The Word This Week
Luke 21:1…
In Jesus’ time a widow was in the most precarious place in their society.
Throughout God’s Word we see God urging His people to care for the widow and the fatherless children. God sees the difficulties they faced in times when there were no social welfare programs in place to take care of the indigent and the poor and the fatherless. Chief among those who had no visible means of support were widows.
After enduring the testing of the chief priests, scribes, elders, and Sadducees, Jesus turns His attention to observe the conduct of how the people are giving.
He had just publicly castigated the scribes for how they loved public acclaim and notice, all the while devouring widow’s houses. This was meant by Jesus to be a stinging rebuke.
So, from a distance He observed the behavior of the wealthy in their giving. This degree of the invading of their privacy in what they gave may seem a significant intrusion – but then we stop to realize Jesus always sees what we give.
Jesus not only sees what we give, He also sees HOW we give.
And then along comes a widow. A poor widow.
She placed 2 mites in the gift receptacle. A pittance. The smallest coin in the realm, the mite. (2 mites would be equal to about $1.50 in our money.)
How astounding for Jesus to account this poor widow as having given more than all. I’m sure this must have left His followers wondering how this could possibly be the case since she visibly gave such a small amount.
But here Jesus taught His followers - once again - that God’s economy is not like man’s. Man’s economy is all about the amount. God’s economy is all about the cost.
Pastor Bill
In Jesus’ time a widow was in the most precarious place in their society.
Throughout God’s Word we see God urging His people to care for the widow and the fatherless children. God sees the difficulties they faced in times when there were no social welfare programs in place to take care of the indigent and the poor and the fatherless. Chief among those who had no visible means of support were widows.
After enduring the testing of the chief priests, scribes, elders, and Sadducees, Jesus turns His attention to observe the conduct of how the people are giving.
He had just publicly castigated the scribes for how they loved public acclaim and notice, all the while devouring widow’s houses. This was meant by Jesus to be a stinging rebuke.
So, from a distance He observed the behavior of the wealthy in their giving. This degree of the invading of their privacy in what they gave may seem a significant intrusion – but then we stop to realize Jesus always sees what we give.
Jesus not only sees what we give, He also sees HOW we give.
And then along comes a widow. A poor widow.
She placed 2 mites in the gift receptacle. A pittance. The smallest coin in the realm, the mite. (2 mites would be equal to about $1.50 in our money.)
How astounding for Jesus to account this poor widow as having given more than all. I’m sure this must have left His followers wondering how this could possibly be the case since she visibly gave such a small amount.
But here Jesus taught His followers - once again - that God’s economy is not like man’s. Man’s economy is all about the amount. God’s economy is all about the cost.
Pastor Bill