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His time was at hand. It was Tuesday in the last week of His life. By Friday He would be crucified, but He will come again. His coming will be heralded by those who wait for His presence? He will be called "Blessed", for He will judge those who have persecuted the chosen of God. With these words, Jesus concluded His public ministry. But there are still 8 events which we believe occurred on this day of controversy.
Mark and Luke record for us an event that is believed to have followed His confrontation with the Scribes and Pharisees. There was a box that was set at the Temple gate that was called the "Poor Box". It was always open for contributions. The money was used for charity. It was found that placing it in an easily accessible place where people could see those who gave, that it did much to increase the contributions. After what must have been a very tiring day, Jesus sat down and watched those who came and put their gifts into this box.
Many did so. Many were rich and put in large sums, but a widow came by and put in two copper coins. It is good to note that this was not their regular Temple offering, but a charitable offering above their regular offering much as we do to missions and other charitable organizations. It is good to note that Jesus observes what we contribute to charitable causes.
Notice what Jesus observes. He does not condemn the rich, to the contrary, He notes that they give large sums of money, but His comment is that they do not give "sacrificially". The widow, on the other hand, gave all that she had and He commended her to the Disciples.
Matthew Henry writes concerning this widows offering, "How many of you would have commended the widow?" "Would you not rather have condemned her for giving away all that she had and not leaving anything for her own needs?" Paul writes in II Cor. Chapter 8, concerning the churches in Macedonia, "We want you to know, Brother, about the Grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia." "For in a sever test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part." Paul was writing this to the church at Corinth to let them know what other churches were doing who were not nearly as blessed as they were.
What is the lesson in this event in the life of Christ? Why did Mark and Luke think that they should record this for us? Four reasons have been suggested:
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