41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.[a] 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

In today's passage, Jesus lets his disciples in on a secret found in an anonymous woman's story. The religious leaders have just tried to trap Jesus in his words by asking him about submission to Rome and hard passages of Scripture. During their conversation, before denouncing them for their hypocrisy, Jesus declared the greatest commandment -- love God with everything you are. He said:

Mark 12:30 (ESV) — 30 ...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Then, right there at the temple precincts, amid the noisy activity, Jesus found a true lover of God, a widowed woman who lived in poverty. She gave God everything she had. Jesus knew it. And he rejoiced at what he saw in her, so he pulled his disciples aside to tell them what he'd just witnessed.

The Setting

This episode occurred in the court of the women, just around the corner from the outermost court of the temple area, where Jesus' debate with the religious leaders took place. In this court was the treasury, comprised of thirteen chests into which people deposited their tithes and offerings. Each box was for a specific type of offering -- new temple dues, past due temple dues, bird offerings, wood offerings, spice offerings, gold offerings, and freewill offerings. Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box (41). Some translate this sentence: "Jesus watched how they put money into the offering box." How. Lots of rich people put in large sums (41). But a poor widow came and gave two copper coins (42). Mark says it came to a penny (42) -- not our penny, but the Roman reader's penny, which amounted to 1/64 of a day's wage. By the modern California minimum wage, it was $1.75.

How Did They Know Who Gave What?

At this point, you may wonder how Jesus knew how much people gave that day. I'm sure the wealthy looked wealthy, and the poor widow betrayed her poverty, but how did Jesus know the rich put in large sums and the widow put in two copper coins? We might envision the privacy of an ATM or credit card transaction. There is no sound to give it away. Even our paper currency -- checks and bills -- is quiet when we drop them into the offering box. But their money was coinage, and coins make noise. So it's possible everyone knew who gave much (or little) because of the noise. These boxes had lids in the shape of a horn, and you would drop your gift into the narrow end of that horn. It would drop down into the box—the louder or longer the sound, the bigger the gift. It's also possible they announced the gifts as they were given, especially if given as donations to the welfare of the priests. But Jesus must have also known by divine revelation. Why? Because he told his disciples that she gave everything she had, all she had to live on (44) -- that's divinely attained information. God the Son knew.

1 Samuel 2:3 — "...the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed."

Jesus Noticed Her

The first thing I want you to notice in this passage is that this woman captured Jesus' attention. Imagine him there in that temple. He had rebuked the temple activity for its utter prayerlessness two days earlier, calling it a den of thieves. But in this dry and barren wasteland, Jesus found a flower. He found life. And he rejoiced. It does not surprise us that this woman captured the attention of our Lord. She was an impoverished widow. And God has a special place in his heart for people whose lives are hard.

Psalm 146:9 — The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. She probably hoped no one would notice her that day because, in that culture, she was not highly valued or regarded. But Jesus, the Lord, was bound to notice her.

He Saw Her as a Model of Devotion

It was what the widow did that blessed Jesus' heart that day. He watched her drop in her two little coins, almost of no value at all. No one there that day celebrated her gift. It made little material impact on the temple's operating budget. Her gift was little more than an accounting error, but it amazed Jesus! He took his disciples aside to teach them based on what had just happened (43). To Jesus, this woman was a model of devotion, an example of worship, and a true lover of God. Jesus' disciples could not imitate the religious leaders for their example; that much is evident from the passages before this one, but they could look to this woman.

Portion vs. Proportion

The reason Jesus was so moved by her was because she had put in more than all those who were contributing to the offering box (43). More. More! More? This is amazing because everything in the passage portrays her as less. The rich came, but she was poor. They gave large sums, but she only gave two copper coins. One can imagine everyone celebrating the wealthy while this woman remained anonymous and forgotten. But it was not so for Jesus. Why? Because she gave more than they did. Clearly, her two copper coins were not more in total value, but more in proportion, because they were her all (44). This is why Jesus said, "For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on" (44). For the wealthy givers that day, there was no sacrifice. But this woman paid the price for her generosity. She had given it all. And Jesus was more blessed by the proportion of her giving than the portion of their giving. And couldn't we say that her two copper coins did more than all the other gifts that day? The disciples needed her selfless example. They all eventually embraced a hyper-sacrificial life -- and the shape of the world, and our lives, is better because of their devotion. Not only that, but I would imagine billions or trillions have been given to God's kingdom because of this woman's example. For two thousand years, she has confronted God's people. Her little gift is still doing superabundant good. Jesus loved her devotion. And he loves when we lay down our money or our time because it's a tangible way to love God with our heart, mind, soul, or strength. We sometimes wonder if all our sacrifice or generosity makes a difference in God's sight. But God sees. God knows. And he loves it. In the following article on Mark 12, we’ll look more deeply at the poor widow and how she exemplified Christian maturity and Christlikeness.