The Widow

Mark 12.41-44

So, here’s Jesus. He’s sitting and watching people, a fascinating pastime. As He watches He sees this woman put in a couple of coins into the equivalent of the offering plate. And as Mark goes to some pains to let us know, these were two of the smallest coins in circulation. Jesus then calls His disciples over and points out what this woman did and praises her. Then Mark moves on to other things. It’s just a little incident. But there are important things going on here, and they really aren’t about money. The life of this woman has some valuable things to teach us. So, let me encourage you to listen and then spend a little time considering the lessons of her life.

Let’s first get a hold of the details. Mark identifies this nameless woman as a poor widow. Here is someone without resources. There is no husband to provide for her. And it’s not like she can find a minimum wage job somewhere. Economically speaking, she was below the bottom rung of the ladder. Life for her was especially hard. So, what does this woman do? She takes the last of her wealth, two tiny coins, and gives them to God as her offering. That was all of her money, all that she had to live on. And now, she has absolutely nothing. Those are the details.

Now, it’s time for some questions. And the first that presents itself is, ‘Why?’ Why would someone do such a thing? To answer this, you need to look at more than just the behavior. You also have to look at the heart. There are many ways you can take some behavior that is good and make it into something very evil by pursuing it with twisted motives of the heart. Think of that Pharisee praying, ‘I thank You, God, that I am not like other men…’; right behavior perverted by an evil heart. But Jesus praises this woman. So, it’s not just her behavior that is impressive. Her motives must also be commendable. With that in mind, we can answer our question, ‘Why?’ The only reason that makes sense is love. We see the love that this woman had for her God. It’s easy for someone to say that he loves God. This woman showed it. She gave her last as an offering, and she did it because of love.

That, of course, leads to the next question. Was that a wise thing to do? How would she eat? How would she care for herself? Was this really a good idea? I think that you will agree that there are some things that love will do that those without such love cannot understand. Jesus suffered hell on the cross. Why would He do such a thing? Was that wise? To be sure the woman did something very risky, but what she did was an expression of her love. The questions about her future are appropriate. But I think that it is fair to say that her love for her God was matched by her faith in her God. ‘I am convinced that You will care for me. I trust You to keep your promises.’ Without this, her act was suicidal. Jesus would not commend something like that. Her love was matched by her faith. Does that mean that she returned home to find a banquet laid out on her kitchen table? Probably not. And I don’t think that she expected that, either. Instead, she expected that her God would provide enough to live until her reason for being here was fulfilled. And I’m quite sure that’s exactly what He did.

So, we have this woman who steps out of the mists of history, and, for a very brief moment, her faith and love are noticed by Jesus. And then she returns to the mists once again. But before she returns, she is commended by Jesus. We need to consider His commendation. It’s here that things get interesting. The commendation turns on the comparison that Jesus makes. He tells His disciples that she put in more than all the others. Bear in mind what Mark tells us. ‘Many rich people put in large sums.’ But Jesus makes the comparison and the woman come out on top. Clearly, it can’t be a matter of how much money. After all, any one of those rich folk gave a far greater amount. So, what’s going on here? Why did Jesus commend this woman in contrast to the rest of the people? What’s the lesson for those disciples and for us? Jesus points to the woman because she is a living example of His teaching. Over the previous three years, Jesus taught, time and again, about being a disciple. Here, He’s stumbled upon one. It’s as if He were saying, ‘See that woman? That’s what I’ve been talking about when I’ve been telling you about following Me. You can’t follow Me by offering the leftovers of your life. You can’t follow Me if you only give Me a portion of who you are. You can only follow Me if you give Me everything. It’s complete devotion or it’s nothing.’ The woman was a great example of Jesus’ teaching on faithful discipleship. Listen to some of what He taught about this in those three years. ‘Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’ ‘So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.’ ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.’ Do you see what Jesus was pointing out to His disciples when He commended this woman? It’s not about money. It’s about something that is more profound than money. This poor widow was – and is – a living illustration of real discipleship. Out of love and because of faith she gave everything to her God. She gave her affections, her desires, her plans and dreams. Everything. That’s what was going on when she dropped those two little coins into the offering. And Jesus says, ‘That’s what I’ve been talking about. It’s complete devotion or it’s nothing.’

In this, Jesus defines so clearly the difference between a faithful disciple and someone who’s just being religious. The religious person gives Jesus a part of his life, the religious part. That might be just a small portion of his life or it might even be most of it. But however much he gives, it’s still limited. It’s only a part. The rest of his life belongs to him to do with as he wishes. And, if you really think about it, even the religious part of his life is still his. He’s just decided to be religious with that part. The religious person is still in control of his life. But the disciple says, ‘Take my life and let it be … ever, only all for Thee.’ Quite a difference. We live in a culture that rejects such devotion. The priorities of this world are all about me. ‘This is my life, and I will decide how I will live it. I may even decide to be religious. But it’s my life, and I’m going to enjoy it however I think best.’

Let me add a special word to those of you who are entering adulthood. You are and will be making important decisions about your future. Are you aware of this message of the world? You hear it every day: in school, from friends and in lots of other places. What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? What does complete devotion – devotion like this woman’s – look like in your life? You need to be very serious about these things as you plan for the rest of your life.

Being a faithful disciple of Jesus today is very difficult. Maybe it’s always been difficult. I don’t know. But for sure, it’s difficult today. The message of our world is clear and strong and so contrary to true discipleship. And we all have listened to it and, to some extent, allowed it to affect us. I think that it’s safe to say that we all have a long way to go before we approach the devotion of that poor widow.

Now, why am I preaching on this woman? It’s not because I want to discourage you or depress you. Rather, I want to clarify some things for you and in this way encourage you. First, some clarification. I hope that it is abundantly clear that Jesus has expectations of you. ‘It’s complete devotion or it’s nothing.’ Again, because of the state of our world, this is something that you need to hear again and again. Jesus has expectations. And let’s be frank. These expectations are huge. Or to put it another way, Jesus is very demanding. That’s a side to Him that isn’t talked about much these days. But it’s true. However, you need to see that in this Jesus isn’t being any harder on you than He was on Himself. Consider the prayers at Gethsemane; the wrestling and the bloody sweat; Jesus facing the huge expectations of His Father. And at the end of it all, He went to the cross, suffering your hell, submitting to those expectations. So, when you hear Jesus making His demands of you, put them into the right context. ‘Come, follow Me.’ We do not follow rules. We follow a Person. The goal is to live as He did.

Now, I can understand someone at this point saying, ‘I can’t do that. I understand what you’re saying but I can’t do it. The example of the woman is beyond me.’ It’s important to make a distinction here. ‘Can’t’ isn’t the same as ‘Won’t’. Someone who refuses to follow Jesus in this way is excluded. He has no part in the kingdom of God. We cannot define discipleship on our own terms. Jesus defines it. ‘Won’t’ excludes. That person may be religious, but he certainly isn’t a disciple. But ‘Can’t’ is actually good. That’s simply an admission that you are not able to meet Jesus’ expectations. And the fact is, left to yourself, that’s exactly right. But you’re not left to yourself. Jesus doesn’t toss you a Book and then say, ‘See me when you’ve gotten this right.’ He’s left His Spirit here to give us what we need, all of what we need. It will be hard. There will be a battle, but we will win. He guarantees it.

But let’s fight this battle wisely. The battle is not fought on the level of behavior. Remember that there were lots of people who gave more than the widow. But that’s just looking at behavior. The real battle is fought in the heart. It boils down to a matter of love and trust. So, how is your heart doing when it comes to these things? Is there a growing love for Jesus? Deepening affections? A growing willingness to endure for His sake? A passion for the Gospel that you can feel? And how have you been doing when it comes to learning how to trust Him with those things that are most precious to you? Are you seeing a developing confidence in His promises and more of an appeal to them as you deal with life? Let me be clear. I am not saying, ‘Have you arrived?’ I am saying, ‘Can you see movement in the right direction?’ Big difference.

A changed heart, one in which love and trust are developing, comes as you interact with the Spirit. Here, I’m talking about responding to Him as He speaks to you and as He acts in your life. The Spirit speaks by the preaching of the Word. In what specific ways will you respond to what He has said this morning? Maybe the sermon has provided a thought or two that needs to become part of your prayer conversation with Him this week. Listening to a sermon and then doing nothing with it will not produce a changed heart. What will you do with what the Spirit has said this morning? The Spirit also acts. I’ve wondered whether the trauma of this woman becoming a widow, the pain of losing her husband, was part of what got her to the point of loving her God and trusting her God in the way that she did. The Spirit uses the distresses and shocks of this life to change hearts. Remember that when you are next confronted by some adversity. The Spirit even uses evil to bring about good, if you trust Him. The Spirit speaks and He acts. There will be a battle, but it is a battle that you and the Spirit fight together. And it is a battle that you will win.

And it is a battle that is worth the effort. What is at stake here? Of first importance is making Jesus look good. That’s always the most important thing. The widow accomplished that. She made her God look good. And maybe no one but Jesus and His disciples noticed it at the time, but there have been billions who have seen it since. You’ve noticed what she did this morning. You exist to make Jesus look good as you enjoy His goodness. You won’t be able to do that unless you strive to follow Him with the devotion that this woman had. But while making Him look good is hard, it really is worth it. This is the greatest joy of every disciple. And that leads to another reason that the battle is worth the effort. Devotion to Jesus is the path to real life. When you total it up, whose life will be better: the religious person or the disciple? Who will flourish? The battle is worth it.