Object Lessons of Jesus – Poor Widow

Object Lessons of Jesus – Poor Widow. 

“Then Jesus sat down near the offering box, watching all the people dropping in their coins. Many of the rich would put in very large sums. But a destitute widow walked up and dropped in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. Jesus called His disciples to gather around and then He said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on, which was everything she had.” (Mark 12: 41-44).

HUMAN OBJECT: the poor widow at the Temple treasury.

LESSON: Jesus witnessed a teachable moment with His disciples while watching various people at the Temple. He never wasted an opportunity to teach the disciples an important truth, So here He used the widow as the living object in His lesson to them. They were in the Temple Court where the collection boxes were placed: seven boxes for the Temple taxes, and six boxes for the freewill offerings. Jesus noticed the wealthy givers who would put a lot of money into the boxes, and Jesus wasn’t all that impressed. They gave only a small portion out of their surplus money. Their offerings didn’t inconvenience any of them in the least, since they had so much money left over after their giving. Their lack of sacrifice probably reflected the level of their faith in God’s sustenance and their piety in terms of their relationship to God. Then Jesus noticed a poverty-stricken widow, with no means of support, drop two small coins into a treasury box. Each of these ‘mites’ was only worth about 1/8th of a cent, the smallest of all the coins in circulation. Yet Jesus was most impressed with the sacrificial offering of that widow. She gave all she had, her lifesavings, with no way of knowing where her future means of support would come from. She was actually more generous than those wealthy givers. Out of her religious piety, she displayed more faith in God’s future support. She gave generously till it hurt, which pleased Jesus. Jesus and His disciples saw all this happen, and He couldn’t help but make an important lesson out of it.