Basic HTML Version
Jesus’ Last Visit to the Temple
369
She “has put in more than all.” The large donations of the rich
had required no sacrifice. They could not compare in value with the
widow’s mites.
Motive gives character to our acts, stamping them with disgrace
or with high moral worth. Little duties cheerfully done, little gifts
that make no show, often stand highest in God’s sight. The poor
widow deprived herself of food in order to give those two copper
coins to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that
her heavenly Father would not overlook her need. This unselfish
spirit and childlike faith won the Savior’s approval.
Many among the poor long to show their gratitude to God for His
grace and truth. Let them deposit their mites in the bank of heaven.
If given from a heart filled with love for God, these seemingly
insignificant gifts become priceless offerings that God smiles on and
blesses.
When Jesus said of the widow, she “has put in more than all,”
His words were true, not only of the motive, but of the results of
her gift. The “two small copper coins, which are worth a penny”
(NRSV) have brought to God’s treasury an amount of money far
greater than the contributions of those rich Jews. That little gift has
been like a stream, widening and deepening through the ages. In
a thousand ways it has contributed to the relief of the poor and the
spread of the gospel. Her example of self-sacrifice has acted and
reacted on thousands of hearts in every land and in every age. God’s
blessing on the widow’s mite has made it the source of great results.
So it is with every gift given with a sincere desire for God’s glory.
No one can measure its results for good.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay
tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier
matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought
to have done, without leaving the others undone.” Christ did not set
aside the obligation itself. The tithing system, established by God,
was observed from earliest times. Abraham paid tithes of all that he
[286]
possessed. As God gave it, the system was fair and reasonable, but
the priests and rabbis had made it a wearisome burden.
The Pharisees were very exact in tithing garden herbs such as
mint, anise, and rue. This cost little and gave them a reputation
for exactness and sanctity. At the same time, they neglected the