Mark 12: 38-44- The Widow's Mite

Mark 12: 38- 44- 

Jesus publicly uncloaked the scribes' motivations when he confronted them.  He positioned them and unmasked their desire for position and recognition and not necessarily being spiritual leaders. 

Then Jesus spoke to the disciples about giving. In verses 42, 43, and 44 we read, “(41) Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. (42) The one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. (43) So he called His disciples to Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; (44) for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.’” 

This is one of the most impactful lessons in the Bible. Jesus pointed out to the disciples how important the motivation behind the giving to God’s work is. Obviously, the amount does not matter as much as the motivation of the heart. Jesus was pointing out the motivation of giving but He wants us to learn to give regardless of our circumstance to advance God’s kingdom and not be concerned the amount we are giving. The widow was doing what she knew was right and the other lesson is that Jesus recognized the impact of her giving. He recognizes the impact of our giving too. 

Proverbs 10:20- The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Matthew 4: 23-25- Principles and Works

Matthew 4: 23- 25- ‘And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So, His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.’ Jesus has made Himself known to the people at this point and He did this in a way that showed all that only the Messiah could do the things He was doing.  As a people we are all so i ntrigued by great works of people.  What we need to focus on is what is listed first in the passage.   Jesus was teaching and proclaiming the gospel of God to everyone. We need to watch ourselves and listen more to what the Holy Spirit may be saying through the Bible and Jes...
Read more

John 6: 52-59- Do What?

Read John 6: 52- 59-   Verse 52 says, “Then the people began arguing with each other about what He meant, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” they asked . We have 20-20 hindsight.   We know where Jesus was headed in His conversation with the people and those who considered themselves disciples.   What Jesus was saying was extremely radical for those people to hear.   I am sure some thought it was blasphemous.   Some could not conceptualize the whole idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.   If the media of today heard original stuff like this, they would fly out of control calling on this person to be ignored, locked up and would certainly make fun of Him.    Jesus wanted the people to understand it was necessary for Him to become an intense part of their lives in order to live for eternity with God.   Some just could not get the concept.   Were they so steeped in their religious training and activities, they could not ...
Read more

John 6: 22-59- What's My Motivation?

        Read   John 6: 22-59-       There is so much in this section of the book.   I think verses 22 through 27 address the motivation of the people.   As a way of immediately getting their attention, He calls them out.   (26) Jesus replied, “The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the miraculous sign.” That tells me the people were looking for a free lunch.   It maybe they were extremely poor and did not know where their next meal was coming.   It maybe they were just looking for free food because they didn’t have anything better to do.   Who knows? Jesus knew what they did need to hear though.   (27) But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.   Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.”        There are times when people want t...
Read more