Skip to main content

smallest gift

Mark 12:42
"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing."

Jesus is in the temple teaching a HARD LESSON about the SCRIBES. They were the “Bible Scholars” of the day. Their responsibility was preserving and teaching the WORD of GOD. But they DID NOT. Having shared sharp words, Jesus looks around His surroundings and notices another way to further illustrate His lesson.

This part of the Temple, by the treasury, had a large trumpet-shaped vessel that stood near the entrance for receiving offerings. The attendees would cast their gifts, primarily copper and bronze coins, into this trumpet. The coins would make a considerable clatter in the trumpet and still more clinking noise as they fell into a pile. This might have sounded like a Las Vegas slot machine paying out. Especially when the "rich CAST in MUCH."

In stark contrast, today's verse; "And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in TWO MITES, which make a farthing." The primary meaning of the word “mite” is “thin” or “tiny.” The “farthing” is one of the Latin words that represents the quadrans, or fourth-part of a Roman measurement. We might think of the mites being "dimes" and the farthing as a "quarter." Point being the mites were SMALL, and they made very LITTLE noise when cast into the trumpet of the treasury. If Jesus had not pointed this widow out, no one would have even noticed her or her offering. 

Keep in mind that some of those present and casting MUCH in, making lots of noise, would have been scribes and Pharisees who swindled homes from widows. It is even probable that this widow has lost her home to one of them! AND! She keeps on giving more!!! What is clear is that Jesus knows this situation from every perspective. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elisha’s example

1 Kings 19:19-21 "19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? 21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him." In Luke 9:54, after James and John sought to call down fire on a Samaritan village that rejected Jesus, they referenced Elijah, saying, “even as Elias did?” Jesus then taught three lessons about rejection: 1- Discipleship demands sacrifice, embracing hardship and forgoing earthly security. 2- Following Jesus requires immediate, un...
Post a Comment
Read more

I will make you

Matthew 4:19&20 "19 And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." In our "Follow Me" series, we study Jesus calling His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew. By the Sea of Galilee, a thriving fishing hub, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting nets as humble fishermen. His disciples were ordinary workers, not wealthy or educated elites. Jesus approached them and said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Remarkably, they immediately left their jobs to follow Him. This brief exchange conveys a profound truth: Jesus says, "I will make you." Only God can transform us to accomplish His purpose. We should often pray, "Help me, God," seeking Jesus' guidance to follow His plan for our lives.
Post a Comment
Read more

God’s patience

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." God did not immediately punish King Solomon when he allowed his foreign wives to build altars for false gods. Despite multiple compromises, God remained patient. Over time, Solomon’s endorsement of idolatry defied God’s covenant, leading to divine judgment, including the loss of the kingdom for his son. Some mistake God’s patience for indifference or inaction, but He follows His plan in His timing. If our nation, culture, church, or we ourselves stray like Solomon, we can repent and return to God’s path. And, should do so sooner than later! Amen!
Post a Comment
Read more