Sermon Cloud

"Money speaks" is more than a cliché. It is an axiom of the heart. Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).

• During the last decade Americans spent over $180 billion dollars per year on gambling, fifteen times more than it gave to its churches.
• Data released last month by the Federal Reserve shows that Americans' total credit card debt has reached $951.7 billion-up 8.2 percent from a year ago and the highest amount ever recorded.

That is a tragic declaration of the heart of this country. Money speaks!

Aware of this, the Lord chose the temple treasury for his departing shot at his detractors before leaving the temple for good. Money-giving-reveals the state of the heart as few other things can. Thus Jesus chose this setting to contrast the phony righteousness of the religious leaders, who "devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers" (20:47), with true devotion to God as exemplified in the life of one poor widow.

"As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury" (v. 41). The treasury where they placed their offerings consisted of thirteen brass treasure chests called trumpets because they were shaped like inverted horns, narrow at the top and enlarged at the bottom. According to the Mishnah, each of the chests bore inscriptions designating what the offerings were for: " ‘New Shekel dues,' ‘Old Shekel dues,' ‘Bird offerings,' ‘Young birds for the whole offering,' ‘Wood,' ‘Frankincense,' ‘Gold for the Mercy-seat,' and, on six of them ‘Freewill-offerings.' "

Because of the Passover the treasury was a most busy place as both local inhabitants and pilgrims crowded past the thirteen chests and inserted their offerings into the narrow brass mouths made shiny by the constant friction of worshipers' hands. Here amidst the noisy din, Jesus could easily observe the givers without drawing attention to himself. Have you ever sat at an airport or a shopping mall and watched the people over your newspaper or coffee? Such times can be most intriguing.

Jesus was observant. He not only noted people's actions but assessed their motives. Neither the widow (the principal focus of Jesus' attention) nor the rest of the people had any idea they were being watched. We too are being watched in our least conscious moments. As George MacDonald said:

"When we feel as if God is nowhere, He is watching over us with an eternal consciousness, above and beyond our every hope and fear"

What a staggering moment it is for a worshiping soul when one first awakes to this reality. Jesus really is watching us. As Hannah said in her prayer, the Lord is weighing our actions (1 Samuel 2:3). And later David prayed, "You perceive my thoughts from afar" (Psalm 139:2). Every action is important, and every action is seen by the One to whom we will give account.

Jesus Observes

What did Jesus see as he watched the worshipers make their deposits? Initially he saw "the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury" (v. 41). We should not assume that he disapproved of all the offerings of the wealthy. Very likely there were some who had noble motivations.

But Jesus also saw much that displeased him. The huge Passover crowds and the public display made possible by the thirteen trumpets created an opportunity for outrageous preening and posturing. Imagine the hush that came over the crowd when a notable person approached, perhaps with an offering too heavy to carry himself, and the audible gasp as the shekels crashed into the brass trumpets. Can you see the pious countenances of the rich givers, their satisfied, restrained "see if you can top that" expressions?

The rich, fashionable religious world of Jerusalem and the Jewish diaspora paraded before Jesus' eyes. It was a world of souls in peril. The ability to give on a scale that is not possible for others can produce a delusion of superiority and spiritual safety-"I have done what others cannot-so my soul is superior and my eternity secure." Such people can develop a sense of intrinsic goodness, when in actuality they are evil.

But as Jesus watched, he noticed something that made his heart applaud: "He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins" (v. 42). Jesus, and anyone else who happened to see her, knew she was a poverty-stricken widow because widows wore distinctive clothing, in her case undoubtedly worn and tattered. The life of widows in Biblical times was proverbially difficult. This woman's beauty of soul makes us wonder where she lived and how, and what had been her suffering. Her offering was two coins, so small they were called lepta (literally, "peeled" or "fine," the idea being a tiny thin coin).  The miniature lepton was worth only one four-hundredth of a shekel, or about one-eighth of a cent. The two lepta represented barely anything-like today's pennies that most do not even bother to pick up.

She undoubtedly approached the trumpets quietly, almost stealthily, head bowed, hoping to draw no attention to herself. Though she did not know Jesus was watching, she knew God saw her, and that was who she came to please. Seen in the context of the grasping greed of the teachers of the Law who were devouring widows' houses, her gift unwittingly slammed the religious establishment.

Her motivation for such giving could only be love. There is no other explanation. She (not the religious leaders) was living out the Shema, loving God with all she was and had. When she slipped the two coins into the mouth of the "trumpet," they fell inaudibly against the shekels of the rich. The temple was, in effect, no richer, but she was immeasurably poorer, for she had given all!

J. A. Bengel, an early eighteenth-century commentator, beautifully noted that she gave  "two - one of which the widow might have retained." She gave everything! She was silently saying to God, "I love you. Here's my heart, my life. It's not much, but it's all I have."

The Passover crowd had been oohing and aahing over the generosity of the rich, and Jesus had remained unmoved. But when the widow passed by, though he sat still, inwardly he was on his feet applauding.

Jesus' Conclusions

" ‘I tell you the truth,' he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on' " (vv. 43, 44). Jesus held in his hands the balance scales of eternity. On one side he emptied all the contents of the thirteen trumpets-the shekels, the denarii, the heavy gold and silver. On the other side he placed the two minuscule copper coins. And the massive load of the rich gave way to the eternal weight of the widow's tiny offerings.

John Calvin correctly saw Jesus' words as double-edged, encouraging to those who have little, but a sobering exhortation to those with much. He remarks:

The lesson is useful in two ways. The Lord encourages the poor, who appear to lack the means of doing well, not to doubt that they testify to their enthusiasm for Him even with a slender contribution. If they consecrate themselves, their offering which appears mean and trivial will be no less precious than if they had offered all the treasures of Croesus. On the other hand, those who have a richer supply and stand out for their large giving are told that it is not enough if their generosity far exceeds the commoners and the underprivileged, for with God it rates less for a rich man to give a moderate sum from a large mass, than for a poor man to exhaust himself in paying out something very small.

Realizing that Jesus' commendation cuts both ways calls for some soul-searching observations.

1. The posture of our hearts makes all the difference

First, when it comes to giving, the posture of our hearts makes all the difference. When I write a check to the ComEd, that agency does not care at all about my heart's attitude. It does not care whether I give willingly or grudgingly, lovingly or hatefully, joyfully or sadly. All ComEd is interested in is the bottom line. Just pay up! Not so with the Lord! The world sees the quantity, but the Lord sees quality.

"If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3).

But if I give a penny with the widowheart, it is great gain to me and to God.

God weighs our motivations. This truth is either a terror or a comfort. Which way does it strike you?

2. Giving that pleases God is giving that costs us

Secondly, giving that pleases God is giving that costs us. We must give in such a way that we go without something we would like to hang on to-vacations given up, clothing and cars that wait another season, pleasures put off.

Centuries earlier, King David said it all in response to Araunah the Jebusite's generous offer of his threshing floor as a site on which to build an altar to God, as well as the animals to sacrifice there. David answered,

"No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing" 2 Samuel 24:24

Giving that costs us is giving that pleases God.

C. S. Lewis offers this sage advice:

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.

3. God can do great things with tiny offerings

Thirdly, God can do great things with tiny offerings. Those two pennies (totaling together a quarter of a cent), given quietly with the widow's motive, have produced more for the kingdom in the intervening 2,000 years than all the other gifts presented that Passover week. Down through the ages those two little coins have been multiplied into billions and billions for God's work as humble people have been liberated to give from their little or their much. The Lord has converted those two coins into a perennial wealth of instruction and motivation for his Church.

If there is love and sacrifice on the part of the giver, there will be spiritual power in the gift. In this respect we can say that what the church needs is not larger gifts, but gifts given with the sacrificial attitude of the poor widow. Jesus meant to encourage all of us with his commendation of this godly woman.

4. Christ will square his accounts

Fourthly, at the Judgment, Christ will square his accounts. There is no evidence that the woman ever knew what Jesus thought of her gift. There is no evidence that she ever became a prosperous woman in this life. In fact, since the final judgment and the ultimate bestowing of eternal rewards is still future for the whole Church, there is every possibility that she does not know to this very day what we know about her. The Judgment is going to reveal her work-the architecture of a beautiful soul adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:11-14).

The memory of the widow's giving stayed with Jesus as he went from the temple to the judgment hall and to the cross. She, to use his words, "put in all she had to live on," and he gave all he had too, even his life! Someday he is going to say to her, "I saw what you did!" The crown of this widow-sister will be glorious!

5. God is "equal opportunity."

Fifthly, God is "equal opportunity." There is no advantage to the poor or the rich, to the unlettered or the educated, to the unknown or known in the matter of giving. Billy Graham has no advantage over the humblest believer, and vice versa. The questions are: How do we give? Grudgingly or willingly? Does our giving cost us anything? What will the Judgment reveal? What is our attitude when we are not being watched?

Closing Reflections

Is it possible for the Church to love and give like the widow? Has it ever done so? The history of the apostolic church answers with a resounding yes! Paul told the Corinthians:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)

God does not want our money. He wants us. And yet we cannot give ourselves to him apart from our money. It is true that money speaks. It tells us where are hearts are. What does our giving say about us?

Jesus sits across from the treasury of every church and watches. What does he see in your church? In your life?