Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign
[00:00:04] Speaker B: welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day.
Hello and welcome. This Bible teaching is produced by Heralds of Hope. We are a small ministry where our vision is to use media to make disciples.
Disciples of Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus, we must worship him. God made us to worship. People everywhere are, uh, worshipers. We all worship something today. As we study this passage from Mark 12, think about who you worship and what is important to you. Worship comes from deep within and what you are worshiping is very important.
[00:00:52] Speaker A: I once read the story of an 87 year old lady who worked long days doing other people's laundry. And people were amazed when she generously donated a hundred and US$50,000 to establish a scholarship fund at a major university.
Even more impressive than that is that her gift represented only 60% of her life savings.
When someone asked her how she did it, she said, I lived modestly, saved regularly, and I gave generously.
Her gift was impressive, but not one compared to the woman in our text today.
Ms. McCarty, that was her name, gave away a large sum, but she still had money in the bank.
The woman in our text had only two coins and she gave them both to God.
After her gift, she had nothing left at all.
The actions of this widow tell us what was really important to her and they reveal the profound impact of true worship.
These are the final days of Jesus earthly life. The Pharisees, the Herodians and other religious leaders have all tried to trap him with questions.
Jesus silenced them all and then he asked them a question they couldn't answer.
Immediately after that, he warned people about the hypocrisy of these religious leaders.
So I turn to the portion of Holy Scripture in Mark, chapter 12, verses 38 to 44. And the title of my teaching is Whom do you worship?
Here is the word of God.
Then he said to them in his teaching, beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts. Who devour widows, houses and for a pretense make long prayers.
These will receive greater condemnation.
Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and he saw how the people put money into the treasury and many who were rich put in much.
Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites which make a quadrance.
So he called his disciples to himself and said to them, assuredly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury, for they all put in out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her, uh, whole livelihood.
In this text, I want us to see two kinds of worship.
The first kind is the evidence of self worship.
Most professing Christ followers would emphatically deny self worship. I would.
Jesus says to his disciples in the hearing of the whole crowd, beware of the scholars of the law.
These religious leaders of the day said that they held God's law in highest esteem.
They applied God's commands to the most minor details of life.
So why did Jesus warn the crowd to watch out for them?
It was because their zeal for the law made them proud and arrogant more than obedient.
Jesus statements about the scholars in our text plainly show who they worshiped.
And I'm afraid that you and I may find ourselves in some of his descriptions.
So brace yourself.
First, these men lived a life of ostentation.
What is that? It's an unnecessary display of wealth or knowledge or ability to attract attention, to gain admiration, or to make other people envious.
So these men liked walking around in long robes, the clothing of kings and dignitaries.
Long robes were a mark of wealth, and they most likely had tassels on the bottom that marked these men as teachers of the law.
They thought they deserved special attention and special respect from the ordinary people.
Is there ostentation in your life?
Is there any unnecessary display of wealth or knowledge to attract attention or admiration?
This could be things like an extravagant church building or maybe a lavish salary for the pastor, or focusing on material prosperity rather than spiritual growth.
Then another aspect of self worship is reputation. Jesus said these men loved to be greeted as rabbi or teacher in the marketplace.
This was the honorary greeting of an inferior to a superior.
I would say that inferior and superior are terms that don't belong in the family of God. We are all equal in God's sight.
Now, it's true we should strive to have a good reputation, but God's reputation is much more important than mine.
If I insist that people recognize my accomplishments or education or position, what does it do? It puts the focus on me and takes it away from God.
I steal some of the worship that really belongs to him.
That is why humility is a crucial aspect of genuine worship.
And then there's elevation.
When these men attended the synagogue, they wanted to sit up front on the raised platform so everybody could see them.
And then in social settings, they wanted the best seats at the table.
Mealtime had great significance in the ancient world, and guests were seated at the table according to their social status.
But Jesus said it shouldn't be that way.
Do you ever have the temptation of wanting to be noticed?
I'll be honest, I do. I remind myself that my position doesn't make me more valuable than anyone else. I want God's name elevated, not mine.
The next aspect of self worship is exploitation.
Jesus said of these religious leaders, they devour widows houses.
So they were likely mismanaging the estates of widows for whom they had been appointed the guardians.
They made decisions that would benefit them financially instead of looking out for the best interests of the widow.
You and I may never do something like that. But there are many ways to exploit someone besides finances.
What about exploiting another person's emotions or weaknesses for our benefit?
And then Jesus says they show off by making long prayers. That's affectation. In other words, they appear to be something they are not.
We sometimes call it putting on a show.
This one also hits pretty close home.
Do we do things in public to make others think we are more spiritual than we are?
Do we say and do things in the privacy of our homes that we wouldn't want other people to know about?
That's an attempt to look better in the eyes of others than what we are. That's affectation.
Whatever you and I have, God has given it to us. And if we truly worship Jesus, there is no place for pride and boasting.
In 1 Corinthians 1:31, the apostle Paul reminds us, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.
So we need to boast about God and about his goodness to us.
Someone said, the more special we make ourselves, the less special God becomes.
Those are sobering words for you and me to ponder.
And now I want to share with you evidence of God worship.
After his long confrontation with the religious leaders in the temple, Jesus was most likely tired and ready for rest.
So he sat on the steps leading to the court of the women.
And in this court there were 13 boxes for the offerings of the worshipers.
Each of the boxes was labeled with a designation for the contribution.
So there were boxes for wood for the altar. There was incense and other things needed for the temple worship.
Other boxes were marked for payment for sacrifices.
As Jesus sat there with his disciples, they watched the rich casting their gifts into the treasury.
So imagine watching these people come with their gifts. Some were proud. They maybe lifted their bag of coins high and let it clang noisily into the box to draw attention.
Some may have come grudgingly. I really don't want to give this. But I have to. It was an obligation.
And still others came cheerfully. They were eager to support the Lord's work.
And then here comes an unnamed poor widow who dropped two small coins into one of the boxes.
Do you get the picture?
This widow was possibly one of the very ones whom the scribes had devoured her living.
And you would think she would have understood how the system was rigged against her and decided to keep her money. But no. She comes with her gift to the Lord.
Her clothing and her condition most likely identified her as a poor widow.
Jesus and his disciples must have been watching closely, or they would have missed her small offering.
The text doesn't mention it, but we can be sure she didn't make a big show of her giving.
How could her tiny gift compare with the gifts of the wealthy?
In my mind, I picture her shyly dropping her coins in the box and stepping quickly and quietly away.
But look at what Jesus said to his disciples.
Listen up, fellows. There's something I want you to understand.
This poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others.
How could Jesus say that?
During the time of the Roman leaders Pompey and Crassus, the temple treasury contained nearly half a million dollars. And that was after they had defrayed every possible expense.
The vessels used in the service of the temple were valued at about £2 million sterling.
That's between 4 and $5 million today.
And so what possible difference could this widow's two coins make?
The two coins she put in were called lepta, and together they were worth only about 1 64th of a denarius.
Now, you might remember a, uh, denarius was the standard wage given to a day laborer back then. And those who earned it certainly couldn't be considered wealthy.
The adjective poor that's used to describe this widow means that she worked for a living. She didn't rely on handouts.
With her tiny gift, she wasn't looking for man's approval. She just wanted to humbly serve her God.
Have you ever felt like the little bit you have to give can't possibly make a difference according to what Jesus says here? That's not true.
So what is it that makes her tiny? 1 64th of a denarius worth more than the enormous gifts of the wealthy? It certainly can't be the amount.
No. Jesus said they gave out of their abundance. But this woman, out of her poverty, put in everything she had.
Those who gave a lot would barely miss what they put in.
But this poor widow voluntarily put in all she had.
God saw her heart and her motives, not so much the amount of her gift.
Is this not what God asks us to do to give him our all?
There is another lesson here we must not miss.
No one is too poor to give. Let me say that again. No one is too poor to give.
Giving draws us closer to God and our fellow men.
I have been convicted as I have meditated on this text. I have never known want. I have never gone to bed hungry because there was no food available.
I have never lacked adequate clothing or shelter.
I have much more than I need.
I have given out of my abundance.
I think my motives are better than the motives of the Scribes and the Pharisees.
But now I am not so sure.
I must be reminded regularly that God sees my heart.
He knows my motives for giving.
Yes, Whom do I worship and whom do you worship?
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Thank you for joining us for today's lesson. Worship is a major topic. If you have any questions or comments about the lesson, please feel free to reach out to us. Our email address is hopeheraldsofhope.org and our website is heraldsofhope.org worship is such an important part of our lives, and the Psalms give us awesome language to express our worship. Here's a powerful verse from Psalm 95 to O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
