Journey Through Luke: Jesus' Death And ResurrectionSample

Jesus is still in the Temple and He has finished teaching and debating. He sits down, taking a seat opposite the treasury. There were thirteen money chests for different kinds of offerings, and Jesus is sitting and watching people. The people are throwing their money into the chests, completely unaware that the Son of God is watching everything they do. 

Jesus hears the money being dropped into the chests. There is a saying that “money talks”, and on that day, the money was speaking. Jesus can tell from the sound of the coins just how much people are giving. Jesus ignores the rich who are loudly giving money. Once again, a widow becomes the model of faith (see Luke 18:1–8). Jesus sees this poor, nameless woman who drops in two small copper coins that would have hardly made a sound. This coin was the least valuable of any coin in circulation.

What would that widow’s coins have contributed to the upkeep of the Temple? Almost nothing—but that is not the point. God’s economy is completely different from ours. This woman “put in all she had to live on” (v. 4). She is anonymous, but she has gone down in church history as one of the great examples of costly discipleship.

Perhaps it surprises us that Jesus does not go on to say, “And the woman went from there and God blessed her abundantly, and she was never in financial need again. So it will be for everyone who gives to the kingdom of God.” We are not meant to think that if we give something to God, we are going to be richly repaid financially. We do not know what happened to that woman. She may have remained poor, simply trusting the Lord to provide her daily bread.

When it comes to pleasing God, no person has any advantage over another. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor. He sees the poor widow who is little in the eyes of the world but who loves the Lord so much that she gives Him everything she has. She has given us an example for us to imitate.

Think Through:

What does it mean that this widow “put in all she had”? What does it mean for us to put in all we have?

As we continue journeying with Jesus through Luke, we have heard Him repeatedly talk about the godly use of money and possessions. How would you summarise what Jesus has taught?