The Widow's Mite

Where and when. It was Jesus' last week before the cross. He was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, and crowds came to hear Him. A warning first. Just before this, Jesus warned the people about scribes who loved to be noticed. They liked long robes and important seats, and they would “devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers” (Mark 12:40). A pretense is a show, something done to look good. Jesus sat down. Mark tells us that “Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury” (Mark 12:41). The treasury was the place in the temple where people brought their money gifts to God. The rich came. Luke says, “He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury” (Luke 21:1). Mark adds, “And many who were rich put in much.” He saw her. Then Luke says, “He saw also a certain poor widow” (Luke 21:2). In a busy crowd of givers, Jesus noticed one poor woman and her tiny gift. He sees the heart. Jesus saw more than coins. He knew what each gift cost and why it was given. Nothing about us is hidden from Him. What we learn. Jesus sees what people give to God, and He sees the reasons behind it. He sees the kind things you do that no one else knows about. You never have to put on a show for Him. He already sees you, and He loves you.

The setting. This took place in the temple during Jesus' last week, on the same day as the testing questions of Mark 12. Right before it, Jesus warned the crowd about scribes who “devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers” (Mark 12:40; see also Luke 20:45-47). Right after that warning, a poor widow came to give. Gazophylakion. The word for treasury is gazophylakion (say: gah-zoh-foo-LAH-kee-on), a place where treasure is guarded. In the temple it was where offerings for God's house were received. Seated and watching (Mark 12:41). “Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.” Teachers in Jesus' day often sat to teach. Jesus took a seat across from the givers and watched. Luke says, “He looked up and saw” (Luke 21:1). The rich. “And many who were rich put in much.” These were real gifts. Luke calls them “offerings for God” (Luke 21:4). Jesus did not mock the rich or call their gifts wrong. The widow. “And He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites” (Luke 21:2). Among all the large gifts, the Son of God noticed the smallest one. Nothing hidden. Hebrews 4:13 teaches that no creature is hidden from God's sight, and that everything is open before Him. Jesus saw the size of each gift, what it cost the giver and the heart that gave it. For you. The scribes Jesus had just warned about wanted to be seen by people. The widow brought two small coins, and Jesus saw her. He still sees. Whatever you give Him, He knows what it is and why you give it, and that is a reason to give honestly and gladly.

This happened in Jesus' last week before the cross. He was teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem. He had just warned people about some teachers of the law. Those men cheated widows and said long prayers to look good. Mark says Jesus sat down near the Temple money box. He watched people bring their gifts for God. Rich people came, and a poor widow came too. He saw what each person gave. He also knew why they gave it. Jesus sees you the same way. He sees the kind things you do when no one is looking. And He loves you.

Jesus watched people give gifts to God. He saw rich people and a poor widow. Jesus sees you too, and He loves you!

A widow. A widow is a woman whose husband has died. In Bible times many widows were poor, because there was often no one to earn money for them. God told His people again and again to protect widows and help them. Poor. Luke calls her “a certain poor widow” (Luke 21:2). Jesus said she gave “out of her poverty” (21:4). There was no extra money to spare. Two mites. She put in “two mites.” A mite was a tiny copper coin, probably the smallest coin people used. Mark says that two of them “make a quadrans” (Mark 12:42), which was a small Roman coin. A very small gift. The rich put in much. Her gift was two of the smallest coins there were. To most people, a gift like hers would look like almost nothing. She still gave. Her gift was small, but she brought it to God anyway. She did not wait until she had more. Jesus noticed. Among all the large gifts that day, Jesus saw two tiny coins and the woman who gave them. What we learn. You may feel that what you can give God is small: a short prayer, a kind word, a few minutes of help or a little money. God does not look past small things. He sees each gift that is brought to Him with love, and He sees the person who brings it.

Widows in Israel. A widow had lost her husband, and in that world she often lost her income with him. That is why God's law told Israel again and again to defend the widow, and why the prophets spoke against anyone who took advantage of her. The scribes Jesus had just warned about were doing that very thing (Mark 12:40). Lepta. “Two mites” translates two lepta. A lepton (say: lep-TON) means something small or thin, and it was the name of a tiny copper coin, probably the smallest in use. Mark adds that two lepta “make a quadrans” (Mark 12:42), a small Roman coin. Out of her poverty. Jesus said she gave “out of her poverty” (Luke 21:4). The word means lack, not having enough. The rich gave from what they had left over; she gave from what she did not have to spare. Two coins, both given. She had two coins. She could have kept one and still given something. Mark records that she put in “all that she had” (Mark 12:44). Small, but not unseen. In the treasury that day, her gift was the least in size. It was not the least in God's eyes. The Lord measures what people often overlook. A God who notices. All through the Bible, God sees the poor, the lowly and the forgotten. Jesus showed the same heart when He stopped to point out one poor widow to His disciples. For you. Do not wait until you have something impressive to bring to God. Bring Him what you have: your time, your prayers, your help and your heart. The size of a gift is not what makes it precious to Him.

A widow is a woman whose husband has died. In Bible times, many widows had very little money. God told His people to take care of widows. This widow was poor. She came to the Temple with two small copper coins. They were probably the smallest coins people used. Some people might think a gift like that was too small. But she brought her coins to God. Jesus saw her and her two little coins. No gift is too small for God to see. He cares about every person who comes to Him. That means He cares about you too.

The widow gave two small coins. They were tiny copper coins. Jesus saw her little gift!

Jesus called His disciples. Mark says, “So He called His disciples to Himself” (Mark 12:43). This was a lesson He did not want them to miss. Truly. Jesus began, “Truly I say to you” (Luke 21:3). He used those words when He was about to say something important that His listeners needed to hear. More than all. Jesus said, “this poor widow has put in more than all.” In coins, her gift was tiny. But Jesus said it was more. How can that be? Jesus explained that the rich gave out of what they had left over, “but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (21:4). Fair to the rich. Jesus did not say the rich were wrong to give. Luke calls their gifts “offerings for God” (21:4). But after they gave, they still had plenty. After the widow gave, she had nothing left. God's way of counting. People usually count how much was given. God also sees how much was kept. A big gift that costs little can be smaller in His eyes than a tiny gift that costs everything. What we learn. You do not need to be rich to give God something great. And you never give to make God love you more, because He already loves you. Giving is a way of saying thank You to God and showing that you trust Him.

Called aside (Mark 12:43). “So He called His disciples to Himself.” Jesus turned a moment at the treasury into a lesson for the men who would lead His church. A solemn word. “Truly I say to you” (Luke 21:3); Mark has “Assuredly” (Mark 12:43). Jesus used this opening to mark a statement as certain and important. The verdict. “This poor widow has put in more than all.” Counted by the treasury, she gave the least. In Jesus' count, she gave the most. Perisseuo. Jesus explained the difference. The rich gave out of what was left over to them; the verb is perisseuo (say: peh-rees-SOO-oh), to have more than enough. She gave “out of her poverty” (21:4). What remained. The rich went home with plenty still in hand. The widow kept nothing back. Jesus measured the gifts by what they cost and by what remained after them. Fair to every giver. Jesus did not condemn the rich. Their gifts were “offerings for God” (21:4), given at the temple to the Lord. His point was how God weighs a gift, not that large gifts are wrong. Not a price list. He set no amount that buys God's favor, and He did not tell His disciples to empty their purses. No gift, large or small, can earn God's love. For you. Ask what your gifts to God cost you. Then remember that God looks for a heart that loves Him and trusts Him. A small gift from that kind of heart is great in His sight.

Mark says Jesus called His followers to come close. He wanted to teach them something important. He said the widow gave more than all the rich people. The rich people gave much more money! But Jesus explained what He meant. The rich gave what they did not need. After they gave, they still had plenty left. The widow gave all she had to live on. After she gave, she had nothing left. God does not measure a gift only by how big it is. He sees what it costs the one who gives it. The rich people's gifts were still real gifts to God.

Jesus said the widow gave more than the rich people. She gave all she had. Jesus knows what a gift costs!

Her whole livelihood. Mark says she gave “all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:44). A livelihood is what a person needs to live on, the money for food and daily needs. She gave it to God. A gift of trust. When you give away what you need, you are trusting someone else to take care of you. Her gift put her daily needs in God's hands. Love is a gift. Giving never buys God's love. Nobody can earn it. God's love and His forgiveness are gifts. We give because He has already been good to us. What can you give? You may not have much money, and that is all right. You can give God a thankful heart, your prayers, your time, your help at home and kindness to others. If you ever give money to God's work, give it gladly to thank Him, not to show off. Yourself first. The best gift you can give God is you. Everything else you give Him starts there. The greatest gift. The widow gave all she had to live on. Later that same week, Jesus gave all He had: His own life on the cross for our sins. He came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a price paid to set someone free. What we learn. Jesus held nothing back for you. Trust Him, and give Him your whole heart in return.

Bios. Luke says she gave “all the livelihood that she had,” and Mark says “her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:44). The word is bios (say: BEE-os), life in the sense of a living, the means to live from day to day. She gave her living. A gift that depends on God. To give what you need to live on is to depend on God for what comes next. Her gift placed her daily needs in His hands. No price for grace. Her gift did not buy anything from God, and ours cannot either. Salvation is “the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Giving is the response of people who have received, never the payment of people trying to earn. Loved first. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When believers give, they are answering a love that came to them first. What God asks. Jesus' words are not a rule about amounts. God does not need anything from us, since everything is already His. What He desires is a whole heart, and a whole heart will show itself in how we use our time, our abilities and our money. One greater gift. From the temple Jesus went on to the cross that same week. The widow gave all she had to live on; Jesus gave His life itself, “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Her two coins were everything she had. His life was everything for us. For you. Jesus held nothing back. The right answer to a Savior like that is not a careful, partial gift, but a whole life given back to Him in trust.

Jesus said the widow gave all she had to live on. She held nothing back from God. Giving like that means trusting God to take care of you. She put her needs for the next day in God's hands. Her gift came from her heart, not from extra money. God loves it when we give to Him from our hearts. We do not give to earn God's love. We give because He loved us first. You can give God your heart, your time and your help. The best gift is to give Him yourself. The widow gave all she had. Later that week, Jesus gave even more. He gave His life on the cross for us.

The widow gave God everything. Jesus gave everything for us too. He gave His life on the cross for our sins!

🎉 All Matched!