying a pitcher of water into a house in Jerusalem. How little he thought, as he walked along the street, that this trifling everyday action would never be forgotten. How little he imagined that God was weaving him and his pitcher into the most wonderful story the world has ever known. Two of the Evangelists mention that man, who was doing a servants work, just before the greatest of the Jewish Passovers was kept, as if they wished to impress us with Gods attention to common things. They may seem trifling to us, but nothing is trifling to Him.2 [Note: D. Farncomb, The Vision of His Face, 99.]

Jesus hath many lovers of His Heavenly Kingdom, but few bearers of His cross. He hath many desirous of consolation, but few of tribulation. All desire to rejoice with Him; few are willing to endure anything for Him or with Him. But they who love Jesus for the sake of Jesus, and not for some special comfort of their own, bless Him in all tribulation and anguish of heart, as well as in the state of highest comfort.3 [Note: Thomas Kempis.]

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, for He regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.4 [Note: Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, 22.]

(2) A lesson of encouragement.Live to God in all thingsconsider no sacrifice too great or too smalldo your best in everything as in His sight, and you will find Him everywhere. The trivial round, the common task, will be glorified with a heavenly spirit, and the great stones in Gods temple of the world will shine with the radiance of Divinity. Thus you will be revealing the Divine life to the world. Men and women consecrated to God in all things are the living temples of the Lord, through which His presence is manifested. Ask not, Where is my work in the battle of the ages? It is there, close to your side, if whatsoever your hand finds to do, you do it with your might.

He called unto him his disciples. Why did He not call the widow also? His well done would have transfigured her whole life. Christ values the deed, and the soul that shines through it, too highly to spoil them by praising too soon. He keeps His well done till we are fit to hear it. Who can tell the patience of His love? the self-restraint of His sympathy? There must be many a weary servant of His, with disappointed hands and bleeding heart, who almost wins Him to divulge, too soon, the healing secret of that great day, but He is wise, and longsuffering, hushing the whispers of heaven lest they reach our ears too soon. He let her return into the shadow of her lonely life and win her obscure victories in the strength of her own soul; some morning, when the angels hear, He will sayI saw it. And she will only bow her head lower, in adoring wonder. The soldier must come home for his medal; the worker must wait till evening for his wages. What He gives now is a sense of peace within, a feeling of victory over self.1 [Note: H. Elvet Lewis.]

It is enough! With Him no good is lost;

All has its own just value: All the cost

The sacrifice by which our work is done

Revealed before Him stand:

Already in His hand

The fragments have been gathered into one.2 [Note: E. H. Divall, A Believers Rest, 137.]

(3) A lesson of warning.The Jews had come to see God only in the Temple at Jerusalem. As a consequence they became formaliststhe surrender of their souls was forgotten, and the splendid Temple fell! So now and ever; forget the Divinity of all life, and the temple of your soul will become desolate.3 [Note: E. L. Hull.] A service which is merely formal becomes degrading; it seeks a reward outside itself. But when Christ fills the temple of the soul, all service is based on love and brings its own reward.

Love is the greatest thing that God can give us, for Himself is Love; and it is the greatest thing we can give to God, for it will also give ourselves, and carry with it all that is ours. Let our love be firm, constant, and inseparable; not coming and returning like the tide, but descending like a never-failing river, ever running into the ocean of Divine excellency, passing on in the channels of duty and a constant obedience, and never ceasing to be what it is, till it comes to what it desires to be; still being a river till it be turned into a sea, and vastness, even the immensity of a blessed eternity.1 [Note: Jeremy Taylor.]

I into life so full of love was sent,

That all the shadows which fall on the way

Of every human being could not stay,

But fled before the light my spirit lent.

They said, You are too jubilant and glad;

The world is full of sorrow and of wrong,

Full soon your lips shall breathe forth sighsnot song!

The days wear on, and yet I am not sad.

They said, Too free you give your souls rare wine;

The world will quaff, but it will not repay.

Yet into the emptied flagons, day by day,

True hearts pour back a nectar as divine.

Thy heritage! Is it not loves estate?

Look to it, then, and keep its soil well tilled.

I hold that my best wishes are fulfilled,

Because I love so much, and will not hate.2 [Note: Ella Wheeler Wilcox.]

All that She Had

Literature

Horton (R. F.), The Cartoons of St. Mark, 249.

Hull (E. L.), Sermons Preached at Kings Lynn, 3rd Ser., 213.

Lewis (H. Elvet), in Women of the Bible, ii. 195.

MNeill (J.), Regent Square Pulpit, ii. 65.

Maturin (B. W.), Some Principles and Practices of the Spiritual Life, 73.

Pulsford (J.), Loyally to Christ, 60.

Purves (P. C), The Divine Cure for Heart Trouble, 113.

Shepard (J. W.), Light and Life, 192.

Christian World Pulpit, xix. 44 (Walters); lxiv. 179 (Parkhurst).

Treasury, xxi. 479 (Hallock).

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible

sat: Mat 27:6, Luk 21:2-4, Joh 8:20

money: A piece of brass money, see Mat 10:9.

the treasury: 2Ki 12:9

Reciprocal: Exo 35:5 – whosoever Exo 35:22 – every man Deu 16:17 – as he is able Jos 6:19 – the treasury 2Ki 22:4 – sum the silver 2Ch 24:8 – at the king’s Pro 19:22 – desire Mal 1:14 – which hath in his flock Mat 25:23 – Well Luk 21:1 – and saw 1Co 16:2 – as God

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Chapter 18.

The Widow’s Mites

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 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.”-Mar 12:41-44.

A Moving Contrast.

The change from the terrific sermon in which our Lord denounced “woe” upon Scribes and Pharisees, to this exquisite story of the widow and her offering, is like the change from the fury of a day of storm to the quiet beauty of a summer evening. When I read through the “Great Indictment” I seem to hear the roar of the thunder and to see the flash of the lightnings of Sinai; when I read Christ’s eulogy upon the widow and her humble gift, I seem to be led into the green pastures and by the still waters. It is a welcome change-from the judgments to the commendations of the Lord; and to none, perhaps, so welcome as to Christ Himself. I think it was Moody who used to say that no one should preach about hell and the judgment without tears. The man who can talk about the judgment without deep and overpowering emotion has not yet learned of Christ. May we not detect the breaking pain of the Lord’s heart in these tremendous woes? It must have cost Him something to utter them. And at the very end of the sermon love broke out in one last despairing cry against judgment. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” He cried, “how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” For judgment was Christ’s “strange work.” “I came,” He says, “not to judge the world, but to save the world” (Joh 12:47).

The Loving-Kindness of our Lord.

But if judgment was Christ’s “strange” work, He delighted in kind words and loving speech. You remember the antithesis in our familiar hymn, “Slow to chide… swift to bless”-that is it exactly. Christ was slow to blame, but quick to praise. Slow to expose and denounce men’s sin but quick to see and to praise any good that was in them. I remember that in the obituary notices of the late Mr M’Connell, the presiding magistrate of the London Session, this was said about him, and I thought it was about as fine a thing as could be said about any man holding a position like his. You know that after a prisoner has been convicted, the police bring up all his past history, and if he has been in the hands of the law before, every previous conviction is mentioned to the judge. But Mr M’Connell was never satisfied with hearing merely the evil about a man. When the police had made their report, he used to turn to the prisoner and say, “Now, tell us something good about yourself.” And that was the very spirit of Jesus. He had no pleasure in exposing and denouncing men’s evil deeds, but He had the keenest delight in discovering something good about them. It was a bit of genuine, unaffected goodness he saw in the poor widow and her gift. And how He delighted in it! For our Lord’s was that loving heart that rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth with the truth.

Christ at the Treasury.

Let us now turn to the story itself as Mark tells it. It was in the Court of the Gentiles that Jesus had run the gauntlet of all those cunningly concocted questions and had ended up by pronouncing that tremendous philippic against the Scribes and Pharisees. After that terrific sermon there could of course be no possible reconciliation between Him and them. And so Jesus, leaving the crowd to wrangle about His words and His Person, proceeded to quit the temple for ever. Their house was verily left unto them desolate. But before passing finally out, He made His way into the Court of the Women, and just as in His weariness He had sat down by Jacob’s well to rest, so now spent and worn by all the excitement and emotion of the preceding hours, He sat down to rest for a brief space on the steps that led up to the women’s court. Now in the Colonnades that surrounded this court there were thirteen boxes called shopheroth or “trumpets” because they were shaped like trumpets, swelling out beneath and tapering upward into a narrow mouth or opening. They were set there to receive the offerings of worshippers for the support of the temple services. And as Jesus sat on the steps leading to the Court He had these offering boxes in full view.

The Givers.

Very soon his attention was drawn to the conduct of the crowd of worshippers as they passed these boxes. “He beheld,” or more exactly, “he was beholding,” He was deliberately observing, how the crowd of people cast money into the treasury. A man’s attitude towards the collecting box is a very fair index of character. Goethe tells a story of Lavater that one day, when it was his business to hold the bag for worshippers to drop in their coins as they left the Church, he resolved that without looking into the faces of the givers he would watch their hands. He thought that the very manner in which people dropped their gifts into the bag would tell him something about the characters of the people, and many was the interesting conclusions he had to communicate to Goethe when it was all over.

-And Their Offerings.

The Poor Widow.

Our Lord anticipated Lavater. He sat watching how the people cast their gifts into the treasury, watching with interest their manner as they drew near the “trumpets” and made their offerings. He saw that many of the rich kept casting in much, With a certain ostentation they put a handful of coins into the trumpets. But somehow or other these large gifts did not call forth Christ’s admiration. Perhaps He saw that they gave their many coins, as they said their long prayers, for to be seen of men. But by and by as He watched, His attention was rivetted as Edersheim puts it, by one solitary figure. Mark’s description of her is at once vivid and pathetic. And there came “one pauper widow;” she came, as Edersheim says, “alone,” as if ashamed to mingle with the crowd of rich givers, ashamed to have her offering seen, perhaps ashamed to bring it; a “widow,” in the garb of a desolate mourner, her condition, appearance, bearing, that of a “pauper.” Our Lord’s attention was drawn to her, and He watched her. She held in her hands “two Perutahs”-two “mites” as our version puts it-the smallest of Jewish coins-a “perutah” being about an eightieth part of a denarius or shilling. Ten mites would be needed, Dr Salmond says, to make an English penny. She had these coins in her hand. Shyly and timidly she dropped them into one of the “trumpets” and then hurried away as if ashamed of the meagreness of it all.

The World’s Judgment Reversed.

But our Lord knew what those two mites meant to that solitary pauper widow, and calling His disciples to Him He said, “Verily I say unto you, this poor widow cast in more than all they which are casting into the treasury, for they all did cast in of their superfluity: but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” The widow’s two mites, said Jesus, formed the greatest gift put into the treasury that day. They outweighed the silver and the gold the rich cast in. It was a complete and total reversal of the world’s judgment. “There are last which shall be first,” said Jesus, “and there are first which shall be last,” and this eulogy upon the widow woman and her gift is an illuminating commentary upon that text.

Christ and the Lowly in Heart.

Now, turning to the lessons the story has to teach, notice first of all, Christ’s unerring eye for modest, unobtrusive and humble goodness. His denunciations of the Scribes showed that loud profession could not deceive Him: His commendation of this pauper widow shows that shy and retiring goodness cannot escape Him. And it is this latter quality that endears Christ to us. There is something terrifying in the thought of those clear eyes which pierce through all pretences and excuses. But there is something cheering and comforting in the thought of those eyes that never miss an act of genuine kindness and piety however humble. The Bible makes a great deal of the minuteness of God’s care and attention. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without Him. He counts the very hairs of our head. And the minuteness of God’s attention and care comes out specially in this, that He has eyes not simply for men of great and outstanding powers and services, but also for those quiet, humble, lowly folk whom the world never notices, and who never get their names into the newspapers. “This poor man cried,” says one of the Psalmists, “and the Lord heard him” (Psa 34:6). “I am poor and needy,” cries another, “yet the Lord thinketh upon me” (Psa 40:17). That is it! Not one is overlooked and forgotten. Cornelius was an officer amongst the troops in Csarea-a man of no great station or influence. But in his own quiet and humble way he tried to serve God. And God had not overlooked him. “Thy prayers and thine alms,” said the angel to him, “are gone up for a memorial before God” (Act 10:14). Nathaniel was a humble Galilean provincial who waited for the consolation of Israel. Jerusalem knew nothing of him; the chief priests had never heard his name; but God knew all about his piety and his prayer. “When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee” (Joh 1:48). And in exactly the same way our Lord was quick to notice the piety and devotion of this poor widow’s act. No one else in the Temple recognised it. The attendant priest, and even our Lord’s disciples had eyes only for the rich men and their large gifts, but our Lord had respect unto the lowly.

Heaven’s Standard of Values.

Another lesson I gather from the story-a lesson as to heaven’s standard of values. The widow’s two mites, from one point of view, was the smallest offering cast into the treasury that day. Indeed this was the very least offering which was allowed by the Rabbinical rules. On the other hand some of the rich men cast in much-as we should say, they put silver and gold upon the plate. And yet from our Lord’s point of view the widow’s mite constituted the biggest gift put into the treasury that day. He picked up the widow’s farthing and the rich man’s sovereign and He said the farthing was the bigger gift. “She hath given,” He said, “more than they all.” The disciples for a moment looked bewildered, and then our Lord proceeded to show how a farthing could be better than a sovereign-in other words He proceeded to state heaven’s measure of values. “Every one else,” He said, “put in something from what he had to spare, while she, in her need, put in all she had-everything she had to live on.” Which being translated into a general principle amounts to this-Heaven measures our gifts and our services by the amount of self-sacrifice involved in them.

The Difference.

The rich men cast in their gold; but they never missed what they gave. They had not to deny themselves a single luxury. They had not to give up anything. They had not to dress in cheaper clothes or keep a plainer table. They had not, as a result, to do without anything. But it was otherwise with the poor widow. Her two mites made little difference to the amount of the collection. But it made a vast difference to her. It meant giving up her bite of bread, or drop of milk, or morsel of honey for that day. It was all she had to live upon until she worked for more. And so heading the list of subscriptions for that day there comes not the name of any of the eminent Rabbis, or proud Sadducees, or rich merchants of Jerusalem, but the name of this poor widow who gave a farthing. The amount of sacrifice involved in it decides the value of a gift in heaven’s sight.

A Warning Note.

Now I find a double lesson in all this. I find a suggestion of warning in it. I begin to wonder how much our gifts and services are worth in heaven’s sight, measured by this standard. How much genuine sacrifice is there in them? Like the disciples, we take a very mechanical and materialistic view of things. We measure gifts by their amount. It is almost inevitably so. And I frankly confess that the gold, and the bank-note and the cheque are exceedingly welcome. But this incident teaches us that Christ not only counts our offering, He weighs it. He weighs it to see what amount of sacrifice is in it. In a way there is no more curious perversion and misuse of a text, than the misuse people make of this Scripture about the widow’s mite. People are asked for a gift to some branch of Christian work and they say, “Well, I’ll give you my mite.” And by that they mean they will give a little. But this widow’s mite was not a little. It was everything she had, it was all her living. If only people gave after the pattern of this poor widow our religious treasuries would be full to overflowing. With this story before me, I suggest that we should go honestly over our subscription lists and ask ourselves what our Lord thinks about them? I dare say from the human standpoint they look sufficient, perhaps even generous. But how do they look from heaven’s standpoint? Is there real sacrifice in them? Or do we simply give to the Lord that which costs us nothing?

A Note of Encouragement.

The other lesson is one of encouragement our Lord knows exactly the value of even a small gift. It is accepted, Paul says, according as a man hath and not according as he hath not. So long as there is genuine sacrifice in the gift, we need not worry about the amount. And there is often, as in this case, much more sacrifice in the smaller than the larger offerings. We have generous gifts to our Missionary Society for instance. But there is one servant girl who out of hard-earned wages brings me a half-crown for the work of Christ in foreign lands. I have often wondered whether in our Lord’s sight hers is not the largest subscription of all. At any rate let us lay this comfort to our heart, that if only we do our best, if there is genuine sacrifice in our gifts, even though the world thinks them meagre and beneath notice, Jesus marks, understands, and estimates aright.

The Gift and the Love behind it.

Another lesson the story suggests to me is this, that the acceptability of a gift depends upon the love that is in it. The poor widow was the only one who made sacrifices that day. Measured by sacrifice it was the largest of all the gifts offered to the treasury. But what prompted the sacrifice? Love. And while the sacrifice made the gift large, love made it acceptable. People cast in their offerings from various motives. Some of the rich men put their gold in to gain credit and glory with men. Others put their offerings in as a matter of usage and convention. But this poor widow gave her two mites “for love,” For there was no law compelling her to give. And the Temple treasury was not like so many religious treasuries of to-day-in dire and urgent need. This “poor widow” might very well have passed the “trumpets” by. But, as a matter of fact, her heart was overflowing with love to God. Hers was a hard lot and yet she felt God had been inexpressibly good to her. And the best she had to offer was but a poor return for all His goodness to her. So out of sheer gratitude and devotion she gave her all-all she had to live upon. And that was what made the gift acceptable and dear to God. “Her heart went with her two mites.” And this lesson is one which again we need to lay to heart. It is love God wants and our gifts are only acceptable as love prompts them. We do a lot of giving in various ways. But am I wrong in thinking that sometimes it is more than a trifle grudging? We part with our subscription with a grumble, and sometimes the poor collector has a rather hard time of it. I wonder how much the gift is worth in God’s sight? The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. “The gift without the giver is bare.”

No Praise-but Remembrance.

You will notice that not a word passed between our Lord and this pauper widow. She did not know that Christ’s eyes were upon her. She did not know that He had noticed her gift. She never knew of this eulogy that Christ pronounced upon her to His disciples. You may think if you like that there was a great joy in her heart, that there was sunshine in her soul as she left the Temple that day. But of earthly recognition there was none. Even our Lord refused to mar the pure devotion and sacrifice of her gift by a word of praise. “His silence was a tryst for heaven,” says Edersheim. But the fragrance of this deed of hers, like the fragrance of Mary’s alabaster box, has remained in the Church all down the centuries. And when she reached the Father’s house she got her rich reward. These two mites had transmuted themselves into the unfading riches.

The Sure Reward.

The ultimate reward of all loving and sacrificial service is still sure. Though the world may take no notice, the record of all faithful loving service is kept in heaven. Every offering of love is down in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Acts as simple and lowly as this widow’s gift, acts which had passed clean out of mind and memory, will be recalled to us then, and Christ will say, “Inasmuch as ye did it to the least of one of these, ye did it unto Me.”

Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary

1

This money was a voluntary offering made for the upkeep of the temple. The rich cast in much in actual count of the money.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

[The people cast money.] They were casting in small money there. According to his pleasure, any one might cast into the chests how little soever he would; namely, in the chest which was for gold, as little gold as a grain of barley would weigh; and in the chest for frankincense, as much frankincense as weighed a grain of barley. But if he should say, Behold, I vow wood; he shall not offer less than two pieces of a cubit long, and breadth proportionable. Behold, I vow frankincense; he shall not offer less than a pugil of frankincense: that is, not less money than that which will buy so much.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

Mar 12:41. And he sat down over against the treasury. He did not leave at once, after promising the desolation of the temple (Mat 23:38), but remained quietly sitting in the court of the women, opposite the Treasury. This was the name given to thirteen brazen chests, called by the Rabbins trumpets, probably from the shape of the mouths into which the money was cast. They were for various kinds of gifts. The reference here is probably to the place, or room (comp. Joh 8:20). where these chests stood.

And beheld, or, was beholding.

Money. Lit, brass, copper-money, which probably formed the usual offering.

Cast in much, lit, were casting many things, perhaps many pieces of copper, since in that form the gift would seem larger and make more noise. That Pharisaism could do this is certain; thus they would cause these trumpets to sound before them.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

As our blessed Saviour sat over against the treasury, that is, that part of the court of the temple where the corban, or chests for receiving the people’s offerings and gifts, were set, he observed, and took notice of those that offered their oblations; and some that were rich offered very liberally; but a certain poor woman came and offered two mites.

Our Saviour hereupon takes occasion to instruct his disciples in this comfortable truth; namely, “That Almighty God accepts the will of those that give cheerfully, though they cannot give largely.” This poor woman cast in more, in respect of the inward affection of her heart, and in proportion to her state, than all those that were rich and wealthy, that had cast in before her; a mite to her being more than a pound to them.

From the whole, note, 1. That the poorer, yea, the poorest sort of people are not exempted from good works; even they must exercise charity according to their abilities.

Learn, 2. That in all works of charity which we perform, God looks at the heart, the will, and the affection of the giver, more than at the largeness and liberality of the gift: If there be willing mind, says the apostle, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. 2Co 8:12.

3. That a person ought sometimes to give what he cannot very well spare himself; and be ready to distribute not only to his power, but even above and beyond his power, 2Co 8:2-3.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mar 12:41-44. Jesus sat over against the treasury Jesus was now in the treasury, or that part of the womens court where the chests were placed for receiving the offerings of those who came to worship. These chests, being thirteen in number, had each of them an inscription, signifying for what use the offerings put into them were destined; and were fixed to the pillars of the portico which surrounded the court. From these voluntary contributions were bought wood for the altar, salt, and other necessaries, not provided for any other way. It was in this court of the women, according to the Talmudists, that the libation of water from Siloam was made annually at the feast of tabernacles, as a solemn public thanksgiving and prayer for the former and latter rain; to which rite, it is generally supposed, our Lord alluded, Joh 7:38. Macknight. And beheld how the people cast money into the treasury Luke says, he looked up, and saw the rich men casting in their gifts, &c. That is, he noticed it with attentive observation; many of these, as Mark here informs us, casting in much, for, it seems, there was still this remainder of national liberality among them, though true religion was sunk to so very low an ebb. And there came a certain poor widow Whose character and circumstances were not unknown to Christ; and she threw in two mites Two small pieces of brass coin then in use; which make a farthing , a Roman coin, in value no more than three-fourths of our farthing. Wherefore the offering given by this poor widow was very small in itself, though in another respect it was a great gift, being all that she had, ever all her living. We can hardly suppose, that at each of the chests there were officers placed to receive and count the money which the people offered, and to name the sum aloud before they put it in. It is more reasonable to fancy that each person put his offering privately into the chest, by a slit in its top. Wherefore, by mentioning the particular sum which this poor widow put in, as well as by declaring that it was all her living, our Lord showed that nothing was hid from his knowledge. And he called unto him his disciples That he might inform them of this womans generous action, and that they might hear his remarks upon it: and saith, Verily, this poor widow hath cast more in than all they, &c. Thus he spoke to show, that it is the disposition of the mind, in deeds of charity, and in oblations made to the worship of God, which God regards, and not the magnificence of the gift. For all they did cast in of their abundance Their offerings, though great in respect of hers, bore but a small proportion to their estates. But she of her want did cast in all that she had Her offering was the whole of her income for that day, or, perhaps, the whole of the money in her possession at that time. Here then we see what judgment is passed on the most specious outward actions by the Judge of all! And how acceptable to him is the smallest, which springs from self- denying love! Both the poor and the rich may learn an important lesson from this passage of the gospel. The poor, who seem to have the means of doing charitable offices denied them in a great measure, are encouraged by it to do what they can; because, although it may be little, God, who looks into the heart, values it not according to what it is in itself, but according to the disposition with which it is given. On the other hand, it shows the rich, that it is not enough that they exceed the poor in the quantity of their charity. A little given where a little is left behind, often appears in the eye of God a much nobler offering, and discovers a far greater strength of good dispositions, than sums vastly larger bestowed out of a plentiful abundance. See Macknight.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

CXI.

OBSERVING THE OFFERINGS AND WIDOW’S MITES.

(In the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)

bMARK XII. 41-44; cLUKE XXI. 1-4.

b41 And he sat down over against the treasury [It is said that in the court of the women there were cloisters or porticos, and under the shelter of these were placed thirteen chests with trumpet-shaped mouths into which offerings might be dropped. The money cast in was for the benefit of the Temple. An inscription on each chest showed to which one of the thirteen special items of cost or expenditure the contents would be devoted; as, for the purchase of wood, or gold, or frankincense, etc.], and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury [We should remember this calm inspection of our Lord when we are about [611] to make an offering to his work. He is by no means indifferent as to our actions]: and many that were rich cast in much. c1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men that were casting their gifts into the treasury. b42 And there came c2 And he saw a certain poor widow casting in thither band she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. [The lepton or mite was worth one-fifth of a cent. It was a Greek coin, and the kodrantes or farthing was a Roman coin. It is suggested that she might have retained one of the coins, since she had two.] 43 And he called unto him his disciples [he had found an object-lesson which he wished them to see], and said unto them, Verily cOf a truth I say unto you, bThis poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury: 44 for they {cthese} ball did cast in of their superfluity; cunto the gifts; bbut she of her want did cast in all that she had, even call the living that she had. {ball her living.} [We are disposed to measure the value of actions quantitatively rather than qualitatively. Moreover, we are better judges of actions than of motives, and can see the outward conduct much clearer than the inward character. God, therefore, in his word, constantly teaches us that he looks rather upon the inward than the outward. In this case, the value of the woman’s gift was measured, not by quantity, but its quality; in quantity it was two mites, in quality it was the gift of all she had. From considering the corrupt character of the Pharisees, Jesus must have turned with pleasure to look upon the beautiful heart of this devout widow.] [612]

[FFG 611-612]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

CHAPTER 19

THE WIDOWS MITE

Luk 21:1-4; Mar 12:41-44. Jesus, sitting in front of the treasury, was seeing how the multitude cast their money into the treasury. And one poor widow, having come, cast in two mites, which is a farthing. And calling His disciples, He says to them, Truly I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all those casting into the treasury. For all, out of that which abounded to them, were casting in; but she, from her scarcity, cast in all things so many as she had, her entire living. Jesus knew that this was all she had, and it only amounted to three-eighths of a cent. Here is a matter of fact: These two mites i. e., three-eighths of a cent were all she possessed beneath the skies. With a grateful heart, making no reserve, she casts it all into the treasury of the Lord. N. B. God is not poor, and does not need anything that we can give Him. He looks upon the heart and knows precisely what we are doing. This widow gave more than any of the balance, because she was the only one who gave all she possessed. We should all take courage. God will feed us as He feeds the birds. Let us realize it a great privilege, like this poor widow, just to give all. In that case we are utterly disencumbered of all worldly care, depending on God alone, who will certainly take care of us.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Mar 12:41-44. The Widows Mites.After teaching in the court of the Gentiles, Jesus sat down near to the treasury in the court of the women. He watched those who came to contribute. As (a poor widow) brought her last coin as an offering to God, she received high praise from Jesus; we do not hear that He ended her poverty. A love which can give up all, ranked in His eyes as the highest wealth a man can win (Schlatter). Jesus admired both the generosity and the faith of the woman. Trusting God, she could surrender all she had. Jesus pronounced poverty blessed in so far as the poor stand always nearer to genuine sacrifice than the rich, who may give largely of their superfluity, i.e. of that which costs them little.

Mar 12:42. mites: p. 117.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Mat 22:41 “41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any [man] from that day forth ask him any more [questions].” (The quote Christ mentioned is from Psa 110:1)

He questions them of their own beliefs and ignorance related to the coming Messiah. They evidently had been telling the people who the Messiah was to be -the son of David, but they had missed the fact that David viewed him as Lord or God. Here God is sitting among them, the people have declared Him as the Messiah, but the leaders have not tumbled to the fact that He is Messiah and/or God. The people were way ahead of their teachers and leaders.

This may relate to why Matthew listed the detailed genealogy of the Lord in his the opening statements of His Gospel. Matthew was writing to the Jew and would have wanted to bring this fact to the forefront of his discussion.Matthew Henry has this to say relating to the passage:

“1. They told the people that the Messiah was to be the Son of David (Mar 12:35), and they were in the right; he was not only to descend from his loins, but to fill his throne (Luk 1:32); The Lord shall give him the throne of his father David. The scripture said it often, but the people took it as what the scribes said; whereas the truths of God should rather be quoted from our Bibles than from our ministers, for there is the original of them. Dulcius ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquae – The waters are sweetest when drawn immediately from their source.

“2. Yet they could not tell them how, notwithstanding that it was very proper for David, in spirit the spirit of prophecy, to call him his Lord, as he doth, Psa 110:1. They had taught the people that concerning the Messiah, which would be for the honour of their nation – that he should be a branch of their royal family; but they had not taken care to teach them that which was for the honour of the Messiah himself – that he should be the Son of God, and, as such, and not otherwise, David’s Lord. Thus they held the truth in unrighteousness, and were partial in the gospel, as well as in the law, of the Old Testament. They were able to say it, and prove it – that Christ was to be David’s son; but if any should object, How then doth David himself call him Lord? they would not know how to avoid the force of the objection. Note, Those are unworthy to sit in Moses’s seat, who, though they are able to preach the truth, are not in some measure able to defend it when they have preached it, and to convince gainsayers.”

This is Christ’s own statement to the Jewish leadership that He was not only the Messiah, but that He was indeed God. Not the sort of rhetoric that the leaders really wanted to hear nor did they want the people hearing such declarations, but Christ had laid it all out for them so that their next move might be made in their plan to do away with Him.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

12:41 {7} And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people {i} cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

(7) The doing of our duties which God allows is not considered worthy according to the outward value, but instead according to the inward affections of the heart.

(i) Money of any type of metal which the Romans used, who in the beginning stamped or made coins of brass, and after used it for currency.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Jesus’ commendation of reality 12:41-44 (cf. Luke 21:1-4)

This incident contrasts the spiritual poverty and physical prosperity of the scribes with the physical poverty and spiritual prosperity of the widow. It also contrasts the greed of the scribes with the generosity of the widow. It resumes Jesus’ instruction of His disciples (Mar 12:41 to Mar 13:37). This pericope brings the themes of true piety (the woman) and hardened unbelief (the scribes) to a climax. [Note: See Geoffrey Smith, "A Closer Look at the Widow’s Offering: Mark 12:41-44," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:1 (March 1997)27-36.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

There were 13 trumpet-shaped metal receptacles (Heb. shofar) that the priests had placed against a wall of the women’s courtyard to receive the Jews’ offerings. [Note: Mishnah Shekalim 6:5.] The court of the women was within the court of the Gentiles, the outermost court of the temple. A low barrier separated the court of the Gentiles from the other courtyards and the temple building that lay within this enclosure. The court of the women was farther from the temple building than the court of Israel, which only Jewish men could enter, or the court of the priests, which only the priests could enter. Jesus had given His preceding teaching in the court of the Gentiles. Now He evidently moved into the court of the women.

While there he observed how (Gr. pos) the Jewish men and women who had come to celebrate Passover were putting their voluntary contributions into the receptacles.

The woman whom Jesus observed was not only a widow but a poor widow. She contrasts with the many wealthy people there. The two small bronze coins (Gr. lepta) that the widow contributed were together worth about one sixty-fourth of a denarius, the day’s wage of a workingman in Palestine. Mark told his Roman readers that they were worth "a fraction of" (NIV) one Roman cent (Gr. kodrantes, a transliteration of the Latin quadrans).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER 12:41-44 (Mar 12:41-44)

THE WIDOW’S MITE

“And He sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And He called unto Him His disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they which are casting into the treasury; for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” Mar 12:41-44 (R.V.)

WITH words of stern denunciation Jesus forever left the temple. Yet He lingered, as if reluctant, in the outer court; and while the storm of His wrath was still resounding in all hearts, observed and pointed out an action of the lowliest beauty, a modest flower of Hebrew piety in the vast desert of formality. It was not too modest, however, to catch, even in that agitating hour, the eye of Jesus; and while the scribes were devouring widows’ houses, a poor widow could still, with two mites which make a farthing, win honorable mention from the Son of God. Thus He ever observes realities among pretenses, the pure flame of love amid the sour smoke which wreathes around it. What He saw was the last pittance, cast to a service which in reality was no longer God’s, yet given with a noble earnestness, a sacrifice pure from the heart.

1. His praise suggests to us the unknown observation, the unsuspected influences which surround us. She little guessed herself to be the one figure, amid a glittering group and where many were rich, who really interested the all-seeing Eye. She went away again, quite unconscious that the Lord had converted her two mites into a perennial wealth of contentment for lowly hearts, and instruction for the Church, quite ignorant that she was approved of Messiah, and that her little gift was the greatest even of all her story. So are we watched and judged in our least conscious and our most secluded hours.

2. We learn St. Paul’s lesson, that, “if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath, and not according as he hath not.”

In war, in commerce, in the senate, how often does an accident at the outset blight a career forever. One is taken in the net of circumstances, and his clipped wings can never soar again. But there is no such disabling accident in religion. God seeth the heart. The world was redeemed by the blighted and thwarted career of One Who would fain have gathered His own city under His wing, but was refused and frustrated. And whether we cast in much, or only possess two mites, an offering for the rich to mock, He marks, understands, and estimates aright.

And while the world only sees the quantity, He weighs the motive of our actions. This is the true reason why we can judge nothing before the time, why the great benefactor is not really pointed out by the splendid benefaction, and why many that are last shall yet be first, and the first, last.

3. The poor widow gave not a greater proportion of her goods, she gave all; and it has been often remarked that she had still, in her poverty, the opportunity of keeping back one half. But her heart went with her two mites. And, therefore, she was blessed. We may picture her return to her sordid drudgery, unaware of the meaning of the new light and peace which followed her, and why her heart sang for joy. We may think of the Spirit of Christ which was in her, leading her afterwards into the Church of Christ, an obscure and perhaps illiterate convert, undistinguished by any special gift, and only loved as the first Christians all loved each other. And we may think of her now, where the secrets of all hearts are made known, followed by myriads of the obscure and undistinguished whom her story has sustained and cheered, and by some who knew her upon earth, and were astonished to learn that this was she. Then let us ask ourselves, Is there any such secret of unobtrusive lowly service, born of love, which the future will associate with me?

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary