Human view

Jesus watched as people were offering their contributions in the temple. In the area called the Court of Women, there were thirteen trumpet-shaped offering boxes, each labeled for a specific purpose. The rich were putting in their offerings. Surely, some were giving large sums. Then, a widow came near. In those days in Judea, it was extremely difficult for a widow to make a living. The very word “widow” was almost synonymous with extreme poverty. The contrast between the rich and this widow is striking. She put in two “lepta” coins, which is the smallest denomination in Jewish currency. There is a parallel account in the Gospel of Mark, where, considering the Roman (Gentile) readers, an explanation is added: “which amount to a quadrans” (Mark 12:42). It is said that in those days, the entrance fee to a Roman public bath was one quadrans, so we can roughly imagine the value. Some Bible commentators claim that two lepta were the minimum amount permitted as an offering. One can almost picture the rich glancing sideways at her small offering and muttering, “Hmph!” with disdain.

Jesus’ view

Jesus gave a judgment completely different from human evaluation: “This poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all contributed to the offering out of their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all that she had to live on” (v 3-4). The phrase “more than all of them,” means “more than the total amount of all their offerings combined.” Jesus was more concerned with what remained after the offering than with the amount given. From that perspective, the widow’s offering was the most sacrificial of all. Having given everything she had, one might wonder what she did for her evening meal that day. The Bible does not tell us, but I want to think that a neighbor brought her warm bread and soup. For our merciful Heavenly Father is the One who looks upon the poor with compassion. When evaluating things, it is important to have a multifaceted perspective – not judging merely by outward appearance, but continually asking, “How would Jesus evaluate this?” Let us spend today consciously viewing all things from the perspective of Jesus.