Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

'The LORD said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation." 

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  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; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

- Mark 12:35-44

It is now Holy Week in our readings, and Jesus has been teaching in the temple.  Yesterday we read that one of the scribes came, and having heard Jesus reasoning together with Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  All the questions posed to Jesus seem to have as their aim to prove that He is not the Messiah.  From the beginning of His stay in Jerusalem for Passover Week, immediately after He cleansed the temple, questions have been put to Him, starting with queries about His authority.  Here, after others have questioned Him, Jesus goes on the offensive, so to speak, and asks a question Himself.  My study bible says Jesus asks to lead them to the only logical conclusion:  that He's God incarnate.  The leadership supposed the Messiah to be a mere man.  But Jesus makes it clear that the Messiah, as Son of David, would not be called "Lord" by King David himself.  The only one David as king would address as my Lord is God, as he does here in Psalm 110:1.  (The first LORD is God the Father.)  The conclusion to Jesus' "riddle" is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The text tells us that the common people heard Him gladly.  This is perhaps because the authorities in the temple can make no answer to Jesus, as in realizing the implication of the Scripture and Jesus' question, they are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God.

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Jesus' next subject is hypocrisy -- the "false front" that passes for piety but loves its own authority and prestige.  We can imagine how the common people heard this gladly. 

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  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; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."  We can see how this observation is linked to the teaching on the hypocrisy of the scribes just before it.  Her gift is greatest, because it is made from her poverty.  That is, she herself lacks, but she still gives.  My study bible says that the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but rather how much is kept back.  It cites the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10:4), where we learn that God takes note of our giving. 

In thinking about the gift of the poor widow, we must consider all the conditions she seems to present.  We do so particularly in contrast to Jesus' warning about the scribes and their love of the best places, and also of widows' houses, and their long prayers made for a pretense.  My study bible cites Acts 10:4, in which we're told that the centurion Cornelius has been told by an angel, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God."  Let us take note that not only alms are mentioned, but also prayers.  It denotes, as does the gift of the poor widow, a deep devotion and love of God.  This isn't giving for the sake of giving, it's giving from love and devotion in the heart.  A gift isn't about the object given, it's about the truth in the heart, and the love that is there.  This is really the fullest gift possible, one that comes from giving of the whole self.  That is love and true devotion.  We're reminded of the woman who will anoint Jesus before His burial, with an expensive alabaster flask of perfumed oil.  This will be met by indignation on the part of the disciples (most specifically by Judas, John's Gospel tells us), because it could have been sold and the money distributed to the poor.  But Jesus tells them, "You have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. . . . Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" (Mark's version will come in 14:3-9; see also John 12:1-8).  Jesus always reaches into the heart of people, and maybe most particularly we're given in the Gospels several examples of women whose full heart He sees into.  Here, the poor widow is another such woman.  Her great gift made even out of her need and want denotes a full heart -- one of complete love and devotion to God.  We should not overlook the depth of giving that comes not from material goods, but from a heart that gives itself fully to God.  Thus, the angel notes both Cornelius' prayers and alms.  When we think about giving, I think the heart should be the first place we go.  It is there that we learn what to give, how to give -- there we discern what love is, and ask in prayer how to help heal any circumstance.  This is the fullness of the soul giving itself to God, and thereby whatever else is at one's disposal for God's purposes.  It is when only that which "shows" matters (as in Jesus' description of the scribes) that we may lose track of the true depth of giving.