Luke 21:1-4

Butler's Comments

SECTION 1

Presentment of Sion's Default (Luke 21:1-4)

21 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3And he said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.

Luke 21:1-2 Appearances: After His scathing denunciation of the Pharisees (Luke 20:45-47 and Matthew 23:1-39) probably within the Court of Israel (where men only were allowed), Jesus walked down about 15 steps to the spacious Court of the Women and sat down near the place of the Treasury. The Greek word is gazophulakion, a combination of gaza, thing stored, and phulake, guarded. The Greek may be a translation of an Aramaic or Hebrew word ginzaya which also means, treasure house. Solomon's temple treasuries were closely connected to the porches (cf. 1 Chronicles 28:11). The Second temple also had treasuries (cf. Nehemiah 13:4 ff.). In Herod's temple (the one of Jesus-' day) the Women's Court was called the treasury because that is where the 13 bronze, trumpet-shaped boxes were placed for the reception of the offerings of the worshippers. The boxes or chests were narrow at the mouth and wide at the bottom, with their contents clearly marked on them; trumpets 1 and 2 were for the half-shekel Temple-tax for the current year and the year immediately past; trumpets 3 and 4 received the sin-offering money for the purchase of turtledoves by women who needed this particular sacrificethe money was daily taken out and a corresponding number of turtledoves were offered; trumpet 5 contained offerings for the purchase of wood used in the temple altars, etc.; trumpet 6, offerings for the purchase of incense; trumpet 7, offerings for the golden vessels; if a man put aside a certain sum for a sin-offering, and any money was left over after its purchase, such money was to be cast into trumpet 8; and trumpets 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 were to receive any money of a worshipper left over from trespass-offerings, offerings of birds, the offering of the Nazarite, of the cleansed leper, and voluntary offerings. These chests were out in the open, accessible spaces of the Women's Court, but there was also a special treasury-chamber into which, at certain times, they carried the contents of the thirteen chests for safe-keeping. Mark's record of this incident says Jesus watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Mark uses the Greek word etheorei (Mark 12:41) which means His observation was not an accidental one but deliberate. He sat down purposely to observe the worshippers. What Jesus saw was a representation of the cancer of rebellion which was destroying the Jewish nation. He saw many rich putting in muchbut their much was only a facade. He saw a poor, probably oppressed, widow putting in all her living. The many rich were only giving for appearances sake. Probably the reason the rich gave much was that the many coins would make a louder and longer sound sliding down the narrow openings of the bronze boxes and clanging into the flaring, trumpet-like bottoms. The widow put in two small copper coins. The Greek word for her coins is lepta; the word literally means, peeled, fine, thin, small, light. It came to be used to designate a small copper coin, often mentioned in the Mishna as the smallest Jewish coin. Its value was about one-eighth of the Roman money, as, or about one-one hundred twenty-eighth of a denarius; one denarii constituted a day's wages in buying power for the common laborer then. Two mites or lepta would be worth about 60¢ in American coin today. What would 60¢ be compared to probably hundreds of dollars being cast into the treasury by the rich?

Luke 21:3-4 Actualities: If a contributors-list had been published in the Temple News-letter these two mites would probably be hidden in the Miscellaneous Gifts section, if listed at all! Yet out of the midst of all the large gifts by important people, the Son of God selected these two mites and held them up for all the world to see and for centuries of believers to marvel at and use to examine themselves. Contrasted with all the powerful and great people and over against all their hostility and unbelief is this nameless widow and her insignificant coins. As God saw it, it was the most important thing that happened there on that Tuesday. The Lord's standard of values are out of this world! What Jesus said was more is exactly opposite from what the world says is great. And why?because of the motive, because of the attitude. Any amount given grudgingly, of necessity or out of coercion is an abomination before God (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:5-8). On the other hand, if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he has not, (2 Corinthians 8:12). These many rich people cast into the treasury boxes out of their abundance. The Greek word translated abundance is perisseuontos and may be translated superfluity, or, sometimes, left-over (see Mark 8:8). What these rich gave was what they had left over after they made sure their own needs and wants were secured (probably with a goodly portion also socked away in savings for a rainy day). It was an out and out manifestation of greed, selfishness, and, worst of all, mistrust in God's promises to supply every need. What these rich gave represented no sacrifice of self at all! There was nothing spiritual in their giving at allit was all ritual and pretense. In giving only left-overs, even though it was much, they revealed their blatant disrespect for God's Law. This is the way Christ saw their offerings!

The widow put into the offering box, more than all of them because she gave when she was suffering privation and poverty herself. Not only did she give, she gave all she had to live on. The Greek word translated living is bios which is the word for physical life. Those two mites represented all that was between her and starvation! It is almost incredible that anyone would do such a thing as this widow did. If it were not in the Bible we could not believe it! This widow follows in the train of that godly widow in Elijah's day who had only a handful of meal and a little oil between starvation for herself and her son but by faith in God willingly shared it with the prophet, (1 Kings 17:12-16).

What this widow did was probably scorned by the rich, but for Jesus it manifested her complete trust in the Father's word. Such a deed is evidence of belief in God like nothing else. This is the way the Macedonians gave (2 Corinthians 8:1-7)in their extreme poverty. Such faith proves our love (2 Corinthians 8:8; 2 Corinthians 8:24) and our obedience (2 Corinthians 9:13). Giving like this is doing the work of God (2 Corinthians 8:7). The widow's offering was sacrificial. Sacrifice means literally, to slay and offer. This widow put self to death and offered self to God, totally. She gave all her living. God measures sacrifices and offerings not so much by what one gives as by what one keeps! He evaluates offerings not in terms of amount but in terms of devotion (2 Corinthians 8:12; 2 Corinthians 9:5; 2 Corinthians 9:7-8). Her deed was altogether spiritual. She would not accept the philosophy that life consists in the things one possessesthat there is no life after death and that we live only in the realm of the material existence. She put the glorification of God before her own physical life. She did so, right where she was, with what she had at that momentnot waiting until something more exciting and applaudable came along. She would never know what her last coin would accomplishshe would never be acknowledged by men or receive applause. But that was not her concern. She loved God and was grateful to God with all her being. She believed and trusted the First Commandment. The widow's offering shows the superficiality of the saying: nine-tenths with God's blessing, equals more, and all those other pragmatic, materialistic motivations for tithing.

While Jesus waited and watched to see some fruit of godliness and respect for God's Law in the religious leaders of Israel in that dark and desolate hour, He saw in them only hypocrisy and contempt for God. But He did see one godly widow living in poverty, come to show there was still a small remnant of faith, real faith, in Israel. If Jesus were to write down what He sees in the church today, would it approximate what He saw in the Treasury (cf. Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:17)? What He saw in the Treasury indicated to Him that God's Zion, His redemptive nation, had defaulted on its call and covenant. Time was fast approaching when the terrible judgment of Jehovah must fall. They had rejected HimHe will reject them.

Applebury's Comments

A Poor Widow's Two Small Coins
Scripture

Luke 21:1-4 And he looked up, and saw the rich men that were casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than they all: 4 for all these did of their superfluity cast in unto the gifts; but she of her want did cast in all the living that she had.

Comments

And he looked up.Jesus had been teaching in the temple. He had just warned the people to beware of the hypocrisy of the scribes whose long prayers failed to cover up the fact that they were devouring widows-' houses. As He looked up, He saw the rich men putting their gifts into the treasury.

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had spoken against the hypocrisy of giving to be seen of men (Matthew 6:2-4). Nothing is said that would suggest that these rich men were guilty either of hypocrisy or of acquiring wealth by defrauding the poor. Because some rich men make riches their god, there is no reason to assume that all do. The point of the lesson is the contrast between those who put in their gifts out of their riches and the poor widow who gave all she had to live on.

a certain poor widow casting in her two mites.They were just two little copper coins. It didn-'t amount to much. It would scarcely be noticed in the total offering of that day, but Jesus saw it. Her act is memorialized in Luke's gospel for all ages to come.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that If the readiness is there, it is acceptable as a man hath, not as he hath not (2 Corinthians 8:12).

This poor widow cast in more than they all.The Lord's work certainly requires large amounts from those who have riches as well as the seemingly insignificant amounts from those who are like the poor widow. But in the eyes of Jesus, the poor widow did more than all the others. The reason? She gave all she had to live on; the others gave out of their abundance.

Paul commended the churches of Macedonia for their liberality in face of their real poverty, for they first gave their own selves to the Lord (2 Corinthians 8:5). He also upheld the principle of proportionate giving (1 Corinthians 16:2).