“The Heart of Giving"
Mark 12:41-44
A small church in Virginia:
needed to have a new roof in the worst of ways, but
There was no money in their account.
Most of the congregation was very poor except for the local banker:
He was an ornery old cuss, and
he would be the first in church so he could always
sit in the back pew by the door.
That way, he could:
always get up and leave
during prayer
right before the offering was collected.
One day, on the way to church:
An accident in front of him made him late.
When he got to the Church,
the only place to sit was on the front pew in front of the pastor.
As the pastor prayed for God:
to send them money for the roof,
a piece broke off and fell down,
hitting the banker on the head.
He immediately yelled out, “I’ll give $1,000. for the roof!”
And one of the men in back yelled out, “Hit him again, Lord!”
What does it mean to give in a way that pleases God?
The bulk of our time this morning will be:
- talking about Jesus’ praise for a widow
- who gave sacrificially in her offering…
- And GAVE ALL she had and
- TRUSTING God to Provide what she needed
But before we get there:
- we see that Jesus was just confronting
- the scribes and pharisees
- about their pride and hypocrisy,
Jesus will draw a contrast:
between the attitude of the widow and
that of the hypocritical attitude scribes and pharisees
Here is a summary of what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees:
A. Hypocritical: They say one thing but do another
B. Burden Others: Place heavy burdens on people but don’t help
C. Love Praise: Seek recognition and honor from others
D. Mislead People: Shut people out of God’s kingdom
E. Neglect Justice: Focus on minor rules but ignore justice, mercy, and faithfulness
F. Outwardly Righteous: Look holy outwardly but are corrupt inwardly
G. Spiritually Blind: Lead others astray through ignorance
H. Reject Prophets: Honor past prophets while repeating their ancestors' sins
Now in Mark 12:38–40 contrasts them a humble widow:
“Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
- This takes place on Wednesday of the Passion Week
Jesus once again condemned the scribes:
- who were leading the people
- they taught many good things
- but they themselves did not live what they taught…
Jesus told the crowds to “BEWARE” of the scribes:
- who wanted attention and personal glory
- who and devoured widow’s houses
The widows were the most vulnerable in God’s flock:
- The religious leaders should have protected the widows, instead…
- they cheated them, manipulated them and
- stole from the widows in order to enrich themselves
“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.”
- Mark 12:41–42 (NKJV)
1. Jesus OBSERVES the GIVING
This all took place in the court of the women:
- where both women and men could assemble
- in the court were 13 offering receptacles, that were shaped
- like the bell of a trumpet or shofar facing skyward
- that emptied into a chest to store the coins
Jesus sat and watched people:
put their offering into these offering Trumpets
these were voluntary offerings, above the 10% tithe
some put in a little money, others dropped in big money
One night, a burglar broke into an elderly woman’s home:
As he crept through the living room,
he suddenly heard a loud voice say,
"Jesus is watching you!"
Startled, the burglar froze:
o He looked around but saw nothing,
o so he continued.
o Again, the voice boomed, "Jesus is watching you!"
This time, the burglar shone:
his flashlight around the room and
spotted a parrot in a cage.
Relieved, he chuckled and said, "So, you’re Jesus, huh?"
The parrot replied, "No, I’m Moses. Jesus is the Rottweiler behind you."
How much thought have we given:
- to the idea that Jesus is aware of our actions
- that He is watching what we do and more importantly,
- that the Lord is aware of our intentions
Do we think that somehow:
- God sees some things and not others.
- God sees and know how we are living
- and that ought to motivate us….to live and give rightly
Proverbs 15:3 (NKJV)
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
keeping watch on the wicked and the good."
Jesus cares about our giving and observes:
- not just what we give,
- but how we give.
Can we take a moment to:
Reflect on how we give?
Are we giving for public recognition, or quietly for God?
Who are we trying to please with our giving?
“Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites,
which make a quadrans.”
- Mark 12:42 (NKJV)
The widow put in her two coins:
- worth 1/32 of a denarius
- a denarius was worth a day’s labor
- so, in reality she put in less than a penny
It wasn’t much money, but her heart impressed Jesus….
2. The widow GAVE ALL she had.
“So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;”
Mark 12:43 (NKJV)
Jesus is now speaking directly to His disciples:
- telling them that in His Kingdom
- the poorest of the poor can give more than the wealthy
- things are different with Jesus
The widow gave two small coins:
- that left her with nothing
- not nothing until her next social security check
- that was not a thing…this gift left her with nothing
John MacArthur points out that:
- part of this story is that
- the widow was giving all she had
- into a corrupt system that took advantage of her.
- he said the collection trumpets emptied into the pockets of the scribes…
Earlier I mentioned that this offering was not even required:
- this was something above the requirements of the Law
- she could have given one coin and kept the other
Nothing required her to give all she had:
the others gave out of their material wealth
at little cost to them, but
the widow out of her poverty gave everything.
When this widow gave:
she completely trusted that God would provide for her needs,
and that is part of giving,
giving is trusting God as our real provider
Proverbs 3:9–10:
"Honor the Lord with your wealth and
with the firstfruits of all your produce..."
I plan when I am going to give:
- I know that Sunday collection happens every week
- when I get paid, I set aside what I am going to give on Sunday
- I strive to make sure God gets paid first
The reason is that:
- If I do not plan ahead
- everyone else gets paid
- but there is nothing left for God
Dr Adrian Rogers so rightly said:
“a faith that hasn’t reached your wallet, probably hasn’t reached your heart.”
Martin Luther:
“A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”
It is important to give:
- even when things are tight financially
- to demonstrate that you trust God to provide
- to tell God that He comes first.
There is not command to:
- give until you have nothing left
- but rather you give with a good heart
- that you give sacrificially
Because in God’s Kingdom, sometimes a little turns out to be a lot….
3. How Jesus DEFINES true GENEROSITY
“…for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of
her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” - Mark 12:44 (NKJV)
When the rich people put their money into the Trumpets:
- they still had extra money left
- they had not given sacrificially
- they still had plenty left over
James R. Edwards explains it this way:
“For Jesus, the value of a gift is not the amount given, but the cost to the giver…. In the Temple, others gave what they could spare, but the poor widow spared nothing…”
From a human perspective:
- the widow’s gift was insignificant…just a few pennies.
- her gift was dwarfed
- by the enormous amounts of money others had given
However, that is not how God saw the widow’s gift…
- Jesus said her few pennies amount to
- more than the total of everyone else’s gift
- her gift had cost her EVERYTHING
In Christ’s Kingdom:
- we are all on level ground, there is no hierarchy of power
- the rich and the poor have
- equal positions as servants of God
------
For the poor: do not be ashamed if you cannot give much in the offering.
To the rich: do not become arrogant by what you put in the offering.
To all of us: Give sacrificially from the heart.
-----
Practical Lessons:
A. Generosity is a matter of the HEART:
We are to give joyfully and generously,
No one should feel forced into giving.
True giving flows from love and faith, not obligation
B. God SEES and VALUES sacrifices:
I cannot over emphasize the fact that:
Jesus knows how we are living and giving.
Even the smallest act of generosity
is significant to Him when done in faith.
God will reward the faithful!
C. TRUST in God’s PROVISION:
The widow gave her all, trusting that God would provide for her needs.
Jan once told me her story:
- about how she learned
- to trust God fully in her giving
She was a teacher and her husband was a minister:
- they had several small children
- and were barely getting by financially
One Sunday she was at Church:
- and offering time was coming up
- she had a little money in her purse
- that was supposed to be for groceries that week
She had to decide if she would give her tithe or buy groceries:
- when the offering plate came by
- she put her tithe into the offering plate
- not knowing how she was going to buy food for her family…
She went home after Church:
- and it was not long until someone came by and
- gave her two sacks full of groceries
- it was just what she needed to make it…nothing extra but enough…
She had not told anyone of her need:
- but God provided
- He knew what she needed, and He provided
Think about your own giving:
- are you giving sacrificially?
- or are you giving God whatever is left over?
Will you Commit:
to giving joyfully, generously, and
sacrificially,
trusting in God’s provision.
Tony Campolo, a popular Christian writer:
was visiting a Christian Woman’s Club
At the meeting, the president read an appeal letter
from a missionary who needed $4,000 for an immediate need.
After reading the heart-wrenching letter, the president said,
“I’m going to ask our guest speaker
to lead us in prayer that God will
meet the need of this dear missionary.
Brother Campolo, would you pray?
He said “No.”
The president was stunned.
“No, I won’t pray for God to meet the needs of this missionary. But I’ll tell you what I will do. I’ll give every dime of cash I have in my pockets and place it on the table. I’m asking each of you to do the same. If we don’t have $4,000, I’ll pray for God to meet their needs. I challenge you to give what you have now. No credit cards, no checks.”
He emptied his wallet.
Reluctantly, 300 women emptied their purses.
The amount laid on the table was well over $4,000.
Campolo said,
“You see, we did not need to pray that God would provide the resources. It was already there. We had to pray to let it go.”
The widow in today’s text:
- gave all she had
- held nothing back
- she placed her whole life in the hands of Jesus
In Mark 12:41-44, we witness a powerful example of sacrificial giving:
The widow, with her two small coins,
gave everything she had,
while others gave out of their wealth.
Jesus commended the widow for her her faith and devotion:
showing us that true generosity
is measured not by the amount we give,
but by the heart behind it.
As we reflect on this story:
We are reminded that following Jesus
is not just about giving our resources
It is about giving our lives.
Are we truly willing to follow Jesus with:
the same selfless commitment that the widow displayed?
Will we offer our hearts, our time, and
our service to Him?
Today, I invite you to reflect on your commitment to Jesus:
Are you ready to follow Him with wholehearted devotion?
Have you placed your trust in God alone?
It is decision time…pray.
