Jesus and the Temple Donors

The setting (context)

And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples,  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation” (Luke 20:45-47 ESV). Then....

The event

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.[a] Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on” (Mark 12:41-45 NLT).

What do you think of that brief pericope about the widow? Jesus' words sound odd, do you agree?

As you can see from the context, this moment was when the “gloves were off” as far as Jesus' opponents were concerned. Jesus was watching the donors. Did any of the rich humble themselves to the Nazareth carpenter? Although not directly connected to the preceding lines, I think part of the sad pretending was making conspicuous donations to their Temple. That would surely impress God - wouldn't it? Wouldn't it?

 

Well before that day we find (in Matthew's account) Jesus saying: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness[a] in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward (Matthew 6:1-2 CSB). Applause, accolades, praise, status - all may be acquired and enjoyed for what they are. At the time. Sad.

Trumpets? Did they actually use trumpets to announce their good deeds, do you think? I do not imagine Jesus just invented that. Do you imagine Jesus frowning that day as he observed the giving by the rich? Were all giving only a small part of their surplus? (Which they were entitled to do.) This voluntary giving was not laid down by God. (There was a "Temple tax" to be paid by males, but this dropping in of money was not that.)

It appears to have been a part of the culture then to make donations to the temple, whatever temple that might be. The temples were repositories of wealth. That wealth might be plundered by victors or used to fund war - as it was in that Jerusalem Temple about 30 years later.

When Jesus pointed out the widow's giving, did he turn to his followers with a smile?

That widow in one author's view

Jesus warmly commends a poor widow (v 43). In Bible times, a widow was not just someone who had lost her ‘significant other’; she was also an insignificant figure, frequently exploited by people who were significant in society (v 40). Yet, despite having no power, no status and very little money, this widow is an incredibly generous giver, demonstrating absolute trust in God by giving ‘all she had to live on’ (v 44). Contemplate the contrast: the teachers of the law grabbed everything they could but she gave everything she had! 

(Tanya Ferdinandusz in Word Live, 26/11/25).

So wrote Ms Tanya in the valued online resource, "Word Live". What do you think?

 

Was the widow wise in her giving? Was she demonstrating her trust in God? Did Jesus warmly commend the widow's kind of giving as generous and trusting? Really? Where? Sorry, Ms Tanya, I see Jesus simply describing the facts. The widow "has given more". He does say what she has done is unlike what other, richer, donors did before her. They had plenty left over; she had nothing! The comment writer's position here reminds me of the mistaken "give away everything" viewpoint. See previous post for that.

https://biblereaderone.blogspot.com/2025/09/did-jesus-really-say-to-give-away.html Well, I really value the Word Live program; the above comment not so much. To take the event that way, I think is unfortunate, but not uncommon.

The widow would receive no honour from those around for her gift. Not that she was necessarily seeking honour. It is very easy - just human nature - to value the gift by its size. Her gift was actually more than all the rest? The amounts differ hugely; the significance is not to do with value, but that is the common measure.

Why did the widow donate the last of her cash? I can imagine her thinking that she could not do much, but she could do this. So she did. There would be a cultural background to her action I should think.

   

And - are there mysteries here? Was Jesus there on purpose to watch the giving? If so, why? How did Jesus know the widow had given all? How did he know the amount? (I am sure she would not have any trumpet sounding.) How concerned was Jesus for that lady - what would she eat? How could she expect to survive without help? Was she unwise? Where and how did she live? No social welfare in those days - did the disciples perhaps give her some money from their poor fund? Was that why Jesus pointed her out and described her need?

Look back over the little story. Thanks to Luke and Mark that lady and her actions that day are not forgotten. (The "rich" are not further described.) What then is the point of this pericope? Does it really inculcate giving? Does it not rather reflect the earlier warning Jesus gave on self praise through religious acts? Does it not say human measures of importance are rational, but erroneous? Does it not say the significance of a person's actions may not be known to the viewer? Does it not say that what appears small may be of greater significance in the life of a person? Does it not say that God sees things as they really are and not as we see?

What do you think?

 

Re the coin: The widow's coins were the smallest value coin then in existence - the (brass) lepton, sometimes called "mite". There are images on the internet showing heavily worn coins. Replicas can be purchased, for a considerable price!

We once used the farthing (one quarter of a penny). Nowadays I would be hard pushed to think of anything that can be done with even a 5 cent coin. The 5 cent coin is equivalent to 24 farthings (6 pence x 4 farthings). Our one cent and the two cent are long gone; how long left for the 5 cent?

I think we could say her gift was less than 5 cents. She had no more.

May you be blessed by God

Allen Hampton

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