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 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 

 

In our current reading, Mark's Gospel now tells the events of what we call Holy Week -- Jesus' final days in Jerusalem, beginning with Monday's reading.  Yesterday we read that one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, 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, an 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.  Now that He has answered a scribe's question regarding the first commandment, and after that "no one dared question Him" (see yesterday's reading, above), Jesus begins to pose an important question Himself to those who test Him.  He quotes from Psalm 110:1, asking them about how to understand this Scripture.  Jesus poses the question with the understanding that it is David himself, by the Holy Spirit, who wrote the words of the Psalm.  My study Bible comments that Christ asks this question to lead His listeners (particularly those among the leadership who've been testing Him) to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  For these religious leaders, the Messiah was supposed to be a mere human being.  As Jesus indicates here, the scribes say that the Christ (the Messiah) would be a Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  But here in this Psalm, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while my Lord refers to Christ.  My study Bible says that the only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, yet is also truly divine, as He shares His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Mark tells us that the common people heard Him gladly, while Matthew adds that "no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore" (Matthew 22:46).  

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware 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."  In this passage, we may suppose that Jesus addresses those common people in the temple who were listening to the questions and debate with Christ by the leaders, and who heard Him gladly.  No doubt also those people included His disciples and all those who welcomed Him as Messiah into Jerusalem.  Note that the  question regarding the identity of the Messiah was framed here by Jesus as questioning what "the scribes say."  Now He truly begins to teach and criticize the leaders, and in particular the scribes, warning the people about those 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.  For their hypocrisy, these will receive greater condemnation.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives a lengthy and exhaustive criticism of the religious leaders to the people and His disciples in Matthew 23:1-36.

 

 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."  My study Bible cites patristic commentary as saying that the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  Therefore, this poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, as she's kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance, but keep plenty for themselves, my study Bible says, are counted by God to have given very little.  In the story of the conversion of Cornelius, we learn that God takes note of our giving (Acts 10:4).  

As we read this story of the poor widow just after Jesus' condemnation of the scribes and their love of worldly glory, so to speak, we might consider it the real answer to the questions posed by Jesus' criticism.  Indeed, if the religious leadership are corrupt -- if they bear within themselves the hypocrisy of those who seek honor from God and before people, and yet in secret do things dishonorable in the eyes of God (they "devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers"), then we can conclude that the alternative teaching to the people is the example of the poor widow.  Let us compare the two classes of people from which these examples come.  The scribes were those who were knowledgeable of the law.  As such they were necessary for transactions such as drafting legal documents; i.e. for marriage contracts, divorces, loans, inheritance, land sales, and other matters.  Of course, when we speak of legal matters in this context, we speak of the Scriptures and the Mosaic Law; formally a scribe is someone who copies manuscripts, and thus their expertise.  By Christ's time they occupied many necessary positions in governing bodies from the villages to Jerusalem and the Council, and they could also pronounce judicial opinions as they were the ones who knew Jewish law and practice.  From the New Testament Scriptures, we know that they also gave opinions on texts citing rabbinical experts (see, for example, Mark 1:22).  So between the scribes and the poor widow we can probably find a great deal to contrast.  While the scribes were experts in the law, necessary for many legal transactions (notably those involving money and property, hence the capacity to "devour widows' houses"), and employed at virtually every layer of government in Christ's time, this poor widow, we can assume is formally unlearned.  As she is very poor indeed, we might also understand how little power she wields in the society, and isn't even protected by a family or descendants who provide her with greater means than her meager sum of two mites.  A mite was the smallest coin of the time.  According to one source, two mites were worth 1/64th of a day's wage for a laborer.  We are speaking of a very tiny sum indeed.  But Jesus points her out in His teaching to the crowds and His disciples as an example of one truly beloved and honored by God, "she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."   In contrast to the scribes, who love wealth, authority, and social position above all, she is humble and has no real social stature.  But the point of Christ's teaching is that she has given more generously and lavishly than all the rest, and her sacrifice is greater than all others for the love of God.  It is yet another Biblical example that through the small, God teaches the great.  The world of material power is upended through her example, for in God's sight, she has given more abundantly than the rest.  It is ironic to consider in this context that, while it is the scribes who are experts in the law and who may pronounce legal judgments as well as expert opinions of Jewish tradition and even philosophy, it is this poor widow whom God judges to be the greatest giver of all.  She becomes yet another example in the Scriptures that "the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).  Clearly, when we're told that the Lord looks at the heart, it means that the Lord knows everything about us, from the heart, to what we are capable of doing in our lives, to the state of our pocketbooks, and everything else.  Let us consider carefully what this teaches us when we come to rely too much on the opinions of others, for it is the opinion of the Lord that really counts, the honor that comes from God, and this is the clear teaching of Christ.  In keeping with Jesus' answer to the scribe's question of the "first commandment" in yesterday's reading, let that be our first motivation, our first love.  Let us be grounded in this place of the truth, and the humility necessary to perceive it.