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The Widow's Mite. Mar_12:41-44.
v. 41. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.
v. 42. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
v. 43. And He called unto Him His disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury;
v. 44. for all they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all she had, even all her living.
The Temple treasuries, thirteen in number according to transmitted accounts, were located in the Court of the Women. Jesus, being weary of His labors of teaching and arguing all day, sat down near these collection boxes, or repositories, the money of each of which was designated for special purposes,. and carefully watched the multitude as they cast money into the Temple treasury. The evangelist states that many rich people, perhaps some of the merchants that came to Jerusalem only for the great festivals, threw in much. A few pieces of gold more or less made very little difference to them. It gave them the satisfied feeling of having done their duty when they dropped their superfluous money into the box. But suddenly a woman attracted the interest of the Lord. A poor widow she was, that probably had to support herself as best she could. Two mites she had in her possession, and, though she might have kept at least one of them, she threw them both into the treasury. "Another coin, translated 'mite,' is in Greek lepton, 'the small one, 'Or the 'bit' It was two of these that the widow cast into the treasury, where it is said that two of them equaled a quadrans. The 'mite' was, then, of the value of 1/8 of a cent. It was doubtless the smallest coin in circulation, but it has not yet been identified with certainty with any coin that archeology has discovered. " There was a lesson for the disciples in this act of the poor widow, and therefore Jesus called them over quickly and pointed out the greatness of the sacrifice. In proportion, she had given more than all the rest that had cast money into the treasury. For, though many of them may have given money equal to thousands of dollars, it was all given from their surplus; these amounts they would never miss; theirs was no sacrifice in any sense. But how different the gift of the widow! She had, out of the depth of her want, in her destitute state, given all that she possessed, her whole means of living; she had sacrificed the last necessities of life to the Lord, and apparently out of a heart filled with free love for the God of Israel, since Jesus in no way censures her manner of giving. That is, in truth, cheerful giving, and such givers the Lord loveth. A special warning is in place here, since many people try to excuse their infinitesimal gifts for the Lord with a reference to the widow's mite. If cases like hers would actually happen in our days, the treasuries of the Church would be filled to the bursting point, so that the disposal of the money would become a real problem. Let the Christians of the present time learn to be only one tenth as liberal and sacrificing in their gifts to the Lord as this poor widow, and there would never be need of any more cries for help.
Summary.Christ tells the parable of the wicked husbandmen, is tempted by the Herodians and Pharisees with regard to the tribute to Caesar, answers a question of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection, names the foremost commandment of the Law, asks a question concerning David's Son and Lord, warns against the scribes, and praises the poor widow for her gift to the Temple treasury.