In Jesus Holy Name November 10, 2024
Text: Mark 12: 43-44 Pentecost XXV Redeemer
“Giving. Which Commandment is That?”
A Note: This message today is not about how your broken commandments can be erased. It is not about God’s offer of grace and the gift of eternal life by faith in Jesus. It is not about “the way” but about our walk. Let me begin with a story.
When Moses descended from the heights of Mount Sinai, the story goes that he juggled in his arms not two but three Tablets of the Covenant, with another set of five commandments inscribed on each. At least that’s how Mel Brooks tells it in his classic comedy “History of the World, Part I.”
Mel Brooks is playing the part of Moses, walking on Mt. Sinai and he hears the voice of the Lord proclaim. ‘Hear me, o hear me! All pay heed!’ ‘The Lord, the Lord Jehovah, has given unto you these fifteen tablets. . .’ [One stone tablet drops and shatters. A perplexed Moses looks down and mutters ‘Oy!’] . . . ten, TEN commandments for all to obey!’
Of course, it never really happened that way. But what if it had? What if God had originally meant to give us fifteen commandments, and five got lost?”
Could “giving” be one of the “Lost Five commandments?”
The Gospel of Mark chapter 12 tells us that Jesus makes a comment about the behavior of the Pharisees during Holy Week in Jerusalem. Jesus is being challenged by the religious leaders regarding his authority to work miracles. Tension is high.
(Maybe have the bible open at this point and they can also) Our text is part of a larger verbal exchange that is happening in the temple. In Mark 11 Jesus has entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In Mark 12 begins with Jesus telling the parable of the “tenants in the vineyard”. Mark adds the comment: “the Pharisees then looked for a way to arrest Jesus because they knew he was speaking about them.”
Mark continues the challenge of the religious leaders who challenge Jesus on giving money to the temple treasury in regards to the paying of taxes to Caesar. This challenge is followed by a question by the Sadducees regarding marriage after the resurrection. It was a trick question because the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection.
Then one of teachers of the law asked “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus gives the answer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength. The second is like the first… love your neighbor as yourself.” This question had been asked earlier by a rich young man who could not part with his wealth.
Then we come to the real life story of the widow’s mite. Maybe it deals with one of those lost commandments. The commandment of giving.
It has been called the story of the widow's mite. We are all familiar with this event in the life of our Lord in which a widow gave all the money that she had as an offering in the Temple and thereby received the praise of the Master of Life himself. The story is generally perceived to be one about giving and clearly that element is there. But it is not. Less than one penny in today's money. There are several answers.
Another element to this story that perhaps we fail to see is that Jesus had just been watching the Pharisees in their giving practices. Everyone knew their giving record; indeed, they made a point that everyone knew it. There is no paper money so it all makes a terrible noise as it rolls down this long horn shaped object and falls into the pool of coins.
So here comes this little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door. Jesus then calls his Disciples over and says, "This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others." Why did Jesus say “poor widow”? Had she been defrauded? And this is all she had left?
This story is no doubt tied to the story in Mark 10 when a rich young man approached Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus gave a list of commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, then Jesus added, “do not defraud,” and finished with honor your father and mother.
Maybe Jesus knew that this young man had not earned his money honestly. Had he “defrauded widows?” We don’t know but it was a question of “where your heart is, there your treasure will be”. Maybe that is why Mark places this story of the “widow’s mite” after Jesus had just accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy for “they devour widow’s houses” and for show wear long tassels on their flowing robes, only to make a show with their lengthy prayers.”
As we read this story it may look like it is about giving, commitment, sacrifice, worship, generosity or faithfulness you are wrong. Yes, some of these elements are there but that’s not what this is about.
I’m going to give you one word that describes this event. When I give you the word you will think, “What? I don’t see it? That doesn’t make any sense? Where do you get that from?” If it’s not about giving, commitment, worship, generosity, or faithfulness then what’s it about? It is about their hypocrisy and the coming judgement. Jesus is about to bring judgment down on the religious system and how it abuses the financial gifts of both the rich and the poor. Let me show you.
Let’s go back to where I began this message in Mark 12. Jesus enters the Temple complex and He began driving out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. Jesus said, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nation, but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Mark 11:15-17, NLT).
The religious leaders were charging outlandish prices for the sacrifices and elements that were needed for the various offerings. They were doing all this where the people should have been praying and worshipping God. Jesus cleared out the large temple complex .
This made the religious leaders mad. They were so mad “they began planning how to kill him” (Mark 11:18). The next day the religious leaders approached Jesus at the Temple demanding He explain who gave Him the authority to clean out the Temple like He did. Then Jesus tells a parable about some evil farmers who managed a farm for an owner, but the parable from Isaiah 5 was really about the religious leaders and their failure to seek righteousness and justice.
Here is what you have:
• Jesus condemning and judging the Temple for how they are robbing people, especially widows.
• Jesus pointing out a poor widow who gives her last bit of change to the Temple.
• The very next thing we see Jesus say in chapter 13 is about judgement on the Temple and how it will fall.
The failure of the rich young man earlier in the gospel of Mark and his failure to part with his “treasure” and follow Jesus, leads to this event at the “temple” offering box. The words of Jesus about the rich and the poor widow serve as an object lesson of why the corrupt religious system needs to come down. Jesus is not pointing out the widow as an example for us to follow, but He is pointing her out as an example of why He is about to bring judgement on the Temple and the religious system. He is not judging her, but the religious system that has become corrupt to the point that it would devour widows like her.
Why do we do what we do? What do we hope to achieve by our giving? The Pharisees and Sadducees gave to receive peer recognition. And, said Jesus, they received their reward. People praised them. The woman, on the other hand, gave out of love for God. According to Jesus, she also received her reward.
The first motivation for giving, In speaking of his Gentile churches, the Apostle Paul said: First we gave of ourselves, and then we gave of our resources. Too many of us have gotten it backwards. I’m thankful that may of you are so motivated… you give to Samaritan’s Purse, Rescue the Children, Breaking the Chains, and the Red Cross, plus others as well as your church.
Secondly, your money follows your heart. Jesus worded it this way: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. You show me your check book and I'll show you what is important to you. Show me how much you give to the Kingdom of God and then compare that with how much you spend on your personnel hobbies, it says a lot.
Being rich is not a sin nor selfish. If you have been blessed with a lot of financial wealth, you don’t need to feel guilty about it. Wealth itself is morally neutral. What you do with your wealth can either enhance good or create more evil. Wealth can be used for God’s purposes or for selfish goals. If by God’s grace your wealth increases don’t let it become your idol, that was the problem with the rich young man. His wealth had replaced the first 3 commandments.
The first motivation for giving, is love for to God and the needs of our neighbor. Secondly, our motivation comes from the priorities of our lives: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The third motive for giving is because it makes God happy. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: God loves a cheerful giver.
Here at Redeemer our approach to “giving” has always been on of trusting God to provide for the needs of His church. We have always suggested, especially for new believers whose life may already be complicated by 20% inflation and family obligations to simply start at 4 or 5 % and then every year add one percent. We should be giving out of a sense of thanksgiving and joy and thankfulness.
