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Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place were the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw money in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”
What determines the value of the gift to God. Is one gift better than another? Is God more receptive to some gifts than others? When we consider the acceptance of Abel’s gift and the rejection of Cain’s, then the answer must be “yes.”
What makes a gift more valuable? American culture would dictate, “The more you spend on it, the more valuable the gift!” Jesus, however, never equated a person’s contribution with a financial amount.
One day Jesus stood at the temple treasury to see what people gave. Jesus saw the rich give huge sums. He makes an interesting comment about the gifts of the rich. He doesn’t condemn the gifts of the wealthy, but recognizes that the gifts were given out of abundance. They gave from the overflow and their gifts didn’t cost them anything personally.
Jesus watched the widow give two copper coins, a very real amount. In practical terms, the widow contributed nothing of real value to the Temple. However, the widow gave “all she had to live on.” Those two coins represented the totality of her life. She didn’t just put two worthless coins into the treasury; she put herself in! The value of the widow is not found in the coins, but rather the value of the coins is found in the widow.
Mark 14:3-9 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
The greater a gift’s value to its giver, the greater its value to God. The gift that touches the heart of God must first touch the life of the giver. The disciples didn’t understand the actions of this woman. They condemned her generosity by suggesting the money should have been given to the poor.
The value of the perfume was equal to a laborer’s annual income. In today’s economy, the vial of precious ointment would have been worth tens of thousands of dollars. This was indeed a valuable gift. Unlike the widow’s gift, the alabaster box had great financial value. Jesus was so impressed with the gift that He said the story would be told as a memorial to her. What made this gift so special?
Scholars have long wondered what the woman was doing with a possession of enormous value. We know that she was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. We know she deeply loved the Lord and her actions showed that she was willing to give anything and everything to Him. Scholars suggest that the alabaster box was Mary’s dowry.Eastern customs demanded that each bride bring to the marriage a dowry of great value in relation to the bride’s station in society. No dowry meant no marriage.
If scholars are correct, Mary gave away her right to marriage when she poured out her dowry on Jesus. Mary’s gift was of immense personal value; Mary’s future life was in her gift. Her husband-to-be and her children-to-be were in her gift. Like the widow, Mary gave everything she had. This gift was special to Jesus because he recognized its special meaning to Mary.
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